Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

Spring is here in the West Village, at least the magnolias are blooming by  the Aids memorial. I think it ought to be a little warmer but the Yankees won 5-0 today in 30 degrees so I'm not complaining. Here are more details  from the 7 Days Exhibit  Which will be up until Sunday, April 23rd I will be there this Sunday, April 2nd from 12 to 4 I'd love to see you there at First Presbyterian Church 12 West 12th Street Malcolm Ritter Lori Horowitz Colleen Deery Lois Bender Irene Gilman Elizabeth White-Pultz I"m still at work on this Big House, and it's still going slowly but I've decided to use those delicious Tuscan colors like peach, apricot, mango, gold and orange. And Pink. There's a lot of brown but I'll balance it with the lighter shades. I may be regretting those blue curtains and I have no idea what to do with that long hallway on the right but I'll get there. I've made progress here--can you tell? Queen Elizabeth is still staring at me from the...

Here's another report on "7 Days: Artists View the Creation,"  On the fourth day  God said, Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night and to mark seasons and days and years.   He called the great light the sun and the lesser light the Moon.     When the Sun Was Born by Karen Fitzgerald  Oil paint, copper gilding on patterned, prepared paper, framed. What did the sun look like when it was born? Its birth no doubt took longer than a few days. Our fiery life-giver may have begun its life in dimness. Whatever the soup of energy that formed our glowing, burning orb, its presence blesses our days. What does your imagination tell you about when the sun was born? Made with thinned oil paint on a copper-gilded tondo. The patterned paper was sealed before and after the gilding. The work is framed under glass with an archival mat. Details of the frame are included here.   The Moon  by Rob Swanson    Although newspaper photog...

 To all of you who came to the opening reception of the show I curated at First Presbyterian Church, thank you, and it was wonderful to see you there.  If you can't get to the city in person, you can see pictures at @barbaraHerMor on Instagram, and I'll be posting more.  As you probably know, the show traces the story of the Creation as told in the book of Genesis, from "Let there be Light," to the seventh day, the day of rest. Today I want to write about that last day and this painting of First Presbyterian Church by Ryan Bauer-Walsh .  Ryan Bauer-Walsh The Seventh Day Acrylic on a previously used, Donated canvas 30x40 $2400.00   "This piece was painted in six days on a canvas that was found in the trash by a neighbor. It was a portrait of a woman meditating- covered in rhinestones that were glued to the canvas.  On the seventh day, I sat in front of the canvas in thought, and prayed that the homeless person in the painting would find shelter. Yet-it was I...

I saw my first crocuses yesterday! This is a week for anniversaries. It's been three years since the world went into lockdown because of the Corona virus, and three years since I posted my Pink Balloons story, a tribute to my grandmother who's birthday is March 13.  Here's a link;   Pink Balloons . I don't know why my computer resisted making that link pink , which would have been more appropriate but I'm not going to fight. I"m afraid to mess around with it. But my big news and what's been taking my time all week is this exhibit  Art at First at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York  is pleased to present 7 Days: Artists View the Creation  In the Great Hall Gallery, 12 West 12th Street at Fifth Avenue March 1 thru April 23 Opening Reception Sunday, March 12, Noon until 4    Or by appointment Featuring work by Fran Beallor, Lois Bender, Colleen Deery, Karen Fitzgerald, Irene Patricia Gilmore, B ár bara HerMor, Lori Horowitz, Donna Levi...

First let me say thank you for all the lovely messages of condolence about Lucy.  It's been a great comfort to hear from you, especially you who remember her and you who have loved your animal companions. Moving ahead, I want to invite you to the opening reception of my solo curating debut.  Make sure to mark your calendar IN INK for Sunday, March 12, at First Presbyterian Church, 12 West 12th Street, from noon til 4. Here's all you need to know. Art at First at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York is pleased to present 7 Days: Artists View the Creation In the Great Hall Gallery 12 West 12th Street at Fifth Avenue March 1 thru April 23 Opening Reception Sunday, March 12, Noon until 4 Closing Reception Sunday, April 23, Noon until 4 On view Sundays 12-4 Or by appointment Featuring work by Fran Beallor, Lois Bender, Colleen Deery, Karen Fitzgerald, Irene Patricia Gilmore, Bárbara HerMor, Lori Horowitz, Donna Levinstone, Malcolm Ritter, Rob Swanson,  Ryan Ba...

 Rest In Peace and Sweetness Lucy Russell Sherman February 6, 2008-February 23, 2023 Today we said good-bye to our beloved Lucy after fifteen years of happiness.  I know this is not the same as losing a human being; it's hard in a different way. We knew we had to take her for that final visit but both our vets came down with Covid this week and their office closed.  Trying to make this plan, watching Lucy struggle, convincing myself and Arthur that it's time, has made me more than a little nuts, as my friends working on the 7 Days show with me can testify.  I thank them for their patience. I'm almost finished with Queen Elizabeth the First  but the queen I've been channeling is Victoria, who said,  "Nothing will turn a man's home into a castle more quickly and efficiently than a dachshund."   Well, she got that right. I wrote a blog about Lucy a few years ago-you can read it here. Lucy Jessie and Molly came over yesterday for a cuddle an...

Pitchers and Catchers report for Spring Training! The daffodil bulbs I planted last fall are popping up!  I really hope they're not  putting themselves in danger of freezing in a late frost but we appear to be having an early spring, which brings its own worries. There's always something to celebrate and always something to worry about. I choose to celebrate without loosing my attachment to reality. This is a good reminder. This week I really must take down the Christmas tree. We haven't had our Christmas party since covid struck and this year I caught it at Thanksgiving time so we had very quiet celebrations.  Even so I did the full decorations and feel sad that no one got to see it.  So here it is.   I kept it up for Valentines Day and Arthur's birthday but I guess this is it. It really doesn't work for Easter.  I'll have to take time out from Queen Elizabeth the First, which I showed you last week. The next phase; I started the frame and the patterns of ...