Baltimore beauty
We flew down to Baltimore last week for a delicious dose of our daughter and a shot in the arm of spring. We picked her up at Maryland Institute College of Art and caught up at Tapas Teatro. Our gregarious server, Seth, made us feel welcome and ready to roll. The magnolias are in bloom there! We make the Paper Moon Diner a regular stop, for the milkshakes and the ambiance of over-the-top assemblage. A tribe of sculptures protects the premises, adorned with cutlery, creamers, and coins. I sketched one of them after we got home. Next we went in search of Joyce Scott’s show, Still...
Read Morewhat spring break?
While the temps still hover around freezing, I wonder where spring is hiding. We had a fleeting visit from our MICA art student during the first half of her spring break, yet it filled my well like nothing else can. Just before Daisy returned from Baltimore, Maine got dumped again with raw beauty. The birds don’t care, they’ve been flocking our feeder with a springy frenzy. Before heading to the airport, I returned this book, about a young recruit in the 10th Mountain Division, in which my dad served during WW2. It would have been his 93rd birthday on March 9. Soon enough, our...
Read MoreIllustration MECA field trip
A week ago I traveled west with senior Illustration MECA majors, co-chaperoning another field trip led by our intrepid Department Chair Mary Anne Lloyd. This time we ventured in a wagon train of cars, landing at the venerable Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. While awaiting everyone’s arrival, we ate our bag lunches in the classroom, appropriately surrounded by the drawings of young artists. Our tour guide, Patrick O’Donnell, led us through early works by Rockwell, with the eye of a professional illustrator. We saw Rockwell’s detailed studies in charcoal...
Read MoreVermont vibes
What a gadabout autumn we’ve had. Last weekend we headed to Vermont for the first time in ages, to the rustic getaway house of my Kittery cousins, Mike and Wanda. They bought land from Mike’s brother Joe, a retired dairy farmer, Vietnam vet, and thespian. We were lucky to find the place in the remote hills of Marshfield just before dusk. While others were upset about losing power, this is how they roll there, off the grid. Dinner by candlelight with long stories. Mike did the dishes under a solar lamp. What a difference the sun makes! Spied this dear painting by their daughter,...
Read MoreOctober vibes at Moody Point
October adventures abound. Last week we had the pleasure of staying in an antique cottage at Moody Point, thanks to Brian and Lyn Smith. It’s only a short ride from Portland but the outing hit the refresh button immediately. We stopped in to peek at the new Mothers Wing at the Graves Memorial Library and then visited the Corey Daniels Gallery. That place is full of wonders. Being the lunatic I am, I saw moons and eclipses in this series of Portals by Harrison Walker. No surprise I was drawn to Sarah Bouchard’s Orbs. They breathe so well next to Corey’s wood sculptures. The...
Read MoreA slice of heaven at Haystack
Haystack Mountain School of Craft’s legendary Open Door has been on my radar for awhile. This was the year I threw my name into the lottery aimed exclusively at Mainers for a three-day intensive of creative immersion and GOT IN, hallelujah! I gleefully made the 4 hour drive from Portland to Deer Isle last Friday. I’ve visited Haystack before, just to marvel at the steep spine of stairs down to the ocean’s edge. Now I could actually stay. Everything is rustic, with striking architecture and slanting light. I was the first to check into my cabin. I found out later in the...
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