Author Archives: Cindy

Drawing Master: Odilon Redon

While prepping for the Live Art Fusion at this years Cirque du Noir I am reminded of one of my absolute favorite artists: Symbolist painter Odilon Redon.
Check out his amazing work in charcoal and pastel. His artwork drops my jaw and my heart all the way to the floor! His technique with tone and color has always been something I’ve aspired to emulate. Its my opinion that he is one of the most over looked artists from the turn of the 20th century. So, if you are participating in Slow Art at the Worcester Art Museum be sure to take a look at the Odilon Redon in their permanent collection.
Until then enjoy these highlights I found online:

Art, Fun, Fundraising and Halloween

There’s a ton of artsy happenings around Worcester this month that will give you the chance to dress up, dress down, buy art, get creative, laugh, watch and enjoy!!

and if you’re looking for Halloween costume ideas, follow Festival Creative for lots of inspired imagery.

Mr Smartass Theatre Show Oct 7th at The Lucky Dog
Wodehouse Day Oct 15th 1920’s style cocktail party
Slow Art Oct 17th Worcester Art Museum
Arts in the Afternoon Oct 18th benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester
Cirque Du Noir Oct 25th at Bocado benefits Worcester County Food Bank Art Auction and LIVE Art Fusion, Black Costume Party!
Fire and Ice Oct 30th annual ArtsWorcester Fund-raising Gala and Art Auction
Hybrid Movement Co McNally’s Fate Oct 31st at the Hanover Theater benefits the Massachusetts School Teachers Association- Aerial Acrobatics, Beauty and strength with breathtaking artistry.

Pecha Kucha Vol.2 recap

Keith Cross of Milkrow Studio produced this voice over version of his Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 2 topic “Learning Letterpress”. Modern digital design students may find the process of letterpress limiting but Keith encourages everyone to see the liberation letterpress can have:

Stay tuned for LIVE Pecha Kucha Worcester Videos on our youtube group.
PKN Vol. 2 pictures by Michelle May, Rich Beaubien and Donna Dufault Flickr group.

About 100 people came out on Sunday Sept 14th for Pecha Kucha Night Worcester Vol. 2. The evening was filled with laughs and enthusiasm from the crowd as they reacted to presenters Dr Gonzo and Jeffu Warmouth, quiet admiration for Lennie Peterson and Trisha Barry’s work and thought provoking presentations from Michael Gennert, Jeff Baker, Ian Hickey and Keith Cross. It proved to be another fun night of diverse topics and inspiration!

Special Thanks goes out to:
Ian Hickey at 55 Pearl for feeding everyone his amazing creations that were based on his presentation “The Creative Process of Cooking”
Joe Madaus for providing video documentation for all the presenters.
Jeff Baker for making the projections possible.
Al Dancy, Donna Dufault for being our go-to volunteers.
Scott Boilard for creating beautiful presenter gifts

We had a blast and are looking forward to Vol.3 on Jan 24th 2010!

Jeff Warmouth, J Stuart Esty and Ian Hickey, Pecha Kucha Presenters

{Image © Jeff Warmouth}

Presenter Jeff Warmouth

Bio:

Jeffu Warmouth is a photo-based contemporary artist who has managed to make a career out of playing with his food. His work incorporates photography, video, objects, and installations, and uses jokes and comic twists to subvert logic, language, identity, and culture.

Jeffu has exhibited in alternative spaces and museums, including the DeCordova Museum, the Boston Center for the Arts, and Art Interactive in Cambridge. His award-winning film/video work has screened in festivals internationally. He received his MFA from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and heads the Interactive Multimedia program at Fitchburg State College.

Presenter J. Stuart Esty

Owner of Dr Gonzo’s Uncommon Condiments, J Stuart Esty is passionate about community and jalepenos. His creative and “uncommon” ways of getting his message out through social media certainly attracts attention! Read on…

Bio:

What led this inventor of the (seen on TV) “Jiffy Home Lobotomy Kit”: just insert the stainless steel icepick behind your ear and stir in a circular motion until all your problems and worries disappear…, proud founder of Spruce Up Yours Landscaping International LLC, this high powered Washington lobbyist, tirelessly fighting for our rights to carry concealed Kazoos, this former lead accordion player of a Maraca Rock and Roll Revue (until he was exiled from Columbia after an alleged affair with Juan Valdez’s burro), to dabble in the world of spicy comestibles? Maybe we’ll never know the reason for his shift in focus. All we can hope for is that he will continue to weave delicate textures, tastes and heat profiles in an effort to liberate us all from a world burdened by Bland.

