Meredith Hale: Art and Inspiration

Bay Arts - Number Three

2012-01-27T15:07:00.001-08:00

I had to take a pretty long hiatus away from Bay Arts because of work, but I finally made it back to a Friday morning portrait session this week. It was nice to paint again.

Recreating the Jewish Memory: A Brief Study of Two Novels

2012-01-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

While reading Edmund de Waal's new best-selling novel The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss, I was constantly reminded of another novel, W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz, which I read approximately two years ago. The Hare with Amber Eyes attempts to recreate the history of the grand Ephrussis family through tracing the history of a group of 264 netsuke that were passed down through the family and were eventually inherited by the author, Edmund de Waal. Netsuke are small Japanese carvings that serve to secure pocket-like containers to an individual's clothing at the hip. Austerlitz is the story of the an architectural historian who tries to figure out what happened to him and his family during WWII. Both stories include a smattering of photographs throughout their pages and deal with reconstructing the lost past of a Jewish main character and that of his family.

The photographs of The Hare with Amber Eyes are generally predictable and primarily serve as factual documentation, while the photographs of Austerlitz are often quite thought provoking and sometimes odd. The photographs in The Hare with Amber Eyes are all historical and include many images of the authors relatives. None of the photographs in Austerlitz on the other hand are actually historic, but there is a feeling that they could be. Some of the images include pairs of strange eyes (of both humans and animals) and a haunting image of a woman who is perhaps Austerlitz's mother. Also in the book is a picture of the Gare Saint-Lazare train station, most famously depicted by Monet. Train stations seem to constantly haunt the main character, Austerlitz, and over the course of the novel the reader learns that this may be because he was sent away from his family in Prague on a children's transport to live with a British family during WWII. The picture of Gare Saint-Lazare in the book is especially important because Paris is the last place to which Austerlitz can track his long-lost father. Austerlitz's father is never found, but Austerlitz comes to the conclusion at the end of the book while standing in Gare Saint-Lazare that his father must have left Paris on a train in that very station. As one can infer from the events surrounding the Gare Saint-Lazare, places have special meaning in Sebald's Austerlitz.

Photograph possibly of Austerlitz's mother

The importance given to places and their architecture is another commonality between the two novels. One of the passages that has stayed with me since reading Austerlitz is the book's discussion of the psychology of architecture. Sebald writes that building fortifications of any kind demonstrates that one is fearful. In the end Sebald thinks that building barriers or fortresses has the opposite effect of what one intends. Instead of making things safer, constructing fortifications draws attention to an area's greatest weaknesses. In an odd way, it seems that one is safer and more confident without fortifications. Because Jacques Austerlitz is an architectural historian, long discussions on somewhat random topics like this make sense and allow the reader to find the main character more believable.

The Hare with Amber Eyes also is very particular about the places and spaces found in its pages. Through reading the book, or listening to interviews with the author (like the one included below), one can see just how important it was to Edmund de Waal to spend time in every place that his ancestors had. The author, like Sebald, also believes that architecture can have a psychological effect on inhabitants and passers-by. While exploring the Ringstrasse in Vienna, de Waal shares an unusual observation about his grand imperial surroundings. He writes, "It is so big that a critic argued, when it was built, that it had created an entirely new neurosis, that of agoraphobia" (113). Attributing the creation of the fear of wide open spaces to a street and a collection of buildings is pretty original.

I enjoyed reading both novels because of the different ways that they both incorporate visual elements. The photographs, the subject matter of netsuke and architecture, and the constant descriptions that accompany the characters travels to great cities all emphasize the visual world.

Following this, I hope to read Bruges-la-Mort (1892) by Georges Rodenbach. It is supposed to be one of the first novels that included photographs. If I can manage it, there is a copy in French in the Cleveland Public Library, so I could work on my French while increasing my knowledge of fictional works that incorporate photography.

Some of the netsuke collection

Semi-Artsy Projects at the CSU Law Library

2011-11-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to successfully work three jobs, I have had to somewhat put on blinders for the last few months to get through this feat in one piece. The time I spend creating art has suffered greatly from this schedule. Luckily, I have managed to fit in some artsy projects into the jobs I get paid to do.

