Monday, December 31, 2007

Auld Lang Syne


"Auld Lang Syne" is a song by Robert Burns (1759–1796), Scottish poet and lyricist. It is familiar to us all as it is often sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. (The melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full.)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' auld lang syne


CHORUS:


For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.


And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.


CHORUS


We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.


CHORUS


We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.


CHORUS


And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gies a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne.


CHORUS
Three Graces wish you a safe and happy New Year!!

Packaging Perfection!



Exhaustive internet searches and extensive practice has led us to another chapter in the Candle Chronicles - Custom Packaging. Our candles are now neatly tucked inside these boxes wrapped with elegant black satin ribbon and fastened with a wax seal featuring the Graces themselves - fabulous fragrance and form!

Next chapter...make more candles!!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night

I've decided to close the gallery at 4:00pm today as it is Christmas Eve, the past few weeks have been exhausting! I have seven minutes left, so I would like to take the time to wish everyone a lovely holiday with family and loved ones. Eat, drink and be merry!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Fairy Slugmother

Three Cheers for Carey Armstrong-Ellis, children's book illustrator and soft-sculpturess, for her recent profile in the Portsmouth Herald!!! Read all about it here.

Carey's ornaments (Puss in Booties and Squidman with Removable Eyepatch) are now available in the gallery along with many other unique ornaments made by gallery artists!

Form and Function - and Fragrance!

Three Graces is aflame to announce our new soy candles! Each candle is hand-poured (by myself and bob), and the fragrance is scensational (Three Graces signature scent, top secret!) The candles are now available in the gallery (we are still developing our packaging, a three graces wax seal is in the works...)



The benefits of Soy...

  • Soy wax burns cleaner; it is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic, producing 95% less soot than paraffin candles
  • Soy comes from soybeans, a renewable resource
  • Soy is biodegradable and water-soluble, cleaning easily with soap and water

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Trim the Tree

Three Graces presents one of a kind, handmade ornaments by nine different artists!

Ron Tuveson has created gilded ball ornaments. Ron specializes in hand crafted frames and restoration. He chose the ball shape as it is prevalent in the history of frames. The balls are available in 4 different sizes ranging from 1.25" to 2.5" and each is gilded with 23 carat gold! The striping is achieved thru selective burnishing.

Erin Moran, proficient potter and jewelry designer, has made these reversible porcelain ornaments. Erin has come up with over twenty different designs featuring holiday images and bold patterns and swirls.


Carey Armstrong-Ellis, highly acclaimed children's book illustrator, has created two ornaments for this holiday season; they are "Squid man with Removable Eye patch" and "Puss in Booties".

























Sarah Burns, potter and sculptress, delivered some beautiful porcelain star ornaments featuring stripes and swirling patterns carved into the surface of the clay. Sarah also recently delivered some new vessels and functional pottery.


Sara du Long has created these gorgeous copper ornaments, painted with the same epoxy pigmented resin seen in Sara's innovative jewelry designs. Sara's jewelry is also available in the gallery - she just dropped off some new work the other day!


I created these ornaments below - the figures are lifted from my series series of self-portraits as saints . Each ornament is graphite and acrylic on wood.


Jared Tuveson (Ron's son) made these gilded milkweed pods, also gilded in 23 carat gold!


Elaine Ware (sister of Erin Moran) created many different ornament designs using copper and gem stones. Here is one of my personal favorites - the Christmas Tree!















Illustrator Abbigail Halpin dropped of some of sweet little angel ornaments.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Creature Comforts

Three Graces welcomes the warm woolen paintings of Tiffany Torre. Based in Vermont, Tiffany recently made the trip to Portsmouth (she exhibited paintings at the Button Factory Open Studios alongside friend and furniture maker George Beland.) I immediately fell in love with her paintings - genuine and innovative in form and content. Tiffany focuses on wild critters including birds, rabbits, foxes and also the landscape.

The paintings have a beautiful surface texture resulting from Tiffany's technique of painting with oil on wool (she has been working this way for over 10 years!). The front is primed however the natural weave of the wool is left exposed on all four sides creating a soft transition.





Monday, December 3, 2007

What Came First, The Rabbits or the Paintings?

I am leaping with joy! Three Graces is exhibiting paintings by Fleur Palau (known well for her Rabbit paintings and Italian landscapes). Here she is with her muse, Amber, one of her six beautiful rabbits.




Fleur received training in both New York and Florence, Italy. She has lived and worked in Italy for over 20 years where she maintains a home and working studio. I recently visited her current studio in Wolfeboro, NH and picked up some paintings!







