3 artists around me

last week, my mom had a faculty show opening at the currier museum of art. she had these two new pieces there, which i had yet to see.

the first one (pretty difficult to take a good picture of) was a mesmerizing (and perfectly framed) square of mystical shiny dichroic glass jellyfish, and a hand that's letting a pinker-tinted jelly float in it's palm. it looks like a painting, but it's actually fused glass. a "painting" created from melted glass sheets, shapes, and powders. also some wire. the depth in the layers of glass is amazing. it's called "collide for attention".

the second one was gathering much praise from one faculty friend of hers, june, who said it was a ritualistic piece-- she kept standing over it and cupping her hands, closing her eyes, and "washing" the happy feelings over her. she was only half kidding but once she said it, i noticed the same. i tried it, and it was true. the bowl shape adds to the feeling, and the sparkle amongst the sifting sand feels like you've found bits of heaven. june was insistent that if you had this piece in your home, you would place it on a pedestal at waist height, and wash the good feelings over yourself every day before you walk out the door. this one is also fused glass as above, and called "searching for gifts".

i can't get over the image of the hands, which, created in wire, etching and dichoric, were exactly her hands in each piece. i love it!

they are on display and for sale at the currier museum of art.  OH and they're done by verne orlosk. she has a great show coming up at east colony fine arts in april in which she's a featured artist.

another art show that happened recently, was the enormous tiny art show at nahcotta in portsmouth. 

i didn't make this one because a (second!) winter illness punched me in the face, but i can't wait to see it in person. because of paintings like this:

this is "blue" by my good buddy, melissa lyford.

i love all of them, but this one was just calling to me today.

you must click to see more of her beautifully precise, tiny tiny tiny, paintings. the vellum paper piece itself is only 3.5 by 3.5 inches, and then the piece is framed, so it gets a little bigger, but imagine how intricate. the attention to detail is crazy and the overall pieces are amazing. i can't wait to see this set in person! the ETA show is a really cool way to collect affordable art by great artists. check it out!

these are "flag island sunset" and "warm sunset" by my college roomie ellie porta. 

there were so many to pick from, so click through to see many more beautiful sunsets, islands, deadly sins ... and much more. when you see them bigger, they're even more striking. i'm sitting here trying to glean all i can from them. we have to do this via email now, since we're no longer standing next to each other with easels or visiting the room next door to see each other's work. i've loved being able to share via internet a similar give and take. and even getting a glimpse or two in person these days. ellie is living back in her homeland of maine, where she has a horse named duke and a paris-like apartment. find more here.

in other news, my computer has also been punched in the face by wintertime, and is currently getting it's logic board replaced. until it returns to me, i will be figuring out how many of my "normal" things i can accomplish by taking over jay's laptop. maybe i'll find some cool, old, inspiring images on his iphoto (since he only uses instagram now, it's all old pics.) hmm......