Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

Did you know that you can trace the history of Western Architecture in the buildings in New York City?  You can, and I’ll show you.  This is a combination of some of my favorite things; New York City, long walks, and houses-really, buildings of any kind .   My reference here is Paul Goldberger's The City Observed; A  Guide to the Architecture of Manhattan .  This has been my Bible as I draw my favorite places in my favorite city and all quotes come from him unless otherwise noted. So put on your walking shoes, grab your metro card and let’s go. I promise you'll make your ten thousand steps. Let's start with the Egyptians.  If you want to see a pyramid you can go to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn but this is a Manhattan tour. EGYPTIAN   Borough of Manhattan Community College-originally Pythian Temple. 135 West 70th Street, Thomas W. Lamb, 1927 This building is full of Egyptian references and embellishments,...

One year ago I posted this on Facebook' "You may have heard me say I intended to start posting on my blog. You’re probably tired of hearing me say it--but here it is."   I started with The Pelican. Remember him? Well, I've kept it up!  I've hit send every Thursday night, on a post to be delivered Friday morning. That is,  except for July fourth, which fell on a Thursday, and August ninth, when I forgot. And now, to celebrate, I have an announcement! I have, with the help of the wonderful Izzy Nova, tech teacher extraordinaire, built a brand new site with more of my drawings, an easier way to find things, and all my past posts, right there at your fingertips.  Just click here. https://www.barbaraswansonsherman.com I want to thank you all for reading my posts, especially if you took the time to respond.  It means SO much to hear from you. You are life's encouragers, and I think there's no more valuable friend than one  who listens and res...

Has this ever happened to you?  You're looking for something, something important to you.  You know it has to be somewhere but where?  At last, it turns up and you realize that you had put it away carefully but then forgot.  You're happy to have it back but wonder what's happened to your brain. My precious objects that were lost and then found   are books of collage. Collage is another side of my work. After hours of painstakingly making tiny dots or crosshatches with a fine pen it's a joy to just let 'er rip, and I do mean rip.  Tearing through magazines and newspapers, looking through the mail for interesting brochures, I let loose.  I put things together for no other reason than that I feel like it. It's fun, it's freeing, and it inspires me to push myself in my drawings. Here's a series I did with Robert Mitchum as my subject.  I always thought he was very sexy---and a little scary, which may be what made him sexy. He walked ...

I hope you had a great summer, with plenty of reading.   Henry James said,  “Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; the two most beautiful words in the English language.”   That had to include a book don’t you think? In July I said to Molly, “Here’s what we’ll do for your birthday.  We’ll go to a book store and you can pick out as many books as you like—well, five or six.  Then we’ll go out for lunch.   We’ll be the Ladies who Lunch.”   We had a wonderful time at Books of Wonder, on Eighteenth Street, where the staff is well versed in children’s literature.  Molly made her choices and also asked if we could get something for Teddy.  Then I led her to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and said, “This is a great series, all about a magical place and I think you're ready for it.” She looked at it and said, “Then I want to start with the first one—this says number two.” Wait, what? I went to the desk and a...

Wednesday, the day before yesterday. August 28, represents a number that has great significance for me and my family. My grandparents, Robert and Louise Swanson,  took Romans 8:28, from Paul’s epistle to the Romans, as their motto and the name of their home in Sag Harbor.  Romans 8:28;   “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord, for those who are the called according to His purpose.” Those words are implanted in me.  Once I was about to commit road rage over a parking spot and the silent dashboard clock clicked loudly.  I looked down to see that it was 8:28. I took a deep breath and moved on. At my grandchildren’s school, the day begins at 8:30 but the doors open at 8:28.  That’s a good start. The March on Washington where Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech happened on August 28, 1963.  8:28.     This verse had given me enormous comfort and assurance, a sense of secu...

When we moved to Vermont in 1964 there were still more cows than people in our county. My High School boyfriend lived on a dairy farm; he'd get up at four to do the milking, go to school, go to basketball practice, get home for milking again, than play baketball.  There was no break on the weekends-- milking continued always.  He'd come over to my house and fall asleep. I begged him to let me watch a calf being born and so he called me early one morning.  I rushed out of the house--my Dad said, "Ah yes, the miracle of life."  The mother was still locked in her stantion--the apparatus that held her in place.  I persuaded the hired hand to let her go so she could nurture her baby but as soon as she was free she took off for the feed room.  The baby was a boy so he was off to become veal. So I'm not romantic about cows but I still love them and I especially love to draw them. This is the little town we lived in.  Here's a b...