Beatrice Wood at the Renwick

I had never seen a Beatrice Wood piece before I saw these pieces sharing the case with the previous teapot.

Now I know why everyone has a fit over her glazes. (The formulae for which she took to her grave, unfortunately.)

They absolutely GLOW. This is a mustard glaze with a rich brown background is almost hare's fur glaze. It just vibrates. I wish so much I could take my jeweler's glass to that surface. I think I would see a slide of microscopic crystals tobogganing down the sides of the rims and across the surface.

I'd love to know the heft and weight of these pieces; they look as if they could be light.

Too bad my camera's battery sighed it's last just after I took this shot.

Not Clay, but Nice Form

This wonderful hammered silver teapot with the coral lid knob was sitting in a case in the permanent collection section of the Renwick.

It's almost more a piece of jewelry than a utilitarian vessel.

Maybe jewelry for your table?

The body is produced by skillfully hammering a flat, round disc into a three dimensional piece. And, the statement here is that it is all hand-made, which is an admirable work of skill. The only thing I find stops the eye is the slight irregularity of the hand wrought handle.

Everything works here. The rough textured body, the graceful arch of the handle which lands on two toes above the spout, the tripod legs.

The whole thing just seems to have flown in and lightly landed on the table.

And look how the spout joins and blends so well with the shape of the body. This is a spout that means business......

"Theme and Variation", a mantra my modern art professor used to say. The variation is the audacity of the coral, I think.

This photo goes into my "Teapots" file for future reference. It would look nice interpreted in clay. A bit of a challenge, but worth trying.

The Phillips Collection, D.C.

While in Washington D.C., I made the trek past Dupont Circle to the Phillips Collection. It's a little hard to find since it's located a bit off Massachusetts Ave. I made a special effort to go there this time, since I just have not visited this museum before, usually making the rounds of the Renwick, Freer and any one of the other Smithsonian museums. After that visit, the Phillips will go to the top of my list. What a great place to spend the day.

The collection is unique.

There is a nice mix of early and later modern work and a range of European and American pieces. I discovered a couple of artists I had never seen before and who have done intriguing work. I plan to research more on both when I get home. There's a nice mix of European impressionist paintings--some w

ell known works by Renoir, Monet, Picasso, and of course, my favorite, Gauguin. I'm always amazed at how his colors just glow--something you can't see in a book. The jewel of the collection must be Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" which is huge and takes up one entire wall of an exhibit room.

**Scale is something you never get in books. The Mona Lisa is surprisingly small. The Night Watch by Rembrandt is nearly life size.**

The collection is not arranged according to say, European impressionism, the pictures are hung in each room as they relate to each other.

For example, I walked into one room and realized immediately that it was all about negative space. I was totally intrigued by it and returned to look again before leaving. This work by Francis Bacon (Not my favorite painter until I saw this) was massive. A photo just cannot do it justice. One square foot of this painting is just as interesting as the whole. It has very subtle brushstrokes and beautiful overlay of pigment. It is so mysterious, I could live with it and study it daily.

The other great thing about the Phillips is you can actually walk up and get close to a painting--up to two feet, they request--to enjoy a really close look at the work. Photos without flash are also permitted in the permanent collection. Unfortunately, my camera battery gave up the ghost. And I did not trust my cell phone's camera to suppress the flash.

I was lucky enough to walk into the main living room of the house (The Phillips is a museum building joined to a Greek Revival residence which has been turned into display spaces and offices) while a concert rehearsal was going on. The singer had a beautiful operatic voice and was accompanied by a string quartet. A folding chair on the side of the room was empty and I immediately jumped into it to sit behind the first violin and be with about 15 feet of the singer. What a rare treat! The music was a selection I'm guessing from a Spanish composition and during a break for discussion of some fragment or other, the musicians were talking to each other in Spanish (singer and 2 violins) and either a Scandinavian or Russian dialect between the viola and cello players. They were preparing for a concert that evening. I love rehearsals almost as much as performances because you can hear them taking apart and analyzing some phrase of the music. I happily stayed glued to my seat until they finally broke to rest before the performance.