The Rabbit series is a whimsical, yet sometimes moody reflection of the human psyche set in the natural world. The full meaning of these paintings is of course open to speculation and does not concern me, though I recognize the symbolism and irony that is the vehicle in which to reveal some useful message about ourselves. I would hope that in these rabbbit portraits we may recognize the better attributes of our own nature, that of love, friendship, loyalty, and that the renewed recognition of this will at once empower and inspire.




Fleur is also working on a book project featuring some of her rabbit paintings. More about this in a later post!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Reunited!

This past weekend I attended my 10-year high school reunion! What a strange and wonderful phenomenon - it was amazing to see so many familiar faces from long ago! (I was especially delighted to get back in touch with some of my sould sisters with whom I am going to make a strong effort to keep in touch.) Go KP! Here are a few photos of the evening...


Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Giving Thanks

The classic pose of the three Graces is said to reflect the three aspects of the gift: giving, accepting, and returning.


I am thankful for the path that has been laid before me (ever challenging and satisfying) and also for the many gracious artists with whom I work and for friends and family who work to help me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New! Sweet Fern Pottery

Sarah Burns (sole sculptress and progressive potter of Sweet Fern Pottery) just dropped off some amazing new pieces, a blend of sculptural vessels and orbs and functional pots.

Sarah works with stoneware fired in a gas-fired soda kiln. The soda ash introduced into the kiln reacts with the surface texture, glazes, and slips on the pieces. "The soda ash dances around the kiln and creates an irregular, unpredictable effect on each piece. The variability in airflow, temperature, and soda ash ensures that each piece is unique."

Sarah's forms are influenced by the organic, ever changing world around us. "Like nature, my work is constantly evolving. I work in incremental series. Each subsequent series builds on the concepts of the predecessor. This allows me to build on my successes and address the shortcomings. I also use this opportunity to branch off and explore new ideas."

Paintings from Oaxaca

Currently the gallery is featuring some wonderful paintings by Heladio Lorenzo Santiago Martinez (born in Oaxaca, Mexico). Santiago has never received any formal art training, though influences of Modigliani, Gauguin and Mattisse (to name a few) is evident in his paintings. The work featured in this exhibition, mostly acrylic on paper, reflects daily life, spiritualism, pain and hope thru vibrant colors and powerful imagery.



'Paintings from Oaxaca' will be on view thru November 25th. We currently have over 100 works by Santiago in the gallery! More images of his work can be seen here.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Gracias!

Last night was the opening reception for 'Paintings from Oaxaca: Recent Works by Santiago Martinez'. I have to thank Katherine McGlaughlin Hills and her dear friend Elizabeth for putting together an amazing Mexican spread including a marvelous mole ( a wonderful rich sauce made with the unlikely combination of chocolate, chilies and many spices.)





Of course, this was all in celebration of the wonderful paintings by Santiago Martinez - more about that tomorrow, in the mean time some of his paintings can be seen here.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

new paintings by Shiao-Ping Wang!

Saturday's storm is passed and the sun finally broke thru for the end of the weekend. I just received a surprise visit from Brian Chu and Shiao-Ping Wang with beautiful new paintings in tote:




Waves, acrylic on canvas, 24"x48"


Mapping, acrylic on canvas, 24"x48"

Friday, November 2, 2007

Walter Sickert: The Camden Town Nudes

My London art tour also included a stop at the Courtauld for 'Walter Sickert: The Camden Town Nudes'.

At the beginning of the 20th century,
Walter Sickert (1860-1942) painted a remarkable series of female nudes which confirmed his reputation as one of the most important modern British artists. The uncompromising realism of Sickert’s nudes, set on iron bedsteads in the murky interiors of cheap lodging houses, challenged artistic conventions and divided critical opinion.


The exhibition traces Sickert’s
reinvention of the nude, exploring the ways in which these powerful paintings
addressed pressing artistic and social concerns of the period.

Seduced: Art & Sex from Antiquity to Now

A review in the morning Times prompted me to seek out the Barbican - 'Seduced: Art & Sex From Antiquity to Now' features about 250 works spanning more than 2,000 years. They include salacious fragments from a Pompeii brothel wall, little-known depictions of sex by Turner, Rodin and Picasso, and Andy Warhol’s Blow Job, a short 1963 film of a man receiving fellatio. Fleshed out with risqué illuminated manuscripts from India, eye-opening Renaissance paintings, pornographic Japanese woodcuts and artefacts from the 500,000-item collection of Alfred Kinsey, the celebrated sexologist, the exhibition sets out to investigate the shifting boundaries of sexual taste and frankness. Couragous and intelligent, the show included some amazing works of art...