Artnotes: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

 

Bookish  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  13.5 x 10"  34 x 25cm  375.00

We have been to at least a dozen new places in the past week and a half. All of this activity precluded last week’s Artnotes, but now I have a bucket of new inspiration. The most unusual and perhaps most moving place we visited was the Ustica Memorial, outside of Bologna.   It is monument to a mysterious plane crash and subsequent art project by Christian Boltanski, a French artist.  The architecture of the building itself is unique, having been fashioned from old tram sheds, at the edge of Bologna, not far from the airport.   Itavia flight  870 crashed in June of 1980, and no definitive reason for its demise and the 81 people on board, has ever been revealed.  It is rumored to have been shot down (they know it was an external force) by NATO, or France, or Italy, possibly in an attempt to assassinate Gaddafi.    In any case, no one survived. Swallows at Hammonnasset   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Commission Through the efforts of a sister of one of the passengers, the hulk of the plane and all its contents (we don’t see those), were washed (baptized, in the words of the artist) and reassembled in this building.   It looks like a puzzle, all the bits, most about 6 x 6 inches each, patched together.   The plane is oddly complete, at least on the outside, and you can see through the DC 9 structure.   But it’s the setting that the artist created that brings it back to “life”.  81 lightbulbs hang around the structure, slowly illuminating and dimming, to represent the passengers, almost fading away, but never completely.   There are likewise so many smoky mirrors around the room with the voices of those passengers talking about what they will do when they arrive:  eat dinner, get results of a test, hold mommy’s hand.    It is a little disconcerting, but at the same time, not forgetting, not ,glossing over, but asking still, “what happened here?” Native American for our MAYPOLE   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  58 x 28"  147 x 71cm    750.00 I am not sure what our guest made of it, but as an antidote, we went afterward to the Modern Art Museum in Bologna (MAMBO).   Now, that was weird.  We were nearly denied entrance because we had 2 cents less than the entry fee for the three of us (we had to resort to a credit card, which certainly cost the museum more than the two cents).  The goony girl at the counter recommended we visit the permanent collection. It was the most hilarious visit of our 12 day adventure.   There was a video of an artist trying to board a train while wearing an outrageously large inner tube, for example.  There were all sorts of oddball things like this, but the museum itself won the award for bizarre performance. The guards were mainly older women, oddly dressed (judged by me, who is always oddly dressed), sitting in chairs and completely motionless throughout the exhibits – I though one was actually a Duane Hanson sculpture until I almost touched her.  Were they meditating?   The weirdest person was the ticket taker, who dashed toward us as we approached an exhibit, and in fact, bumped into me.  Did he think I snuck in?   It was all completely hilarious and an insane contrast to the morning’s somber memorial. Egg Cup    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/wood   4 x 13"   10 x 33cm    190.00 The day was a success from the sublime to the ridiculous, and set the tone for the rest of our adventures.  And Artnotes returns. Where my Muse Lives  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  10 x 9"   25 x 23cm  290.00 Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Fit in the Freezer

 

Equinox    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  20 x 12"  50 x 30cm  475.00

It has been a perfect “fall” week here in Roccamalatina.   The light has gone golden and angular, like something from a movie.  The wind rustles the leaves, that make dramatic patterns all around.  The sky has been mostly blue with dramatic cloud formations.  Berlino and I have been out for our morning walks, tracking whatever fantasy animals have been carousing in the tall grass.    Light in Roccamalatina 23 September CLICK for video. There seems to be a unicorn in the under the non-accessible (at least to us) roof space of our house.  There might be a mole beneath kitchen, where the horse once lived; it’s built on grade.   In the night we can hear these characters, but Berlino seems to sleep on through.  Maybe I am imagining them?  I try to think of them like the crickets and cicadas, but the beat of four feet overhead is hard to disguise.  We’re hoping they move on. A guest is arriving this week, and maybe he’ll have an idea of what to do. I love guests for their new point of view.   In anticipation, we have been trying recipes, and improving old ones.  What a joy to be able to run the oven again, without dying from heat.   I made a delicious whole fish, with roasted peppers and lemons; mussels with onions and saffron and cream.   Blair made a fabulous grape and gorgonzola risotto.   We ate fresh (not in tins, anyway) anchovies with peppers and canelli beans, at the table outdoors. Peppers in an LLBean Bag     Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   12 x 16"   30 x 40cm   450.00 I bought about 10 pounds of red bell peppers (5 kilos for 6.90) at the market on Tuesday.  Much of the week was taken up with trimming and freezing them, and making jars of sweet roasted.  I managed to paint them, too.   This is the time of year to buy marvelous vegetables – I am only held back on how many will fit in the freezer. Berlino sleeping in the Fall Sunshine... Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: TroppaTrippa