Back in August I helped the CSU Law Library set up a smartphone tour of the major reference materials (like Am Jur, ORC, ALR, CJS). For this project, I created small placards to identify these references. Although completing the job only required that I spend a little time playing with fonts, color, and placement, I still enjoyed getting the chance to use a few of my art skills. Read my blog post on the Law Library's website for more information.

One of the Library Tour placards

I also got the opportunity to create a small display for the library for Octavofest, which is a yearly celebration of the book and paper arts that takes place in October. Typically one many not think that there are many law books that are aesthetic enough for this type of a festival, but even the Law Library has some artistic treasures. One of these treasures is The Comic Blackstone written by Gilbert Abbot A Beckett and originally illustrated by George Cruikshank. Please read the short description that follows that I wrote for the display for more information:
___________

The Comic Blackstone (1844), by Gilbert Abbott À Beckett, is a satirical metatext of Sir William Blackstone’s famous work Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769). In addition to being known as the author of The Comic Blackstone, À Beckett is recognized as the most prolific contributor to the magazine Punch. The first edition of The Comic Blackstone was illustrated by George Cruikshank, who is well-known for creating engravings for many of the novels of Charles Dickens. The images included in this display were made by Harry Furniss, who was an illustrator for Punch and The Illustrated London News. After Gilbert Abbott À Beckett’s death, his son, Arthur William À Beckett, edited an additional version of The Comic Blackstone, which is on view in this case.

Despite the amusement one gleans from reading À Beckett’s humorous prose, it must be remembered that without Blackstone’s original text we would not have this entertaining satire. Furthermore, without Blackstone’s Commentaries the history of legal education in England and America would be greatly altered. Blackstone is credited with establishing law as an academic discipline in England partially because of his extremely influential text Commentaries on the Laws of England. In addition to its effect on English legal education, Blackstone’s Commentaries was a touchstone text in American universities. By 1900, almost one hundred editions and abridgments had been produced in North America. Blackstone was also a judge and a university administrator, but none of his other endeavors have matched the widespread prominence of his Commentaries on the Laws of England.
___________

I greatly enjoyed learning about this nineteenth-century text (nothing beats Victorian literature) and perusing the illustrations. Hopefully our patrons also enjoyed the display pictured below.

Although it seems impossible to ever be fully satisfied with one's place in life, I have to say that I am extremely grateful to have my job at CSU's Law Library. Beyond giving me this chance to learn a little more about and nineteenth-century literature and illustrations, the job has also allowed me to continue formally studying art history for free through the university's staff development program. In my mind, there are very few benefits that could be better than free art courses. I hope my job at the Law Library will give me future opportunities to work with art in both the workplace and the classroom.

An illustration by Harry Furniss showing the development of Law through the ages

Bay Arts - Number 2

2011-07-08T13:27:00.001-07:00

Bay Arts First-Timer

2011-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

I finally made the time to go out to Bay Arts for a figure painting session. The organization is found in Bay Village, Ohio, right across from Huntington Beach. Most of the group I painted with worked at American Greetings for awhile, but unfortunately no longer do. They joked a lot about how Bay Arts is the place where artistic professionals "come to die." Although a bit on the cynical side, I think everyone can understand their sentiments in the current economic situation. I'm glad to get to be around such an extremely talented group of people and will be using the sessions to help me keep my art alive. Look for future posts with my paintings and drawings from Bay Arts sessions.

Cowan Pottery in Rocky River, OH

2011-06-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

Not only am I currently employed as a librarian, but I often find myself in libraries outside of work. Right now I have five different library cards in my wallet. The card I most recently acquired is for the Rocky River Public Library. The Rocky River Library is unique in that it doubles as an art museum which showcases the ceramics of Reginald Guy Cowan and other Cleveland artists associated with his pottery company. The museum was established in 1978 when John Brodbeck bestowed over 800 pieces of Cowan pottery to the library. Visiting the museum and seeing some of this collection made me want to learn more about this artist who lived just a few miles east of my current home. Cowan also grew up in Syracuse, NY and went to college at Alfred University, which additionally made me identify with him since I attended school at Syracuse and know Upstate New York well.

