"The Only Rule is Work " - Corita

One of my all time favorite artists, Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986) made up this list of rules for the art college in which she worked. No. 7 is the best rule ever... it's my mantra!

'Admired by Charles and Ray Eames, Buckminster Fuller and Saul Bass, Sister Corita was one of the most innovative and unusual pop artists of the 1960s, battling the political and religious establishments, revolutionizing graphic design and encouraging the creativity of thousands of people - all while living and practicing as a Catholic nun in California.

Mixing advertising slogans and poetry in her prints and commandeering nuns and students to help make ambitions installations, processions and banners, Sister Corita's work is now recognized as some of the most striking - and joyful- American art of the 60s. But, at the end of the decade and at the height of her fame and prodigious work rate, she let the convent where she had spent her adult life. ' - (Julie Ault.)

**From the book, Come Alive! The Spirited Art of Sister Corita by Julie Ault. Published by Four Corners Books, 2006.

Paulus Berenson

This is a different kind of post... but it's what I love about writing this blog - discovering new artists and learning more about them) I've been drawn to the artwork on the cover of Red Bird by Mary Oliver ever since I bought the book last summer on a visit to Portland, OR. So, I thought I'd do a post on the artist but came up with only nebulous information about him. No bio could be found on the web... just a book he wrote in 1997, Finding One's Way with Clay: Creating Pinched Pottery and working with Colored Clays. (available at amazon if you're interested)

I think this looks like a woven or quilted piece... but it could also be a 2-D relief clay sculpture. What do you think? Anyone who knows more about Mr. Berenson... please feel free to leave a comment. I'm very curious now!

Bob Dylan Drawings

Brussels 2007

House of Union Street, 2007

Tabletop

View from 2 Windows, 2007

"Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest purpose of art is to inspire. What else can you do? What else can you do for anyone but to inspire them?" -Bob Dylan

I just love the view points and perspectives Bob Dylan chooses when drawing interior and exterior scenes. It figures he would be good at art too! Some people have so many gifts!

Tasha Tudor

Tonight, there is a full moon and our yard looks something like this... minus the rustic, log fence!

This is by no means a culmination of Tasha Tudor's work. However, for now I'd like to bring you a few winter-y scenes from one of her many books.* A favorite theme of mine is the way she captures the dogs and cats in her illustrations. She had several Welsh Corgis and cats - many are found in most of her books. I find her life and way of living so interesting and inspiring. She died just last year. Learn more about her life and art here.

*From The Night Before Christmas by C.C. Moore and Tasha Tudor - Little, Brown.

Joseph Cornell

Untitled, c 1950. Mixed media in a wooden box. h15 x 10 1/2 in. Private Collection

This container acts as a metaphor for the whole world, inhabited by these strange items. It is also a treasury of curiosities that is compelling to explore and evokes a mood of nostalgia.
The fragments of once ornamental or beautiful objects come together in a magical and dream-like way. This is Cornell's genius, and why he has proved so popular over the years. The randomness of these 'assemblages', as they are known, reflects Cornell's interest in the irrationality of Surrealism. Nevertheless, a sense of order and precision pervades pieces such as this. Of his own work Cornell once said, 'Shadow boxes become poetic theatres or settings wherein are metamorphosed the elements of a childhood pass time.' (Butler, Van Cleave, Stirling)

Joseph Cornell is one of my favorite artists - he never disappoints. I love the randomness of some of the items he chooses and how they take on meanings when paired with other items. His work suggests old objects and possessions have their own history as well as being connected to the viewer's memory. In that way, the viewer can 'make a piece their own' . His work is genius and groundbreaking in the course of art history - in my humble opinion!

p.s. sorry the quality of the photograph is not great... it's tough to get a good image once the sun goes down.