We’re all familiar with the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Today, in an age predicated on technology and social media, this may be more true than ever. We are witness to thousands of images everyday -- many of which are advertisements, some of which are pictures posted by “friends” on a variety… Continue reading Words, Pictures, You (*Empowering Art Series)
Death of a Could’ve Been
Fourteen years ago, I lay on the couch in my mom's living room, watching A Beautiful Mind and snacking. It was July and I was home from college, recently having returned from a 2-month study abroad program in Italy. I was alone, enjoying my zone-out time, when the phone rang. I didn't bother answering because… Continue reading Death of a Could’ve Been
Seeing Sound (*Empowering Art Series)
Have you ever smelled something that instantly brought you back to a particular memory? Do you associate a day of the week with a color, or a feel? If so, you’re at least loosely familiar with synesthesia -- a term derived from the Greek words “together” and “sensation” (syn and aisthesis). Psychologists understand synesthesia as… Continue reading Seeing Sound (*Empowering Art Series)
A Wedding and an Anniversary (two very different pictures)
Yesterday was my 6-year wedding anniversary. We got married on 10-10-10, on a gorgeous autumn Sunday in Woodstock, NY. Our ceremony was outdoors, overlooking the woods behind the house where T spent his childhood. It was one of those magical climates, warm and sunny for October -- especially since the days immediately preceding were wet,… Continue reading A Wedding and an Anniversary (two very different pictures)
Connected
A confrontation with something unexpected can make you pause, look up, and examine yourself and your world. Outdoor, monumental sculptures often provide such an encounter. Maman, a 30-foot sculpture of a spider by the late French artist Louis Bourgeoius, can not be ignored. And it is impossible for a viewer to just look at… Continue reading Connected
SAHM: an acronym that now defines me
The acronym "SAHM" seems omnipresent nowadays. It's more common to use this derivative than its parent term, its backronym if you will, "stay-at-home-mom." But back in 2012, when I was carrying princess #1, I had no earthly idea what those 4 letters stood for. I would frequently lurk the Babycenter boards, anxious and excited about… Continue reading SAHM: an acronym that now defines me
A Tale of Two Selves (Enriching your Life through Art)
Engaging with art inevitably sheds light on who we are -- what we’re feeling, what we’re attracted to, what enlivens us. The act of looking deeply at art generates such reflection, and the act of making it engenders a more primal type of self-observation, as the artwork itself produces a tangible, visible documentation. When young… Continue reading A Tale of Two Selves (Enriching your Life through Art)
Learning to Look
It may be impossible to find a work of art that is globally regarded as beautiful. Aesthetic beauty is as hard to define -- and certainly as subjective -- as physical beauty. Museum-goers generally spend less than 30 seconds looking at a work of art before moving onto a new image. Surely it takes more… Continue reading Learning to Look
Who doesn’t love a grab bag?
A few weeks ago at Michael's Arts & Crafts (I've been spending waaay to much time there since it's so close to R's school), I spied $2 blind bags filled with random goodies from the store. I think they were transitioning from summer to fall and retiring a few collections (Alphabet Soup, for example). Since… Continue reading Who doesn’t love a grab bag?
DIY Edible Play Dough with Marshmallows
Miss R loves all things clay and all things sweet, so this activity was an obvious hit. We've tried lots of play dough and slime recipes and this dough was in between the two materials. The marshmallows lent a sort of fondant quality to the dough -- which hardened after a few hours, so keep… Continue reading DIY Edible Play Dough with Marshmallows
DIY confetti tray (because I’m so ***😔**😩 tired)
I'll get to the confetti thing in a sec, but I have to include a preamble that sums up my day. Feel free to scroll on down if you're not in the mood for self-indulgent sleep-writing. This whole transition from mommy of one to mommy of two has been, more than anything else (except an… Continue reading DIY confetti tray (because I’m so ***😔**😩 tired)
Autumn Crafts (It’s Fall now, right?)
Our daytime highs are still hitting 80+ degrees, but the calendar says it's Fall (and so do all consumer hotspots teeming with pumpkin aromas and expensive cotton masked as spiderwebs). I'm a sucker for everything in Target's dollar spot and I get pretty excited when there's a new array of seasonally appropriate cheapies. So when… Continue reading Autumn Crafts (It’s Fall now, right?)
ARTY MOMMY 