Uncle J's Monsters!

I went over to Easthampton last month for the art's night, and I saw this great exhibit of these whimisical monsters at Threads, and I got to talk to the guy who made them, Jason Freedman. He was very friendly and excited. My favorite part of this art was that he said he started making them when his son got to old for (aka, got embarrassed about) notes saying 'I love you' from Dad in his school lunch, Jason started to draw these monsters and put those in instead. What a great way to continue to let your kid know you care.

Visit his website for more.

ARTmuffin - Art by Christopher Gendron

It's a small world sometimes around here. I was hanging up some of my paintings for a show this september and I saw piece there by someone else that really caught my eye. I followed up and eventually bought a print of it, and we figured out that he was a friend of a friend and had been to one of my shows a few years before.

I'll let his words from his website describe his work, since they say more precisely what I like about it:

About my current work, The Book of Gosh:

The "Gosh" pieces are created with the concept of being pages from a lost book or temple from another culture in another dimension. The work is often human, alien, or animal anatomy with what appears to be a kind of hieroglyphic writing and symbolism accompanying the subject. The pages vary from anatomical description to ceremonial preparation to the preservation of a history. All pages are from 'The Book of Gosh'. Other works may be pieces from The Temple.

Visit ArtMuffin.com to see more art.

Photography by Kett Lawrence

Sometimes someone makes great images or art, but doesn't realize it enough. I've been like that in life. And part of what I am trying to do with this blog is help people realize that they are interesting and good creators.

So, here are some photos from a friend of mine, Kett Lawrence. I think she has a really good sense of composition and I enjoy her sky photos a lot. I don't know her that well, but I can tell she is also a very kind person.

She has a Facebook page you can go like here.

Art by Chris Gentes

Chris Gentes is artist in Northampton who I made friends with at a house show a few years ago, and I have been keeping an eye on his work and bumping into him in town every once in a while. Here are a few images from a past show that was at Salon 241. They are from spots around Northampton.

Visit his Art Journal

Art by Donnabelle Casis

I went to the first Florence Night Out a few weeks ago, and have been putting up stuff from artists I saw there. This is from Donnabelle Casis, who has a studio in Florence. I asked her to tell me about her work, and was really glad I did, because she had interesting things to say. Here are her words from her website:

My current series explores identity and its relationship to markers and patterns: from ancient Filipino tribal tattoos and textiles, trajes de luces (suits of light) or bullfighting costumes, medieval chainmail and armor, Japanese kumihimo (braiding), and Pokemon figures. I am interested in how these symbols and colors reflect the bearer/wearer. I am also fascinated by the literal use of patterns in design and in the form of ritual. At what point do patterns change?

Visit her website to see and read more.

Drawings by Heather Kasunick

I was at the first Florence Night Out the other week, and I met this woman who did these drawings that I really liked, so I decided to put some of them up here. Her name is Heather Kasunick, and here is what I know about her: she is a teacher and likes to do "one drawing a day" series, which these images are of.

Here is her blog: Wonder Cupboard

Introducing: Joe Sziranko

I met Joe when we both had some art in a gallery in downtown Northampton. He is a friendly and generous person, and very creative. He likes to experiment with all types of paint and materials, so his work has a lot of variety in it. Just seeing a few pictures of it doesn't do it justice. If you have a chance, go see his studio on an open studio night in the Paragon arts building in Easthampton.

Introducing Tonya Dixon

I met Tonya through a friend, and saw her on and off in town for many years. But lately have gotten to know here better, and discover that she has tons of creative projects that she is always doing and planning to do, so I decided to feature some of them here.

Introducing: Mark Wilson

From me:

I have a good friend Bob, and he has an older brother Mark who I know, who makes incredible lighted sculptures (think very fancy art lamps) and digital art. Bob is always telling me about things his older brother has made, including intricate board games as well fixed up old computers.

From his website:

Born in the United States, and trying to escape the asylum ever since.
Influenced by the world I have lived in as well as the Masters of the past. My Sculpted works are heavily influenced by Steam Punk, as well as the Edwardian and Victorians eras. My digital work is especially influenced by the works of Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez. My favorite real world medium for painting is Egg Tempera, which I endeavor to replicate in the digital medium.

His Website

Introducing: Benjamin Kalish

I think I met Ben at a swing dance, but I had seen him at the library, and over at the bridge street coop many years ago. And by met, I mean actually introduced myself and had a conversation. He is an interesting person, who plays music, dances and works as a librarian. I invited him over to play games a few times, and we had fun. He brought a comic he had made over one time, and I thought it would be nice to post some of it here.

Introducing Eliza Cooney

I met Eliza when I was making prints of my art at the local copy shop. She liked them and bought some for her grandson, and told me that she was an artist, and had been an art teacher in a school for a long time.

I went to see her paintings, and we also got together to talk about art, and visited each others studios. She is a very friendly and creative person, and those are two attributes I value highly. She's also teaching a new series of art workshops, and I will put up the info for them here.

Here's some of her words from her brochure:

Everyone has greater powers than they realize.
“To engage and persist”
…a multifaceted approach...
Making art is a continuum of making choices, connections.
Art is vital to happiness.

Background

Eliza Cooney studied at Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar and has been teaching art for thirty years.

(click below for more info about art classes with Eliza)


To enroll and for more information
Email: elizacooney@verizon.net
Call: (413) 268-7108

Introducing: Jess C Scott

I got a request from a random person one day. She wanted to know if I could feature her work on this blog. I delayed checking out her book for a little while, but when I read it, I found that I enjoyed many of the poems in it. So I told her I would feature them on here, with a little introduction.

