Tabatha A. YeattsAuthor
ART THURSDAYTabatha's main page The current Art Thursday page
"If food and shelter give us life, the arts give us something to live for."
Please visit my blog to see these entries in a more searchable format! Thursday, December 25, 2008 Merry Christmas! First, porcelain artist Laura Peery... Black Ruffle
By Laura Peery  Understanding Midnight
By Laura Peery 
Lines and Colors, a terrific art blog, has compiled 2008 Best Graphic Novel Lists. If you like graphic novels (or are wondering what they are), take a look.
Aren't these ear ornaments from the 1400s-1500s amazing? They are made of wood and feathers! Pair of Ear Ornaments
 Chimú/Inka; 15th–16th century Diameter 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm) American Museum of Natural History, New York
Thursday, December 18, 2008 Russian artist Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910) is our focus this week. Demon Seated
By Mikhail Vrubel
Demon Seated (1890) was Vrubel's first large canvas, which, though vehemently criticized by contemporaries, elevated Vrubel to a whole new plane of artistic expression. Vrubel had developed the theme of Demon, a hero of Mikhail Lermontov’s poem, from 1885. With Vrubel, Demon becomes the incarnation of the romantic spirit. Demon starts out full of hope, searching for harmony and truth, beauty and love. For a brief moment, he even seems to find what he longs for. But eventually his hopes are crushed. He becomes disillusioned and boils with rebellion. In the end, he himself is crushed and thrown out. This world has no place for him. (Information from Russian Art Gallery, Victor Potoskuev) The Pearl
By Mikhail Vrubel
Morning
By Mikhail Vrubel
Night
By Mikhail Vrubel
You can read more about Vrubel's creative life and his sad end here. Some other great works from the Russian Art Gallery include Ilya Repin's Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, Nikolay Yaroshenko's Life is Everywhere, and Victor Vasnetsov's Sirin and Alkonost, Birds of Joy and Sadness. December 11, 2008 Sonia Romero paints, prints, and offers workshops from her wonderfully-named "She Rides the Lion" studio in California. She worked with a team of youth to create East Los Angeles public pool murals:
She is working on a Macarthur Park Metro Station installation, with thirteen linoleum cut and airbrush designs picturing positive community uses of the Macarthur Park area, like the one below: Langers Delicatessen  This reminds me of a book illustration! The artist sells prints of her hand carved linoleum cuts in her Etsy shop. (Etsy! My favorite "mall"! So great for presents.)
December 4, 2008 D.C.-based artist Nikolas Schiller uses aerial photographs as a starting point for his art, which he calls "conceptual cartography." I'm showing some today from his Lenz Project. There are so many that make me say "Wow," that I have to include links to a few more: here, here, and here.   
Thursday, November 27, 2008 This week, we're just looking at one painting, but we're looking at it closely. The painting is Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel, 16th century. 
Wish I could see it in person!
Thursday, November 20, 2008 You just don't know what to expect from me, do you? To illustrate that, this week we've got anatomical art. Vanitas
By Simon Renard de Saint-André, 1613-1677
I like street art, and this "rib cage in Paris" pleased me with its imaginativeness. How nice to be able to see something ordinary and envision it as something else.  I saw the rib cage on Vanessa Ruiz's Street Anatomy site, which also had this charming couple: Artnatomy is a pretty amazing tool by Victoria Contreras Flores for artists, students, and others. The official description says "Anatomical Basis of Facial Expression Tool," but just go fiddle around with the faces and see what's underneath. For a historical look at anatomical art, read the article "The Fine Art of Anatomy" by medical student Rohin Francis.
Thursday, November 13, 2008 We're up to our eyeballs in globes this week. I think there's something inherently beautiful about globes, and apparently I'm not the only one. (I like maps, too, but that will have to be another week.) The Astronomer
By Jan Vermeer
Celestial Globe (detail)
By Giuseppe de Rossi, 1615
Detail from a painting of St. Augustine, c. 1480
Some info from Wikipedia about armillary spheres: This 1996 community collaboration was designed and built by Holly Hughes with the help of 2000 volunteers, including artists from 17 countries. It is made entirely of recycled items. More globes, plus some "do it yourself" sites: Simeon Solomon's The Vision in the Crystal Globe Frank Meisler's Large Jerusalem Sphere Artistic Globes by Sabine Réthoré A self-portrait in a reflecting globe by Maurits Cornelis (M.C.) Escher The nonprofit organization, Cool Globes, is using art to raise awareness and inspire individuals and community leaders to embrace solutions regarding global warming. How To Make a Paper Mache Earth How To Make an Armillary Sphere Thursday, November 6, 2008 Before we get to this week's art, let me tell you about the free online games on Artsology. There's so much there!! And one more thing... if you live near our nation's capital, you might want to check out FotoWeek, a celebration of photography taking place during November 15-22, 2008. There's no theme for this week (unless you can spot one). The Fish Bucket
by Gifford Beal, 1924
Alma Sewing
Legend and Fact
A detail
(OK, it's not exactly a theme, but they were all painted in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. Both Criss and de Kooning were born in England but moved to the U.S. I can think of a couple other things two out of the three paintings have in common.) Thursday, October 30, 2008 The colors! The shapes! Phil Fung! Imagine John Peace Koi
Kenya Face
Sea Turtle Summer
Thursday, October 23, 2008 We have more impermanent art today. Daniel Dancer creates art that HAS to last only a short time -- it's fashioned out of people! Mr. Dancer has worked with schools, groups, and companies to create living art that seems to have as big an impact on the people who are in it as the people who see it. The Sky Grizzly
Moon Goose
"Living art" photographs have been created since the invention of photography. For instance, here's a shot by Arthur Mole and John Thomas from 1918, using 18,000 soldiers: Thursday, October 16, 2008 Intricate Celtic art this week. These first two images are from the Celtic Art and Culture web site hosted by the University of North Carolina. Ancient Celtic Helmet
Jewelry from 1871
Here is some contemporary Celtic art by Cari Buziak. Past Reflections
Sea Dragons
Wreath on Agate
Thursday, October 9, 2008 I know artists aren't magicians, but sometimes it really does seem as though there's magic at work. For instance, origami. How can a single piece of uncut piece of paper be turned into so many amazingly complicated things? I don't know. But check it out: Rattlesnake, opus 539
Organist, opus 363
Black Forest Cuckoo Clock, opus 182
For more origami magic, Brian Chan has a fun video of him folding Wall*E. I loved Brian's Kraken. If you'd like to try to fold your own origami, visit Origami.com for models and for info on how to make folds, visit Fishgoth's Origami basics. Thursday, October 2, 2008 Wood art this week! I have been trying to learn the difference between wood engravings and woodcuts. Wood engravers gouge a design into hard wood, while the other method involves cutting away pieces of soft wood so only the design is left. (Does that sound right, artists?) The funny thing is that The Flammarion Woodcut is actually a misnamed wood engraving. The Flammarion Woodcut
Here's the colored version, done by Heikenwaelder Hugo, 1998
A Japanese woodcut Monkey Reaching for the Moon
A Brief History of the Woodcut
Thursday, September 25, 2008 I had a hard time picking just two of Paul Grech's works. In fact, here are links to three more: I just love his musical series. And of course, I can't leave out Einstein. 
A couple of art quotes: There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.
Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 Heather Jansch creates striking sculptures! She answers questions about how she makes them here. Fortune Filly
Apollo on the Beach
Along similar lines, there is an online site called The Green Museum that has info about artists who produce environmental art, including Betsy Damon. Ms. Damon creates public art events and large-scale art parks like "The Living Water Garden," in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The Living Water Garden
Young park visitors play on the flow forms, sculptures that aerate the water before it enters the constructed wetlands. Thursday, September 11, 2008 We've got an arts in Maryland theme this week. The work of Maryland-based photojournalist Jon Soucy caught my eye with these evocative black and white pieces.
This Wheaton, MD program is such a fantastic idea. Arts on the Block offers job training through the arts. Awesome! 
Apprentices putting finishing touches on Metrorail panel. Thursday, September 4, 2008 The Museum of Wales has a lovely web site, including these phenomenal glass works by the Blaschkas. "During the late 19th century, Leopola Blaschka (1822-1895) and his son Rudolf (1857-1929) produced beautifully detailed glass models of bizarre sea creatures for natural history museums and aquaria all over the world." Highly magnified model of a single cell radiolarian
By Leopola and Rudolf Blaschka
Sea anenomies displaying a territorial dispute.
Here S. troglodytes fires stinging cells at A. mesembryanthemum who has ventured too close.
By Leopola and Rudolf Blaschka
Female Paper Nautilus (Argonata Argo) after repair.
By Leopola and Rudolf Blaschka
Thursday, August 28, 2008 This week, the focus is Greek muse murals. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). There were nine muses, each of whom presided over an art or science. The muses were: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry; Clio, Muse of History; Euterpe, Muse of Lyric Poetry; Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy; Terpsichore, Muse of Choral Dance and Song; Erato, Muse of Love Poetry; Polyhymnia, Muse of Sacred Poetry; Urania, Muse of Astronomy; and Thalia Muse of Comedy. (from Bulfinch's Mythology) You can find this painting of Melpomene in a mural at the U.S. Library of Congress. Melpomene
By Edward Emerson Simmons (1852–1931) Photographed by Carol Highsmith
A fresco at the Vatican, Rome Apollo and the Muses at Parnassus
By Raphael
This detail is from "Sacred Dance and the Muses," painted on the ceiling in the atrium of the City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium, N.C. Sacred Dance and the Muses
By Benjamin F. Long, IV
Here's a link about how to make a fresco. Thursday, August 21, 2008 I was excited to find out about these contemporary young Afghani artists. Visit the Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan. By Nabila Horekhsh
by Manezha
by Fareha Ghezal Yousufzai
Thursday, August 14, 2008 I went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and saw a lot of wonderful pieces. You can make your own "art collection" on their site by browsing their artworks and then clicking on your favorites. Gold is Where You Find It
The Spinet
Thursday, August 7, 2008 Winslow Homer! Girl Carrying A Basket
The New Novel
Thursday, July 31, 2008 Pen and ink artist Franklin Booth's work is terrific.
For books about this amazing artist, check out Franklin Booth: American Illustrator and Thursday, July 24, 2008 Both of these 19th century artists do a lovely job with facial expressions and textiles. Head of Mrs. Eaton
Morning Awakening
Thursday, July 17, 2008 Amazing, ephemeral street painting by Tracy Lee Stum. You can see her in the photo of The Medici Garden, which gives you an idea about the size and scope of her work. She generously offers a recipe for home-made pastels that can be used for street painting. A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Medici Garden
Chalk for Peace is a worldwide chalk art project for young artists. This year, events will be taking place from September 14-21, 2008. Join in! Thursday, July 10, 2008 Arabic calligraphy -- wow! Calligraphy Lion
This image of a lion originates from Lahore, Pakistan and is part of a rich tradition of zoomorphic calligraphy. This practice, developed in the sixteenth century, employs the flexibility and beauty of Arabic script to delineate living forms such as tigers, parrots, ostriches and cockerels. This is done without disobeying religious injunctions that prohibit their direct depiction. Texts themselves might constitute verses from the Qur’an and include puns relating to the ‘word-picture’, particularly in Shia iconography. A famous example contains a prayer to Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law, also known as Haidar or ‘lion’. Information from the Tate Gallery, UK. Untitled
Thursday, July 3, 2008 Turning the spotlight on Canadian artist Ambera Wellman ... More of my favorites here, here, and here. Clouds Over Gulls 2
Devil's Paint Brush
Thursday, June 26, 2008 Self-portraits this week! Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1630
Self-Portrait
Self Portrait
Thursday, June 19, 2008 Joe Decker takes gorgeous nature photographs. These two are from his Signatures of the Sun collection. Lightfall
Rush
Thursday, June 12, 2008 The Floor Strippers
And now for something completely different... Penelope Dullaghan and Brianna Privett started Illustration Friday to provide "a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators and artists of all skill levels. It was designed to challenge participants creatively. We believe that every person has a little creative bone in their body. Illustration Friday just gives a no-pressure, fun excuse to use it. No clients looking for a particular thing. No one judging the outcome of the work. It's a chance to experiment and explore and play with visual art." They welcome novices and pros alike. Visit Illustration Friday Thursday, June 5, 2008 The first work by Christian Lorenz Scheurer that I saw was 2:30 a.m. It totally drew me in, so I checked out some more of his stuff. He has a fantastic imagination and I love the way there's so much to explore in his pictures. Want to see more? Click here for Night Walk and Procession of Effigies. 2:30 a.m.
Firefish of Takashiro
Thursday, May 29, 2008 The Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul exhibit just arrived in D.C. at the National Gallery of Art. In its honor, here are two pieces from the exhibit. I don't have info about the top one, unfortunately, but isn't it gorgeous!