As an artist, Cowan's work ranged in style from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco. Aligning with William Morris's call for simplicity in art, Cowan felt that ceramics should rely only upon purity in form and colored glazes for their decorative elements instead of complicated embellishments. Cowan was known for his development of many new glazes such as his Egyptian Blue, Oriental Red, and Clair de Lune. In the beginning of his career, Cowan was recognized for his Italian-style ceramic tiles. Today some of these tiles can still be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art. He also spent years working on ceramics which combined an iridescent glaze with a drip technique which he called "Lakewood Ware" after the town he lived in worked in. Other work that Cowan is especially acknowledged for are his flower and dancing figures.

In addition to his own work, Cowan spent a great deal of his life teaching pupils and developing the professional talents of other artists. One of Cowan's first jobs was to set up Cleveland East Technical School's pottery department. He also was a faculty member at Ohio State University. In addition to his students, some of the most notable artists he worked with professionally include Waylande Gregory and Alexander Blazys.

Cowan's pottery in Rocky River reminded me once again that good art is all around you if you look for it.

Bookend ceramics in the Rocky River Library

For more information go to the Cowan Pottery Museum website.

Japanese Monster Art and the Magical World of Harry Potter

2011-04-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Though not typically brought together in a single thought, Japanese monster art and the frightful and humorous creatures that populate the pages of J.K. Rowling's novels actually have a lot in common. In fact, they may have fallen from the same tree.

In Japan, supernatural creatures variously identified as monsters, spirits, ghosts, demons, phantoms, and specters are all categorized as yōkai. The most famous of yōkai include the Kappa, a frog-like monster associated with water, and the Kitsune, a shape-shifting fox often depicted with multiple tails.

Though these two monsters do not find their way into Rowling's plot, it seems obvious that she must have been familiar with other monsters from Japanese folklore. Everyone that has read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies remembers the giant spider Aragog. It just so happens that a similar gargantuan arachnid, called Tsuchigumo, is a legendary monster in Japan.

Tsuchigumo Zōshi, Kamakura period, 14th century. Tokyo National Museum.

Mary GrandPré - Aragog's Burial

For me, a more striking connection is found between the Japanese bathroom-haunting ghost Toire no Hanako and Rowling's Moaning Myrtle. Both ghosts are young girls dressed in school clothing and neither one is overly dangerous. Most people probably remember Moaning Myrtle's comedic pursuit of Harry Potter in the prefect's bathroom in The Goblet of Fire. Though not something one is excited to encounter, generally it seems that the school girl ghost is harmless. Unlike the spider yōkai mentioned previously, the first recorded appearance of the Toire no Hanako only dates back to the 1950s, so there aren't as historic of images to share. Because most of the images of this ghost today are from horror movies and focus on being extremely frightful and or gruesome, I have decided not to include an image of the ghost on this post, but feel free to google for some.

Moaning Myrtle and Harry in The Goblet of Fire

Whether or not J.K. Rowling got her ideas from Japanese art and folklore, it is interesting and almost comforting to see that very different cultures can hold similar beliefs. In both Japan and England, it seems that the claustrophobia of being in a bathroom stall has triggered each culture to make up a story accounting for the feeling of unease one might have when alone in the W.C.

Cincinnati Museum

2011-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

My family visiting the Museum around Halloween years ago when we were all young

Art Always Makes A Good Christmas Present

2010-12-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

This year having an artistic background helped me with a couple of my Christmas presents. My new twin nieces, Lydia and Awen Robinson, are celebrating their first Christmas tomorrow morning. For their gift I got them a treasury of Jan Brett's Christmas stories and made them a bookplate using Illustrator. The Mitten has always been my favorite Christmas-time story and I wanted to share it with the two girls even though they won't be able to read it themselves or even hold the book without ripping the pages for years to come. The twins are the newest edition to my sister's family. This will be the first time Laura, my oldest sister and the twins' mother, won't be home for Christmas.

I also used three of the several thousand pictures I took during my year abroad to make some wall art for my second oldest sister who just moved into a new apartment. The pictures include a gated home and a shop front in Strasbourg, France, and the Rye cemetery in England. Hopefully everyone enjoys their presents. Have a very merry Christmas!

