Jacob Lawrence’s American Struggle

In March, the Seattle Art Museum will host a timely exhibition, Jacob Lawrence:  The American Struggle. Best known for his work The Migration Series, Lawrence set his sight on the American Revolution creating a series of 30 painted panels between 1954 and 1956, focusing on historical events occurring from 1775 to 1817. It is interesting to note that Lawrence developed this series during another time of struggle and strife in the country, the Civil Rights era.

The Seattle Art Museum’s show will reunite these works for the first time since 1958.

For some artists, their work is to create visual narratives. Through their work they provide their singular perspective on historical events. Such is the work of Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence brings us to key moments of a history centuries away that, yet, links to the present.

Today, One Mighty and Irresistible Tide of history sweeps over the nation. As you are well aware, we have been visited upon by multiple, simultaneous struggles that have swept us up Against Wind and Tide of forces unforeseen in our lifetime.

Quilting through lockdown

Entertaining oneself while at home on lockdown can be challenging during this most hard time. Now we can get actual books during curbside pick-up it’s great to see some beautiful art!  If you can have hobbies that keep your mind and body active, you are less likely to be depressed. During the summer, it is possible to have many exuberant outdoor hobbies; during the winter, having one is difficult. There are a variety of crafting projects one can delve into, yet I decided to re-examine my fascination with quilting, so I created a list of recent books from the last 4 or 5 years that sound intriguing.

Why does one quilt? You could find it in Why We Quilt by Thomas Knauer. One woman writes, “The quilts in our homes all send this same message: you are warm; you are safe; you are loved.” I got into quilting due to the love in the log cabin quilt by my great grandmother Nellie, so I wanted to make one for my brother’s wedding. I was not able to immerse myself in a quilting bee like the one in the older book,  The Quilt, by Gary Paulsen so I took a class.

Wintering Over: Art in Shades of Dark and Light

Winter, like life, comes in shades of dark and light. Herein lies the drama of an indispensable duo meant to be seen, in multitudes of splendor, in paintings photographs and drawings.

Let us go into the season with an Invocation of Beauty seeking not, its Genesis but Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico and Antonio Berni’s Juanito and Ramona.

Let us bask in some Remembered Light knowing that The Disappearance of Darkness cannot erase our Night Vision for it is vision we are seeking. It is a widening, expansive vision that we need to see us through.

Seattle Hygge

This has been a year when I have found my sense of cozy vibes becoming more amplified in my home. Between nesting for the arrival of our child, working from home, and just settling in to the Pacific Northwest winter – cozy is front and center of all we do. New couch purchase means piling on throw pillows and blankets. Lighting candles and putting on fuzzy socks while reading a book. Hunting down the infamous cocoa bombs to enjoy in front of the fireplace. It comes as no surprise that in 2018 Seattle was the top hygge city in the U.S. 

For inspiration on how to create that hygge feeling in your home, here are a few books in our collection:

American Cozy: Hygge-inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen

Write On!: Get Graphic! Go Comic!

Are you drawn to drawing your own world? Do you picture rows of frames, imagine scenes, come up with your own cast of characters and play those scenes out in your mind? Is there, somewhere near, a messy pile of graphic novels or comic books that you have poured over a hundred times or more? Have you, ever, imagined that your work could, one day, be found in one of those piles?

KRAK! WHOOSH!! SPLAT!!!! There is an art to Making Comics. Get graphic! Go comic!! Try your hand at Cartooning and Creating Comics from Start to Finish. See what Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics is all about. Learn The Art of Urban Sketching. Pour over Manga for the Beginner. Then, get busy composing Words for Pictures and splash each page with speech bubbles that balloon and go pop! A Glossary of Comics Terminology and the Letterform Archive are essential tools to put in your power pack.