Vagrarian

Vagrarian, 3 days ago to random

Good morning Mastodonians! Slogging along with another day of rain...will it ever end? Can we have a dry spell, please? Rainy weather is hard on my sinuses. But oh well...back to work. The struggle is real.

How're all my friends & followers today?

#GoodMorning #WednesdayWisdom

Vagrarian, 9 days ago to random

Me.

Vagrarian, 23 days ago to random

I love Nick Offerman. (Shared article.)

https://wapo.st/3UggViR

Vagrarian, 24 days ago to random

Fun article. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/omaha-salt-lake-city-without-gps-180973967/

Vagrarian, 25 days ago to random

There's a lady I deal with at work, very in-charge type. When a mistake happens, or something goes wrong, she doesn't get angry, she doesn't berate anyone, she doesn't lash out. (OK, unless you're REALLY beyond the pale. Like, being aggressively wrong or just an a-hole.) Instead, she calmly, with a smile, asks, "How can we fix this? How can we be sure this doesn't happen again?" And then leads the search for solutions.

That's an energy I want to cultivate more in myself.

#SelfCultivation #Compassion #Solutions

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"Ressemblance Garantie," Unknown Artist, 19th Century.

I love trompe l'oeil! Here we have a realistic fellow poking his head through a canvas, and seeming to declare that a resemblance is guaranteed.

The artist is unknown, but it's thought that this is taking a dig at photography; "Resemblance guaranteed" was almost a cliche of early portrait photographers. The paintbrush in his hand, and the fact that he's looking at us through a canvas, I think tells us the artist is in favor of painting.

From a private collection.

#Art #TrompeLoeil #Illusion #UnknownArtist

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to random

Good morning Mastodonians! Whew, I've had a crazy morning already...it's raining, getting windy, and I had to go supervise the setup of porta-johns at the Roadeo course first thing. Still waiting to hear from the tent people. Thankfully it's to be clear tomorrow, so we'll have a good day to run buses through our course.

How're all my friends & followers today?

#GoodMorning #FridayFeeling

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to maryland

YAY a bill my organization sponsored, to prevent further budget cuts to city & county transit systems, has passed the state house and is awaiting the governor's signature. A good day for public transit in Maryland!

#Maryland #PublicTransport

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"Bouquet of Flowers," Maria van Oosterwijck, second half of the 17th century.

Van Oosterwijck (1630-1693) was a Dutch painter of still lifes, mostly florals. She was quite a success, and a canny businesswoman, marketing her works to various crowned heads of Europe. She was a professional painter at a time when few women were, but she was still denied membership in the Painter's Guild because of her sex.

By all accounts, she was a deeply religious woman, and many of her paintings include symbols, either through color or other means, of her religious views. Butterflies were to mean the Resurrection, for instance.

She never married, but dedicated herself to her painting. She raised her nephew, and taught one of her servants to paint and be an artist herself, so she could be self-supporting. I like that aspect of her; not only being independent and self-determined, but helping others to be so as well, even if she was denied some opportunities because of the prejudices of the time.

From a private collection.

#Art #DutchArt #FloralArt #WomenArtists #DutchGoldenAge #Baroque #MariaVanOosterwijck #StillLife

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"White Lilies," Mabel Royds, c. 1937.

Mabel Allington Royds (1874-1941) was famous for her woodcuts. This particular image was part of a series of florals she did in the 1930s, either of flowers in full bloom or dying flowers, which she found interesting to depict.

Although she traveled extensively with her husband, painter Ernest Stephen Lumsden, throughout India, the Himalayas, and Canada, she seemed to most enjoy depictions of flowers, children growing up, neighborhood animals, and other scenes of everyday life.

Her woodcuts are technically classified "Japonisme" as she follows the techniques of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblocks, but uses a distinct personal style in the images she depicts.

From the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

#Art #WomenArtists #MabelRoyds #Lilies #Easter #Spring

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"Two Tulips and Two Irises," Johanna Helena Herolt, c. 1700.

Herolt (1668-Sometime after 1723) was a German botanical artist. She came from a family of artists, with some turbulence in that her parents separated, her mother took her to live in a religious commune, and Johanna later left and married another escapee from the commune.

She collaborated with her mother on a number of botanical works, and later, on her own, illustrated a book on botany, from which this painting is taken. She and her husband moved to Surinam, in South America, where she died sometime after 1723.

And this is so redolent of springtime...I need this visual.

From a private collection.

#Art #WomenArtists #Illustration #BotanicArt #JohannaHelenaHerolt

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"Springtime on the Ile de La Grande Jatte," Claude Monet, 1878.

