Art Np2

Analysis of "The Children's Hour" and Bio of Longfellow Folktale "The Mouse Tower" by Lilian Gask The Children's Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Comes a pause in the day's occupations, That is known as the Children's Hour. I hear in the chamber above me The patter of little feet, The sound of a door that is opened, And voices soft and sweet. From my study I see in the lamplight, Descending the broad hall stair, Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, And Edith with golden hair. A whisper, and then a silence: Yet I know by their merry eyes They are plotting and planning together To take me by surprise. A sudden rush from the stairway, A sudden raid from the hall! By three doors left unguarded They enter my castle wall! They climb up into my turret O'er the arms and back of my chair; If I try to escape, they surround me; They seem to be everywhere. They almost devour me with ki...

It has been difficult to combine the different types of blog posts I want to write on  Let Me Tell The Story!  Ideally, Let Me should be specifically about writing and reading. That is why I am going back to having two blogs because I got all kinds of tales to tell, but I also need to write about books. So I will be blogging music, Detroit Diaspora, art, and opinion at Tales From Under A Middleaged Colored Woman . 

Phoebe Snow died this week at the age of 60.  From You Tube: "Born Phoebe Ann Laub in New York City, she was raised in a household where Delta blues, Broadway show tunes, Dixieland jazz, classical music and folk music recordings were played around the clock. As a teenager, she carried her prized Martin 00018 ac guitar from club to club around Greenwich Village, playing and singing on amateur nights." "This voice is like eating a great meal, with subtle spices and rich depth of range and flavor. What a great loss. I'm so sorry I didn't spend more time listening to her before now." cdenningful 7 hours ago http://www.phoebesnow.com/ "

When You Are Old By William Butler Yeats 1865–1939 When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. Source: Collected poems (London : Vintage, 1992., 1989)

Both of these are a comfort to me. The song was written by Stevie Wonder and Minnie Riperton sang like a perfect angel.     Now don't eat too many cookies because they can make you fat and give you a tummy ache.  I know from experience! 

The Crazy Woman by Gwendolyn Brooks I shall not sing a May song. A May song should be gay. I'll wait until November And sing a song of gray. I'll wait until November That is the time for me. I'll go out in the frosty dark And sing most terribly. And all the little people Will stare at me and say, "That is the Crazy Woman Who would not sing in May."

When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth. George Bernard Shaw LaTortue was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1944.  His paintings are collected the world over. http://www.egallery.com/artists/?id=124

The Old Men Used to Sing by Alice Walker The old men used to sing And lifted a brother Carefully Out the door I used to think they Were born Knowing how to Gently swing A casket They shuffled softly Eyes dry More awkward With the flowers Than with the widow After they'd put the Body in And stood around waiting In their Brown suits.

Le Nouveau Cirque University Park, Illinois - The Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University is pleased to present new printmaking work from “Le Nouveau Cirque” the thesis exhibition of Graduate student, Diana Lynch. The exhibit will be on display from May 1st through May 7th 2011 with a public reception on May, 5th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. In “Le Nouveau Cirque,” a series of hand made prints primarily done through woodcut, lithograph and screen print Diana Lynch explores the female performers of traditional and contemporary circus. In a character driven approach, she shows the strong nature of sisterhood, performance outlet and beauty. A South Suburban Chicago artist who had shown both locally and internationally, Diana Lynch holds a Bachelor of Art Degree from Northern Illinois University and Master of Art Degree from Governors State University. As an intern at Fugscreen Studios in Wicker Park, IL she has worked along side many Chica...

telling our stories by Lucille Clifton the fox came every evening to my door asking for nothing. my fear trapped me inside, hoping to dismiss her but she sat till morning, waiting. at dawn we would, each of us, rise frm our haunches, look through the glass then walk away. did she gather her village around her and sing of the hairless moon face, the trembling snout, the ignorant eyes? child, i tell you now it was not the animal blood i was hiding from, it was the poet in her, the poet and the terrible stories she could tell.

"With an apple I will astonish Paris."  - Paul Cezanne Paul Cezanne "If you placed an apple on a table and wanted to paint it in the manner of Cezanne, you would need to have an extensive knowledge of his work and a strong sense of his aesthetic intentions. Every brushstroke would need to be accompanied by the question, “what would Cezanne do?” You might stop frequently to refer to his paintings to see how he handled certain visual situations. As your painting progressed you would gradually develop perhaps a dozen general stylistic guidelines for yourself. These guidelines would be instructions along the lines of “when you see this, do this.” Of course, much of the process would be based on wordless intuition; a vague sense of when a group of marks looked “Cezanne-esque.” "On a basic level, this is not unlike a how a computer algorithm works. An algorithm is "a finite sequence of instructions, logic, an explicit, step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, of...

