Author: Matthew Green

I am a translator, origami artist/teacher, and photographer, a blogger, former philosophy professor, and I love to sing. You can see my photos on Flickr and buy prints of some of them on Fine Art America. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter (@mehjg), and in various and sundry other social media sites on the web.

Public School Students’ Art at the Cape Ann Museum

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Here are some photos of the elementary school childrens’ art on display at the Cape Ann Museum as a part of the “Gloucester Public School District Arts Festival” on Saturday, May 12.  The museum put a lot of work into hanging all these creations!

(To get these big shots, I had to take several photos and use panorama software, which led to a bit of distortion and broken lines here and there… I need to get one of those special panorama tripods that eliminate parallax!)

I am not sure if any of this is still up.  The brightness, simplicity, and freshness of it all created a real ambience of upbeat enthusiasm!

Working overtime

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The other day I went for a walk, and came across these gentlemen working on the water pipes under the street. It was already 7PM, but they told me they can only do this work after hours because it affects the water supply to businesses on the street.

The two fellows in the hole are both Irishmen, from County Mayo and County Galway.

They were friendly and funny.  They were still there – looking a lot more tired – when I walked back past the same spot at 10PM.  I have really been impressed with how fast the work crews are moving.   Although it can be frustrating when the work closes lanes or entire roads, it’s great that the job is getting done!  It must be rough on the workers and their families to working odd hours.  May they be safe on the job and duly rewarded for their labors!

City Hall standing proud despite scaffolding

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City Hall at night

The scaffolding doesn’t exactly add to the aesthetic value, but it doesn’t totally hide the imposing elegance of the building either.  I really look forward to seeing the results of this important restoration!

Students art at the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library

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As part of the Gloucester Public School District Arts Festival last weekend, students’ art was on display at the library, across the street from City Hall. Here are a few photos of the exhibit there. Click on any of the photos to see it bigger.

Unfortunately, it seems that some or all of the art has already been taken down. Some of it was really amazing!

GHS Music at City Hall

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Last Saturday, the Gloucester Public School District Arts Festival took over several venues in the center of Gloucester, including City Hall, the Cape Ann Museum, the Sawyer Free Library, Alchemy, and Art Haven. I’ll be posting photos of the displays in a few of these locations.

For today, here are some photos of the musical presentations at City Hall by the GHS Chorus and the GHS Docksiders.  As usual, their performances were outstanding!

The GHS Chorus shared their talent with the community
The Docksiders were in great form!
While the Docksiders played, it was hard not to want to dance. Some children gave in to the music and started dancing together.
The angle of this panorama makes it look like there was more empty space than there really was There were lots of people in the balcony, in the seats, and at the activity tables around the auditorium.
For the grand finale, the Chorus, the Docksiders, and other children from the public schools performed “We Are the World”.

There were many other beautiful moments during these performances, including the vocal talents of a student who won prizes for her performance at Disney World, but I could not capture them all.

It was appropriate that all these talented young people were performing under the message written on the wall: “Build not for today alone but for tomorrow as well.”  Teaching these children and young adults to develop their talents, to share their gifts, and to dare to dream of great achievements, is an important way of building for tomorrow.  Thanks and kudos to all the teachers, coaches, etc., who help the children of our community realize their potential!

Pleasant Street Tea Company art reception

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Last Friday, there was a very nice art reception at the Pleasant Street Tea Company. Here are some photos of the event.

The location of the Pleasant St. Tea Co.
Artist Rocky Delforge with some of his work on display
Donna Marie Therrien with some of her wrok
Donna Marie Therrien with fellow artist Ramani Rangan
Ben MacAdam stands by his work
A good number of people turned out right from the start
Brad Byrd creates ambiance
It’s great to be able to meet the artists and find out more about their artistic history.

The exhibit will be up until the end of June.  You can also check their work out on line:

Rocky Delforge: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Delforge-Artist/121621697928041?sk=photos

Ben MacAdam: http://www.benmacadam.com/

Donna Therrien: http://www.inspiredhealthandhealing.com/

Photos of the Cape Ann Museum Park and Sculpture Garden opening

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Yesterday, we had perfect weather for the opening ceremony for the Cape Ann Museum Park and Sculpture Garden – here are some photos!

-Fr. Matthew Green

Prayer Vigil for Caleigh Anne Harrison

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Here are some images and video from my perspective at the prayer vigil.

This one includes a slideshow (after the first minute of the song) with a selection of photos:

Senator Bruce Tarr’s words:

Closing prayer by Rev. Brian Miller:

Click here for a complete photo slideshow:

Weekly “Sing” at the Annie

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Every week on Wednesday night, 7-9:30PM at “The Annie“, there is a singing session, open to anyone who wants to come.  We sit in a circle in the art parlor and take turns singing and/or playing (on acoustic instruments) whatever strikes our fancy, and if others know the refrain, they join in!  It’s loads of fun, and a very friendly atmosphere in which all levels of talent and experience are welcome.

Here’s another video from our session last week.  It shows Ernie Pigeon singing “For the Life of Me”.

Year of the Dragon part 5

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Here’s another entry (probably the last) in my series of origami dragons in honor of the Year of the Dragon. His name is Spike.

As with the others, he’s folded from one uncut square of paper, although this was 20″ square paper.  Designed and folded by me.