The Phillips has a nice small cafe. The food is a selection of cold sandwiches, salads and pastries. The room has been decorated by a wall treatment called "Flurries", a cream-colored wallpaper with transparent apricot colored glassy half-bubbles or spheres placed in interesting patters over the surface and extending over the glass windows and doors. A video showing the process of installing the wall treatment, along with two other videos of installations in the museum are shown in a continuous loop for you to watch while you enjoy the food. The Flurries video: http://www.youtube.com/user/PhillipsArtMuseum

Other work: The Migration Series - wonderful abstractly executed narrative series by Jacob Lawrence.

And this little jewel by Christenberry.

Museums- Renwick

While in Washington D.C. this last week, I made the trek to visit the Renwick.

It's always first on my list. My timing isn't the greatest, though. Half the bottom floor is walled off in prep for the next exhibit which will be all wood craftsmanship. I'm sorry to miss that one.

The other half was a collection of works made by Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during the Second World War. The pieces were both beautiful and sad. Even in the desolation of their surroundings, the spirit of Art still whispered in their ears and things of beauty were made of the humblest of materials: Beautifully carved wood pins, tiny chests and implements, sewn garments and constructed utensils, inkstones and an amazing teapot chiseled out of common slate. A slide show of the exhibit can be found at http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions and scroll down to The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946

I'm sure there are many families who own and treasure such items of that time and this was but a small representation. I came away feeling sad for them and shaking my head at the injustice.

The second floor of the Renwick had old friends on display plus a few new things from the permanent collection.

One of my favorites is Ghost Clock, an actual sized wood sculpture of a long case clock that appears to be covered by a white cloth, tied in the middle. On close inspection, the cloth, which is astoundingly real looking is not fabric at all, but wood. I wonder how many times the alarm goes off daily from people just having to touch it to be sure it is not a sheet. Wendell Castle is a master.

A Quick Trip to DC

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Washington D.C. A quick trip, only four days, more's the pity. Each year that we go, I have my list of museums to visit. I like to go alone, take my time, make notes to myself and to think.

The Corcoran has a small bistro on one side of the main lobby that offered wonderful lunches. I usually plan to arrive sometime during the lunchtime window. And ditto for the mezzanine service at the Museum for Women in the Arts.

I always go to the Renwick. There's always a good show there, to say nothing of their per

manent collection upstairs. (Which, this year, the upstairs display was very limited. The Catlins are all off the walls and the Grand Salon is undergoing a major renovation. Wonder what they have done with those two massive vases that always anchored

two sides of the massive room?)

The Corcoran Gallery usually has the student's show plus some large, multi-room display. I'll never forget the Topkapi one a few years ago.

I always make it to the Museum of Women in the Arts. Their shows are always good. This year, it was gowns and jewelry from the designer, Mary McFadden. I was a little unsure of--

1. Whether a clothes designer could pull off an art display equal to some I had already seen at the museum. and 2. If I would really care.

I was wowed. McFadden bases her designs on classic and ethnic references and her sense of color is unparalleled. The collection included some of her personal jewelry and pieces she has collected from all over the world as reference pieces. Her clothing is the height of textile skill. The clothes were cut and put together beautifully. I wished I could have seen how they were constructed on the inside. The decoration, usually in beading, was superb.

Unfortunately, the annual Art of the Book is no longer available on the library level of the museum. They have closed the great art reference library permanently. I'm sorry they had to do that. The exhibit was also one of the highlights of the museum.

Everywhere I visited, cutbacks in expenses were very evident. The lunches were pared down to minimalist offerings. The service staff was nearly gone. At the Corcoran, only one sole woman was receiving people, taking orders, cashiering the pre-pay and putting the food on a 6-foot table for pick-up. No more elegant lunches there. The Museum for Women in the Arts was the same thing--two servers and edited menus.

When I was at the Renwick, a great show about the architect brothers Green and Green of California was set up. Examples of joinery, hardware, floor plans, lamps, pieces of furniture, stained glass, etc. were displayed. A wonderful film of homes designed for their owners was being presented in one room. When it was over, I went to the museum shop to see if I could get a CD of it. It wasn't available. I asked if there was a catalog of the show. No, the volunteer said. Was there at least a poster? Nope.

All the shops in the museums were sparse. The Corcoran has divided the gift shop space in half and is selling off stock at discounted prices. The selection available is mostly print matter--books and postcards. The Renwick still has individual artist's pieces on display, but they have cut their stock radically. The same goes for W. in the A. They is discounting nearly everything.