I am supposed to be writing something, but I have had to get up at 4am lately, and my brain is not working, so I'm posting poetry because these days it's what keeps me going. Also,  a girl's body was found in the Susequehanna River at the Conowingo Dam.  Sixteen year old Phylicia Barnes was abducted from Northwest Baltimore while visiting her aunt last Christmas and when her body was found last week it was naked and unrecognizable.  She was identified by a rose tatoo on her ankle and dental records.  And I keep thinking about what the punishment should be for her killer or killers, but there doesn't seem to be anything ugly or harsh enough to make up for this crime, so I keep reading poetry. I don't think something this horrible is supposed to be processed.  What part of the psyche does  senseless murder fit into?

Hanging Fire By Audre Lorde 1934–1992 I am fourteen and my skin has betrayed me the boy I cannot live without still sucks his thumb in secret how come my knees are always so ashy what if I die before morning and momma's in the bedroom with the door closed. I have to learn how to dance in time for the next party my room is too small for me suppose I die before graduation they will sing sad melodies but finally tell the truth about me There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done and momma's in the bedroom with the door closed. Nobody even stops to think about my side of it I should have been on Math Team my marks were better than his why do I have to be the one wearing braces I have nothing to wear tomorrow will I live long enough to grow up and momma's in the bedroom with the door closed. Audre Lorde, “Hanging Fire” from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by Audre Lorde. Reprinted with the permission of Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency and...

Bridge Over Scioto River, Oil on Panel, 16x12,  Frank Hobbs (all images copyright Frank Hobbs) "Frank Hobbs is a painter, printmaker and draftsman. Since 2007 he has been Professor of Art at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, where he teaches painting and drawing. From 2006-2007 he was Visiting Artist at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Hobbs was born in Lynchburg, VA. He studied art at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, and later at American University in Washington, DC, where he earned his M.F.A in1984. He lived and had a studio in Staunton, VA for 15 years, teaching at Washington and Lee University from 1987 until 2004, and for 11 years at the Beverley Street Studio School in Staunton, which he co-founded in 1992. Hobbs is a recipient of fellowships and grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. His...

A Face in the Crowd University Park, Illinois - The Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University is pleased to present new ceramic sculptures the thesis exhibition of Graduate student, B.S. Farris. The exhibit will be on display from April 25 through April 29, 2011 with a public reception on April 29 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. “A Face in the Crowd” is a visual diary of ceramic busts portraits both of famous and lesser know artists. Most of the greatest artists that B.S Farris looks up to are no longer living, so she is doing this series to bring herself closer to them. She finds that people tend to separate the artists from the artwork and in her series she is trying to find out who they are. An award winning artist from Indiana who had shown locally, B.S Farris holds a Bachelor of Art Degree and a minor in Art History from Indiana University and holds a Master of Art Degree from Governors State University. She is the gallery coordinator and ...

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." William James "Atis Fanm is Kreyol for Women Artists.  These artists paint their designs on white, 100% silk scarves. using images from their lives, from the bible, from the Vodou religion, and from memories of flora and fauna that are fast disappearing from their world." http://www.artmatenwa.org/index.html   Lemons 14x72" scarf Night Animals 36 x 36" Square Scarf Mango Trees 14x72" Scarf

Hmm.  I may have said some of this before, but I'm at the age when I am apt to repeat myself. There is no white or black race.  There are black and white social categories that were created by human beings.   People with different skin tones come from the many regions and cultures of the planet  by the name of Earth.  Their DNA is very very much the same , since they are all of the same human species.  Ok? ***************************************************************************** Listen up young people.  Gas prices are too high for anyone to be racing for a traffic light.  Stop it! ****************************************************************************** Most people over the age of fifty still like and want to have sex.  Do not believe what you see on television or in the movies.  I know this for a fact. I'm stepping back down.  For now.

Congratulations to the award winners at the GSU All Student Show: Peoples Choice Award: Nicole Dudik- Growth Honorable Mention: Abdullah Fadhli „Eman Al-Obaidi‚s Struggle and „The Disposable 3rd Place: Becki Moffett-Moore, „Block Heads and „Tea Pot With Legs 2nd Place: Allen Moore, „St. Whiskey Walker and „The Halcyon Epilogue 1st Place: Jason Knade, „Cyclicity (see the trailer for this film here: http://www.jasonknade.com/cyclicity/ )

Women Have Armpit Hair.  In The United States Most of Them Shave It Away. Since I am described as "a woman who does what she wants to do anyway,"   I am thinking about starting some new anti- social behavior.  That's right.  I am not going to be shaving my armpits anymore.  If you don't like it look the other way. 

"If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius." Joseph Addison Brother James by Karen Payton Made from recycled fabric; pajamas, jeans, skirt and pillowcase. Hand painted appliqued fabric and hand embroidery. 36"H x 18"W    http://www.karenpayton.com/

I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. Plutarch

 Toi Derricote was born on April 12, 1941 the city of Hamtramck, Michigan.  Hamtramck is a separate city located within the city of Detroit.  http://www.hamtramck.us/about/history.php    Her many awards include two Pushcart prizes, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation.  She is currently a professor of English in the Creative Writing program at the University of Pittsburgh.  Derricote is  co-founder and  president of Cave Canem, a place for African American poets to learn and grow artistically and professionally.  http://www.cavecanempoets.org/ Always remember more than just cars and Motown came out of Detroit! For Black Women Who Are Afraid A black woman comes up to me at break in the writing workshop and reads me her poem, but she says she can’t read it out loud because there’s a woman in a car on her way to work and her hair is blowing in the breeze and, since her hair is b...

I have had it!  I am always cussing under my breath these day because I don't believe in the whole mixed people mentality or philosophy.  This is how it is:  Human beings in the world today are a composite of many cultures.  Jews from Russia mate with Catholics from France.  Men from Puerto Rico marry women from Vietnam.  Chinese women marry Irish men.  And then the offspring from these couples end up mating and marrying one another.  And so on... that is the way it is in America.  Am I right?  We no longer live in a tribes.  So how come some people are called mixed and others are not?  I don't feel that I am a part of a mixed couple.  I will no longer use that phrase or allow others to put my family into a erroneous category because it does not accurately describe us.  That includes the term interracial. 

By Marc in Gadgets & Geek Art , Technology & Futurism Many think steampunk is a fad that will flare up and burn itself out quickly, as most fads do. If steampunk fans’ willingness to permanently ink themselves with steampunk themed tattoos is any indication, the appeal of steampunk will be lasting a lot longer than expected. From the simplest clockwork and gears, to complex depictions of Victorian era mecha, steampunk tattoos run the gamut from pretty decorations to mobile masterpieces. Here are 9 of the most intricate and gorgeous examples of steampunk style body art: (Images via nickbaxter , jockeyjournal , kungdesign ) The melding of technology with nature is a common theme in steampunk, as the dream of Victorian technology is to create a cleanly powered utopia much different from the sooty, chugging urban areas of the time. There is no better way to display the melding of nature and machine than by displaying a gorgeous ...

By Marc in Gadgets & Geek Art , Games & Gaming , Guerilla Action & Art There’s geek, and then there’s hardcore, plaster your favorite operating system’s logo on your right forearm geek. The latter tends to be more interesting (at least on the internet), so I’ve compiled a bunch of geek tattoos that reach beyond geekdom into a wonderful new world where even some hardcore web developers are afraid to venture: Real Social Networking (Images via dev.upian ,  itshumour ) When liking something on Facebook isn’t enough, head down to the neighborhood tatto parlor and get some ink done so your friends will really know which application you prefer. You’d better hope your favorites stick around, however, or you’ll have some very confused grandchildren. Video Game Systems (Images via forbiddenimages , dumbtattooclub , thelmagazine ) Love video games? Well if you don’t, you should. As one of the first generations to always have video g...

By Steve in Abandoned Places , Games & Gaming , Urban & Street Art If life’s a game, you’re gonna need some bigger playing pieces. When the game’s Monopoly, you can count on at least one game geek artist to make your larger-than-life board game anything but boring: by building a life-sized, giant green Monopoly House. Not Your Father’s Greenhouse (images via: Canadian Art ) When artist An Te Liu (above) announced he was planning some “green architecture” for the 2009 Leona Drive Project, few expected the result would be a house painted green… ALL green. Yet that’s just what Liu built on a quiet residential street in suburban Toronto. (images via: Kaeko , ‘Lil , Board Game Geek and Property Otter ) Dubbed “Title Deed”, the modified 1940′s “salt box” house was inspired by the iconic green plastic houses players of the board game Monopoly can buy for $100 each and place on their properties, thus driving up the rent other players h...