 

Trippa  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/paper  9 x 9"  23 x 23cm  175.00

I received an unusual request some months ago, regarding my tripe can painting.   It seems there is an official “Tripe” group here in Italy, known as troppatrippa.com, and they wanted to feature my painting of the Simmenthal Tripe can.     They generously associated me and my can with Andy Warhol and Campbell’s soup.   It puts me in the mind of making tripe can prints!  Maybe I will.  Meanwhile, I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame.   https://www.troppatrippa.com/articoli/la-simmenthal-come-la-campbell/ Bear getting ready for the Dance   Blair Pessemier Oil/Canvas 40 x 36"  100 x 90cm  750.00   All around it’s been a fabulous week.   I have been able to retrieve my 9 unused ISBN#’s, that I might apply one to our book about Pompeii, on sale for Christmas.  There will be more about the book around 4 October, after the final evaluation.  The book is in both English and Italian.   Finding those 10 ISBN numbers from 2005, made me feel like a Mensa Genius.   Foo     Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/paper   20 x 27" 50 x 70cm  350.00 We have been painting fantasy figures for the upcoming Maypole show at our gallery and ordered lots of colored satin ribbon.  We are seeking the pole itself, which needs to be three meters (120 inches) long.   It hasn’t been too difficult to slip into the fantasy world, as we have had a solid week of rain.  Even Berlino has been having sunshine deficiency. Unicorn  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  23.5 x 16"   60 x 40cm   490.00 He caught a squirrel this week.  I was watching him toss around his toy in the yard, but then realized he didn’t have one quite that color, nor that “lively”.  I went out and he laid it down, like a good bird dog:  not a feather on the animal was spoiled, and after playing dead for a minute, the little creature jumped and ran up the tree.  Thank goodness.   I am glad we keep those vaccines up to date. As I write these artnotes, the sun has finally broken through.  Our wash in hanging on the clothesline, and I am considering eating lunch outdoors.  Tripe, anyone? Pair of Violins  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper 12 x 10"  30 x 25cm  275.00 (or 150 each) Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Beating the Everyday

 

Commission, based on the Palio Castiglion Fiorentino  Blair Pessemier     Acrylic/canvas   84 x 96"  200 x 240cm

Thank goodness for travel.  It gets me to take out my brain and jump on it (“it gets all caked up”, as Mark Twain said).    It doesn’t have to be big travel, just a change of scene, far enough away you can’t walk back.  We drove two hours to drop off Blair’s commissioned painting in Castiglion Fiorentino, ate lunch and pressed on to Stimigliano for the night; well, two.  The house was stuffy as one might imagine after two months of near-100 degree days.  Via Dante, 7, is part of the outer  stone structure on the west side of the town and gets particularly hot.  We were only obliged to run the portable airconditioner for half a day to freshen things up. Rose Hips  Laurie Pessemier Acrylic/ Paper  23.5 x 17"  63 x 42cm  275.00   We’ve been trying to figure out what to do with our gallery in Roccamalatina.  Someone suggested teaching children to paint, I thought about hanging nudes, and we talked about painting curtains on the window to create a peekaboo view.  When we were in Modena this week, we saw a gallery show of car exhaust systems made into speakers – interesting.   How, you ask, can going to Stimigliano help you decide about your gallery  250 miles away?    See here, that’s the miracle of travel, and taking out your brain:  new ideas, a different perspective! Seated Nude  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   16 x 10.5" 40 x 27cm  475.00 I spent time in my studio in Stimigliano, near the genius who lives in the wall.  I settled into my chair, and picked up a book.   It was a collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  I’d not seen the book before (the genius rearranges things while I am away) and read the story of the Maypole.   It is a fabulous tale of dancing bears and Indians, Green Men and Springtime images, all eventually squelched by the dread Puritan.   Nathaniel Hawthorne was from Salem, Massachusetts, where the witches were from (I was born not so far from there).   His stories reflect his Puritan surroundings (remember the Scarlet Letter? An early banned book) and cast them in a different light.  He lived in New England most of his life, and was a friend and neighbor of Herman Melville (Moby Dick).  But that’s all another story. Streets of Paris   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  23.5 x 16"   60 x 40cm   490.00 Why not, I thought, racing back to the house to Blair, make a show based on the Maypole and the fun and slightly naughty images associated with it?  We can set it up at the gallery, take photos and propose the show to other galleries, museums, et cetera?    Maybe. We carried back a selection of fantasy paintings, clowns, monkeys and such to Roccamalatina.   It may just be crazy thinking, but it sure beats the everyday. Rhymo, the Dancing Monkey  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 16 x 13"  41 x 33cm 425.00 Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Kind