One of a pair of pendants showing the Dragon Master, Tillya Tepe, Tomb II
Thursday, May 22, 2008 Latvian artist and musician Serge Sunne creates very interesting works. Ghost Ship
The Encounter
Thursday, May 15, 2008 Elsa Mora, who goes by Elsita, produces art with a variety of materials... Inner Landscape, a paper sculpture
Elsita says, "If we take care of our inner landscape, if we water our plants often and pay attention to what's going on inside we will always be ready and strong for anything negative coming from the outside world." Within Reach
Elsita has a link on her site to amazing papercut art by Peter Callesen Thursday, May 8, 2008 Mosaics this week! King Arthur, a segment from Heraldry and the Knights of the Round Table
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Thursday, May 1, 2008 Roger Xavier is a scratchboard illustrator. For a great scratchboard "how to" page, visit Russ McMullin's Scratchboard Tutorial. Carrot
Claw
Thursday, April 24, 2008 I have seen JMW Turner's works in person a couple of times and they knock my socks off. Transept of Ewenny Priory, Glamorganshire, circa 1797
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Here we have a painting circa 1910 by Emma Florence Harrison. Dream Land
the opening to Dream Land by Christina Rossetti:
Where sunless rivers weep
Thursday, April 10, 2008 Sergey Tyukanov's work is our focus this week. Project for Hotel and Restaurant
Cheshire Cat
Thursday, April 3, 2008 Meg Harper says she is interested in illustrating -- I can't wait to see what she does! Pearl-Eyed Flamingo
Tat-Turtle
Thursday, March 27, 2008 Artist Scott Wade lives on a caliche road (a mix of limestone dust, gravel, and clay) that coats his car windows with a white dust. He uses that dust to create temporary art. I couldn't resist sharing this Einstein. The impermanence of it reminded me of Tibetan monks making sand mandalas, so I am also including a Tibetan healing mandala below. Impermanent Albert
A mandala is a picture that represents the world. Buddhist monks pray as they make these delicate artworks of sand. The monk-artists do not keep the mandalas, but dismantle them afterwards to symbolize the monks' belief in not becoming too attached to material things. After this mandala was dismantled, the monks poured it into a flowing body of water to symbolize sharing its blessings with everyone. Tibetan Healing Mandala
Thursday, March 20, 2008 Fabric sculptures by Susan Else. Wow! Work in Progress
Bingo
Thursday, March 13, 2008 Two shimmering, colorful digital photography artworks: Ice Drop Abstract
Light In A Cage
Thursday, March 6, 2008 I have more illustrations this week. Love these! Some Late Visitor at my Door (from The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe)
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
I could pretty much fill a whole page with just Arthur Rackham's illustrations. They are beautiful and haunting, fascinating and mysterious. There was one from Romeo and Juliet that I wanted to post, but couldn't find. I'm not even sure what story this is illustrating, but it seems as if you could make one up just looking at it.
Thursday, February 28, 2008 This Monet was found recently in the back of a car in Zurich, Switzerland. It had been stolen from Zurich's Buehrle Museum, along with three other paintings. A Van Gogh was also recovered, and the police are still searching for the other two paintings by Cezanne and Degas. Poppies near Vétheuil
I am working feverishly on a biography of Joan of Arc. In this painting by Gaston Bussiere, angels and saints are offering young Joan encouragement, prayer, and a sword. Joan of Arc
Thursday, February 21, 2008 from the Steam Wars gallery
Valentine's Day, 2008 All kinds of love... Banjo Lesson
Love Among the Ruins
His Only Friend
Thursday, February 7, 2008 I've been posting art that illustrates stories, and here's another one... Miranda
In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Miranda asks her father if his sorcery has sunk the vessel, saying: O, I have suffered
Prospero answers her, "Be collected. / No more amazement. Tell your piteous heart / There's no harm done." Thursday, January 31, 2008 Another painting inspired by a story. Narcissus by Caravaggio (1573-1610)
"Narcissus was so handsome everyone loved and desired him, but Narcissus was too proud to offer his love in return. His rejection of one would-be lover, Echo, turned her from an unhappy nymph into the barest wisp of what she had been. Echo shriveled up until all that was left of her was her voice, what we now call by her name. From Narcissus and Echo in Ovid's Metamorphoses: Tiresias Warns About Narcissus By N.S. Gill, About.com Thursday, January 24, 2008 One Thousand and One Arabian Nights is a favorite story of mine, so I especially enjoyed taking a look at Virginia Frances Sterrett's illustrations. You can read about Ms. Sterrett (1900-1931) here and see more Arabian Nights illustrations here.
Thursday, January 17, 2008 Fantasy Roller Bird
River View through the Arches
A bonus work Germany's Children Are Starving
Thursday, January 10, 2008 Nicole Fekaris's The Walk drew me right in.
Thursday, January 3, 2008 Poetry Friday has been such a terrific experience that I decided to start Art Thursday as a kind of journal where I keep track of works that catch my eye. Joseph Ducreux, 1735-1802
From the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles Return to Tabatha's main page
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