Now, contrary to popular opinion, this iteration of Dr. GONZO is not (and never has been) a 300lb Samoan attorney. He is (and will continue to be) the traveling professor of Advanced Mixology and Arcane Aviation Physics at Hardknock University. Home of the Fighting Black and Blue Humping Lumper Marching Band; that not only carries the instruments in tight formation across the rugby pitch, they also carry the people that play the instruments in tight formation across the rugby pitch, and the (oh, so hard to get on) Intramural Cross Country Pruning Shear Relay Team, where we take running with scissors to the next level…

Stay tuned to YouTube’s DrGonzosCondiments channel for behind the scenes footage of Dr. GONZO’s ‘Secret’ Underground lab, Xtreme Grilling Team and early failed high volume production experiments of our “World Famous” Peppermash. Yes, sometimes the best humor involves the failings of another so, have a giggle at our expense.

J. Stuart Esty can be found loitering in and or around Dr. GONZO’s All Natural MEGA Spicy Comestible EMPORIUM at 122 Main St. (located in the heart of the hysterical courthouse district) in Worcester, MA (the cultural Mecca of Central Mass).

Presenter Ian Hickey

Chef Ian Hickey is presenting on Creative Processes of Cooking, He continually challenges himself to create a tilt on modern American Cuisine. I recently had the opportunity to hear his thoughts on this topic and was fascinated by the process behind building a menu and the challenges in balancing innovation with accessibility. I can’t wait to hear more about the art that goes into cooking!

Join us on Sept 13th 2009 at 55 Pearl Worcester Ma doors open at 7:20.
Featuring presentations by:
Jeff Baker
Trisha Barry
Keith Cross
J Stu Esty
Michael Gennert
Ian Hickey
Lennie Peterson
Jeff Warmouth
read more information about all these creative minds at:
http://pechakucha-worcester.blogspot.com/

Artist Profile Trisha Barry. PKN Vol. 2 Presenter

I met Trisha Barry about a year ago, as she was finishing up a photography project in Gardener, she told me that she tells stories through her photographs. The project in Gardener had intrigued her because one of the oldest furniture manufacturers in the country was closing up shop, laying off all the workers,and going out of business. She got into the factory and documented everything, talking to the workers, watching them at their craft seeing them leave on their final days, and as I heard her tell this story I too became intrigued. What other stories did she tell? A year with a farmer, six months at sea with a fisherman.

Trisha Barry tells stories through photographs, and as I type this blog I realize I can not tell her stories better than her. So here is a clip from the story she will share for Pecha Kucha Night on Sept 13th.

TWELVE MONTHS WITH A NEW ENGLAND FARMER

“It was the first snow fall of the winter that took me to the country roads of Warwick, MA to photograph. It was the old farm equipment all strewn about covered with snow, the unusual old barn, and what looked like discarded possessions everywhere that made me stop. Out of nowhere, a man appeared. He had piercing blue eyes, a white beard, and a worn hat with old nails, one on each side turning the brim up. He was dressed in farmer jeans and a flannel shirt. An instantaneous connection was made. I knew at the very moment I met him, there were a story to be told, and a friend to be made. His name was Ken Hubbard.
My curiosity led me to go back repeatedly and learn more. Discovering more with each visit, realizing as much character I saw in his face he had in his soul. Everything had a purpose, a history, and nothing was thrown away…”

Artist Bio
Fine art photographer Trisha Barry focuses on people. Her photographic essays are less about portraits of people but more about portraits of life. She states…“Everything and everybody has a history and a story, and my passion has led me to telling these stories, these “life portraits”, artistic documentations of people and life, images that preserve that moment in time, that “disappearing presence.” Motivating intuition that inspires meaning is the driving force behind her work.
Graduating from Mass College of Art with a degree in Fibers her early years were spent exploring the possibilities beyond the loom with different fibers creating sculptural pieces and vessels.
After graduating from college she began working with mixed media pieces incorporating her photographs creating visual stories with her viewers. It was then she realized she was leaning toward the photographic medium as a fine art.
Initially working with film in black and white she began showing her work and earning recognition. Her work involves exploring the life’s of people. Always wanting to know more about her subject she spends time with them developing a more personal approach to her storytelling.
“Trisha ability to look beneath the surface creates powerful visual dialogues that find true meaning in the simple things. Her photography is like beautiful poetry capturing pieces of vanishing America “,,, Fred Martins creative director of Tiziani Whitmyre.

Pecha Kucha Night Worcester Vol. 2

Pecha Kucha Night Worcester Vol. 2 at 55 Pearl Sunday Sept 13th 2009 in the GAR Hall.

Join us for an evening of creative chit-chat set in the historic Bull Mansion.

Recognized by the National Registry of Historic Places the Bull Mansion is know for its high Victorian Architecture. Innovation meets history at this restaurant where Chef Ian Hickey redefines New England cuisine. Pecha Kucha Night is taking over the mansions GAR Hall to present 8 speakers sharing their own passion, ideas and innovation.