 

Rose of Sharon   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvaspanel  20 x 12"    50 x 30cm  475.00

The mornings are coming later in Roccamalatina these days.  Today Berlino and I didn’t start our walk until after 7 AM.   He hates the wet grass, and I struggle to keep him out of the road.   Eventually we make it across the big road to the dirt paths. The way is strewn with spider webs – I am sure those fellows didn’t count on prey as large as me.  I can barely see the fine line unless the sun is just right.  Sometimes the spiders hang on and I carry them down the path with me (not those big yellow ones – I jettison them asap).    Berlino is in pursuit of rabbit or deer.  The other day a juvenile pheasant sprinted across the road in front of us.  The wolves will celebrate Thanksgiving soon. Montecorone Blue Sky  Laurie Pessemier  Oil Pastel on Paper  10 x 7"  25 x 18cm  75.00   It’s a slow week here.  We had to buy a new washing machine, one of those necessary evils, like a new roof or buying tires.  I had good fortune at the dentist (another source of necessary evil) last week:   I lost an old crown which I luckily retrieved from a bite of pear tart -- the dentist made the repair for FREE.   Hallelujah. Sassi di Roccamalatina  Blair  Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   16 x 12" 40 x 30cm  475.00 I was reading a book recently and one of the things the heroine liked most about the Saxons was their kindness (the other was dependability).   Regarding kindness, I would say the same about the Italians.  Nary a day goes by we don’t receive some sort of gift or boost from one of our friends here.  Even when our car broke down in France this summer, the Italian insurance company tried hard to find us a place to stay during the repair. Other American friends commissioned paintings, and othes sent help.   When I re-read this paragraph, I think, gosh, most people ARE kind.  The recent “monetization” of everything from airplane meals to selling one’s personal trash to strangers on Marketplace makes one feel like a fool for giving something away, or being kind.    Blair working on a BIG commission.  It’s cooling down here, and I look forward to the disappearance of mosquitoes.  The scorpions are rushing inside, but are usually visible, thus avoidable.  We’re have a birthday luncheon at our house today and I can’t wait to sing “Happy Birthday to You.” Little house at the Sassi  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 10 x 14"  25 x 35cm  375.00 Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: About Life

 

Montalbano Tower  Blair  Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  16 x 10.5"  40 x 25cm  375.00

I am a day or two behind, as one might say.  What is it to be behind?  Do we ever catch up?  When is the deadline? that’s a scary word. Last week we painted en plein air for five days, with another painter-friend.  It really took it out of us, but we ended up with some really nice paintings.  It’s still pretty warm here (we hovered in the low 90s) so our efforts were limited to the morning.  Montalbano from Verucchio Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas panel  12 x 9.5"  30 x 24cm  325.00   We began in Verucchio, overlooking Montalbano.  We sat at unoccupied picnic tables – everyone here is at the seaside.   The next day we went to Montalbano, the town itself, perched on a very steep hill.  It had been a dogs age since we painted in these places, and despite knowing them well, all seemed new.  It was amazing, and I felt a sort of rebirth.    Of course, we visited our own Sassi di Roccamalatina, and ate dinner overlooking the vista that night.  Tree Shrine, Montecorone  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   16 x 12" 40 x 30cm  475.00 We went to Montecorone, which was ever so much better than I recalled.   I painted an unusual crucifixion sculpture in a hollow tree.   An old woman next door saw my efforts, and brought us into her garage, where she had a broad collection of work by the sculptor, a Polish man.   It inspired me greatly to think about painting on new surfaces:  in addition to sculpting, he painted on uneven supports, like rocks and heavily encrusted panels.   Art is really about finding that new step, that new reason to go on.   I felt  not only this work, but by being able to paint with someone else rekindled my flame. Tartufo Fountain  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 16"  30 x 40cm  375.00   In the afternoons, we went to castles and historic sites, summer homes of the Estes, but they clearly didn’t have the same ideas of “cool” that we were hoping for. I had to spend all of Saturday lying about in bed, re-assembling myself.   I read a whole book, and thought about life.  It’s great. Sketches on Cardboard at the Sassi, Roccamalatina    Laurie Pessemier  75.00 each Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM