Admiring Annie French

 1872–1965

Annie French ...

was a Scottish painter, engraver, illustrator, and designer associated with the Glasgow School.

Watercolorist, illustrator, designer and teacher, born in Glasgow and married to the artist George Wooliscroft Rhead, who predeceased her by 45 years. French studied at Glasgow School of Art under Fra Newbery and taught in the department of design there from 1909, but after marrying Rhead she settled in London in 1915. She was a prolific exhibitor at RSA and Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, also showing at RHA, RA and elsewhere. Her work was highly detailed, mixing Art Nouveau, the style of Jessie M King and a touch of Aubrey Beardsley. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art holds several works by her.

The Lilac Veil

Woman in the Garden

Children in the garden

I'm fascinated by all the intricate patterns she makes, lots of line work in engravings.

Remembering the fallen

 It's Memorial Day in the US today. I'm inviting some friends over for a light lunch, and just to get together.

Here are some old illustrations by one of my favorite artists.

"To Make Men Free" 1943 

1945 Homecoming Marine

Painting on pottery

In Tandem Gallery in Bakersville has a lovely ceramic artist's work on display. 

C. J. Niehaus

Go to her link to see more.

Flower bowl - $145

Snail tumbler - $155

Today's quote:

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.  

Henry David Thoreau

Dragon #4

 My last dragon

I won't make any remarks, but I do have my own critique of it. And thus I've made 4 dragons.

Now on to other things!

Today's quote:

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on -- have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear -- what remains? Nature remains. 

-Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)

The vases on auction at Art In Bloom

 As part of the fund raising efforts of Black Mountain Center for the Arts' Art in Bloom this year.

This is the link to the auction site. And you can see each vase much better there, without bidding!

In case you want to bid and support the artists of Black Mountain...and get a nice ceramic vase!

Anna Leal

 A ceramic artist from Brazil who lives and teaches in Georgia now.

Look at the link for Charlie Cummings Gallery (in Gainesville FL if you're lucky enough to live near there!) 

I just learned about the technique of  “Cuerda Seca” or Dry Cord.

The colors of Giverny, France

 

DINING ROOM at Claude Monet’s House, 1883, Giverny, France; above from today, lower photo with him standing there. The pictures on the walls are Japanese wood cuts.

I remember selling some pottery with similar colors, and the customer had been to Giverny and liked to have a teapot, I think, to remember her visit by.

Monet's kitchen

Today's quote:

 Giving and receiving are companion energies that take turns throughout our lives, and we all get a chance to be on both sides of the exchange from time to time. Daily Om

A king's portrait

 

I hadn't seen the whole thing the first time it came across my internet apps. But when dear nonagenarian blogger, The Grass Weaver, posted her opinion about it, I went to find more complete photos. Of course many are available.

She lives in Great Britain, and has had a royal family her entire life.

I have recently been reading and watching TV series about the American Revolution, so my sense of kings is somewhat different.

It comes down to, do I like the portrait? 

No. Why? The fuchsia color that is dominant reminds me of two things, femininity especially in the Barbie movie, and blood....which again relates to women's menarche and monthly bleeding. Menarche to monarch? I think not. But he has lived most of his life in the shadow of his mother, who also was a nonagenarian.

Anyway, as art, it's ok. His face is well depicted with a sad emotion coming across from his eyes, though his mouth smiles slightly as though to apologize.

The butterfly wins the day. It could be trivial, but it became the most important feature of the painting, to me.

Just my opinion, and it may change!

Today's quote:

Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance. -Verna Myers, author and speaker (b. 5 Apr 1960)

Where art and life definitely come together

 

The interior of a 1850s Romani horse drawn caravan...can you spot the kettle?

Roma have been in Britain since at least 1515 after migrating from continental Europe during the Roma migration from the Punjab region of northern India.

This minority is made up of distinct groups called "tribes" or "nations." Their language called Romani, is based on Sanskrit (the classical language of India).

As a nomadic people they entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries. Europeans originally believed the Roma were from Egypt, hence the origins of the word gypsy. Zigeuner, the German word for Gypsy, derives from a Greek root meaning untouchable. For centuries, Roma were scorned and persecuted across Europe.

Many Roma traditionally worked as craftsmen and were blacksmiths, cobblers, tinsmiths, horse dealers, and toolmakers. Others were performers such as musicians, circus animal trainers, and dancers.

Roma are both Christian and Muslim, having converted during the course of their migrations through Persia, Asia Minor, and the Balkans.

In 1939 there were about 1 million Roma. About half of all European Roma lived in eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union and Romania. Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria also had large Romani communities. In Greater Germany there were about 30,000 Roma, most of whom held German citizenship; about 11,200 of this number lived in Austria. Relatively few Roma lived in western Europe.

