art crit

New work… The Artist process.. Lots of Abstract Painting

Posted by Maria

 

I’ve taken some time off this summer from teaching to focus on myself. I have been going off into new directions with my work, and I’m enjoying working with different mediums and allowing for a freedom with my artistic expression. I struggle with staying focused and with feeling this dire need to have a cohesive body of finished work. I have noticed although I am straying a bit in several directions, when I view my artwork together, it is actually making for a more interesting body of work. There is definitely a style of sorts and I actually haven’t strayed too much from my usual concepts. I have maybe added to them and combined some ideas. At times I feel I have been a bit all over the place, but I am working on new forms and processes of drawing, painting and mark making. Although I do not feel I have reached the level I would like to with this recent work I am happy with where it is at the moment. The biggest challenge is to not get unmotivated, discouraged or bored with the work in order to keep it moving forward.

 

The new Whitney Museum NYC – Art events for Kids! Why viewing art is important for children.

Posted by Maria

The new Whitney is an amazing museum. I will post a review of it for adults soon. In short I can say as a native New Yorker and artist for over 20 years, this is the best thing that has happened for the arts in NYC in a long time. I highly encourage artists, art lovers and the art curious to get to their current opening exhibition, America is Hard to See on view until Sept 27th.

Recently the Whitney had one of their special events for families and children. “Whitney Family Programs offer interactive tours, art making workshops, and special events that encourage kids and adults to learn about art together.”

I truly wish more families encouraged the arts and the act of art viewing specifically in the museum setting for their children. As a teaching artist, I have seen first hand when showing children artwork that is new, out-of-the-box or unfamiliar, it brings them excitement, curiosity, imagination, instant joy and confidence. Confidence just by viewing artwork? How? Seeing new artwork sparks and excites their brains and creativity, which makes them feel happy and excited that they are learning and seeing things which they haven’t before, often realizing (at times subconsciously) immediately this is not something they learned in school. When they go home and to school parents have often told me how excited they were to talk about the art they learned about in art class, and how good and happy it made them feel. I strongly believe learning new and alternative things from the “norm” is extremely gratifying, enlightening, encouraging and builds up the confidence to seek out more new and unfamiliar things, while generating skills for learning that can be applied with other subjects as well. Once again, this is all just from the viewing of art.
Here are some links to the Whitney’s past kids event and information on the programs they have available.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152806839626433.1073741896.20959866432&type=1

http://whitney.org/Education/Families