The Mazza Museum - Findlay, Ohio

2010-11-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

For the last two months it seems like what I identify as my home address is constantly changing. One week when I get my hopes up that I'll get a job in southern Ohio my address on resumés suddenly switches from my current residence in Westlake, OH (near Cleveland) to my hometown of Piqua, OH. And the next week when I realize my chances of making my life work out in a city like Cleveland are much more likely than those in my tiny hometown the swap occurs again. This swapping has not only been mental, but has also involved quite a few trips up and down I-75 for interviews and to see my family. Truth be told, I'm not certain that either city is where I'll end up, but they're all I have for now.

I recently decided to liven up one of these jaunts down I-75 with a short stop along the way in Findlay to see a museum and visit a friend. Often I assume that opportunities for culture and art in Ohio only exist in the three big cities that all begin with the letter "C" (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland), but I discovered during this short stop that many of the smaller cities have a lot to offer as well. The Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books in Findlay, Ohio proved this to me. The museum itself is only a single room with three different viewing areas and a small seating area for class groups, but the walls are filled with art and information. For each piece of artwork on the wall there is an accompanying binder on the artist and his or her life and works. Often the picture book the work is taken from is also included on the ledge beneath the piece. The museum was founded in 1982. Some of the first pieces to be acquired by the museum were by Jack Ezra Keats (an illustration from Apt. 3) and Steven Kellogg. Today the museum houses artwork from the 19th century to present day, including artists like Randolph Caldecott and Walter Crane. In fact, the museum holds so many pieces that it is constantly changing which pieces are on view to the public. I am looking forward to stopping in again at the museum to see a whole different set of illustrations the next time I visit. To visit the museum website click here. (Though the museum has a website, it provides very little information. I think this could be part of the reason very few people even know that it exists).

Directly below are some pictures of pieces I saw while visiting the museum.

Walter Crane

Kay Nielsen

Jessie Wilcox Smith

Steven Kellogg - Mike Fink

Lynne Cherry - The Great Kapok Tree

Sheilah Beckett

Of these images, my favorite is the one by Sheilah Beckett. Although I would like to say otherwise, I actually was not aware of her art or her name before seeing the piece above in the Mazza Museum. I love the way she has designed out her artwork with shapes and color. Beckett is known for illustrating Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and many more. Though not found in the museum, I especially like one of her illustrations from The Twelve Dancing Princesses (1954) included below.

Clare Beaton is another artist whose work I first found in the museum. She is a British artist that sews all of her creations from fabric. Her website is http://www.clarebeaton.com/index.html.

Finally another artist whose work I really enjoyed was David Wisniewski. His books reminded me a lot of Ivan Bilibin's illustrations of Russian fairy tales. Wisniewski has won a Caldecott medal in 1997 for his book Golem. He also wrote and illustrated Elfwyn's Saga, Rain Player, Wave of the Sea Wolf, and Sundiata: Lion King of Mali. He led a very interesting life that included making his living as a clown for the Ringling Brothers for two seasons. He unfortunately died in 2002.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater: A Fall Journey

2010-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to visit Fallingwater, which is located in southwest Pennsylvania nestled between Bear Run and Ohiopyle State Park. Even my drive on the narrow Sugarloaf Rd. to get there was enjoyable because of the fall foliage I encountered on the way.

This post will basically be a summary of my tour. One of the themes that kept being stressed by my tour guide was the way in which some of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings, especially Fallingwater, reflect the structure and materials of shipbuilding. Black Walnut, Wright's signature wood that is used throughout Fallingwater, is also a material that is often used to build ships because of its ability to resist water damage. Fallingwater is built over a natural waterfall, so in addition to the aesthetic properties of the wood, Wright also chose it for practical reasons. Another ship reference is apparent from Wright's decision to name a certain staircase leading down to the water "the hatch." The staircase is typically covered by glass, but this transparent covering can be removed so that one can more immediately experience the natural surroundings. Finally, the bedrooms were quite compact like the cabins one might find on a ship. The low ceilings of these rooms continued this connection and also worked to push the viewer's eye outside.

