My View of Life on the Dock
Small fishing boat near a lighthouse
Should the lighthouse be taller? I tried to get the proportions from photos of Eastern Point lighthouse, more or less. It is probably not quite in the right proportion to the size of the fishing boat, but folding from dollar bills limits the range of size I can produce…
No dollar bills were damaged during this production… All three could be unfolded and put back in my wallet.
Aja’s face in the background: “Don’t ask me how they’re hands got like that… Sometimes it just has to be done.”
Nubar writes-
I thought this was illegal. Right across from the police station too.
When the grandchildren were playing with bubbles, took this picture and you can see the trees through the bubbles
Depression Era Butterfly Quilt Top
Reader Sandra G recently wrote: Thank you for Sharing the Antennae For Design Article and Photo. I recently acquired a Vintage Butterfly Quilt Top*, that has me puzzled as to what the fabrics are and dating it ? The Butterflies appear to be very similar to your Photo. I am clueless about this Quilt Top and any help would be greatly appreciated. You have a great Website and Blog!
Butterfly Quilt Top Detail
I asked her to send photos and she did send several. I do think this is a Depression era quilt for several reasons. The red butterfly especially, with the cheery cherry printed over the red and white polka dot fabric, looks very 1930s-1940s. All the butterflies are hand-embroidered, which also leads me believe the top is from the Depression era. It’s really a charming quilt top, and beautifully made. I love the design placement of the butterflies. The colors are so vibrant–the finished quilt will make any room sing. What a great find Sandra G.!
* Note ~ a quilt top is just that; the top only. Quilt tops are a wonderful way to acquire a vintage quilt. For some reason or other, the quilt was never completed. Ideally the quilt top would have been tucked away and stored out of direct sunlight–just waiting for some industrious- type to complete the job! If stored properly, you’ll find the vintage fabrics in their original vibrant colors as sunlight and repeated washings are most damaging to textiles.
Butterfly quilt top hand embroidered detail
This week’s young artist is Caroline, shown above with her book from Art Haven’s bookmaking workshop this week. Caroline has taken all kinds of art classes in everything from fractal art to summer playcamp, and she can’t wait to be a part of the Teen Artist Guild when she gets a little older. She told me she really likes to take things from around her house and make them beautiful by repainting and redesigning them!
Also, she made one of the prettiest shields on Lord of the Rings Day (not sure if that’s what you should be looking for in a shield, but I think it’s pretty great…)
If you know of a young artist that should be featured here, email dawn.gadow@gmail.com with a short description and a photo of some of their work!
All good cameras are expensive. This one is literally made of money (a single dollar bill, uncut of course).
Folded by me, from the great “Dollar Origami” book by Won Park.
The Pavilion Hotel, Gloucester, circa 1880 Alice M. Curtis/©Fredrik D. Bodin
“Beauty and seduction, I believe, is nature’s tool for survival, because we will protect what we fall in love with.” –Louie Schwartzberg
Friends who are aware of my butterfly and nature film projects send me the most exquisite images and links to films and videos. Thank you Emily for sharing The Hidden Beauty of Pollination, created by Louis Schwartzberg, award winning photogragher and cinemetagrapher, who has been filming time-lapse flowers and pollinators for over thirty years. The video link takes to you the full screen version, which is without a doubt the best way to view this extraordinary short film (only about 7 minutes in length). The second link leads to a brief talk given by Schwartzberg, also very well worth seeing.
Louie Schwartzberg: The Hidden Beauty of Pollination
The second sentence in Schwartzberg’s quote reminded me of Baba Dioum’s quote (a noted Senegalese poet), “In the end we will conserve only what we will love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”
There’s a Photoshop Workshop happening at Art Haven on Friday afternoon for only $20! Students in grades 7-12 can come to learn the basics or get some help with something they’ve been struggling with. Call (978) 283-3888 to sign up now.
Presidents Day Rocks!
“Art, Rock’s!”
Left one at 10:30am 02/20/2012
location;
This young artist of the week is a very talented boy named Jason who painted this interpretation of Winslow Homer’s Two Men in a Canoe on a toolbox that he built himself. Jason picked out this painting himself and, I think, did a beautiful job of making it his own. What a cool piece of artwork for him to have and use for a long time!