The book is called Porcelain, and can be downloaded for free from her website, Here

Bio from her website:

:: Short Version ::

[x] Jess C Scott :: missfey @ gmail.com

[x] Writer. Artist. Non-conformist. 23. Why I Write.

[x] I design my own book covers. I am a solo powerhouse :)

[x] My LinkedIn Profile.

[x] Contributed to the 2010 Jossey-Bass/Wiley publication, MY LIE.

Introducing: Christine Texiera

One time, I went to this brunch part in Greenfield, which is an unusual time for me, because, let's just say, I'm a late sleeper. But I had not slept so well, and woke up just in time to get a ride up there. I was there, and my host introduced us to some new comers, and one of them was like, "I know you already. From Lindy Hopping." and I was like, "Hmmm? Oh, yes, I remember that you came by the Center for the Arts for lessons, and you were fun to dance with." It is fun when things like that happen.

Then we became electronic, and sometimes in person at dances, acquaintances. I learned a little more about Christine, including that she likes to Contra Dance, is friendly, and makes art, including collage.

I asked if I could put some collages up here, and she said yes. So, now you get to see them too, and enjoy them.

Links:
Her Blog

Introducing: Joshua

My friend Rachel has a son named Joshua, and I have been close to him ever since I attended the birth. The whole experience has activated my 'tribal instinct', the feeling and need to belong to and with a group of people who are important in your life. So I go along with them to do stuff and they come along with me, and generally life is much better that way.

The other day Joshua wanted to paint. I videoed part of his painting, and enjoyed how he was quite unafraid of putting paint on paper, so his mom has agreed to let me put the videos up here.

Introducing: April-lyn Caouette

I met April-lyn at least a couple of years ago, at a Lindy-Hop dance. She is a person I have gotten to know very slowly over the years. Now I have learned that in addition to dancing, she likes to play board games, write and knit. We have had fun playing board games together. I also find her to be an easy person to talk to.

I have read her blog, and enjoyed her poems, so I asked if I could post some here. She said yes.

Link:
Her blog

Introducing: Cory Raymond

Well, now. I know this blog is about the community around me, but the internet is an interesting place, and I have met some interesting people doing some interesting things through it. One of those people is Cory Raymond, a poet whose blog I started reading because... hmmm... I can't recall. Perhaps she commented on a poem of mine. Anyway, she is very creative and friendly and I like her poems, so I am going to feature several here.

Links:
Her poetry blog

Introducing: Peter Smolenski

I have a friend Dimitri (who has a poem on this blog) and I sometimes go to his house to play games. In his kitchen there is this very cool piece of art hanging on the wall: a bright, abstract, psychedelic image. I asked, "Hey, who made that? It's very cool," and Dimitri told me it was a friend of his and his family, Pete Smolenski.

So I logged that in my brain like I do with all sorts of random bits of information. And then I was looking at the 'People you might know' section of Facebook a little while ago, and someone's profile picture was this really great looking psychedelic image, and I thought, "hey that looks like Pete Smolenski's work." Turns out it was his FB profile.

I contacted him, and he agreed to let me feature some of his work here. I looked at his site, and got to see a lot of great art.

It all happened how I like things to happen: person to person, simple and easy, and in the community.

Links:
Peter Smolenski Abstract Art - His website
Abstract Art World - A global community of abstract artists

Introducing: Sean Greene

Sean works for a friend of mine, as a painter, so I often ran into him when he was working there, as well as random times in town at things he was painting, like the new State Street store and Thornes. In those short conversations I learned that he made art, and I became interested in seeing it. I finally got to, the other day at the A.P.E. Gallery on main street. I thought his paintings were really good and interesting. Lots of clear lines and bright colors. I would buy a painting, if I had the money. One last thing from me about Sean: he is also a very friendly guy.

From his website:

"My paintings are rooted in color. Color intervals provoke the fleeting sensations of light animating a space. Bands of color become paths of light, traces of motion that lead the eye through an illusionistic space and around a tactile surface. These bands evoke written languages like Arabic or graffiti-- illegible but loaded with expressions of balance or instability, variation of speed, entanglement, congestion or comfort, fluidity or angularity."

Links:
His website

Introducing: Myrrh Brooks

Yay! Myrrh has agreed to let me show some of her art here!

I met Myrrh 16 or so years ago, because I am friends with her father, Trevor the games man. Over the years me and Myrrh have had a lot in common, and sometimes even done stuff together. A sampler: we like to make art, we like to dance the Lindy Hop, we like Trevor. She lived in Northampton for a while, and I enjoyed that. Last year I went to her wedding to Joe Brooks. It was in a beautiful refinished barn in Amherst, MA.

Myrrh is one of those people who is constantly creating things and in a variety of mediums. I like that about her. You can't really capture the essence of a creative person in a blog post, or in a photo of their work, but you can give clues to who they are. Sometimes you can only indicate that they are cool, and let people discover on their own. Her website only hints at how creative she is.

Links:
Her Website, Myrrhmade.com
Her blog

Introducing: Paul Richmond

Yesterday, I went to read some poems at the Florence Poets Society's annual poetry festival. I was nervous but think it went well. There was this guy listening at the back, and my friend Brett waved to him and said hi and told me that the guy was a juggler.

It turns out he is also a poet. We said hi and traded books of poetry after the festival. I went home and read his book that night and was impressed. What I liked most about his writing was the genuineness and realness. I could tell that there was a unique human mind at work, and I think that's important in art.

He agreed to let me put some poems on here.

Links:
Human Error Publishing - His website
A book of his poetry on Lulu.com