An LA art adventure

I was fortunate to be able to pause during the end-of-year/holiday rush, to spend a few mild days in LA last week. In addition to visits with some very special friends and lovely long walks in Santa Monica, my husband and I immersed ourselves in art experiences that were marvelous. If you are in LA or can get there, I hope you’ll enjoy some of these treasures.

LACMA has never disappointed, and this visit was no exception. I always love exploring the galleries devoted to their exceptional modern art collection (Matisse's ceramic installation, that was based on his paper cut-out art, is marvelous, and is exhibited near amazing works by Picasso, Magritte, Léger, Mondrian and other brilliant artists of their era). The galleries include a fabulous enormous canvas by Motherwell, and works by Rothko, Kandinsky, Pollack and Oldenburg (to mention just some of my favorites on view). We then discovering gems in their special exhibits. 

MARK BRADFORD, CARTS (2013) at LACMA

Larry Sultan's photographs were new to me, and quite wonderful. And, in the special show titled Variations: Conversations In and Around Abstract Painting, it was a delight to see works by Mark Bradford, whose current show at the Rose Museum at Brandeis had recently introduced me to this great contemporary master.

Our visit to MOCA (LA’s museum of contemporary art) was also a treat. The special exhibition, Andy Warhol: Shadows, was exceptional. He painted 102 canvases in 1978-79 that were hung dramatically in the enormous gallery. It was a fascinating exploration of a simple shadow in Warhol's studio, expressed in varying colors and subtle textural variations. The rhythm and breadth of the installation were fabulous to see.

Andy Warhol's Shadows at MOCA

We continued at MOCA and found ourselves surrounded by works in an exhibit titled Concrete Infinity, and then moved on to see selections from their permanent collection. The range of expression was wonderful, thought-provoking and fascinating. For a visit to a small museum, we were well rewarded!

From left: A gallery at MOCA with work by Segal, Alfred Jensen and others; Robert Rauschenberg; Donal Judd; Jackson Pollock; ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG; Barbara Kruger

Across the street from MOCA the dramatic Walt Disney Concert Hall demands your attention. We had been told there was free a self-guided tour available and we truly enjoyed the experience of being in and around Frank Gehry's architectural tour de force. The only thing we did not get to see was the inside of the concert hall performance space (a rehearsal was underway). On our next trip we’ll try to hear the LA Philharmonic perform. 

Exterior views of the Walt Disney Concert Hall

While I love sharing photos of these marvelous works of creation, and reflecting on them again myself, there is truly magic in experiencing them in person. Whatever art you are able to explore this season, I hope that you feel a similar thrill.

Forging new identity

If you did not hear or read about my opportunity to partner with painter ZsuZsanna Donnell in a gallery opening at First Friday in SoWa, you may not know that I have formally and publicly shared my poetry for the first time. In a show titled Powerful Pairings, ZsuZsanna’s breathtaking large paintings were all paired with my poems. As people entered the gallery, many asked who was the artist and who the poet. And so I found myself saying, “I am the poet.”

It was an amazing — and surprising — feeling to call myself a poet. This is an identity I never imagined for myself. But, as with many new things I have explored and made a focus in my life in the last few years, a new part of my creative spirit has emerged and taken shape.

I believe that most of us have hidden gifts that are waiting to emerge. I have always loved words, so it’s not really surprising that I started playing with words as a way to channel emotion and express ideas. What is surprising is that it took until this stage in my life to explore the possibility of writing poetry.

What do you love that could be a form of new creative expression — and maybe could become a new dimension of your identity? Whether you’ve always dreamed of writing a novel, keeping a sketchbook, writing song lyrics, becoming a dancer, playing an instrument, being an inventor, building furniture, teaching what you know and love, pursuing a sport, or anything else, I hope you’ll devote a little time for your heart and spirit to explore the possibilities.

And, if you have begun something new and exciting in your life, I’d love for you to share your story.

Oh, what a night!

Do you remember the old hit song by the Four Seasons? If so, you’ll get an idea of what a marvelous night I had on November 9. I made my debut as a poet on this First Friday at SoWa in Boston!

Poetry may sound funny in terms of First Fridays, as they are all about galleries and studios welcoming people to visit and view the latest art on exhibit. Let me explain.

A brilliant artist, ZsuZsanna Donnell, has attended two of my workshops. After both workshops, I emailed a poem to the people who’d attended — and both times, ZsuZsanna wrote back to me to say she’d done a painting with the same title as my poem. This was too much of a coincidence to ignore, and so we decided we’d collaborate. And, since ZsuZsanna had a gallery show scheduled in her SoWa studio for the November First Friday, we made that our focus.