The Roma may not have their own country but they have their own flag. It was approved by delegates at the First World Ramoni conference held in 1971 in London. The blue and green represents heaven and earth. The wheel with 16 spokes (a chakra) represents the travelling spirit of the Roma. There is also an official Roma anthem, which is called Gelem Gelem (or Djelem Djelem, the translated words by Ron Lee are below:

I have travelled over long roads

have met fortunate Roma

I have travelled far and wide

I have met lucky Roma

Oh, Romani adults, Oh Romani youth

Oh, Romani adults, Oh Romani youth

Oh, Roma, from wherever you have come

With your tents along lucky roads

I too once had a large family

But the black legion murdered them

Come with me, Roma of the world

To where the Romani roads have been opened

Now is the time – stand up, Roma,

We shall succeed where we make the effort

Oh, Roma adults, Oh, Roma youth

Oh, Roma adults, Oh, Roma youth

SOURCE: FB page Great British Tea Party

Mud Buddies - I am back!

 Last Saturday, 5/11/24, there I was at 8:15 am unloading a table and two tubs of pottery, mine and Cathy's. They didn't weigh much actually.

Here Amelia stands in our booth. 

I was able to pull my car over close to where our booth was, and fellow Mud Buddy, Amelia had already set the tent up. I brought the sign but we couldn't find the bungie cords to attach it to the front of the tent. 

Now retired Mud Buddy, Bette Potter Jones, has the cords, and will bring them next week, she told me when I phoned her. (After all she just turned 90!)

Cathy's pottery in the foreground. Since she's still healing from her dislocated shoulder injury, she has not been making pottery. This was all she had left from last year.

So we're sharing a table...and I have only pottery that's been on shelves or tubs in my home for 4 years. Nothing new at this point. (I'm currently making flower pots and dragons.)

Amelia's table, with too much reflected sun off the red canopy cover! Most of those pink mugs were really white with red and pink floral designs. On that side we had a new bakery with lots of goodies for sale...they always do well. So while people wait in line, we hoped they might see some interesting pots...

Our next door neighbor had crystals and jewelry for sale.

Before the market even started at 9 am I walked over to Belly Full Plants and purchased the one and only apple mint plant! Peggy (on far right in the back) is a good friend from climate change work in the past.

Another good friend was the musician for the market. Bill Altork has a kind of country twang and writes a lot of his own songs...and he also has been a handy man for me several times. Musicians usually have a second gig, don't they?

I was surprised to see this well stocked pottery display by John (blanking on last name). He is the son of Elaine who usually has the biggest display of flowers for sale, but she was busy elsewhere with Mother's Day stuff, so he got her space as a day vendor. He just graduated from Warren Wilson College, a wonderful work/study farm school nearby.

This couple was assessing the mugs for his mother, on each table. And you can see how white Amelia's are now! Which one would keep coffee warm longest? I answered, they're pretty much the same. (some denser clay holds it better, some shapes do, but we didn't have any way to test. And the young man chose one of Cathy's rather than one of Amelia's. 

We have a friendly competition, and I'm pretty sure nobody tries to push their own pots on anyone. (Except when someone under-sells things with really low prices, then we all suffer.)

I didn't make it to the far side of the market. Except to make sure there were no gardenia plants for sale. I do have my eye out for another of those. I can't make a big enough pot for one, so will gladly purchase a big pot if only I can  find one. But, tis the season for garden sales at all weekend coming up!

This is my Mother's Day photo for the year. This mother (on l) was holding her twins in 2 little slings, and her older three daughters stood eating something while she conversed with the other woman.

I had to take a photo of Nantucket MA resident Diane's Bloom County tee shirt...and she only had $20 for my $25 bowl. She had daughter and son at market, and none of them had $5. Honestly there was no way I'd discount it $5 either. So the woman at the next booth called to them and said, just Venmo me $5 and I'll give you the cash.

Yes, this was our sad loss of several sales because we weren't set up for credit cards. I'm working on it. I thought I could get Venmo, but my bank only uses Zelle.  I've got that set up now, but I know people just want to flash their plastic. We should also do like several local restaurants do, offer a discount for cash, because credit card payments come out of our profits (little as they may be!)

Today's quote:

Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe? -Scott Turow, author and lawyer (b. 12 Apr 1949)

Granddaughter potters!

 

Caroline's tea set was awarded the Top 25 Governor's Award of Excellence when she was in high school.

Here Caroline was working out of her home on another pottery project. When she had Covid and had to stay in her room, she worked on clay. Her family said they'd hear her slamming her clay down on a board on the floor as she wedged it.

Now her younger sister, Kate, is a junior in highs school and is taking clay in art classes also. This hand built piece was painted with underglazes...and makes a great vase.

I particularly like the stems of lavender pressed into the sides of this vase for details. It was coiled into the shape with alterations.Father, Russ is pretty proud of our second generation of potters in the family, as am I. The silvery metalic finish was a low fire glaze applied after it had been fired to vitrification, meaning it can hold water.

Tai, my youngest son, took ceramics as his Master of Fine Arts concentration at Indiana University, after a non-degree year at U of Colorado, Bolder, and his BA from Eckerd College with art as major. He was clay studio assistant for several sessions at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. He taught ceramics at Du Paugh University, in Indiana, then moved to Colorado where he worked with high school students to help them graduate and obtain grants for college, so no more art work in his life then.

Some of the work Tai has in his home can be seen here.