Remnants of a Retreat

Jean Banas & Krista Harris pause for a critique: Last weekend, I was invited to attend a retreat at the Atlantic Center for the Arts by one of my favorite artists, most gracious friends, and mentor: Jean Banas. Jean is an energetic, accomplished action painter whose work never ceases to fascinate me. Twelve other gifted, supportive artist friends joined us, including our colleague, Krista Harris, from Colorado.

While at ACA, I produced some of my own work, but continued working on collaborations with some of Fran Gardner's tapestries. I am still finishing up the wooden boxes and boards on which I've painted my own work and will now install Fran's Gardner art on platforms that I have constructed. Another friend and art diva, Robin Moore, has suggested a name for this series of collaborations: I will be using her concept of "remnants." Here is Remnants of Past Lives:

Remnants of Evidence (below):

And, lastly, Remnants of the Journey:

Water

I have been spending some time in, on and near the water this past summer. My colleague Fran and her fellow professor, Lisa, introduced me to an author while in South Carolina. Carol Goodman captures the magic and allure of the sea and large bodies of water. Having completed The Lake of Dead Languages, which Fran loaned to me in June, I wanted to read more of Goodman's work and am now savoring The Seduction of Water. If you enjoy folklore or fairy tales, writing and have some familiarity with NYC and upstate New York (or want to visit there some day), you'll enjoy these novels.



In The Seduction of Water, Goodman weaves a tale about an author and part-time teacher, whose own mother (also an author) told her a bewitching tale about selkies before leaving her when she was ten-years-old. These "seal women" were credited with captivating men with their beauty and voices, transforming themselves between seals and women. So enchanted by her childhood fairytale, I painted To Lure A Selkie yesterday in our studio, but haven't yet decided what more needs to be done. Suggestions, anyone?