Category Archives: Art

Beloved Antiques

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Good Morning from my Grandmother’s 1920’s Spinet Writing Desk. I inherited it, but unfortunately, I didn’t inherit the story behind it. Why? Sadly, I didn’t ask. My grandmother was born in January 1900 and married in the early 1920’s, so I can only surmise it was given to my grandparents as a wedding present. She enjoyed it all ninety-nine and one-half years until her passing.

It was only recently, after having moved it, I was able to get the writing surface to slide out. A drawer knob or two are missing but, she is solid as a rock, with her shapely legs. Not bad for an ole girl who is 100 years of age. I meant to clean her up before taking this photo, but then I forgot. Oh well, her imperfections give her character and in my opinion, a rich patina adds to her value and it is better than being all polished up.

Every antique and painting has a provenance or story behind it. So next time you are wandering an art gallery or museum and the artist happens to be in attendance, don’t forget to ask about the painting, sculpture, mixed-media piece that you find enchanting, enthralling, exhilarating, captivating or controversial. Backstories are what allows us see fragments of an artist’s soul. Every item that sits on my antique writing desk has a short story, too, including the “Mona” lavender clivia which I foraged from an old abandoned lot yesterday.

Le Printemps

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What I need most of all is color, always, always. ~ Claude Monet

My first spring outing to Ladew Gardens in Monkton, Maryland came about about a two weeks ago. The drive through Fox and Hound Hunt Country is always beautiful, any time of year.

 

It was a glorious day! Even the koi in the pond down in the Iris garden were celebrating. They were leaping out of the water – either in pursuit of newly hatched bugs or a mate!

I’ve shared just a few photos and to think the riot has just begun! You have to go see it for yourself. In my book, frequent visits to what has been said as a top topiary garden in the world is mandatory if you want to really appreciate an unfolding of color all summer long.

A Spring Sunday

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Yesterday, on the Sabbath, I rested my eyes on the glories of springtime at Maison Nord Garden. The private gardens were open to the public to benefit the Harford Community Action Agency.

Rhona Frank and her daughter Chrissy own the 7 acre property. Rhona’s creativity along with her her collaborator, Kelcey Degnan and their other botanical helpers is evident everywhere. Chrissy’s claim to fame is “chief duck-keeper” and event assistant. Several outbuildings were colorfully painted to perfectly accentuate certain areas. As I spoke with the elder of the two ladies, it became evident great thought is put into the design and the species of flowers she wishes to highlight at various times of the year. I was charmed by the succulent display which was planted and overtaking the roof of the children’s playhouse. The red flowering quince trees and the tulip display were beautiful as well as the woodland flowers which have poked up from under the earth – lenten rose, bleeding heart, primrose, ajuga, Virginia bluebells, just to name a few.

As I strolled the paths and the gardens, I reflected upon how God’s magnificent powers along with seed, water, soil and light, yields nourishment for both body in the way of food, and for soul, particularly after the barrenness of color all winter.

 

 

 

When the property was purchased, it was a farm. Now viola! Seventeen years later, many labors of love have been put into transforming it into floral gardens.  The owner explained other garden highlights which will appear throughout the gardening season. 

I’d like to thank this mother and daughter team, who were both delightful, for my experience there today. I jumped in on  a portion of the garden tour which provided me with the names of a few plants I was unfamiliar with. 

What a wonderful way to support a vital community organization, by sharing the beauty of the fruits of their labors. Look forward to returning!

Honoring Soldiers and their Art

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Harford County, Maryland has much in the way of talent, including creatives! Pamela Lofgren Wilde, wife of one who has proudly served this country, is using her portrait painting skill to bring to fruition an art exhibit in this area and beyond this fall. She has painted the faces of military women and men who are also artists. What a beautiful way to honor those who have given so much to protect and defend our country.

Here is a link to a preview video https://bit.ly/4cWEMgi . More details will come when the date of the exhibition is put into place.

Pamela Lofgren Wilde is an artist who has relentlessly used and given her skills in many ways to the artistic community in this county. A real warrior she is who has strengthened this creative community by her presence in it.

An Artist’s Light

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Artist and Quaker-raised James Turrell once said  “It was important that people come to value light as we value gold, silver, paintings, objects.” 

Happy Solar Eclipse Day! I guess today is a good day to put our attention on all things celestial ~

“Hallelujah,’ I said to myself the day after Easter, “I can see the light from both sides now.” What prompted this thought, was a move I made on Easter Day from one place to another. Where I was living, faced in one direction. All light came from west-facing windows only. When I awoke on April 1st in my new abode, I realized how my exposure to the sun had changed. The day starts with the bright light coming in the Eastside windows and then moves around to the other side throughout the day. I can now see both sunrise and sunset.

And very fortunate for me, as an early riser and one who writes first thing in the morning, there is a beautiful little window seat on the East side where the light streams in brilliantly. We will see what new thoughts and perceptions come from my new early morning writing space.

Read more on American artist, James Turrell, who “is known for his work within the Light and Space movement.”

The Spring Outing

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Today, I’d like to share a piece of my writing, which has never been published, titled The Spring Outing! May you feel refreshed, renewed and encouraged by every new dawn during the Eastertide Season.

The Spring Outing

©Sue Batton Leonard 2004

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Winter’s chill has passed

I shall no longer shiver

Today, I am off to the river.

I’ll scamper

along with my hamper.

Go to the weeping willow

where there will be a soft pillow.

A mound of moss,

for my clean linen cloth.

 

Before me I’ve strewn,

A canteen of steeped tea

a silver fork, knife and spoon.

