Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, tagged art, color, creative, imagination, Inspiration, light, multiple sclerosis, mythology, painting, sculpture on November 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Now on view at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA, an exhibit of works by artist Donald Langosy. Learn more on the center’s website: https://www.multiculturalartscenter.org/. If you’re unable to make it into town, the website also presents a virtual gallery.
FYI, it was my pleasure years ago to take a peek inside his studio. Enjoy.
https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/2016/07/07/in-the-langosy-studio/
Posted in Inspiration, tagged angels, art, Christmas, faith, ice, ice sculpture, Inspiration, Photography, sculpture, spirituality on December 20, 2020| 3 Comments »
It was cold in Copley Square yesterday but well worth the layering, hand warmers jammed into pockets, etc to watch the action as this depiction of the Holy Family emerged from blocks of ice. Weather permitting you should be able to view this life-sized outdoor sculpture between 4:30 and 7:30 daily into the New Year. Located on the Boylston Street side of Trinity Church near the statue of Phillips Brooks.
Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged beauty, glass, Inspiration, Photography, sculpture, women artists on July 21, 2019| 3 Comments »
The amazing work of artist Karen LaMonte on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Art. https://www.karenlamonte.com/
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, On the Road, tagged art, baroque, czech republic, Dolni Brezany, faith, Inspiration, Photography, religious art, sacrifice, sculpture, statues, travel on November 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I had wandered away from the conference during an official break and found myself in, what I realized later, was the village square of Dolni Brezany. One of the square’s most startling features is a large stone sculpture of Jesus on the cross. This Calvary sculpture dates to the 18th century and is a replica with the original apparently relocated to the National Museum.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged art, beauty, creativity, glass, glasswork, imagination, Inspiration, Photography, prague, sculpture on November 14, 2018| 1 Comment »
While I missed the glass dresses at Galerie Portheimka, there was another quite stunning exhibit on display. It is actually a permanent display called Glass as Art.
Learn more here: http://www.museumportheimka.cz/vystava/glass-as-art/
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged art, beauty, creativity, czech republic, fashion, glass, glasswork, imagination, innovation, Inspiration, karen lamonte, Photography, prague, sculpture, travel on November 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »
… I peek in windows. And, thank goodness, I did this day as I walked past the Portheimka Galerie, a glass museum.
I thought what I saw in the early morning hours was a new exhibit being installed. Unfortunately for me, it was an exhibit being taken down!
I am grateful for what I did see and to learn of the artist Karen Lamonte. You can view more of her beautiful work on her website: https://www.karenlamonte.com/
And for more information about Portheimka, visit here: http://www.museumportheimka.cz/introduction/
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged immigration, Inspiration, migration, musings, Photography, prose, rock, sculpture, urban landscape on July 2, 2018| 2 Comments »
The statues stand on the shore of the Hudson River, ever-changing, at least for now. They are the effort of one man who has no special goal and who with his silence invites the viewer to read the rocks, as did the author of this guest post who shared these words and images over one hot, tumultuous weekend as the nation’s ears rang with the cries of a child.
Words and Images by Donna Stenwall
He literally balances one rock on top of another. That is it. It is amazing. Kids come by and knock them down and he keeps building. He’s been at it for 2 years. He thinks he will stop in August. The Parks Department said they wouldn’t be able to adopt it and care for it. Who knows what will happen.
In this moment, what do I see? The gentleman in the middle reminds me of the potbellied clown tipsy as he holds on to the lamppost. A paint on velvet picture from my youth.
The proud Victorian woman with her starched bonnet, chest held high, as they made their way from Europe to New York to start a new life.
The Puritan escaping persecution for her beliefs. Is she waiting for another ship to arrive? Gazing towards the world she left behind to start a new life in a new world. Would she even recognize this country she held with such hope and such promise? I do not.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, cemeteries, civil war, Civil War memorials, history, Inspiration, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Photography, sculpture, sphinx, storytelling on April 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The American Sphinx is located in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA. Commissioned and designed by Jacob Bigelow, founder of the cemetery, the sphinx was sculpted by Martin Milmore. It is composed of a single block of granite and was completed in July 1872 by Milmore and his brother, Joseph.
It is a rather unique Civil War monument. Inscribed in Latin and English on its sides are the following words:
American Union Preserved
African Slavery Destroyed
By the Uprising of a Great People
By the Blood of Fallen Heroes
In a rather poignant twist, Jacob Bigelow never actually saw the sculpture. By the time it was completed he was blind though as recounted on the Mount Auburn Cemetery website, friends remembered him visiting the statue and “fondly touching the contours of the massive form.” Learn more via the link below.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged cemeteries, Inspiration, Photography, sculpture, strange beauty, urban landscape on April 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Worn by weather, and the occasional falling tree branch, the statues in Mount Auburn Cemetery always seem to be changing … a slow change… but change nonetheless.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, art exhibits, beauty, colors, Della Robbia, Florence, Inspiration, Photography, Renaissance, sculpture on November 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Della Robbia: Sculpting with Color in Renaissance Florence is a current exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It is a beautifully curated show featuring glazed terracotta that, as one visitor stated, if you did not know the sculptures were made over 500 years ago, you would think that they were made just yesterday.
The colors are still that vivid thanks to a unique glazing recipe developed by Luca della Robbia (1399/1400–1482). The sculptures produced by his family, based in Florence, Italy, are dramatic in design and expression and rather luminous.
detail from The Visitation, 1455, on loan from the church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas in Pistoia, Italy
Della Robbia’s signature colors of white and cerulean blue radiate with a brilliance that would become the family hallmark. There is a deep richness to the others colors as well.
For the exhibit the MFA pulled together nearly 50 objects from U.S. collections and from Italy. On view in the museum’s Lois B. and Michael K. Torf Gallery, the freestanding sculptures and other decorative pieces are organized around three themes – hope, love, and faith. Exhibit curator Marietta CAmbareri describes these as the virtues of the Renaissance, guiding peoples’ lives at the time.
The exhibit, a visual treat, runs through December 4th. More details available here: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/della-robbia
Words + Images 