Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

 The greens on the trees in my neighborhood this week really lift my heart. Ah, Green--spring green, sea green, pea green, olive green, jade, celadon, celery, lime, turquoise, chartreuse, teal, Nile, Kelly, moss, emerald, mint, British racing green, you're all so beautiful. When I was looking for a dress for Jessie's wedding t his dress called to me from across the floor at Saks.   I've worn it to five weddings since Jessie and Lee's. Now it hangs in my closet, complementing the pink wallpaper, reminding me of happy days, waiting for the next wedding.  Green is not my only love; look at this  unusual combination in a tree pit on Bleecker Street. It's the purple and orange that caught my eye. This reminds me of a story my brother, Alan, told me.  They're all sitting around the dining room table; Alan, Donna, their son, Allie, and granddaughter, Arya, age 3 1/2, all just hanging out.  Donna and Arya are coloring. Donna says, "Arya, do you know what colors we

  I spotted this painting by my friend, Elaine Forrest, on Facebook and it stopped me dead in my scrolling. Proust was right; these may not be madeleines, but the memory they invoked was vivid. My Dad, whose birthday is next Tuesday, adored Mallomars.  There were a lot of things he adored and when he loved something he loved with his whole heart. Like Mom.   One of the last times I was with both of them I overheard him say to her, "I appreciate everything you do for me and I love you very much." And his Mom.   She loved him back with a full heart and a clear eye. When he bragged to her that my brother, Larry, had made the honor roll he said, "You know, Mom, the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree." She gave him a long look and said, "Unless there's a big wind blowing." But let's get back to the Mallomars and this beautiful little painting.                                           "Mallomars", Elaine Forrest, Oil on Canvas,  12” x 16

  I’ve admired Linda Stillman's art since January, 2007 when her work  appeared in the first Art at First Exhibit.                                                                 " Daily Paintings: (10/16/05-10/23/05)"                                              acrylic on panels; 9 3/4 x 19 3/4  x 3/4 inches; 2005/2006 I loved the piece and I was inspired by Linda’s daily practice. Here’s what she says about her work. "In my “Daily Skies” project, I paint, draw or photograph a small portion of the sky each day in an ongoing series, started in August 2005, and continuing indefinitely.    The section of the sky is based on one pane of my studio window, so no matter where I am, I picture the same shape and angle.  Each year I arrange the work in different ways using just a few days or a whole year." “Daily Paintings: 2007;” acrylic on panels; 44 x 77 x 3/8 inches; 2007 I told myself that since these sky paintings had stayed in my mind for so long they really mean

 I recently read that the joy we feel at the coming of spring has a lot to do with the re-emergence of color,  and that's what I've been celebrating this week. These tulips sit right outside my front door. Further down the block in Abingdon Square Park...rhododendrons in mauve. And further on-in the Aids Memorial Park magnolias. It's been  a long winter and we really have needed this.   In the midst of celebrating color I saw in the Times that Gianluigi Colalucci has died at 91.  Who?  He's the "conservator whose painstaking labor changed art history."   He restored the Sistine Chapel ceiling by removing 500 years of soot, smoke and dust, not to mention the drapery painted over the private parts, against Michelangelo's orders, revealing astonishing colors--"apple greens, startling blues, rosy peaches."  Not every one was thrilled--some called it a desecration and I remember at the League the students of Frank Mason, a revered teacher, tiptoed aro

  Today is good Friday and we're in the midst of Passover.  This will be our second Easter and Passover in quarantine, and even though there is reason for hope that the end is near I really miss gathering in church, and then having a big crowd for dinner.  Two years ago we had a Seder/Easter dinner. Here's what I wrote then. Today is good Friday and we're in the midst of Passover. When these two holy feasts come together I think back to my daughter, Jessie’s, first year.  I hadn’t given much thought to her religious education; I was just trying to sleep through the night.  But it was a big question. Jessie had a Jewish father, Arthur, and a Christian mother, me.  Arthur had very little religious upbringing and I had taken some time off from church to wrestle with some  issues in my evangelical background. Up ’til that point our biggest conflict had been what to say at our wedding; so—no Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but we did say the Lord’s Prayer.  Arthur said later he love