Ornamentodeux (My Other Blog)

I have always loved kids’ art. I display a ceramic Madball my Stepson made years ago on a shelf in my living room as well as a drawing the Step Banana made for Boris when they were both kittens. It’s in the living room by the cat tree. So I was delighted when I walked into the galleries at Fleisher Art Memorial last week and saw all the art from their Summer Camp program on display. I think…

The universe decided to send me a message the other day.  That message was that my friend Paul would have made a great old man.  I had to stop what I was doing to sit down and think about it.  Yes, a great old man.  Not an avuncular old man or a friendly grandpa type (although, as a librarian, he worked with children and served people from all walks of life). But an irascible, mockingly ill…

Philadelphia and the Nation are celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Fourth of July Celebration in Centre Square, 1812, John Lewis Krimmel When William Penn laid out Philadelphia, he plotted four squares with a central square in the middle where Philadelphia City Hall sits today. I always wondered what Centre Square looked like in the…

I hopped the train to New York last week to check out art shows at some galleries in Chelsea and the Whitney Biennial. It’s always fun to go to New York with my friend Christa who knows all the best shows and galleries. She also knows much more about art than I do-not that that stops me from having opinions. José Maceda’s Ugnayan, Music for 20 Radio Stations (1974/2026) José Maceda and Aki…

Give me a nice Spring weekend and I hit the streets to check out events within walking distance of my South Philadelphia home. That’s what I did this past weekend, The first place I went was the 900 block of Market Street to check out the newly-opened pop-up shops. Market East in Philadelphia has had its ups and downs ever since I moved here. Currently, its experiencing a down. This has been…

My love affair with pottery and ceramics continues, but I am taking a breather from turning out functional ware. I’ve posted before on making ceramic beads and jewelry. I wanted to try something new, however, so I decided to make beaded key chains. I love this yarn! I’ve given away all my yarn except for one ball of multi-colored silk yarn that I frogged from a hat I bought at a thrift shop. I’m…

Have you lost your beading mojo? It happened to me. I got it back and learned some things I’d like to share with you. I’ve recently gotten back into seed beading after being away from it for a few years. Beading was really popular about 20 years ago and I hear it’s making a comeback. That’s the way it is in the craft world. People go crazy with a certain craft ( remember rubber stamping and…

I saw an exhibit at the Baltimore Art Museum recently called American Sublime. The exhibit consisted of 38 of Amy Sherald’s works from 2007 to the present including her widely publicized portraits of Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor. American Sublime had been sold out, extended, and sold out again so I was glad I could get tickets. But it became obvious to me when I saw Sherald’s work in person…