Another great coincidence is that ZsuZsanna came to my first workshop seeking inspiration to continue her work making large-scale paintings. And, my work is all about teaching people to live big. So, “big” was a theme for both of us.

Having made our plan, ZsuZsanna sent me a photo of her magnificent painting titled, “Oh My”. It’s 6' wide and 7' tall, and even in jpeg form it took my breath away! The poem for that painting poured out onto my keyboard, and I couldn’t wait for her to send more images of her paintings and their titles. As they arrived, I wrote poems for each. Poems for “Continuum”, “Common Ground”, “More”, and “Zero to Infinity” soon followed.

I printed the poems out large, to hang next to the canvases. We spent a great day hanging the show. We also wanted the opening to be a time for people to get creative themselves, so I brought strips with phrases from my poems and ZsuZsanna brought color prints of lots of her art. We set up a worktable, provided scissors, glue sticks, tape and markers, and devoted one of the gallery walls for people post their collaged creations. 

Rochelle and ZsuZsanna.

"Zero to Infinity" on the left; "Common Ground" in the middle; "Oh My" on the right.

ZsuZsanna in front of "Continuum".

Watching people enter the gallery, read the poems and ponder the paintings, then spend time creating with the words and images that touched them, was truly a thrill. ZsuZsanna and I had amazing conversations and delighted in the fantastic energy and enthusiasm all around us.

In particular, I loved that we enabled people to create, not just observe. Seeing the wall become a growing collage of words and colors was fantastic. But seeing the emotional dimension — in the content of the collaged pieces and the connections that people made as they assembled their pieces — was even more special.

You can read the poems that were written for ZsuZsanna's paintings, as well as others I had on hand for people to take home, on the new Poetry page I have added to the site.

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Watch as a group creates

At my last workshop we had a marvelous day. As part of the workshop we did a project that I always love seeing unfold — and one that participants always find to be a blast.

Groups of three people work together to create a large Intuitive Painting (in this case, using soft pastels) with a fun theme. The objective is for the group to fill the entire page with color, and for everyone to work quickly all over the paper. The theme for this piece was a wild picnic attended by crazy creatures, and I enjoyed photographing the creation as it developed. (What I was not able to capture was the great music and the chatter about ideas — and laughter — as the picture came to life!)

I would love for you to come and create with me. My next day-long workshop is November 9, and my new Creative Drop-in sessions are held weekly on Wednesday evenings. The range of creative adventures is growing, and the joy of creating with others is always energizing. 

New studio for the new season!

Autumn has arrived, even if it is still technically summer for a few more days. Schools have started, the weather is surprisingly crisp, and the pace of life seems to have cranked up considerably for everyone I know.

I am delighting in the beautiful new studio space I worked to make over this summer. Completed just in time for the new season, the studio is bigger (due to lots of simplifying, rearranging, recycling and donations) and brighter (thanks to amazing new lighting and shots of paint to enliven the space). I've been building my library of resources to share, and bringing in lots of new and interesting materials with which to create.

And, now that I’ve done my first, new Wednesday evening Creative Drop-in session and my first full-day workshop of the season in the new studio, I am happier than ever to know how beautifully the space functions. I had a fabulous time with amazing groups of women at both events.

I would love for you to join me soon at a Creative Drop-in on a Wednesday evening, or at one of the workshops coming up in the months ahead. The next workshop is scheduled for November 9. Let's create together in this wonderful space! 

A summer of superb art and surprises

It’s hard to believe that the spring melted into summer, and now summer is coming to an end. As I have been busy coaching, conducting workshops and revamping my studio space for lots of new fall events, I have also visited museums and found inspiration of many kinds that has excited and propelled me all season.

Boston museums have hosted many marvelous exhibitions in the last months. Among my favorites was the Quilt and Color exhibition at the MFA. Having entered the gallery with the idea that I'd take a quick look at the Pilgrim/Roy quilt collection and move on to seeing other works in the museum, I was astonished at what I found. The exhibition was organized brilliantly by color and captivated me. I felt as though I was reliving color theory as I’d learned it in college — but this time in a delightful and unique way. The color lessons were provided by groupings of work done by brilliant artists, women who worked in isolated rural communities over a century ago. Their work was never appreciated as fine art or lauded for its brilliance of design, color, imagination and fabulous craft. I loved the variety and the beauty of the fantastic collection, and loved that this art was being seen and appreciated in a major museum exhibition.

