As in nature

OK--I confess I wasn't sure about going to see the two Helen Frankenthaler's exhibits at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. Sure I knew her work and had seen a number of her paintings scattered here and there throughout different museums but it always struck me as just a part of a larger movement of art from the last half of the 20th century. How ignorant that sounds, doesn't it?

Still it was a major show and only an hour away. The Boston Globe was calling her work "fearless". Didn't I owe it to myself to see it and try to learn more? When else would I get such a wonderful opportunity? It was a rainy Tuesday what could be better? So my DH and I went on an adventure. After all my studio in Shelburne Falls is only about an hour from The Clark.

The woodcuts in the first exhibit No Rules were amazing. So many different colors. So complex and yet so cohesive. Such large works. Sure, I didn't understand all of them. Did I really get the snow on the pines in the woodcut by the same name? No. But the large and I mean large blue woodcut with so many colors and the trees--I could have lingered for hours. Still it didn't hit me I should take pictures to study and absorb. There are quilts waiting to be made after I digest the magnificence of these works.

Then it was on the paintings in the other building. As in Nature. And all I can say is WOW!!!

As in Nature--the paintings of Helen Frankenthaler at the Clark 2017

These works were huge and powerful. Beautifully displayed and so much going on. It was hard to absorb them all. There was Tethys with its darker spaces. Almost a story there. When I glanced at the explanation I could see it was based on a mythical story which I didn't absorb but just looked at those complex colors and strange shapes almost going into another space.

Tethys by Helen Frankenthaler

The more intimate Birth of the Blues.

Birth of the Blues--Helen Frankenthaler

The expanse of Off White Square. So big and majestic and powerful. It took up its own wall.

Off White Square--Helen Frankenthaler

I lingered at Scorpio. One of those works that demanded study and being. Such amazing colors. So many wonderful shapes.

Scorpio--Helen Frankenthaler

Just look at the wonderful details in this painting.

Detail--Scorpio--Helen Frankenthaler

What is not to love about these colors and shapes. The motion that echoes throughout.

Detail--Scorpio--Helen Frankenthaler

And the story  that wants to be told. Don't you love how it is all connected in its own way?

Detail--Scorpio--Helen Frankenthaler

Oh there is so much here. I want to go back again and again while the show is still here until I learn all that I can. Then maybe they will become part of my language.  Have you seen it yet? What did you think? The woodcut show No Rules runs until September 24 and the painting show As in Nature goes until October 9. For more information on the Clark Art Museum http://www.clarkart.edu/museum/overview

time for new postcards--day 23

Sooner than I can imagine, it will be time for the Berkshire Craft Show in Great Barrington, MA August 11-13. Yikes. This summer is speeding by although it is still only mid June.  Luckily I love doing this show. Small. Great work.  Easy to do. And the best volunteers around.

I figure if I am doing a show, I might as well work to promote myself at this show. Sure I will mention it on the various social media sites--my viewers may even get a wee bit tired of hearing about it. And for those in the area, I will send out a postcard as time draws near. Often this is still the best way of reminding my customers to plan on coming and checking out my new quilts. Or if they can't come that day, they can still go on line and see what I have that they might want. Just saying.

After all, I do have to market my work to stay in business. So I chose a quilt that I still own, added information about the show and its web site http://www.berkshirecraftsfair.org and ordered the cards. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will print my mailing list and send the cards off at the end of July. Always something isn't it?

autumn sunset--quilt--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

don't stop thinking about tomorrow--day 3

Yesterday I got to accept the shows I will do for the rest of the year. And what great shows they will be. Sure--I didn't get into everything I wanted.  Rejection hurts but it happens. I knew it might so I applied to several shows that I also wanted to do. They can reject me but they can't keep me down. Always have Plan B. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.

For those who wonder how I choose, I try for a mix of some shows that I have done before where the audience anticipates that I will be there, some "new" shows or at least shows which I haven't done for a long time but where I do have an audience and shows where I can expand my market by introducing my quilts to people who may not have seen them before.  Of course I consider where the shows are, the ease of doing them, the mix of artists.

My first show will be the Berkshire Craft Show at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington August 11-13. This is the sweetest show that has been going on for 44 years run by  teachers for the benefit of students. Sure the booths are small and spread out but there are some wonderful craft artists who participate and a dedicated following of locals and people who are in The Berkshires to go to Tanglewood and all the other wonderful cultural activities. I have done it for a number of years since it so easy and friendly and I get to sleep at home !!! Check out their web site--you will be amazed at the quality of the work in this show. http://berkshirecraftsfair.org/

Later I will tell you about the other shows and even get them posted on my web site.

For now though it is time to close with an image of my quilt--one fine day.

one fine day--quilt--ann brauer 2017

road trip--encampment

A hot hazy day in western Massachusetts. Thunderstorms in the forecast. Summer in the Berkshires. Tuesday. My free day.

The previous days I had had several great conversations. What inspires you? How do you get ideas? What do you look at from the corner of your being--not to copy but to observe and learn. These conversations with other artists at the Berkshire Craft Show are part of what makes doing shows so inspiring for me. The conversations had continued at the studio--a young artist who is trying to create her own style of art quilts. A phone interview I had for a feature article (more on that at a later date.) The writer had studied my quilts and asked probing questions.

Time for a road trip to MASS MoCA in North Adams. Now MASS MoCA is a true national treasure. So much art in a reused industrial complex. There is always something new and exciting to see. I go there as often as I can--frequently in winter. But there were new exhibits. Buildings that are not open then. Enough to see that we could wander and gaze until we had had enough.

I loved the photographs of Clifford Ross and especially digital video where he deconstructed the images into colors that danced through space in ways that a quilt maker could only dream about. The blue color washes of Liz Deschenes intrigued me in their simple complexity. Jim Shaw's cartoonish renditions of contemporary American politics were interesting but did not grab me.

So I was not sure what to expect when I entered Francesco Clemente's Encampment exhibit. At first you just see six colorful tents camped out in the large room that you can walk through. I started quickly just scanning the paintings done in collaboration with craftspeople of Rajastan, Do you see all the sketches on the surface. This could be studied for a long time.

Then I started looking more closely at the designs--such wonderful graphics, so many great colors--and I got caught up in seeing more and more possibilities and wonder within the tents.

Wouldn't those be great designs for my new circle quilts. Well not just like that but as a sketch--a starting point?

Don't you just love the colors?

And consider the possibilities here. Yes, this is all painted on canvas with the depth only from the perspective used.

And another wonderful design. What fun that would be to sketch out. Maybe it could be used for another project I am working on. Hmmm.

And even more of a challenge. Great concept though isn't it?

And of course there is this amazing beehive design. All I can say is wow.

And of course the wonderful use of greys and dark browns here. So archetypal. Not a "design" that I would use but so powerful in its own right.

Well I could go one. So many more wonderful paintings up stairs. Such great colors. And I still haven't shown you all of MASS MoCA. Maybe I need to go back myself and study these more. I want to.

Have you seen this show? Are you planning a road trip? What inspires you? How do you look at things differently? The website for the Museum is www.massmoca.org And don't forget--my studio in Shelburne Falls is about 20 miles away--just saying.