Although I have mentioned Black Walnut as one of the building materials, the majority of the building is made out of reinforced concrete. He used a cantilever design to balance the structure. Amazingly, the home has practically the same amount of outdoor space as indoor rooms. All of the balconies designed by Wright make this 50/50 divide possible. Using reinforced concrete in such a wet environment was not a very practical decision. For example, in order to make the concrete overhang which attaches the main house to the upper guest house, the entire piece had to be made as a single piece. Only one concrete pour was used for this structure so that there would be no separations where water could weaken the overhang.

Other features of the house that I really enjoyed were simply its contents and its openness. Throughout the home there were Tiffany lamps and lots of artwork.

The home itself was inhabited by the Kauffman family. Fallingwater was built in 1935 by Wright after a ten-year period in which he had not had a significant architectural project. Edgar Kauffman, the son of Edgar Kauffman Sr., studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright and was responsible for eventually entrusting the home to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Edgar Kauffman Jr. was a lifelong bachelor who pursued his interest in architecture by acting as a professor of architectural history at Columbia. He lived in the very top rooms of Fallingwater, which are almost separated from the rest of the home like a tree house. In order to reach his apartments you have to take an external staircase. Most of the three small interconnected rooms that he called his home where filled with bookcases. He even added an additional bookcase which covered one of Wright's windows. His bed was situated so that the rising sun from the east would wake Kauffman early each morning. There were no drapes or curtains in the entire home. Finally, Kauffman even had a reading board installed on an adjustable pole directly next to his bed. All of these features of Kauffman's apartments made him an extremely interesting individual to me and someone who I would like to learn more about.

Art Nouveau Architecture in Paris and Strasbourg

2010-08-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

One of my life goals has always been to see the Tour de France in person. Last month I took advantage of my current residence abroad and made this goal a reality. Unfortunately this was not Lance's year, but I am so glad he decided to come back to the Tour for one more try. Of course, when not battling the crowds for a good spot to watch the cyclists, I also took the opportunity to visit a couple architectural highlights of Paris and Strasbourg. Below are some of the pictures I took of the sights I visited. I had also hoped to visit a recreation of Alphonse Mucha's Fouquet Jewellery Shop (1901) in Musée Carnavalet in Paris near the Bastille, but the room was unfortunately closed for the day. If I do ever get a chance to go back to Paris, I will make a trip back to the museum to see it. My trip ended with a visit to Luxembourg to see the hometown of my friend Paule Kremer. Enjoy the pictures.

29 Avenue Rapp, Paris, 1901, by Lavirotte

If you think that you can pick out the shape of a phallis in the door, you would be correct. Danee Gilmartin's blog "Museum Chick" also has some more interesting musings on this building and others created by Lavirotte in Paris

185 rue Belliard

Below are the buildings I visited on an early morning walk in Strasbourg. While everyone else was heading into Petite France, Paule and I walked out of town to see these great buildings. In Strasbourg German and Austrian style buildings with wooden beams were often paired with typical art nouveau accents, like intricately designed iron gates. No one seems to be able to truly place Strasbourg because of all the different influences present in the city. I actually found one of the buildings below listed in a Wikipedia entry on German architecture, but the building is most definitely in France. This gives us all another reason not to trust Wikipedia. Out of all the buildings, 22 rue Sledian was by far my favorite to visit.

22 rue Sleidan, 1904-5 by Brion

Villa Schutzenberger, 1897-1900, by Berninger & Krafft, 76 allée de la Robertsau

10 rue Schiller, 1903-5, by Berninger and Krafft

It just so happened that my friend Paule was taking a night drawing class during my stay in Luxembourg City so she took me along. Below is one of the drawings/watercolors I made for the class. Three hours seemed like quite a long time, yet just a little over a year ago I was spending four and half hours in a studio class three times a week.

For more information on Art Nouveau buildings in Strasbourg, Paris, and many more cities visit the Art Nouveau World Wide website created by Frank Derville. The website has information on Art Nouveau sights throughout the globe and has been a great resource to me this year. There are very few trips I have taken without using it.

