W.A.R.

!Women Art Revolution! A (Formerly) Secret History, a film by Lynn Hershman Leeson, premieres at The Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 12th.

From the W.A.R. website:

Through intimate interviews, art, and rarely seen archival film and video footage, !Women Art Revolution! reveals how the Feminist Art Movement fused free speech and politics into an art that radically transformed the art and culture of our times.

Oooh, this looks sooo good! Putting it on my list of must see films. And I still haven't seen Who Does She Think She Is?...

Fire Water Self

I see in the MECA Continuing Studies fall course listings a photography workshop on making giant prints. I would really like to do this with some of the images from my shadow series...

A Photo Shoot

As I've stated here before, a big part of the fun of completing a new item for my daughter Lisbeth's Etsy shop is doing the photo shoot! Sun, Grass, and Sea Mandala tablecloth, on my picnic table on the back porch, adorned with zinnias, blackberries, garlic, and tomatoes from my garden, and my daughter Kaitlyn's beautiful pottery. Oh, and a great little paperback that I scored for two dollars at the MECA library used book shelf, Paintings of Maine, edited by Arnold Skolnick.

A happy late summer Sunday to you all!

Late August Shadow Play

How Great, Thy Art!

No human hand involved in this image making, just water, sand, and wind...

Blame the Planets

I've been following Tilly Strauss's divorce document journey on her blog with compassion and fascination. How courageous, healing, and immensely satisfying to put one's pain directly on paper and bind it tidily together in a little book, then put it all to bed.
The photo above seemed an apt illustration to the topic. This was taken by one of the students in my Mixed Media Portraiture class at the Farnsworth this spring - I told the model that I would strike a pose, and asked him to respond to it. Of course with my head down, I couldn't see him, but heard the group chuckle and cluck, then one woman remarked, "Oh, God. Typical male/female scenario."

Sand Dala

Beach sand mandala, by Martha and Kaitlyn. A hooked rug made of sand and non-toxic waterbased kids' paints. No need to vacuum - just wait for the tide to come in...

Cat On a Hot Wood Dock

Ashley Bryan

Ricky Alley (cat!)

Kait and Marian setting up the auction items on the dock.

Martha Miller

Martha Miller

Martha Miller

A cute customer sporting spotted attire.

More cat art inside the gallery on the dock.

The (fee)line: Eager bidders.

Martha Miller

Kitty Litter Cake made by an island teen. (Ewww! Definitely the "Poop" de Gras! :^D)

Customers paying up and collecting their kitty loot.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of participating in a silent art auction out on Little Cranberry Island. Every other year Islesford Pottery hosts a fundraiser for the island with a themed auction. Themes from years past have included rabbits, turtles, and owls. This year the theme was cats. Weeks ahead of the event Marian Baker and Kaitlyn Duggan, who run the shop, provided clay and tools for anyone who wanted to make a pottery or sculpture item, then glazed and fired the work. All other cat related art was happily welcomed. I spent a couple of blissful afternoons gathering rocks and painting them with acrylics. What fun - I felt like I was at summer camp, and twelve again! The auction brought in some very comical and interesting artwork, including a cake that looked exactly like...well, you can see for yourself what it looked exactly like. (Amazing what foolery grapenuts, tootsie rolls, and chocolate frosting can create!)

This year's raised funds will go towards winterizing The Neighborhood House.

Good cause, good times!