Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

This week, as I reminded you, we saw the unveiling of the Women's Pioneers Monument in Central Park. An officer of the Fire Department, and I wish I could remember her name,  sang America the Beautiful amending one line to be "And crown thy good with sisterhood."   On a day like this,  we can take a little license. I'll give credit here as I should have done a few weeks ago; the Women's Pioneers Monument is by Meredith Bergman,  Frederick Douglass is by Ivan Schwartz. I began drawing New York's statues a long time ago.  If I had to choose a favorite among my drawings this would be high on the list.  It's the New York Chamber of Commerce with as many statues as I could fit in. This combines my love of New York's beautiful architecture with its outdoor sculpture and I really had fun doing it.   do you recognize anyone? There are some favorites and some you may not know.  All but two reside in Manhattan. If you can identify all of them let me know an...

 Last year I wrote about my neighborhood and this sign at 254 West 12th. It says, “If we all do one random act of kindness daily  we might just turn things around.”  Martin Kornfeld. A few weeks ago I noticed a new addition; The new one says,   "You don't have to love just don't hate." I think that's setting the bar too low. This week I noticed another sign. It says,  "Whatever your color you have certain feelings about the others.   Recognize them and get rid of them."  Village people let you know where they stand. Next, we come to the Village Den, our neighborhood coffee shop for years before it was remade into a vegan/vegetarian cafe.  Eating lunch in midtown years ago I  recognized the waitress  and said to her, "I remember you from the Village Den!  My husband had coffee there every day with our son before nursery school."  She gave me a long look and said, "I remember your husband--toasted English, butter on the side...

This is a good time to Celebrate Wayne Thiebaud, American painter, born in 1920; that makes him one hundred years old; at least he will be on November 15.  And he's still painting! This was my first Thiebaud; I found it in the postcard rack at the Whitney gift shop.  I couldn't believe it was a painting and I couldn't stop staring at it.  Those patterns, the lush paint, those creamy pies.  It was delicious. I loved that something so fun, so pretty, was thought of as ART.   Stephen Kinzer wrote in the NY Times,  "In other hands, these objects could easily become Pop Art or Kitsch.  Mr.Thiebaud, however, paints them respectfully, without a hint of irony."   In February2001 the Phillips Collection in Washington DC held a retrospective of his paintings. This is the Corcoran Gallery, also in DC, and they held a show of Thiebaud's prints. It's a handsomer building than the Phillips. This is the page in my diary from the week I visited that show.  I...

Back in March I wrote about my wonderful teacher, Roberto DeLamonica, and at the end I included how to make an etching, but did I tell you everything that goes into making an etching? HOW TO MAKE AN ETCHING Take a metal PLATE Do a better preparation job than I've done here.  That means, file all the edges and bevel the corners.  Sand both sides, top and bottom, with #500 sandpaper and water. Choose the better side and sand that with #600 sandpaper and water.  Wash and dry.  Put a small amount of talcom powder in the middle of the plate, press with finger, fill the hole with alcohol, mix until a paste is formed, and rub it all over the plate. Wash the plate and dry carefully, being careful not to touch the surface, as the ground will not adhere to any grease. Cover  the plate with acid-resistant GROUND, a mixture of beeswax, asphaltum, and rosin Wrap a wad of ground in taffeta, place the plate on a heater and, as the ground melts on the hot platespread it e...