The Ile de La Grande Jatte (Island of the Big Bowl) was a favorite spot for lazy afternoons in 19th century Paris, and became a favorite subject for some painters of the time. Seurat's depiction of it is the most famous, but Monet, Bonnard, Sisley, van Gogh, and others also painted the island.

Here we see the riverside promenade, with some strolling people. In the far background you can make out a railroad bridge and the tall chimneys of the gasworks at Clichy. It all bears the impression of a bright spring afternoon.

From the Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo.

#Art #Impressionism #Monet #Spring

Vagrarian, 1 month ago to art

"Spring," Michalina Janoszanka, before 1926.

Janoszanka (1889-1952) was a Polish painter, although remembered today mostly as being the model and muse for another artist, Jacek Malczewski. Her solo output in oils is mostly undistinguished still lifes and florals, but it's her few glass paintings that really stand out in their use of color.

Here we have a mixture of folk art influences with the Young Poland movement and maybe some surrealism in the blend. It's really impossible to assign to any single art school. Her glass paintings are few but are her best, most original work, and sadly get very little notice.

From the National Museum, Krakow.

#Art #WomenArtists #GlassPainting #Spring #MichalinaJanoszanka

Binder, 2 months ago to random

deleted_by_author

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to classicalmusic

Musical Interlude: Here's a 20th piece I rather like; classical music isn't all wigs and lace cuffs and pieces commissioned by Viennese emperors. Some folks sniff at latter-day classical, and while sometimes I agree with them, there's lots of perfectly lovely modern stuff as well. Here's a nice one.

"Violin Concerto #1," composed by Grażyna Bacewicz, performed by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

#MusicalInterlude #classicalmusic #ModernClassical #PolishMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAllCAV7cbQ

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to art

"The Interior of the Palm House," Carl Blechen, 1832/33.

Blechen (1798-1840) was a noted painter of Romantic landscapes. This painting was a special commission by Frederick William III of Prussia, and the setting is a real one, the Palm House at the royal retreat of Pfaueninsel, an island near Potsdam. The Palm House was a lavish conservatory (burned down in 1880) that was quite a sight to see, if this is any indication.

Blechen did two versions; another view, hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago, was given to Frederick's daughter, who had married Nichola I of Russia.

This is a lavish example of Romantic Orientalism, with the palms, the architecture, even the harem girls lounging on the floor.

From the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

#Art #CarlBlechen #Romanticism #Orientalism #Conservatories

Mrfunkedude, 2 months ago to random

If there is a god, and I finally meet it, the first question I'm going to ask is "WHY DO I POOP MORE THEN I EAT?!?!?"

And that will be the end of your god.

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to random

Musical Interlude: A few years ago, I happened on Elise LeGrow's album of R&B classics and really enjoyed it. A Canadian singer, she doesn't get much notice here in the States, which is a shame. She's got a great voice and delivers her songs with conviction.

"Sincerely," performed by Elise LeGrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLECLCnu7Io

#MusicalInterlude #Sincerely #EliseLeGrow #LoveSong #Ballad #RhythmAndBlues

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to random

Last night, I found out about Analog Sea, an offline publisher with near-zero online presence. Their website is basically, "Hi, we're Analog Sea. We're publishers. Want more information? Write us a letter." They won't sell through Amazon or other online outfits. I will have to find out more, this is intriguing.

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to random

My latest rug project is done.

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to classicalmusic

Musical Interlude: I've had spring on the brain today, and here's a piece that has always sung of springtime to me. I guess it could easily indicate something else to other listeners, but for me, it speaks of the gentle warmth of a spring day.

"Piano Concerto No. 2," composed by Johannes Brahms, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by Bernard Haitink, with Emanuel Ax on piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40NsFKuskH0&t=6s

#MusicalInterlude #classicalmusic #Brahms #PIanoConcerto #SpringtimeMusic

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to random

Spring is coming....

(Not my photo.)

Vagrarian, 2 months ago to art

"Ongoku," Chigusa Kitani, 1918.

Kitani (1895-1947) was a great nihonga painter (i.e. one who uses mineral pigments) and teacher who worked tirelessly to teach, nurture, and promote women artists in Japan.

This is a six-panel folding screen, painted on silk. A woman stands looking through a window at a boy inside, who appears to me as if he's not paying attention to her. This was painted just after the death of Kitani's younger brother, expressing her grief and how she misses him. The title comes from a song for the Buddhist Urabon festival, which is sung to welcome ancestral spirits visiting from the afterlife.

From the Osaka National Museum of Art.

#Art #Nihonga #AsianArt #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #ChigusaKitani #MourningArt