Tag Archives: The Arts

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?

 

Into the Creative Lens

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I see you! I may know something about you. You are just like I once was, hesitant to share my literary art. It felt risky because then I’d be an open book! Guess what? My writing has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve done in my lifetime, other than tackling the hardest job on the planet – doing my best at being a good mother.

Springtime is a great time to take an exciting leap. Whether you’re someone who has been turning wooden wares on a lathe, doing some art journaling, enjoying creating choreography for a dance, writing lyrics to a song or putting paint on paper or canvas hoping your art will become gallery-worthy, don’t hide your light under a bushel. Step into it! Unleash your creative freedom.

 

Ancestor’s Missives Tell Stories

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“Hand-penned letters written by our ancestors are evidence of their human spirit, and in part, our own.” ~ Sue Batton Leonard

Does anyone share my opinion that a part of civility went out the window when the popularity of corresponding by handwritten letter went by the wayside?

I ended up being the “caretaker” of the largest part of the maternal family ancestral records, memorabilia and ephemera. Among them are letters to and from one of my ancestors, whom I believe was a woman ahead of her time. She held a position in the late 1800’s that few other women in the country did. Her treasured correspondence has details about her employment and resignation from her position. The letters are so properly and beautifully communicated, they put our dashed off business and personal-related text and email communications in this day and age to shame.

Every so often I reread the letters, thinking I will try to pair down what I am storing, but five years after my parent’s deaths, it is very difficult to do. It would be like forgetting my forebearers from several past generations ever existed. To me, that is a moral/ethical dilemma when I think an author’s literary influences and writings, in part, come from the provision of one’s inherited background.

“…man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots, whose flower and fruitage is the world…” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your Story Matters!

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So what’s your story? I’ve often wondered if people would live their lives differently if they considered every single day we are writing our own legacy by the choices we make, the way we interact with one another and the things we take an interest in. When reflecting on one’s life, sometimes the memoirist gets a glimpse into what an individual would like to do over, if given the chance. Unfortunately, we only have one chance at wholesome living here on earth.

What it is like help an individual reflect on one’s life? Here is a little insight into The Art of the Memoir

Art of Casual Crafting

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Inspire Your Heart with Art Day is coming up, thus the reason for this post.

Have you ever known anyone who seems to make an art out of everything they do? I have. I greatly admire them for it. I try to put a little touch of creativity into my every day tasks and bring beauty into my home any which way I can.

I enjoy casual crafting and find personal fulfillment in that. I had fun handcrafting a few simple Christmas gifts. Decoupage satisfied my desire to dabble with something I hadn’t done in a decades. The colors held pretty well on the pansies I had been pressing between parchment paper inside a book since last spring.

I attached a little watercolor tag to each of the decoupaged bottles which said, “Bottle your hopes and dreams, but remember to uncork and act!”

Photo Above: Three decoupaged art journals. Most of the pages were left blank, so the recipient can use the booklet however they wish. My sister called me immediately after receiving hers. “I know exactly what I am going to do with mine!” I look forward to seeing it. She received the journal on the right.

In my writing as with my crafting, I don’t wait for inspiration to strike. I’ve learned to start and see where my Creator leads me. Living without overthinking too much gives us freedom to live by what comes naturally. That’s wholesome living in and of itself.

Cheers for a creative New Year! Hard to believe the first month is nearly over.

Wintering in the Studio

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Today, I am reposting a story called “Angels Across the Fence,” about an encounter I had with a plein air painter a few years ago. It was a delightful day in every way.

Hang in there artists! Spring has never failed us – it will here be sooner or later. As we all know, “there is a time and a reason for every season.”

Angels Across the Fence