A spring onion tart

with ‘shrooms and cheese,

and a tasty salad of caprese.

A square of dark chocolate

is in the pocket.

I’ll save one cup

for after I’ve supped,

while watching spring erupt.

 

With the yellow forsythia branches

I’ll weave in tender pussy willows

dotted with long stemmed violets.

A crown to place on my head

before I lay on my makeshift bed.

 

Amidst snowdrops, 

little bunny hops,

and silly daffodillies,

I’ll  nap and dream

of summer’s August.

When aside the garden

I’ll sit in the long grass

Among the wildflowers mass

drinking chilled sassafras.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nostalgic Images

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Above: Havre de Grace Amtrack train track by artist Pamela Wilde

Ahhh…the golden age of train travel. It was an era when travel etiquette was expected. Some of the first few paintings I encountered yesterday when I walked into Monkton Mill Station/Gallery exhibit depicted the romantic side of train travel, rather than the trade and commerce aspect of what railroad transportation brought to our country.

If nostalgic feelings come to you, like me, with seeing the rust and gears of an old steam engine, a view looking out a train window hung with a curtain of lace, the graphics on train cars or the sight of a train crossing sign, then there were romantic images presented by all the participants. You can take in all of this and more from the works of the participating artists – Don James,  Heather Shreve, Henry Coe, Don James, Douglas Lake, Dora Patin, Raymond Burns and Janet Little Jeffers.

The exhibit included oil paintings, photographs and other archival artifacts such as the formal uniform of a conductor and old tickets sold by the cashier in the booth. The entire exhibit relates to the train industry. There was even a beautifully constructed model of a train car which enhanced the overall experience of the show. Indeed, it was a journey through a time which was central to western expansion, when family names like the Vanderbilts, Edward Harriman, Andrew Carnegie and other industrial pioneers and railroad tycoons were tossed around like baggage being moved from train to train.

Stop in and see the show, which will be at Manor Mill Station/Gallery until April 21, 2024. And there will be a train day at Manor Mill Gallery on March 30, 2024. Get your kids or grandkids aboard by registering!

Charlotte was Right!

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March is here. I can already feel a wellspring of creativity bubbling up. Before every next leap I’ve taken in this creative life of mine, I’ve known it because I awaken around 4 am every morning. My mind becomes active and I may as well settle into whatever it is that is brewing, write it down and complete the dialogue I am having with myself. Or occasionally I’ll dabble with paint. Trying to go back to sleep before daybreak is a lost cause.

I am grateful for even earlier than usual awakenings because to me that means spring is in the air and creative energy is stirring.

Charlotte Brontë was right when she said, “A ruffled mind makes a sleepless pillow.”

 

 

A Story in 3-D

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The small town is passing. It was the incubator that hatched all our big men… ~ Will Rogers

A few weeks ago, I went to a very absorbing art exhibit at Liriodendron Mansion based on the art of Jeffrey Conover. The artist uses his creativity by returning to a passion he had as a child- model building. Conover’s miniature fictional town is named Yelverton. The exhibit tells the story of life in 1900 living in a seaside village which was at the time central to the transportation industry. Boats sail in and out of the harbor, and at the wharf is a boat builder. A lighthouse sits as a beacon of hope and to guide through the storms. Cows graze on the hillside nearby where the creamery sits. There is also a clothier, a trading post, a livery stable and community churches as well as a mansion complete with a billiards room, lit by a Tiffany lamp. The Sheepscot River Valley Railroad runs through the town. Each handmade structure and all of the other embellishments helps one to imagine life in Yelverton. The exhibit invites us to envision what our perfect “Yelverton” would look like.

After reading the artist’s biography, it seems to me modeling building has been Conover’s pathway throughout his life. He’s had an honorable military career, working in intelligence communities and now is helping young people to appreciate wholesome values as a lay youth minister. He is an outstanding and upstanding model himself! For more photos and information on Conover’s impressive creative project please visit his Facebook page

I’m grateful I took time out to see the Yelverton and Sheepscot Valley Railroad exhibit at Liriodendron Mansion. It transported me to another place and time. Isn’t that what good stories are meant to do?

 

Community Engagement

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Lately I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some of my peers who have asked me about my writing life. Then inevitably, the discussion turns to finding purpose in life after retirement.

If you are a baby boomer like me, following what was expected of us was the norm. You know how it goes – get the degree(s), find a job/career, buy a house, have the children. Then BOOM before you know it the empty nest hits and retirement nears leaving us to wonder, now what? We are too active to sit home and age, as previous generations did after retirement. But, many of us haven’t a clue as to what to do next. We’ve never really taken time out for ourselves to explore who we are at heart and creatively.

Personal fulfillment means something different to each one of us. It’s quite profound when you find your passion, as I did with writing, without struggling to find it and it comes in the natural order of life’s events.

Another case in point. I have a friend who is retired, and in her travels to Hawaii she became interested in learning to play the ukulele. So she and a few friends took lessons. They formed a musical group and just had their first concert at a community church in Vermont. Some of the proceeds from the concert will go to support the church’s breakfast outreach program. Way to go ladies!

Peak your interest? Here in our area, Manor Mill Gallery in Monkton is holding ukulele beginner’s classes in May!

If a curiosity about something comes to you, my advice is to stay open to it. It may be a latent interest you’ve always had but were never aware of it. Set out on a creative quest, see where your interest leads rather than trying to orchestrate life to go the way you think it should. Self-discovery is fascinating.

Next time on All Things Fulfilling, I will tell you about a gentlemen who in his retirement has taken an interest he had in his childhood and has now found even a greater level of personal fulfillment in it. Come on back. We are always posting new content.