The work of a young, contemporary woman artist, also working with textiles, resonated for me this summer, too. I was taken by surprise at The Isabella Stuart Gardener Museum when I saw the exhibition, Carla Fernández: The Barefoot Designer: A Passion for Radical Design and Community. Fernández is a Mexican artist and fashion designer who has documented indigenous Mexican textile making techniques and has honored that heritage by incorporating the materials into striking contemporary fashion designs and accessories. The exhibition also included drawings, photographs, videos, performance and source materials, all of which were fascinating and marvelous.

It was a delight and yet another surprise to discover the work of Lesley Dill at the Decordova Sculpture Park and Museum. The 20-year survey of Dill's work was a revelation for me. Her materials, concepts and integration of text in her drawings, sculptures and mixed media pieces were marvelous to explore.

On a visit to Maine we made two trips to the Portland Museum of Art because there was so much to see and enjoy. The retrospective of Richard Estes’ Realism was fantastic, and the museum's extensive permanent collection was wonderful. 

Of all the work that inspired me recently, one exhibition I loved will be on view until November 2. If you can get to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston this fall, I recommend you spend 64 minutes experiencing the video performance, The Visitors. The film, on multiple screens in a large space, documents a durational performance by Ragnar Kjartansson and musician friends. It transfixed me, both with beautiful and moving music and with visuals that are quietly compelling.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to see such marvelous and brilliantly varied work at great museums in my area. I hope that wherever you live, or wherever your travels take you, you too have the opportunity to experience creativity that opens your senses and fills your heart.

An inspired reunion

When I reflected on having done a year of workshops for individuals, I had an urge to invite people back for a reunion. I was eager to reconnect with workshop participants, and to have people who attended different workshops meet one another.

It was an inspired idea! The group that gathered at the reunion included people from five of the workshops. Everyone connected easily and spirits were high. The pot-luck dinner was special, as everyone contributed a dish made with love. As if by magic, the meal was perfectly balanced and every taste complemented the others. It was as if a master menu-planner had created the meal.

As we ate we each shared something we created, something that has inspired us, or both. The range of offerings was fascinating. One person brought a magnificent glass bowl she recently made (a new technique for that person, and one she’d dreamed up and sketched shortly after taking the workshop). One person came with gardening gloves of various sizes — hers, her kids’ and her husband’s. Following the workshop she attended last summer, she discovered that being in fresh air and tending a garden was the creative outlet she craved. And, for the first time, her family happily centered some of their weekend activities around her passion. One person brought back her sketchbook from the workshop. It was nearly filled with vivid drawings and poems she’s been creating. Someone else brought a dramatic drawing, also done in her sketchbook, that she made on a vacation soon after her workshop experience. She said that drawing held more vivid memories for her than all of the photos from her trip. 

After eating and enjoying all of the creative sharing, we moved on to start creating anew as a group. I had been inspired by two visits I recently made to the ICA, to see the work of Nick Cave. He uses "mundane" materials like buttons, pipe cleaners, yarn, beads, and more to create his sound suits and fabulous “paintings”. With that in mind, I hit art supply and craft stores, as well rifling through my own cabinets and drawers, to source a host of fun materials. With Edith Piaf as our sound track and glue guns in hand, we dove in and started playing and forming the materials into fantastic creations.  

As the evening came to a close, someone suggested that the reunion had been more fun than a book club meeting and that we should continue to meet and create together. Plans are underway already for our next creative adventure!

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Nick Cave sound suits at the ICA Boston; creations made at the reunion from similar materials.

New discoveries at two very different museums

In the last 2 weeks I’ve been turned on by amazing art at the ICA in Boston and at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire. I am happy to share some of the memorable pieces I enjoyed.

The ICA’s current special exhibitions are outstanding. Nick Cave’s sound suits and his newer sculptural works knocked me out. The inventiveness of materials and forms, his colors and concepts, were delightful and exciting.

I also discovered the incredible work of South African artist, William Kentridge at the ICA. His pulsing Refusal of Time installation was fascinating and mesmerizing. If you get to the ICA, plan on spending at least 20 minutes taking it in. Equally exciting for me was seeing his monochromatic and varied works on paper. Imagine my delight when I visited the Barbara Krakow Gallery a few days later and saw another group of wonderful pieces by Kentridge. I intend to continue to explore the work of this marvelous artist.

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of taking a day trip to New Hampshire to spend time with a dear friend. She told me the Currier Museum would be a treat but I was surprised by their eclectic and impressive collection. My favorite discoveries included paintings done in the middle ages, including one portrait that looked amazingly modern. I loved walking through the gallery of modern art that included stunning works by Picasso, Matisse and O’Keeffe. And, we spent a lot of time in a contemporary gallery that included a standing mobile by Alexander Calder, a large Joan Mitchell painting and intriguing sculptures by Louise Nevelson and Marisol. Savoring a cup of tea was especially enjoyable because the dramatic cafe space was framed by a pair of enormous, colorful paintings by Sol Lewitt. 