It's sad to see the arts take such a hit.

Studio Jewelry at the Renwick

A few weeks ago we made a busy trip to D.C. Each time we go, I have my 'rounds' to the Renwick, the Corcoran and to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I try to at least make it to these places and as many other museums as possible.

A trip to the Renwick is always inspiring, but this time it was the contemporary jewelry show that sent me back to the hotel with my head buzzing. There was about 250 pieces of work on display.





















As well as this huge and beautiful necklace pictured here, there were about 250 pieces on display. This necklace is made of acrylic and sterling.

One truly interesting piece was made of very humble materials indeed--multiple pieces of colored cardboard and elastic thread. A total wonder. I spent a good bit of time trying to visualize how this was made. The artist had to (1) color the board with graduating colors in order to control the variation and progression of color. (2) cut out the shapes so that the juxtaposition creates the 'swirl' repeat. I wish I had a photo, but taking pictures was not allowed in the gallery.

The great thing about this show is that it also included some of the artist's working drawings and diagrams. I was interested to see the variations in these graphic 'thoughts'. Some were works of art in their own right; others were practically gestures. Quickly and spontaneously drawn almost in a rush to get the inspiration down on paper before it flew away.

And Speaking of Elephants, Here's some Reeealy Big Elephants

There is a store in London named Thomas Goode, ltd located just south of Oxford Street and Grosvenor Square on South Audley. It's not far from the American Embassy.

Flanking the entrance and standing behind huge glass display windows are these fabulous ceramic elephants. You can find more pictures of them on the web at www.thomasgoode.co.uk. The elephants are majolica and were made for the company by Minton around 1898. They stand at about 8 feet tall. They are truly awesome.
If you go to the Goode website, you can see another view of one of the elephants and also read about the history of the company. The outside of the building is decorated with tiles and enormous Chinese-style vases set in niches high above street level. Alongside the south wall are beautiful tiles in the wall. It is quite impressive. When I worked and lived in the UK and I would pass this business often on my lunch hour and would never tire of looking at the wonderful elephants and beautiful display windows. I try to return every time I visit London. (Which hasn't been nearly enough!)

Inside, the shop and museum seems to go on and on with rooms filled with of the finest examples of ceramics to be seen anywhere. Goode still produces china wares for sale as they have since the early part of the 19th Century.

From the British Museum

This is a surprising object. First of all, it looks quite old. And it is in the British Museum surrounded by unique, one-of-a-kind examples of Japanese art. I photographed it because I had never seen a ewer quite like it. I estimate it to be close to 9 inches long. It has a nice porportion and looks like it would serve it's owner well. The decoration fits the form and is beautifully executed.

Imagine how surprised I was to learn that this is a modern piece. It was made around 1990 by Soma Masakazu, an artist born in Okinawa in 1949. The information card reads:

"This ewer is designed for pouring alcoholic drinks. It has a typically Ryukyuan combination of clear, bright colours. The distinctive curved shape, called a dachibin, can be worn at the hip. Soma, the maker has given the traditional local style a modern twist."

The piece is stoneware and was donated by the artist. It would be a great form to experiment with.

Beauty in Objects

Here's a simple bell displayed in the Victoria & Albert in the Viking Section. What a striking, simple form and an inspiration for a teapot handle.

Taken a bit farther in ornamentation, these two bells are real beauties. (Sorry about the quality of the photo--lots of glass-case reflection going on) They look like ancient bells that had been encased at a later time in brass. Makes you wonder how precious they were that they would have this ornamentation added. What were they used for that would cause the owners to embellish them so? Was the brass casing an influence of Irish design; the result of seeing/taking plunder from Irish monastaries? There have been cases of plunder from raids being broken up or redesigned to embellish Viking artifacts. These pieces seem to be examples of this practice.

Two cases held stunning drinking horns. How beautiful they are and how amazing it is they have survived all these years. One wonders how they were used; what went into them? What did the animals look like that had these glorious horns? They were quite large--it would take two hands to drink from them. Were they hung on pillars in the log houses? Were they fastened to packs and taken on ships? Who drank out of them? Were they ceremonial horns or for only special people to use? By the way, the collection of small pots in the lower left of the second photo is a grouping of brass-capped burl knots made into little containers. Quite unique. For Viking chap-stick, perhaps?