The Pecha Kucha format has spread globally, and is hosted in over 226 cities worldwide. Come see what all the chit- chat is about.

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/worcester

Making Music and Art

Musician and Artist Lennie Peterson is passionate about the marriage of Music and Visual Art. He’s agreed to present at Pecha Kucha Night Worcester Vol. 2 to share his passion and insight about the spontaneous, improvised creation within the relationship of Music and Visual Art.
He also shared this concept recently with friend Kaki King, wow-ing her with the idea of painting a guitar with her music….using the action of strumming to mark the guitar. This idea took seed and grew into Kaki King “The Exhibition”. Ovation donated 12 guitars to be turned into art by 12 artists with a 13th guitar painted live at the exhibit and auctioned off to benefit VH1’s Save The Music.

Using the same guitar that she played “Pink Noise” on The David Letterman Show, she dipped her hands into pink acrylic paint and strummed out Pink Noise on stage at the exhibit (admitting that she would have to play Karaoke style because the sound will change as soon as the paint hits the guitar strings)
Thus creating Pink Noise The Guitar. This guitar hasn’t gone up for auction yet so stay tuned for where and when to bid. Until then check out these photos from the show.

A note about Sushi

The Zen of Fish is on my summer reading list, me being a sushi lover (and former sushi slinger) am finding the book very informative. Most Americans find sushi etiquette confusing ( and intimidating!) and think that most sushi they eat is the same as in Japan. Here’s a passage from The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson that offers some insight

“Jay was American, but his ancestors were Japanese. As he’d learned more about sushi, he’d become worried about the state of sushi in the United States. He would sit at a sushi bar and see people stirring globs of green wasabi paste into their soy sauce to make a thick gray goo. They’d slather their fish with the goo, eat it and exclaim “Oh, that’s such good fish!’ Jay himself used to do the same thing.
But now Jay knew that this behavior was distressing to the chef. Wasabi is a type of horseradish, and in the quantities required to make that thick gray goo, the spiciness of wasabi overwhelms the human capacity for taste and smell. The chef might have risen at 4:30 that morning to go to the fish market and haggle over the best fish, only to see his customers slather it with wasabi so they couldn’t even taste it. Jay believed chefs were becoming disillusioned and customers were missing out. Americans liked food that was hot and spicy, but there was so much more to sushi than that.
Jay learned that in Japan, sushi chefs might put a touch of wasabi inside nigiri, using a larger dab of wasabi with fatty fish, and a smaller one with lean. But they never served extra wasabi on the side. They would serve a pinch on the side with sashimi-plain raw fish, without rice. But diners certainly weren’t supposed to mix the wasabi into their soy sauce and apply it indiscriminately.
Another thing Jay noticed was people gobbing up the pickled ginger as an appetizer. But the point of the ginger was to cleanse the palate between servings of different kinds of fish. Not eating a slice of ginger between each type of fish, jay felt, was like mixing 5 different wines and trying to taste the Chardonnay.
He’d also see diners dunk the rice side of their nigiri in the soy sauce, instead of the fish side. Or they would eat the nigiri in two bites instead of one. Or they would force themselves to use chopsticks, when in fact most Japanese people just use their fingers to eat sushi.
Jay noticed too,that people automatically assumed sushi was good for them. But in the United States, the most popular form of sushi was big sushi rolls, loaded with carbs, sugar, fat and sodium. A sushi take out box in an American supermarket could easily contain as many calories as two slices f pizza, and the rolls served in restaurants are often worse.”

Keep that in mind next time you order that deep fried roll served in peanut sauce!

Sculptures arrive at Art in the Park

PKN Worcester #1 Sentiment

Here’s my mushy sensitive side for your reading pleasure:

Thank you to everyone who came out for this!
I am very proud of each of the presenters for their thoughtful, insightful, and funny takes about what they do.
I enjoyed the perspective of the evening from the front of the room and even though I had to be bop in and out I was able to really take in the entire vibe. What was very satisfying to me was while listening to the presenters I could see the captivated faces looking up at them:
Cheering on the presenters for their accomplishments.
Laughing along with them over Odd Noggins, Creature Double Feature, and Toilets with water fountains.
In awed of Adoniram’s black and white photography and the quiet inspiration in his philosophy.
Being Fired up during the break
Eveyones smiles as they were leaving
Not only did the presenters knock this event out of the park but the audience did too! Thank you for being so great!
Afterward, as I pulled into my driveway I realized that this is what I have been looking for for a long time, what I have truly been missing in my community. A forum were people can relax, enjoy, share ideas and get inspired. For this to happen in my community I am extremely grateful.
~Cynthia Woehrle

The community bulletin board for PKN #1

and some pics that Michelle May took