-Fr. Matthew Green

Year of the Dragon, part 4

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As I mentioned in my previous posts on this topic, this is the Chinese year of the dragon (within the twelve-year cycle based on the Chinese zodiac). While I do not subscribe to any form of astrology, I like the idea of a “mascot” for the year. I am also particularly fond of dragons. So, as an origami artist in Gloucester, I decided to share a series of origami dragons that I have folded, either from my own designs or from others’ designs that I have modified to my own taste.

I’ve gotten a few responses to the idea of starting an origami group here on Cape Ann. Maybe to get started, if a few people would like to learn how to fold an origami dragon, I’d could to set up a time to teach a public class.   We just need to find a suitable date and venue. Which model I would teach would depend on the level of experience of the students.

Speaking of origami classes, the annual Origami USA convention in New York City is now open for registration! It’s a great event – I’m already signed up. Anyone else going?

Today’s dragon is my variation on Robert Neale’s design:

This is the simplest of the models I’ve presented so far, and represents perhaps the most “classic” species of dragon. It has an elegant simplicity that makes it one of my favorites.   This example is made from a 6″ square of uncut textured foil.  My contributions to this design are the horns and jaw on the head and the specific size and shape of the wings.

One can fold it without the horns and with slightly smaller wings in just a few minutes (as opposed to the other designs I have posted so far, which require more time to fold with any real precision).  That simpler form is the one that would be easiest to teach.

John Wheeler photos of the “Super Moon”

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John and I ended up taking photos from very near the same spot to get the moonrise behind Thatcher Island, but then he moved on to other locations. Here are a few of his (amazing) photos.

Catch more of his photos on Flickr!

Pennies from Heaven

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Last Wednesday evening, we had a great group at The Annie for our weekly singing event (7-9:30PM).  The last time I posted about this, someone asked for video of a song – so I brought my iPhone tripod setup, and filmed!

Henry Allen is not just a generous host at The Annie, he’s also a talented performer. Here  he sings “Pennies from Heaven”.

Come and join us some time!

Origami in Gloucester? and Year of the Dragon, part 3

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Would you be interested in a monthly meeting or workshop in Gloucester for origami enthusiasts?  Do you have friends who might be? Contact me to let me know! If we get enough people interested, I would like to get something going.  I posted on this before and got one or two responses, but I’d like to expand that base.

Continuing my posts in honor of the year of the dragon, here’s origami dragon #3:

Designed and folded by me, from a (single uncut) 6″ square of textured foil. The final model is 3″ from head to tail.

Lunch at La Trattoria

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Isn’t that just one of the prettiest things you’ve ever seen?

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped to read the menu at La Trattoria as I walked down Main Street in Gloucester.  A customer who was on her way in, took the time to stop and tell me how good the food is!  So when a friend of mine came to visit the other day, I took him to La Trattoria for lunch to check it out.  We had bruschetta and shrimp scampi for our appetizers, and chicken soup for the main course.  We chased that down with tiramisu and gelato with limoncello.  My friend also had a cappuccino, pictured above.

To conclude: The food was delicious, the servings were generous but not overwhelming, and the service was friendly and attentive.  The restaurant’s design and ambience was classy and comfortable.  So, I am glad that that customer I met on the sidewalk sang this place’s praises!  She spoke truly.  If you like good Italian food, give La Trattoria a try!  It’s at 64 Main Street in Gloucester.  I am looking forward to trying their pizza…

Year of the Dragon, 2

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Continuing with origami dragons in honor of the Year of the Dragon, here is number 2:

This is a “mutation” of Wen’s Dragon. The original design was described by Sok Song in issue #7 of Creased magazine; this model shows some significant variations.

Folded from a single uncut 6″ square of textured foil; finished size is approximately 3″ head to tail.

Would you be interested in a monthly meeting or workshop in Gloucester for origami enthusiasts?  Do you have friends who might be? Contact me to let me know! If we get enough people interested, I would like to get something going.  I posted on this before and got one or two responses, but I’d like to expand that base.

-Fr. Matthew Green

Year of the Dragon 1

Posted on by Matthew Green

According to the Chinese calendar, we are in the year of the dragon! (As you may know, the Chinese have a 12-year cycle which assigns an animal to each year.)  I don’t lay any stock by astrology of any kind, Chinese or otherwise, but I like the idea of giving each year a “mascot”.

As it happens, I am particularly fond of dragons. So, in honor of the year of the dragon, I will post a series of photos and descriptions of varying “species” of origami dragons that I have folded.  These are either my own designs or, in two cases, fairly significantly modified by me but based on other people’s designs.

Here is today’s species: the Broadwing.

The dragon this model represents followed an evolutionary path leading to unusual proportions. It is small of body and had developed large wings that allow it to stay aloft for long periods of time. The hind legs are underdeveloped, because this dragon spends most of its time in the air. The front appendages, by contrast, have large, grasping claws, which the beast uses to snatch prey from the ground and kill it swiftly, eating while aloft.

Designed and folded by me, from a (single uncut) 6″ square of textured foil. The final model is 2″ from head to tail.

Boston – Symphony Hall

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One of the nice things about Gloucester is that we have the conveniences of living near Boston, but the benefits of a relatively small community.  Just a few days ago, I went to a concert at Symphony Hall. It’s great to have a world-class orchestra practically right down the road!

It was my first time at Symphony Hall, and although the performance itself was fantastic, I was also rather impressed by the venue.  Here are a few photos I took with my iPhone (using the accessory lenses I reviewed earlier, in most cases the Instagram app, and in the first case, a panorama app).

Just before the performance. The message projected on the wall is telling us to turn off all cell phones and electronic devices... and I take photos of the sign with my cell phone...