NYC Parks Are Using a Designer’s ‘Tree Font’ to Plant Secret Messages with Real Trees
Inspired by the nature around her, artist Katie Holten recently developed the New York City Tree Alphabet. Each letter is represented by an illustration of a different type of tree found in NYC. The letter A, for example is depicted as an ash tree, and the letter O is illustrated as an oak.
Holten is one of the first creatives to become an NYC Parks artist-in-residence, where she was asked to explore “the intersection of art, urban ecology, sustainability, nature, and design.” Holten’s resulting NYC Trees font is now available as a free download to anyone who wants to write secret messages in tree code. Not only that, but the NYC Parks Department plans to actually plant some of the messages as real trees in parks and other public spaces.
Some time ago my husband and I went south to visit my 93-year-old mother who is spending the winter with my 72-year-old sister. I note their ages because in their presence I often feel like a 12-year-old, not the 59-year-old I really am. Believe me, the 59-year-old struggles to be free! To be honest, we had a very nice visit. Every time I see my mom, I marvel at well she is, both physically and mentally. My sister is well, too, but she supports Trump (enthusiastically) so enough said about that.
One of the high points of our visit was a trip to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Dali Museum. Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists. The exhibit was nicely organized with photos interspersed with paintings, drawings, and interpretative signs. An image of Frida and Diego Rivera was projected on one wall, making them larger than life, which, in fact, they were. A loop of documentary clips played in one corner of the three-room exhibit.
First, the photos:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Some of you may know that Frida suffered much physical pain and disabilities in her life. She contracted polio when she was a little girl, which left her right leg shorter and thinner than the left. Then, when she was only 18, she was in a bus accident and suffered near fatal injuries: broken pelvis, ribs, legs, and collarbone, to name a few. Although she “recovered,” she experienced pain and declining health for the rest of her short life.
HellShe had originally planned for a career in medicine. The bus accident changed all that, and though the accident left her with a world of pain, she left us with a world of wonder, color, and expression.
Some of the paintings in this slideshow are not for the faint of heart. Frida painted what she felt, what she lived.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I hope you have enjoyed this visit to the Dali Museum and the Frida Kahlo exhibit.
On a more personal note, I am experiencing some “life events” right now. I know my blogging has been spotty and I am more and more AWOL as these events suck up my time and energy. All is well, at least on my home front, but I’m just … busy-busy-busy. Know that I will do my best to catch up with you all and that, at a minimum, I think of you all often.
The last time I typed words into this blog was one day before my birthday, all the way back in April.
Two days later, I ended my four and a half year relationship, and all the words disappeared.
It has taken me close to seven months to actually open up WordPress again, but here I am. About a month ago I dug out my battered original copies of The Paperbook Collective, and started again. I hadn’t actually realised how much I missed it, and how happy it made me feel. My life is now filled with work and events and committees and obligations, but I am determined to make time for The Paperbook Collective once again.
So I have been working hard, and Issue Seven is now officially a zine!
If you had ordered a copy of Issue Seven before I…
When we were out West not too long ago (although now it seems like a dream), one of our closest friends gave us a gift. Our friend is Jennifer Ewing, an artist in mixed media as well as the fine arts. She and her husband Leo Germano are a dynamic duo in the Art world with their mural and fine art business that they started in 1989 as Ewing & Germano. Currently, Leo is developing his already awesome skills as a photographer, and Jennifer has branched out in workshops and events around her “Spirit Boat” series. Jennifer started this series soon after her father died in 2004. I remember visiting her studio and seeing early paintings where notes from her father were pasted on the canvas. Fast forward several years and the motif of boats, of journeys, of spiritual quests continues. To commemorate our 25th wedding anniversary, Jennifer offered us a boat from several that she had been working on. (more…)
OK, this is not a proper reblog but I have to share the news that Issue 7 of the Paperbook Collective is OUT and available for your reading pleasure. It includes writing by yours truly (big smile) and the very talented John W. Howell (bigger smile). Click your way to the issue via the link in this post and READ!
This is my first post of the New Year and also my 500th post. To celebrate, I want to throw the spotlight on a blogger who is finding her poetic voice: Pamela.
Pamela’s first blog is a homage to everything she (and, by extension, we) have to be thankful for. She can have the worst day; yet at the end of that day, she will express thankfulness for something. It may be as simple as being thankful for good weather, or thankful to have another day with her dad. Her blog is nothing short of inspirational.
Poetry by Pamela is an inspiration of another sort: the play of words that make one smile; the making of a song that lifts the spirits. Visit her blog now to enjoy a poetic play on New Year’s Resolutions. And while you’re there, be sure to read her other poetry and even leave some comments, some feedback on what you like about her poetry. Here’s a link to one of my favorites: Yours, written in the Tanka form. It is wickedly good :)
Whether you are a visual artist or a visual artist wannabe or just someone who enjoys “filling space in a beautiful way,” journey over to this Silk – Interactive Generative Art (http://weavesilk.com/). Credit goes to Yuri Vishnevsky for Silk and Mat Jarvis for the accompanying music. The art you created is licensed under Creative Commons. Click this link for a glimpse of my artistic prowess: http://r.weavesilk.com/?v=4&id=ngtarsjse3
So far I have not been able to save my images to my desktop (all I get from saving is a blank document), but hopefully Mr. Vishnevsky will help me sort that out. In the meantime, what are your favorite diversions?
Check out the new header for The Community Storyboard where our rowdy band of editors have been immortalized as superheroes by the very talented Dean at Dean’z Doodlez!
Recently I moved from a small cubicle to a corner office with enough wall space for a mini-art gallery. Since I’m prohibited from painting the walls anything other than the dullest off-white, I found a supplier of removable vinyl wall decals (www.popdecors.com) and proceeded to decorate.You may note that cats are a big theme for me. I didn’t stop with decals though.
We bought this poster when we were in New Orleans last year; it reminds us of our cat Luisa. You can see the resemblance, can’t you?
Marie at 1 Write Way 