my favorite self portrait of the season
looks back at you eye-to-eye
confident and unapologetic
something about it – so open and joyful.
—
“self portraits are a way of revealing something about oneself.”
-eric kandel
Feb3
Tag Archives: art
Feb1
take art leave art.
WDIV-TV shares a recently discovered local treasure –
When glass artist Shawn Bungo and his wife moved to Ann Arbor from Knoxville, Tennessee six months ago, they knew moving to a new city during a pandemic would be a challenge. No stranger to community collaboration, Bungo decided to engage with locals through virtual scavenger hunts for small glass works he would hide across town — and they were an overnight hit. He originally started the tradition while going on walks with his dog, Leo, in Knoxville.
“Being a glass artist, you have a lot of pieces that don’t come out, so that’s what started that,” said Bungo. “When I moved up here, after the pandemic started, I started doing that again where I would just go around and randomly hide things and put my card with them — typically in downtown Ann Arbor. I really connected with the community with that.”
Nowadays, his items are claimed within hours of his posts — and in some cases the people who find them share a photo of them collecting his works.
On his many walks, Bungo became fascinated with the city’s numerous Little Free Libraries. He shifted his scavenger hunts to showcase the various library boxes around town — which inspired him to relaunch a project he created in Knoxville.
Bungo constructed a Take Art Leave Art box and gallery outside his home on Ann Arbor’s south side. The concept is a free art exchange between community members.
“I just recently put it back up two weeks ago and I shared it with the Ann Arbor Townies group on Facebook,” said Bungo. “As soon as I did that, I almost immediately got people involved in it and it’s been really fun.”
He said he’s received about a dozen miniature paintings and other small items in the 12×12-inch box, some with handwritten notes. “Over the years, I’ve gotten poems, photographs — I’m open to everything,” said Bungo. He said it has served as a fun way to engage with other Ann Arborites during the pandemic.
“With people being so isolated right now, I think it’s the perfect time to do something like this, “ he said. “It allows me to connect with people because we haven’t been able to.” Bungo was supposed to show at the Ann Arbor Art Fair last summer, and with the event being canceled, he felt like he missed out on a true introduction both to Ann Arbor’s art scene and its residents. For now, keep an eye out for his latest adventures with Leo and his front yard gallery. You might just find a tiny treasure — if you look close enough.
story: wdivtv,clickondetroit, meredith bruckner – photos: shawn bungo, bungo glass
“art is too important not to share.”
-romero britto
Dec5
glitter soup.
‘glitter soup’ from art candy
years ago, when visiting my daughter in australia, i met her friend jenni gray, (the artist behind art candy), and she has remained a friend to both of us ever since. while visiting, we had tea, a tour of the space where her art happens, and she even let me peek into a drawer filled with glitter. as a lifelong fan of glitter, it was like magic, and what could be better?
over the years, i’ve followed her work, and have become the lucky owner of some of her art. jenni works with mixed media creating beautiful whimsical art and cards. when she told me that her recent piece, named ‘glitter soup’ reminded her of me, i was honored.
jenni’s origin story is this: “Art Candy began at art school inspired by a love of language, especially slang, colour and the sheer exuberence of enjoying life !” she has certainly lived up to that and more. take a peek at her work in the link below, it’s sure to put a smile on your face.
Sweetness with soul.
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https://www.etsy.com/shop/artcandyaustralia
“from soup, comes stars”
what the glitter soup turned into
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“if art doesn’t make us better, then what on earth is it for?”
-alice walker
Nov21
a different kind.
this tiny dog
has lived a full life
gifted to me by my dear friend
having once
belonged to
her husband’s mother/grandmother
i would love to know its story
it has seen the world and is beautifully imperfect.
—
“art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.”
~ Anni Albers
Nov12
backwards.
and why not turn around and create your shaving cream art while backwards?
all it takes is a fresh idea and a willingness to try a new approach.
—
“i think backwards. ‘this was beautiful,’ instead of forward.”
-alice herz-sommer
Oct29
art and nature.
an artist’s whimsical sense of humor comes into play after coming upon an unusual tree.
—
“to the artist there is never anything ugly in nature.”
-auguste rodin
—
gallup park, ann arbor, mi, usa – 2020
Sep26
shiny car.
is it for the music, the art, or the shine?
“whither goest thou, america, in thy shiny car at night?
– jack kerouac
Sep11
opportunity.
when hanging outside with a couple of my grandies,
we talked as they worked on creating pictures
taken from online designs
very, very carefully selecting each tiny bead to put into place
i thought it would be a good time to tell them about my cat, olive
who loves to pounce on the jigsaw puzzles on my table
when she finds me in the midst of them
i also thought i would do a mini dramatic recreation of how it all happens
as i pretended to be olive, bouncing my hand on the table
i apparently was a little too into my role
when i hit the table
we all froze for a few seconds
after noticing that all of their hard work
had just been destroyed in the course of my acting.
great recovery though
as i apologized
we all laughed and laughed and laughed at what happened
knowing
that while it would take a long time to rebuild their designs
we also also knew
that life can be so instantly funny sometimes.
—
“the more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.”
– bill nye
Sep6
all artists.
love wandering around the town
discovering artists’ work
left in unexpected places
a sudden inspiration
using what they found
—
“i don’t think there’s anything in this universe as powerful as the power of an artist to create.
by that logic, we are all artists, aren’t we?”
-malcolm fernandes
Aug19
sheepish.
art from discarded loose parts – recycled phones and cords
—
“it’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”
-jean-luc godard
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image credit: *telephone sheep by jean luc cornec, artists without borders
*ArtistJean Luc has put old landline telephones to good use with his sculptures titled “Telephone Sheep”. The series explores how fast technology is moving and how we can put old things to good use. The sculptures use the hand dialing base as the head, the cords as their wool and the earpiece as their feet. The “Telephone Sheep” exhibit was displayed at the Museum of Telecommunication in Frankfurt.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 