artists

A sunny smile + a cool offer

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

I spotted this sign on my street yesterday and thought it might help soothe some frazzled election nerves.

Confession: that image actually kinda twists my brain as our household used to include a golden retriever we called Packy and then later, a keeshond by the name of Sunny! The sign is like a mashup of our two beloved dogs.

In addition to bringing a smile, I also want to let you know about an opportunity to express your animal love while at the same time helping the people of Gaza. Watercolor painter (and professional cat lady, sociologist (MA, PhD), adjunct lecturer at SUNY), Gyunghee Park, has an amazing offer in support of esims for Gaza:

Donate 10GB to Gaza and I’ll personally send you a 6x6inch portrait of your cat, dog, ferret, hamster, bunny, lizard, etc. for free! Just message me proof of purchase and your address. [Gyunghee can be reached at: Gyunghee.park AT outlook DOT com]

I’ve posted before about esims for Gaza, but here’s the explanation from Connecting Humanity (group of volunteers coordinating gazaesims.com):

Since October 2023
People in Gaza are cut off from the internet by Israeli bombing and blocking. Every photo you see from Gaza since then has come through an eSIM, a virtual SIM card, which connects people to the internet.
eSIMs can save lives and give Gazans a voice to show the genocide in Gaza. Connecting Humanity provide eSIMs to journalists, medical professionals, aid workers, families, people documenting the genocide and children and students who are all using eSIMs to stay connected with the world and each other.
Over 400,000 eSIMs have been donated through Connecting Humanity, without your generosity Gaza would be totally isolated. eSIMs are saving lives and showing the world the genocide.

They are in desperate need of more esims and currently only have the ability to provide them to medical staff, journalists, and students. With your help, they can again provide esims to civilians facing incredible hardship.

How do you do this?

  • Go to gazaesims.com to learn how to purchase and donate esims OR donate money HERE for the purchase and distribution of esims.
  • NOTE: I’ve had the easiest transactions with Nomad. Use discount code NOMADCNG

Just think how wonderful it will be to gaze upon a watercolor rendering of your beloved dog, cat, hamster, turtle, bunny (shh, don’t tell Sunny), or ChiaPet, knowing it was made possible by your generosity and sense of shared humanity. Bonus: The artist Gyunghee Park also accepts commissions at Gyunghee.park AT outlook DOT com so if you like her portrait of your doggie friend, you might also want to get one of your gecko. PLEASE share here if you take Gyunghee up on her offer!

Thank you for reading this far. Keep hydrated and remember to breathe. We’re all in this together. Solidarity!

You are invited

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

I discovered Norwegian artist Tiril Valeur through Mariame Kaba‘s newsletter and wanted to share because (1) I love this anti-genocide sentiment and want everyone to take it to heart and (2) the artist-activist has created additional powerful pieces you can access here. Beautiful art that refuses to keep quiet is needed more than ever as the U.S. enables genocide and regional war.

Free Palestine! Free Sudan! Free Congo! Free all oppressed people! ✊🏽

Shadow painting

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Shadow is a colour as light is, but less brilliant;
light and shadow are only the relation of two tones.
  ~ Paul Cezanne

April 3, 2021

I was bustling about the home today, tending to neglected domestic chores, when this lovely shadow painting appeared. I had the good sense to stop what I was doing and grab the camera. I’ve lived in this house for nearly 24 years and have never seen such a thing.

Maple tree branches, the window frame, and a hanging light fixture turn out to be a compelling composition. Who would’ve guessed?

The fighting artist

/ Tracy Abell

Photo by Heloisa Freitas from Pexels

If you are born an artist,
you have no choice but to fight to stay an artist.
~ Lana Del Rey

Per my experience, this feels like a true sentiment. There’s an inner urge/drive/motivation that doesn’t seem to ever go away. No matter what.

However, some days it’s harder than others to put on those boxing gloves and assume the fighting stance.

This week’s date

/ Tracy Abell

It was Zippy’s week to choose our date and he chose LOVING VINCENT.

It’s the first ever fully painted feature film, painted by a team of over 100 artists.
That’s 65,000 painted frames.

Visually, the movie was stunning. Narratively, it was a bit bumpy.
Still and all, I’m glad to have experienced it. Vincent Van Gogh felt  things very deeply, and any celebration of sensitive people can only be a good thing for humanity.

Jet plane through the solar plexus

/ Tracy Abell

We’re back home from our travels. My body is slowly adjusting to its usual time zone, but I still feel like I’m sleepwalking through glue.

I wanted to document the wallpaper I put on my phone at the start of our trip. The Minneapolis Airport had an employee art exhibit that we really enjoyed. This painting by Julie Fischer is titled QUARTER-LIFE CRISIS, and it won Best of Show in the Airport Foundation Employee Art Show.

Over the past ten days, I saw this image every time I looked at my phone. Something about the oxygen mask and a jet plane through the solar plexus felt very apt.

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Day 2: art in Amsterdam

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

We did a whole lot today: Climate March + MOCO Museum for Banksy/Dali exhibits + Climate March again + FOAM Museum for William Eggleston’s LOS ALAMOS exhibit plus additional photography exhibits, and then dinner out at SNCKBR. (And yeah, I’m totally cognizant of the fact that there are a whole lotta acronyms in the preceding sentence.)

It’s been a good day here in Amsterdam. So good, in fact, that I’m having trouble picking just one image to represent the experience. (To add more pics would result in a marathon blog post, and I don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.) So I’m going to leave it at this quote that was painted on the wall at the Banksy exhibit:
Actually, this is THE perfect sentiment for the day. You know why? The “art” wasn’t just in those museums. It was also on display in Museumplein where all those people gathered to voice their concern/outrage/hopes/etc regarding the climate change affecting the planet.

We’re a creative species, and it’s gonna take a whole lotta outrage + art + action to get us out of this mess. It’s a daunting endeavor. But today, between the civic action outside the museums and the creativity exhibited inside, I truly believe that is possible.

Art is essential to our survival.

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What it means to be an artist

/ Tracy Abell

To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.
~ Akira Kurosawa

zoey-averting-her-gaze

Yes, I absolutely agree with Mr. Kurosawa. Art calls for the unflinching truth. However, sometime’s I’m with Zoey and just want to avert my gaze. Sometimes it’s just too damned much to process.

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