It is not often that I actually sit down and watch 3 hours of television but I was hyped about the new A Raisin in the Sun that aired last night. The time seemed to go by quickly which translates into I was pretty enthralled. The cinematography was fast moving which I think helped to conveyed the intensity and the life of this family, The Youngers, living in Chicago in 1959. Two of my mother's siblings relocated to Chicago from the south looking for better wages and a better life...this embodied their story and still embodies many stories of anyone immigrating to the U.S. today.
Even though I've watched the original version several times the newer one still seemed fresh...its a great story and hopefully introduced a younger generation to this classic. Ade, my youngest, made me smile when he recited the poem What Happens to A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes as part of the intro to the start of the movie. Up until recently, this blog turned up most frequently in searches for Langston Hughes...some time ago I posted one of my favorite poems by him. Now my blog comes up most frequently for searches on "skin carvings". I know that is from my stamp carving but what in the world is up with the interest in skin carving???
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Do you ever come across art that just makes you shake your head and wave your hand in the air and renders you speechless? And sometimes you have to avert your eyes because the vision is so breathtaking? Music, poetry, literature will sometimes get ahold of me like this and when I look at the artwork of quilter Valerie White I hear music and see poetry and literature. Yesterday I received word that she has finally established her place on the web. Check out her quilts at www.valeriecwhite.com . My prediction is that Wynton Marsalis will come across her work and give her a call to illustrate the cover of his cd...I think it would be a perfect marriage of her art and his music. Also, some talented children's writer should contact her to illustrate a story. Her quilts would be a wonderful accompaniment to a children's story. I would predict Virginia Hamilton but she has passed already. But this is a small portion of what happens to me when I view or hear something that gets me excited...immediately ideals start to flow about all the possibilities...sometimes I have to calm myself down. Valerie's work is exciting like that.
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Woohoo, I love getting goodies through the mail among bills and coupons. On Saturday I received a Pay It Forward gift from Nellie Durand . After I opened the envelope this is what I saw: 
wrapped with such care that I waited a day to open it until I could get a photo. Then when I unwrapped it and struggled over whether to save the paper for a future project, (this going green is not easy), this is what I saw: 
A lovely beach scene which is refreshing here in cold Febuary. Thank you Nellie! It is very textured which I love running my hand across.
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Speaking of dreams deferred...the last space I looked at for a possible studio was too small...it was a great location but wouldn't allow me to move all the stuff I want out of this apartment plus it squeezes my budget by 50 bucks.
The space that seems perfect is in a warehouse. It has 4 really giant-size windows that run across the front and is in a very long room that would be great for viewing a design board. The room is painted a stark bright white. Other artists are there, but the location gives me pause...the other locations I've looked at have some measure of being open to foot traffic although they were too small or way over my price range. This location is in a humungous warehouse that use to be a woolen mill that folded during the depression and since the 1930s through the 1960s was used as a warehouse by one of the tobacco manufacturers. The area is a combination of residential and old commercial buildings that I wouldn't feel comfortable working in after dark.
In the same neighborhood a few weeks ago a warehouse burned down to the ground. It housed about a half-dozen, maybe more, artists' studios and living space. A man and his dog lost their life. This put a chill in my bones about this "almost perfect space" and I knew that if I go this route I'd definitely want insurance which would be another cost I hadn't really given too much weight to. But this warehouse is about 100 years old or more and fixed up "just enough" and there is a glass artist who works in the undeveloped basement where there is a lot of "stuff" and dust. I hope these second, third thoughts are a sign of wisdom trying to seep in and not fear and procrastination...