If you know of a young artist that should be featured here, email dawn.gadow@gmail.com with a short description and a photo of some of their work!
Bill Hubbard writes-
Joey,
I recently ran an art contest on America’s largest artists website, Fine Art America for paintings of commercial fishing and guess what? Two Cape Ann artists won First and Third Place. Eileen Patten Oliver from Rockport came in first with a beautiful acrylic of Gloucester Harbor and Capt. Phil Cusumano took Third Place with his vibrant
oil painting, Morning on Georges Bank. I thought you might like to give them credit on GMG and prepared the writeup below. I’m sure Phil and Eileen and their Cape Ann Friends would like to see it. I was certainly proud to see those fine paintings from my home port.
Bill Hubbard
Cape Ann Artists Take First and Third Place in Commercial Fishing Boat Contest I recently had the privilege of conducting a contest for paintings of commercial fishing boats on Fine Art America, the world’s largest artists website. As a
painter and a direct descendant of a Gloucester fishing captain, I am proud to see these fine paintings in the winners circle.
First Place was won by Eileen Patten Oliver of Rockport with a beautifully detailed acrylic painting of Gloucester Harbor. Eileen has been painting in oils and acrylics in Maine and Massachusetts for over 40 years. While she likes to paint en plein or on
te scene, she also uses photographs as painting studies. She managed the art gallery at the West Quoddy Head Light Visitors Center in Lubec, Me for several seasons, has taught Adult Education classes, studied with Paul Shea, Peter Nyren and Constantine Sqouras and took a class at Mass College of Art but, is predominantly self-taught. She lives in Rockport, Ma with her husband, James Oliver, ho is also an accomplished painter, illustrator and print maker. Eileen is a member of the Newburyport Art Association
Third Place was one by Capt. Phil Cusumano with his vibrant oil painting Early Morning on Georges Bank, Phil, a marine artist and sea captain, has lived the life of his subject matter, commercial fishing. His work documents the fishing industry from the era of the tall ships to the present day. His images range from life aboard a modern day fishing dragger, to the Gloucester skyline in 1905.
Born and raised in Gloucester, MA Phil has had a long love affair with the ocean. His father owned and operated commercial fishing vessels in Gloucester for fifty years. At the early age of thirteen, Phil started fishing during summer vacations on his father’s commercial draggers. He graduated from Gloucester High School in 1969 and fished full time on his father’s boats. “But I was always drawing, even out at sea”. He honed his artistic skills when he studied for three years at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and graduated in 1974. As part of commercial and design programs he learned about how to incorporate design composition and illustration in his work. From 1972-1988 he worked primarily in watercolors influenced by his study with internationally know Rockport artist, John Terelak.
—
Visit my artists website and Blog at:
http://bill-hubbard.artistwebsites.com
As you hopefully saw last week, Cole Herbst is doing a beautiful new mural in the Main Street space that the Eco Boutique is moving into. Below is an interview with the artist (interviewed by Jason Burroughs) – the store is stocked now, so go in and check it out in the Brown’s Mall building!
Also, check out the unveiling of his other mural about a year ago:
Cool stuff going on during February Vacation at Art Haven and Pathways for Children!
ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS
Paint Big: Monday, Feb 20 | 9 – 11:30am
Tie Dye a T-shirt: Tues, Feb 21 | 9 – 11:30am
Lord of the Rings Day: Wed, Feb 22 | 9 – 3:30p [Check out the video below for more info]
Book Making: Thurs, Feb 23 | 9 – 11:30pm
Jewelry Making: Friday, Feb 24 | 9 – 11:30pm
MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Paint Big: Monday, Feb 20 | 12:30 – 3pm
Tie Dye a T-shirt: Tues, Feb 21 | 12:30 – 3pm
Lord of the Rings Day: Wed, Feb 22 | 9 – 3:30p
Book Making: Thurs, Feb 23 | 12:30 – 3:00pm
Photoshop 101: Friday, Feb 24 | 12:30 – 3:00pm
There is a small class fee for each program, but financial assistance is available if needed. Fill out and return the registration form for more information.
———————————————————————————————-
I think some local businesses would get crabby if I tried to pay with folded money…
(Folded by me, designed by Won Park)
Good Morning Gloucester 