April 23, 2021 Weekly Musings
Posted on April 23 2021
Announcements:
"Rolling Stones" Receives Award at CAL
Posted on April 19 2021
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"Colors in the Middle" Accepted Into SWA International Juried Exhibition
Posted on April 19 2021
Colors in the Middle was accepted into the Society of Watercolor Artists 2021 International Juried Exhibition. Juror- Andy Evanson
The Society of Watercolor Artists juror Andy Evansen accepted Christine Alfery’s work “The Middle Is Not Grey” for inclusion into the 2021 International Exhibition. Do to COVID restrictions this exhibition will be a virtual exhibition.
Enjoy the accepted works by going to the below link to view the virtual exhibition of accepted works. April 18-May 30
Blogs:
Aesthetic Moment: Swirling
Featured image: Blue Bells
One thing that I always embrace is the aesthetic moments of my milk mixing with my coffee in the morning. It reminds me of blue paint mixing with the clear water or of the early morning mist drifting in and out of the sun. These flowing images sustain me. I confirm that this is the way it is and should be. It It should not be contrived, but beautifully flowing, filled with swirls and always changing, always on going.
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Blog: Ayn Rand
Posted on April 20 2021
Featured image: Wild Rose
In the 60’s when I was in college, the author, Ayn Rand, was all the rage. She came to the University of Wisconsin on a book tour and talked about objective reasoning. I went to her lecture. She was quite abstract and I understood very little of what she said. One thing I did understand was that in order to be able to think like she did, I would have to give up my belief in God.
I wanted nothing to do with her. Back then, one either believed in the total theory of something, say Marxism, or you didn't. One could not go halfway. Belief needed to be absolute. The same sort of thinking followed through when writing exams. Having an opinion of ones own was unique and wasn’t encouraged. The learner was encouraged to accept what they learned in class and repeat it in the exam, for example, Ayn Rand's philosophy of objective reasoning.
Today, I still believe in God and Christ as His Son, but I also believe that Ayn Rand's philosophy of objective reason is quite solid. And, perhaps, the fairest when it comes to understanding the below phrase.
I bring this up because I believe it is not healthy to drink the kool-aid of "group think." Oh sure, group thinking for governing America is important, but not the sort of group thinking that infringes on the unalienable rights of the individual. Today, I believe in many parts of Ayn Rand's philosophy, as I believe in many parts of the Bible. It isn’t a question of one or the other. Rather, it is ok to believe in both. I am not a “one size fits all” individual, and neither is anyone else.
This morning I read this quote from Ayn Rand's textbook "Americanism," that I would like to share with you:
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What do Sylvestor Stallone and Roberta Mabel Biden have in common?
Posted on April 21 2021
Featured image: Which Way
Why is it that if you "claim" that you are an artist and either are a celebrity or affiliated with a celebrity that you are instantly accepted as being an artist? Really? Do we not have any other values that “qualify” one as an “artist” and their work as “art?”
Examples of this are: Winston Churchill, George Bush, Sylvester Stallone, and now, the “first granddaughter of President Joe Biden.” I actually like some of the work done by Sylvester Stallone, and I like him and his grit. But, just because I like his paintings, does that qualify him as an artist and his work as art? Absolutely not! Isn't it the same if you were to assume that just because he is a celebrity, his work qualifies as art and he as a fine artist? Note, I am not talking about his art of acting here. That is a different discussion.
Because I have studied Stallone’s work, I will say a little more about it. It has a Dubuffet, Basquiat quality to it. It's very personal, and he is definitely in his work along with his personality and his values. Even though his work has qualities like other artists, it is definitely his own work. He has his own style, and it is quite nice to look at and contemplate. Does it irritate me any less that his work came to the attention of others, because he is a star and not because he earned it ? NO, it does not! I just cannot imagine others that paint in a similar manner making it if, perhaps, they did not have that stardom attached to the work.
Which brings me to Joe Biden's Granddaughter – the “First” Granddaughter's work. If she weren’t Joe Biden’s granddaughter, she would be struggling. She would struggle to figure out how to put herself into the work that she does. To date, from what I see that has been published online in the Art World, ArtNet News publication on March 12, 2021 in an article written by Nate Freeman, she hasn’t figured that out yet. (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/wet-paint-bidens-granddaughter-instagram). And you will notice from this article if you follow the link that Hunter Biden is also an artist.
What these famous people have is a name that boosts them to the top . But, I can’t help but think of all the other artists out there – including myself – who don’t have the name and would like a chance to have their work viewed by a larger audience.
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Do Not Let Your Fire Go Out
Posted on April 22, 2021
Featured image: The Middle Is Not Grey II
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible…. (Atlas Shrugged, 1957 [1992]: 983).
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New Works:
