"We Do What We Must" A Conversation on Womanhood Engaged by Jeanine Leclaire

I recently received the honor of being invited into a group exhibition featuring the work of a diverse group of women artists. The show went up at the start of last month and continues through the end of this month. I encourage anyone in the Philadelphia area to check it out before it comes down. (Here's a link to the Roger Lapelle Galleries website with information.) And for those who cannot see the exhibition in person, here is an excellent video which documents most of the work in the show with thoughtful commentary by the filmmaker John Thornton and the show's curator Jeanine Leclaire. 

"Anna Held's Milk Bath" by John Held Jr.

Earlier this year I wrote about John Held Jr.'s wonderful book of woodcuts illustrating the "The Saga of Frankie and Johnny." Held was known most for his illustrations of flappers for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker which captured the Jazz Age.

But Held's work that moves me the most are the rough engravings from the turn of the last century - the end of the Victorian era. Here he is known for illustrating some of the darkest aspects of humanity - drunkenness, lecherous misogyny, violence - with a sort of tenderness. Held often referred to himself in his illustrations as "that old sentimentalist." It wasn't that he was promoting or glorifying such vices, but rather, that he saw the humanity within the people carrying it out.

This print is of Anna Held, a tremendously famous actor and singer in her day. Sadly, her life was cut short in 1918 when she died at the age of 46. Anna Held had been a Broadway star and regarded as a war hero for her work entertaining troops on the front lines during World War I. That she passed away while still in the midst of a thriving career must have struck the public in a powerful way. This woodcut of John Held Jr,'s was published in 1930 and was meant to capture the nostalgia people felt for a recently bygone era - a time when it was still considered risque for a woman to show her legs. Though Anna Held - a performer known for her flirtatious performances - is depicted in a bath, the banality of the scene is emphasized by practical elements such as a scrub brush and giant jugs. A relative innocence comes across in the expressions on Anna Held and and her attendant's faces, who seem cheerful yet humdrum in their occupations.

This is in contrast to most of Anna Held's promotional photographs that directly confront viewers with a come-hither gaze.

Rest in peace, both of you talented (and unrelated) Helds.

"Thumbs Up"

So... the past six months have been the least productive (in terms of studio work) I've had in six years. I have many excuses: At the start I had just bought and sold a house, I have some health issues to deal with, my teaching work, two young kids whose other parent has been finishing graduate school while working full time. Those all sound convincing. The problem is, the previous two years I had all those excuses and yet I was extremely productive in the studio. I am not sure what has really changed these last six months, but I keep hoping it passes soon.

Also, even though I wasn't working in the studio, I framed and delivered work for three exhibitions, which is nothing to sneeze at. My teaching work this year has been inspiring, and many of my students have blown me away with their work. Still, I feel frustrated by my lack of motivation to make my own work, and I often get down on myself for it.

I made this little 4" x 6" cut of a "thumbs up" linocut as an example for students in one of my classes. I admit, it cheers me up. I'm going to hang it up in my studio as a reminder to not beat myself up over lack of productivity or other setbacks and failures. Life is a journey with many twists and turns.

"The Bark Bag" by Margaret Preston

I wish I knew how to say all the drawings in my head. The white lines and dark shadows and the creaks that they speak. I'm lost in a forest of carved hills and blooms, and red rock barrels that are cracking and leak.

"The Bamboo Blind" by Ethel Spowers

This is the most comfortable green cushion. I've sat here a while, so it's warm and less springy than it used to be. I'm distracted by, interested in these two large and lively silhouettes. The ball flies between them like a sparrow. Out there is a big world full of bright light, loud sounds, and huge movements. My green cushion is so comfy. My toy boat, so docile and quaint. I like to pick it up and peer inside its tiny windows.

An Image from Frances, Edna, and May Gearhart's "Let's Play"

Frances Gearhart, in collaboration with her sisters Edna and May, created a small series of color wood block prints of children titled Let's Play, and this is my favorite print from that series. It was not published her Gearhart's lifetime, but is currently available as a published children's book through the Book Club of California.

Grab knots and hold tight 
Our bodies moving like wind 
Lean in and lift off 

Linocuts by 4th and 5th Graders

These are linocuts by students in my 2D Mixed Media after school class at the University City Arts League. Most of these kids have had a lot of art before and live in families that strongly support the arts, so relief printmaking was nothing new. I just showed them how to properly use the carving tools, print a proof with black ink on white paper and how to do a color gradation, and they went from there.

I just love showing off the work of these creative kids.