Emma Jo Mills Brennan does art for the “exploration and reflection” it affords her. “All of my work is related to my love for the earth, unless it’s abstract and then it’s going into the spiritual realm, then it’s meditative.” That connection to the land started with the family lifeway. Brennan’s Mashpee Wampanoag father (who owned the Mashpee landmark Ockrey Trading Post) provided his family with fresh game, “one deer a year, geese, quail, partridges, ducks, fish,” and with produce from his garden. Her mother was the daughter of Italian immigrants who wrote, drew and created ceramic flowers so delicate they looked real. (Her brother, Elwood Mills Jr., is a local writer. Her uncle, Earl, is a writer, restaurateur and respected tribal chief.) After a divorce, Brennan returned to her childhood home hand-built by her father after World War Two on land the Wampanoag had lived in for … [Read more...] about Peaceful, Inspiring — SELF-TAUGHT: Brennan’s Art Celebrates Wampanoag Tradition
Sculptor
PAST PERFECT?: FRUITLANDS HONORS ITS ROOTS
Nestled in one of the most idyllic landscapes of New England, the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts (a short drive off of Route 2) is currently presenting diverse offerings in recognition of its past as the utopian community established by idealists of the New England Transcendentalist Movement, and its present affiliation, as of 2016, with The Trustees of Reservations, the largest conservation and preservation organization in Massachusetts. In the summer of 1843, preeminent adherents of the Transcendental Movement in nearby Concord, Massachusetts — Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane — founded Fruitlands as a “New Eden,” an experiment in communal living that aspired to help Fruitlands’ inhabitants achieve their highest potential and thereby to inspire positive change in society. This was to be accomplished by an ascetic lifestyle — vegan diet, temperance for all, farming by … [Read more...] about PAST PERFECT?: FRUITLANDS HONORS ITS ROOTS
JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY: A PRETTY PARADOX
12 FOR OUR 12TH JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY FOR MORE INFORMATION: JENNIFERLAVERY.COM by J. Fatima Martins Jennifer Vinegar Avery is an intellectually formidable artist; the joie de vivre and zaniness seen in her art is not contrived entertainment. The name itself, Vinegar, is not a moniker — it’s real, and is a push-back against the “sugar and spice and everything nice” cliché applied to girls. “Clap your hands and say, Jennifer,” she wrote, “clap your hands and say Vinegar, it’s the same thing! A pretty paradox. Avery means wisdom of the elves and it lends itself to emphasis and intensity.” At the time of this writing, Vinegar was living her usual duality, perfectly blended: joy (luxury) and sorrow (imperfection). She was invited to install and perform the theatrical piece “Pupa, Poubelles et Les Bêtes/The Beast Boutique” at the Maison Hermes Le Forum art space in … [Read more...] about JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY: A PRETTY PARADOX
Capsule Preview: Dodson & Moerlein Boston Sculptors Gallery
DONNA DODSON: ZODIAC & ANDY MOERLEIN: GEOLOGY by Brian Goslow Boston, MA - Donna Dodson’s “Zodiac” sculptures & “Andy Moerlein: Geology” (featuring 30 new sculptural works created over the past year) goes on view today at Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston. There are a series of events tied to the show, including a reception this Friday (Sept. 9) from 5-8 p.m. and “The Art of Collecting: A Forum Talk and Luncheon” sponsored by the gallery & Boston Art Dealers Association talk on Saturday (Sept. 10) from noon-2 p.m. “Informed by Moerlein’s enthusiasm for scholars’ rocks, the ‘Geology’ will include found rocks, ceramic pieces, wood carvings, and sculptures in other media reinterpreting this ancient Chinese art form. The Chinese tradition of collecting scholars’ rocks involves the elegant presentation of precious and adored stones for … [Read more...] about Capsule Preview: Dodson & Moerlein Boston Sculptors Gallery