2010 AUGUST BLOG

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A CLOSER LOOK
Here are three images randomly selected from my current exhibition at Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria's Gatehouse Gallery.
My exhibition closes August 23rd. If you have not been by 3809 West 35th Street in Austin, I hope you will go. Gallery Hours are limited to Monday through Friday from 11:00 to 3:00. You can view the show while enjoying a sandwich and a salad available in the cafe. It has been so satisfying for me to see the entire series of paintings together on the gallery walls. Thanks to all who have made it by Laguna Gloria to see the show.

Take time to enjoy the grounds at Laguna Gloria. When I taught there in the late 1960s there was very little activity in the Museum and the Museum School classes were taught upstairs in the Villa or on the grounds. Now we have Austin Museum of Art Downtown with many programs and changing exhibitions. The Clara Driscoll Villa has been restored to its original splendor. A very active AMOA School is located on the grounds and the Gatehouse has been restored and converted into a gallery for teachers and students. As a former teacher, AMOA director Dana Friis-Hansen and Judith Sims, who directs all activities at Laguna Gloria, invited me to exhibit there.

Because I believe that learning to see can enrich all our lives, observation has been a constant theme when teaching adults in workshops or children in the public schools. We may not all be painters and poets, but we all can take time to become aware of the wonders around us. And who knows how we might choose to express our delight.

In this current show I have attempted to find ordinary subjects which can be viewed from a different perspective, hopefully making them extraordinary. The heart of the Agave plant and the shadows cast on an ordinary garden vase at Laguna Gloria and on a table and chair in the patio of the hotel in Marfa, Texas caught me eye. Go forth and see what you can see in your surroundings.

My husband and I are leaving at the end of next week for Chautauqua, New York. It is a truly exceptional place with a very long history. George Gershwin composed a piece of his music in one of the practice rooms there. There is more to do there than one can possible do. I recommend you google it to learn about it. My "art eyes" and my camera will be turned on, recording images to which I can respond. Perhaps there will be another series of paintings forthcoming.
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