Day Out in London: The New Sculpture Movement

2010-07-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day exploring some London sights related to art history of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. First I visited the Leighton House Museum, the home of Lord Frederick Leighton (1830-1896), who was an important painter and sculptor in the second half of the nineteenth century. Leighton is associated with both the Aesthetic and the New Sculpture movements. Leighton's Athlete Wrestling with a Python (1877) is noted as the first work in the New Sculpture style, which was recognized by its "concern for detailed modelling [sic] of flesh" (Read 315). Also inside the home is Alfred Gilbert's Icarus (1884), which Leighton commissioned himself. Gilbert is known for his sculpture of Anteros on the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus. The highlight of the home is the Arab Hall. It even has decorated tiles with text from the Qur'an. Other highlights include Leighton's art gallery and his stuffed peacock (did I say Aestheticism!). Leighton's Flaming June (1895) is one of the many paintings in the home. The museum just recently opened this summer after a long period of renovation. It was definitely well worth the £1 entry fee I had to pay as a student. The museum website can be found here.

Flaming June

Another sight I saw related to the New Sculpture movement was the Selfridge & Co. department store. The most noticeable feature of this store is the sculpture, The Queen of Time (1928), above the entryway by Gilbert Bayes. Included below are some pictures I took of the sculpture and other decorative elements of the store.

For more information on New Sculpture:
Edwards, Jason. Alfred Gilbert's Aestheticism: Gilbert Amongst Whistler, Wilde, Leighton, Pater and Burne-Jones. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2006.
Getsy, David. Body Doubles: Sculpture in Britain, 1877-1905. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004.
Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.

Sketching in Brighton: Lunchbreak

2010-07-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've been volunteering once a week at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery since May. One of the added benefits of volunteering there is getting to have my lunch break at the Royal Pavilion. I thought I should include a watercolor I did during my break today. It's not that precise, but I enjoyed making it.

StoryWorld Cards

2010-07-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

While in the gift shop at the Folklore center in Edinburgh, I found a box series of cards called StoryWorld. The product was created by John and Caitlin Matthews and is produced by Templar Publishing. The purpose of the cards is to help children create their own stories through the use of the cards which depict typical themes, characters, and objects from tales like the Toy-Catcher, the Magic Compass, the Dancing Doll, and many more. The arch included in the layout of the cards appealed to me and generally I enjoyed the work of all the different illustrators included on them. The image above shows the cards created by Paul Hess. Creating works following this sort of idea would be a good personal project for me. Please visit the StoryWorld website for more information on the series, artists, and creators.

Art and Design in Glasgow and Edinburgh

2010-07-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

Now that my year abroad is coming to a close, I finally made the trip out to Glasgow to see the works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald, and Jessie Marion King. I also learned quite a few new names to add to my list of artists I admire through my travels in Scotland. While in Glasgow, I especially focused on seeing locations related to Mackintosh, such as the Willow Tea Rooms on Sauciehall Street as can be seen from the picture above I took during my visit.

One of the few sights that allowed me to photograph Mackintosh's interior design was the House for an Art Lover, which is southwest of the city centre in Bellahouston park. The house was originally designed by Mackintosh in 1901 for a competition set up by a German magazine, but it was not until 1989 that Hermann Muthesius took it upon himself to make these plans into a physical edifice. I was struck by the extreme contrast between the moods of different rooms. The Main Hall and Dining Room were characterized by dark shades of brown and purple while the Music Room was a space a dazzling whiteness. Mackintosh has used this contrast effect in other buildings. He often makes the entry of a building dark and then makes a subsequent room light and airy. One feature of the design that I found innovative were the various lighting fixtures Mackintosh used. Although every detail of the building is not perfectly consistent with Mackintosh's vision because there were discrepancies in his plans, I felt that the building was beautiful and authentic.
House for an Art Lover website

Facade

Lighting in the Music Room

The Music Room

One new artist I discovered was Phoebe Anna Traquair. What my initial impression was upon being introduced to her manuscript work was that her style seemed quite similar to William Blake's. She was born in Dublin and was inspired by the Book of Kells to illuminate manuscripts. After marrying Dr Ramsay Heatley Traquair, she moved with him to Edinburgh and has now become known as "the first important professional woman artist of modern Scotland." She went on to illuminate manuscripts by William Morris, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and others. Yet she did not confine herself to solely illuminating texts, but also worked with enamel, textiles, and jewelery and was a book designer. She was a critical figure to the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement. For more information on the artist, visit the National Library of Scotland page on her found here.

"The Victory." Panel 4 of "The Progress of a Soul" (1893-1901). Silk, gold and silver thread embroidery on linen. The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.

"The Progress of a Soul" is a series of four tapestries created by Traquair over the course of eight years that currently finds its home in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. She created a number of tapestry series including the "The Salvation of Mankind" and "The Red Cross Knight." "The Progress of the Soul" is her most famous and was originally conceived as a retelling of Walter Pater's "Denys l'Auxerrois" in Imaginary Portraits, but the tapestries themselves actually very loosely refer to the story. Denys is a newcomer to Auxerre who initially brings renewal to all. Eventually this golden age ceases and people begin to blame Denys for the bad fortune that starts to encompass the town. Denys goes off into seclusion with monks and there discovers he yearns to make music. He successfully builds an organ to fulfill this interest and then goes back to the town, but is unfortunately not welcomed with open arms. The story ends with his fellow citizens tearing Denys limb from limb.

The tapestries in the series display some of this pain and suffering as is apparent from the titles of the middle two pieces, "The Stress" and "Despair." In "Despair," Denys is even given a wound in his side and in this way represents Christ.

The tapestry I both enjoyed the most and had the most difficulty interpreting was "The Victory," the final piece in the series. If viewed in seclusion from the other pieces, the sex of the person being embraced is somewhat difficult to decipher. Although one's initial instinct would be to assume that the figure is female, Traquair is actually depicting a same sex embrace with Denys being taken up to heaven by an angel. Also difficult to decipher is what the figure of Denys is standing upon. Elizabeth Cumming, one of the best known critics of Traquair, writes that this is the jaws of hell symbolized through the mouth of a reptile. Prominent in this piece and many other of Traquair's works is the symbol of the rainbow. Here it is meant to represent the link between heaven and earth.

For more information on Traquair I would highly suggest reading some of the works of Elizabeth Cumming. Some I have greatly enjoyed include:
1. Hand, Heart, and Soul: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Scotland. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 2006.
2."Life's Rich Tapestry: Phoebe Anna Traquair's 'The Progress of a Soul." Review of Scottish Culture 19 (2007): 63-76.
3. Phoebe Anna Traquair: 1852-1936. Edinburgh: National Gallery of Scotland, 2005.

"The Salvation of Mankind." Panel 3. Silk and gold thread on linen, 1885-93. City art Centre, Edinburgh.

Norman Wilkinson and 20th century railway posters

2010-07-13T06:01:00.001-07:00

While visiting York I went to the National Railway Museum (NRM) and discovered the artist Norman Wilkinson. He was a British artist that lived from 1878 - 1971. Wilkinson is known for his marine paintings and his railway posters for LMS (London, Midland and Scottish Railway).
To see more of his railway posters click here.
A website on his life and works is currently in progress and can be found here

2010-06-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is a quick sheet I made combining some of the photographs I took in Brussels this fall. Some of the most notable architects involved with the Art Nouveau movement in Brussels include Victor Horta, Paul Hankar, Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse, Gustave Strauven, Ernest Blerot, Antoine Pompe, and Henri Jacobs. If you are interested in learning more, check out the websites below.
Art Nouveau in Brussels
Victor Horta Museum

London Marathon

2010-05-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

So this isn't art related, but I wanted to share that I completed the London Marathon on April 25th, 2010 in a 3:23:29, which is a five minute and fifteen second personal record. I was 334th out of 12,100 women. It was also my first time running for charity. I raised £755 for the mental health charity Mind and ran in memory of my close friend John Morse. For more pictures of the event visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2372200&id=5515482&l=a5dbc8c752

Photography in France

2010-04-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

In the port town of Saint-Malo

Window at Mont Saint-Michel

all images © 2010 Meredith Hale

Jan Brett: Children's Illustrator and Runner

2010-04-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

In my monthly perusal of my Runner's World magazine I made the delightful discovery that in addition to being an amazing children's book author and illustrator, Jan Brett is also a runner! She runs the Boston marathon each year. It makes me respect the author of my favorite children's classic The Mitten even more.
Read the article here.

