"it comes through me"

Recently I attended a business meeting at the Three Sisters Sanctuary in Goshen, MA. One of those places I have driven by for many many years. Always meaning to stop but it is so close. So convenient. I never made the effort. Still I was curious. Finally I had the perfect excuse.

The place was even more fantastic and imaginative than I thought. So many great spaces with dragons and butterflies,

butterfly--Three Sisters Sanctuary--Ann Brauer

ladies waiting,

lady--Three Sisters Sanctuary--Ann Brauer

 dancing children

Dancing girl--Three Sisters Sanctuary--Ann Brauer

And the rocks.  So hard to capture on camera but they were the stars. Set around spaces for meditation and celebration. I wanted to just wander quietly and revisit them one at a time. Run my hands over them. Pause and commune with them. Then examine all the wonderful mementos that had been left by others. Absorb the space.

Memento--Three Sisters Sanctuary--Ann Brauer

It became even more special when the creator of this space explained his vision. How it kept growing. Each new addition flowing out of him. The rocks that positioned themselves just right to create the perfect feeling. One place where he said he could feel the push pull of two rocks interacting with each other.  The stories. Even the sorrow that inspired the initial vision and that grew as others added their stories and their sorrows and joy to the whole.

Isn't that in part what art is? Something that comes from beyond ourselves and can communicate to others. That taps into the universal and lets us all get a bit of a glimpse of the larger story that is beyond words.

And now that I have stopped by once, I know I must return and absorb it in my own way and with my own vision. Have you been to the Three Sisters Sanctuary? Do you have a space like this near you? Have you stopped and learned some of its mysteries and voices? Does the art come through you?  For more info on Three Sisters:threesisterssanctuary.com

Forest person--Three Sisters Sanctuary--Ann Brauer

Chords--sometimes you get what you need, not...

Well, you must know the words to that song--probably better than I do--but I do know that it often happens to me. Take this morning for instance. I arrived at the CraftBoston show with half an hour to spare--not because I wanted to be early but because I had to take three separate subways to get there and I wasn't sure how long the ride would be.

Now I could have gone inside and looked at more of the art--there is so much more I want to study and think about. I could have re-arranged my quilts.  But it was a sunny morning and I hadn't been down to the waterfront in Boston for several years so I went for a walk. Planes taking off from Logan. The smell of salt water. A few trawlers, the Fish Pier was still there. Lots of new construction. Then the cutest little park.

PUBLIC WELCOME TO EASTPORT PARK it beckoned.

Well, I was public and if they wanted to welcome me that was fine. I love sculpture gardens. Abstract sculpture in stone and metal--count me in and this one is just fabulous. It is called Chords designed by David Phillips a Boston area based sculptor in 2000. Thinking about high school math I remember that chords are angles relating to circles and spheres. It is also a term of measurement in astronomy. And of course chords are harmonious musical notes. What a great concept.

And that is exactly what this park is exploring. Different relationships between spheres and lines. Space and being. Perfect and the natural.

Now I love round spheres of stone--is it because they transcend the nature of stone and show a perfection I want to touch? Is it their simplicity or the constant variation in the light and shadow? The delicacy of their balance or its very precariousness?

I am always awe struck. Then there is the power of a sphere  bisected by metal.  Two such different materials. Such force and contrast. Raw and strong.

In this park the concept continues in so many ways. Circles and patterns of circles on the ground. Different textures. But there--reiterating the designs.

Then there are the complex sculptures. Rocks left after the sphere has been removed. Again bisected by metal.

Spheres that come out of rocks. Spheres bisected by discs of metal--some torn. So many riffs on the sphere and angle. Little spheres. Spheres on discs. Spaces as spheres.  Hidden areas to examine--all relating to the sphere. The circle. The universe.

The stories being told. The questions asked.  So complex in such a small space. So many different aspects of the chord that it really does become a chord. Oh how I want to push my quilts to do just that. I am enchanted with this idea and want to see it again and again in different light and different angles. I even reflect on the squirrels nest high in the tree--and see that too is a sphere.

I take a lot of pictures. Can't show them all. I am not sure I even want to discover them all--at least not just yet. But I love thinking about it during the quieter moments of the show. Even sketch a couple of quilts.

What a way to start the day. And you--have you seen this park in Boston? Are there other parks like this that you know? Have you ever gotten inspired to push an idea further and further?

a great discovery--Saint Gaudens

Recently my DH and I found the most wonderful hidden place to visit. Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, NH just a couple of hours north of Shelburne Falls. I had heard of the name of Auguste Saint-Gaudens but really didn't know much about him or his work--have you? However, we decided that since it only cost $5 each to get in, it would be fun to explore.

What a treasure. The site was his summer home for a number of years. Set overlooking the Connecticut River with a wonderful of Mt Ascutney. There are a number of different studios, stables and outdoor installations including a marvelous meadow that goes on forever.

First we saw his sculpture of Admiral David Farragut. As luck would have it my DH is related to Farragut's family--don't ask me to explain. I can't. I do know he built a house in Ashfield--although he died before he ever lived there.  A simple sculpture.

Then I started looking more carefully. Isn't this fish along the base just wonderful. So much texture.

OK--I was hooked. I had lived in Boston for a number of years and of course remember the Shaw Memorial of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment--the first African American regiment during Civil War. Have you seen this it?

I started looking at this piece more carefully. Look at the wonderful rolled blankets of the soldiers--such texture--simple but also complex.

And the feet--each one realistic but also artistic. I love all these designs.

And here is the mass of faces and the swords. So alive and full of motion.

It also turns out he sculpted Lincoln Standing. Lincoln Sitting. These are statutes that we all know. Look at the folds in the fabric. I love the expression of his face--complex, thoughtful.

I started noticing his use of texture and fabric. This simple shawl with the fringe.

 The robes in this garment.

And finally this is the last piece he did--it was of his wife. He was trying an impressionistic style. Interesting. So much to see--so much to look at that I would not have thought would interest me until I was there. . We had a wonderful time. Have you ever been? The gardens are also magnificent. And there is a special exhibit that was amazing--but that will be for another day.