I hope you can plan an excursion to a great museum or gallery soon. When you soak in the beauty I predict that you’ll start to notice and enjoy more of what is in your every day surroundings. And, your emotions can become fuel for your own creative expression.

Let me know if you come across wonderful new art and where you’ve found it.

Creative fun with kids!

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I was completely delighted to do an Intuitive Painting session with a great group of children at the Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School in Boston. The fantastic team of City Year corps members who work at the school invited me to be a guest at their after school enrichment program. I loved working with all of the kids — 15 second through fifth graders participated.

After having everyone do a few free drawings, accompanied by upbeat music, I gave the kids individual assignments. These ranged from ideas like drawing confusion, to drawing a great dream, to dividing a page to show both excitement and frustration, to drawing a fabulous morning. After doing two assigned topics, they finished the series of 5 drawings with a free one — and the results were a blast. The kids created with joy and enthusiasm.

After everyone completed their 5 drawings we broke into small groups and several kids worked to create a single large drawing together. Each group had a different theme. It was great fun watching them fill the large sheets with color.

I am grateful to the staff at YA and to the City Year team for the invitation and for their help to make this a great experience for a great group of kids!

Wow, what a day!

My second Igniting Your Creative Core workshop of this new year was a marvelous day!

Over 40 attendees have now participated in this workshop, including the amazing group of seven women who made Sunday’s workshop so special.

I am deeply moved by all of the incredible people who have come together to do this work. It has been an honor to see them open their hearts and embrace their creativity. The artwork from the latest workshop speaks volumes, and I think the energy is palpable when viewing this small selection of pictures that they created during the day.

Equally wonderful for me are the shared insights, reflections and ideas that emerge on the journey we take through the day. From our greetings in the morning, when everyone says what drew them to the workshop, to our conversations over lunch and closing reflections as the day concludes, the workshop is a wonder. I have been most fortunate to work with amazing people who really show up and allow themselves to be candid and authentic in all they share. They have enriched me immeasurably.

New creative adventures

I belong to a small group of creative friends that meets monthly (or as close to monthly as our busy lives allow). We’re now into our 6th year together, and the ways we spend our time has changed over time as we’ve changed.

Each member (there are 4 of us) does professional work related to creativity. One sold her ad agency and has been a full time (and very successful) artist for over a decade. One is an architect with a thriving practice. One recently gave up teaching in an MBA program at a prestigious university to be a full-time artist — something she was just starting to explore when we first formed the group. I transitioned from my design firm to my current creative coaching practice. Our journey together has been marvelous.

This year we have paired up differently to plan new creative adventures for each of our 3-hour meetings. For this week's meeting, we each sent in a piece of music we loved, and were told to come with an assortment of materials to share for making sculptures — something totally new for me. Here’s a photo of one of the three sculptures I made. It was created while listening to Tigerlily by Natalie Merchant.

I’m also including a photo of a collage I made at our session in December. I'd helped to make the plan for the collage project. Each person started by picking a topic from those in a hat (the topic for my collage was “pain”). To make the collages, we selected images from a stack I’d saved from my design firm days — wonderful samples provided by printers and paper merchants — and applied them to wooden panels. As at our sculpture session, everyone's collages were marvelous and quite different.

If you’d like to learn more about the experiences my group has had, or how you might start a similar group, get in touch. 

Wire and light — a magic combination

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While on a wonderful holiday trip to Paris, we spent the afternoon at the Pompidou Center and nearly wore out our feet visiting the museum's amazing, enormous contemporary collections. Alexander Calder has always been a favorite, and when I came upon this wire sculpture, Josephine Baker IV, vers 1928, I was simply delighted. Next to the piece, an old movie clip was playing of Baker in performance. The sculpture, together with its shadow, creates a sense of Baker's dance moves and distinctive personality that we saw in the old film. 

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Among the many other delights we came upon was a large work by Alighiero Boetti, an Italian artist, whose dramatic and varied work we first experienced in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in the summer of 2012. The scale, color and detail in Tutti (Everything) are fantastic. The 1987 work is part of a series that was embroidered by Afghan refugees in Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of their own country. Boetti entrusted the execution of his design to the embroiderers, distributing 84 colors and a finite amount of thread for each.

And, seeing a marvelous portrait by Henri Matisse, Fillette au chat noir (1910), that was new to us, was a treat as well. Matisse was a master of color and this portrait totally charmed us.