Old Paintings that I Love

2010-04-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

Since neither of these paintings are on my website because they don't match my style or my usual subject matter I wanted to post them on my blog. The top illustration is intended as a cover for Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle.

all images © 2009 Meredith Hale

Figure Drawing Club at Sussex

2010-01-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

Some fifteen minute sketches from my weekly figure drawing sessions.

Art Museum Treasures

2009-12-12T09:22:00.001-08:00

Being abroad gives me the opportunity to travel and see artwork that I might not find in typical history books. The piece above is titled "Alleluia" and was painted by Thomas Cooper Gotch (1854–1931). It's in the Tate Britain with all of my favorite Pre-Raphaelite artists. Part of the reason that this piece struck me so much was that, unlike the vast majority of the paintings in the Tate, I'd never seen a reproduction of it before.

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860-1933), Die Seelen des Acheron

Vlastimil Hofman, Madonna

The two paintings above are from the Belvedere Museum in Vienna. Both of the pieces are very large and I truly had an emotional response to them. Again, they are by artists that were previously unknown to me.

Photography in the United Kingdom

2009-11-17T16:56:00.001-08:00

Adobe Illustrator

2009-11-17T16:50:00.001-08:00

Ruben Toledo and Classic Book Covers

2009-08-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ruben Toledo Gives Bronte and Austen Fashion Makeovers

While browsing through books at a Borders with my twin sister I found three classic books with covers completely transformed by the artwork of Ruben Toledo, a well-known fashion illustrator and artist. His covers aren't really a direction I want to go in, but it makes me wonder if this is a new direction for classic book covers in general. Dame Darcy also recently illustrated Jane Eyre in a somewhat similar style.

Charley Harper

2009-08-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Art of Charley Harper

I found this artist while visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. He is especially known for his artwork of birds. In High School I was a member of the Science Olympiad team and went to the State competition for an event focused on bird identification. Because of that experience I have always had an interest in ornithology.

Tord Boontje

2009-08-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

www.tordboontje.com

While at the Indianapolis Museum of Art I came across the work of Tord Boontje. His use of design and pattern, especially under his Tableware, Products, and Textile sections, is beautiful.

The Gateway to the Soul

2009-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

I made this movie freshman year of college and looking over it now I can definitely tell that I made it a while ago, but I still feel like it brings up an important topic, one that I have especially been thinking about lately, so I'd like to share it. It questions the connection between a person's actions and a person's true self. Although I too love the Batman quote, "It's not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me," I feel that this quote is limited. People do things all the time that contradict their very personhood. Having just lost my very best friend to suicide, I have become overly aware of this contradiction. I feel that my attempts to piece together what our friendship was by writing down on paper the things we did together is simply incapable of capturing who we were to each other. I also think his final action to take his life does not relate in any way to the extremely intelligent and caring friend I knew. We love other human beings not because of what they do, but because of who we know them to be within.

In contrast to the other art I make, this is all about the subject matter and less about the actual visual image. I really enjoyed writing the script. Please enjoy it for what it is.

Note: The music that plays throughout the movie is the inversion of the piano music that my sister plays towards the end of the movie. This is yet another one of my attempts to emphasize the erasure of our physical actions. What is interesting in this example is that the inversion of the music does not leave the listener with nothingness, but instead reveals an entirely new song.

I Eat, I Sleep, I Run

2009-04-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Photography in Florence

2009-04-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Italy was filled with beautiful doors, but this one above has to be one of my favorites. I thought the birds were quite appropriate since the house was in Assisi.

San Miniato

I found this wall in the Assisi train station. I think everyone there thought I was crazy for taking pictures of a wall, but I really thought that the transitions from black to white were interesting.

This was taken from the top of the Campanille in Florence. The building with the blue dome in the background is the synagogue. I found this picture interesting just because of the juxtaposition in size of the two buildings of worship. The Duomo dominates while the synagogue in the background is so small - of course I love the complimentary colors as well.

The above picture was taken in the graveyard of San Miniato which is just past Piazza Michelangelo. The cemetery was one of my favorite places in all of Florence. This is just another example of how art is not only found in museums.

Santa Croce

Nothing is photoshopped in this.