happy may day

peek-a-boo

holy cow it's may?? 5 months into 2008?

yesterday i made my students meet at the asian art museum in SF. we went through the special exhibitions together.

the zhan wang show was really fun. i like that the museum is trying to infuse new life and contemporary art into their program. mr. wang created a mock up of the city of san francisco using shiny silver dinnerware [made in china of course]. it's clever and charming and of course perfectly shiny. he also recreated rocks out of stainless steel - a version of scholars rocks. i'm not sure the showing of those is so resolved. i don't really like the real rock with the steel rock side by side en masse on shelves and the ground as they were displayed. i conceptually get why you want them both in proximity, but something wasn't working for me.... i liked the ones outside of the exhibition best. the real was on one side of the entrance and the fake was on the other. they were close enough so you could discern the steel was a copy - but far enough away to actually see them both. the idea of a steel - not gold, not silver - light instead of heavy and perfectly shaped rock is intriguing. i thought stephanie might like them.

we also went through the ukiyo-e or floating world exhibition. time and time again i am absorbed by the overlay of pattern in traditional japanese art. the odd perspectives and the combining of textures feels very familiar to my own way of working. i also really really love the way gold clouds hover and cover scenes below. [note to self - bring back the clouds].

i then separated from my class and walked through the rest of the permanent collections. i always feel a bit strange wandering through rooms of artifacts from other cultures. 100's of buddhas away from their proper homes displayed in perfectly red, brown, teal rooms on little pedestals and tricky plexi double sided displays. the objects are still beautiful, but they are so far removed from their original purpose. it also makes me kind of sad....

but i did fall in love with this very small yellow cup. the heart fluttering kind of love. i went home and sketched it.....

small yellow cup

oh how i want it !

anyway - i left the museum and found a farmer's market right by the BART station i needed to get home. so i purchased the above ranunculus. i couldn't resist. they were so charming. so i share them with you to wish you all a happy may day. i also got fava beans and strawberries. i was also thinking about how lovely it was to come upon a market. and how nice it is to notice how flowers can have delicate two tone edges.... [note to self: plant ranunculus someday]

tonight i am running a workshop at the san jose museum of art . we will make felt robots inspired by the amazing hillary of wee wonderfuls and the uber talented wendy . wish me luck!

tomorrow or saturday i will announce some news - good news for those of you that missed out on the tiny showcase print and wanted one.....

Comments

shari said…
felt robots?! oh my gosh. i'm jealous. :) loving the new header. happy may day to you! xx
Happy May-Day Lisa...! I am with you on the blink and you miss it year thus far....what is with that?

...dreamy ranunculus! Great find :)

Hope you have some nice Chianti lined up to go with your Fava beans? hehe... {sorry - couldn't resist it ;)))}...enjoy! xo
wendy said…
love thaose ranunculus & that yellow cup.
loving all the notes to self!
have fun with the robots!!!!
xoxoxo
wendy said…
& I'm with shari the new banner totally pops.
Julie said…
happy may day!

oh, ukiyo-e! some of my favourite pieces from all those art history classes are those of the floating world. sounds like a great exhibition :)

and you know i'll be waiting for that news!
Anonymous said…
Sigh, is it May already? (I guess the good thing is that we rather spend time outside than being stuck in front of a screen)...about the artifacts being far away from home, I guess in a way, it is sad but it's also a way to share culture and be inspired by something unique to other parts of the world?
alice said…
Love the ranunculus :)
Esti said…
happy may to you too! may and its flowers feels always light, new and exciting :)
Tiffany said…
I plant ranunculus and portulacas every year...just because I like saying their names. :^)

Sounds as if you had the most lovely of days - enjoy your weekend!

Tiff*
amisha said…
happy belated may day lovely. those flowers are beautiful... reminder to go get some flowers in the morning and brighten up my space too!
and i feel the same way about walking through artifact rooms in museums... fascinated but also a bit sad...
xox
Anke said…
I do wish I could take one of your classes sometimes (well everytime you write about them actually...). Have a great May-Day and enjoy your flowers...the heads tend to get heavy forcing the stems to bend, apparently putting them in very little water helps to prevent that.
xo
may day has passed, so happy may! your museum trip sounded great - lovely flowers too... be well...x
Anonymous said…
i love that you were so inpsired by the yellow cup that you went home and drew it.
you are the best.
Anonymous said…
We had a similar Floating World exhibition here recently, and it was so very inspiring and so beautiful to see... here's to clouds being referenced somehow in your work.

hugs, g xo
Anonymous said…
Do you have a little book which lists all those note to self's? It would make for a fantastic artists book I think. I love your little yellow cup too. Artefacts are on both our minds it seems. xoxo lj
Anonymous said…
I am completely taken with your flowers. Such delicate beauty folded and enveloped, each petal a lovely colour seeping out it's story, entangled in the story of the newspaper's words. That something can at once be simple, and complicated.
[I must make a note to myself to buy flowers with a story]
bugheart said…
you are such
a great teacher
to take
them to exhibits
like that...
so inspiring.
that yellow cup-
perfectly you.
xoxo

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