ACM@HOME

Gretchen Moran

Artist and Museum Volunteer

Gretchen studied and received her BA at Connecticut College from 1951-1955, and also attended The Art Institute of Chicago from 1983-1984, to become an Art Therapist. Becoming an artist was a gradual process for Gretchen, starting in her late teens and continuing through her college years. Among the artists she studied with were George Nick, Jon Imber, Sally Bishop and Elizabeth Ahern.

Some of her major influences, in addition to her teachers, are Matisse, Fairfield Porter, and Marsden Hartley, to name a few. The great outdoors and gardens are major sources of inspiration for her landscapes and floral motifs.

Gretchen also loves to travel. She has visited many states including Maine and Alaska, and abroad to Mexico, Greece, Spain and France.

In addition to art, Gretchen loves to listen and attend opera, ocean and pool swimming, gardening and cooking.

She is currently reading “Out of Darkness, Shining Light” by Petina Gappach, “What are People For?” by Wendell Berry, and “The China Mirage” by James Bradley.

Gretchen’s mediums of choice are acrylic, watercolor and collage. Her process usually starts with drawing with a paint brush, adding some color, then reacting to that, and gradually pulling the painting together.

In this state of perpetual change and confusion, what with Covid-19, masks, physical distancing, lockdowns, unprecedented political environment, Black Lives Matter protests, all now the “new normal”, it has profoundly affected the lives of everyone. However, the other side of the coin is now Gretchen has more time for reflection, making art, listening to Met operas, swimming and meal planning.

Check out “A Visit to Gretchen Morans Home and Studio” on Vimeo by clicking here.

Wanda Gág

Inspired by her cats, American artist Wanda Gág (1893-1946) created illustrations using them and their antics as subject matter. Gág was charmed by the way cats “fit themselves into all sorts of places and spaces,” as in this image called Siesta (1937).

Surprisingly, Gág had only two cats while making Siesta: Snoopy and Snooky. She sat and sketched their antics on the kitchen floor, then used their various poses for this print. These same cats were her models for her book Millions of Cats published in 1928, the first commercially published children’s book in America. A free spirited artist, Gág’s whimsical drawings entertained both children and adults in their Disney-like, imaginative approach.

Click here to color your own Wanda Gág illustration.

Wanda Gág coloring page

Fairie Houses!

These magical little homes are perfect rainy-day crafts for kids of all ages. They can be simple or fancy, made from all natural materials from your yard, the woods, the beach or around your neighborhood. You can also construct them out of recycled material. On Monhegan Island in Maine, the tradition has been to make them on site, using only what is already in the woods. Birch bark from fallen branches is wonderful! (only found on the ground – never strip the trees!) Or completely crafted from recycled materials. How you choose to construct yours is entirely up to you. The idea is to express creativity while creating adorable little refuges in which enchanting creatures may dwell.

Here is a great link for making one out of a soda bottle and pebbles.

Click here.

Here is a PDF you can print out as a template for a traditional structure you can cover with materials.

Fairy house template-1

Find a spot in your home or yard to nestle the dwellings into a village. If you can find some moss use that  – but anything works! Use your imagination and have fun!

Once you get started you will get all sorts of ideas of things to do with tiny materials you have laying around.

This link takes you to a recipe for cornstarch clay (even though the author says corn flour, its U.K. term for cornstarch). This clay was what was used to make the mushrooms in the video.

Click here.

Sally Smith is a master of fairie houses. To see her art visit her website at

Click here.

To watch a video of Sally Dean Mello’s backyard fairie village and samplings from past fairie house workshops at the museum click here.

Click here.

Make a Salt Dough Fish Mobile

Click the link below for instructions.

Fish_Mobile_June_19

Click this link to see our YouTube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3vp3nlyIsM&t=32s

An interview with artist Lisa Houck

Tell us a little about your background.

I studied printmaking at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) in the 1970’s. I have been working as an artist in the Boston area for over forty years. I work in many different media, and I have done a few public art projects over the years. I have recently moved to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where I have a studio next to my home.

When did you know you were an artist? Was there a particular pivotal moment?

Around the age of thirteen, I had a wonderful art teacher in my public school in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He inspired me to think of art as something you could do for your life’s work. I still have a pastel self-portrait that I did in his class.

Who are your biggest influences?

I love the art of Paul Klee, and I wrote my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis on his work when I studied at the Museum School in Boston in the late eighties. I like hand-crafted objects of all kinds and I am drawn to the textures and patterns in textiles. I like honest well-made things that show the touch of the hand.

Where do you find inspiration?

I am inspired by the variety and texture in the natural world. I am inspired by color and the love of making things.

What do you like to do for fun?

Yoga, gardening, walking, knitting, beading, cooking, and a bit of reading.

What are you reading right now?

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout and Overstory by Richard Powers.

What is your favorite medium(s)

Mosaics, Ceramics, Printmaking and everything else.

Can you describe your process?

I begin by laying out my materials and getting interested in certain colors and just starting something. Although my work can be drawn and planned out in advance, it changes in the process of making it. I like to have lots of things going at once so I can move around between pieces. I make very orderly pieces out of a chaotic mess of materials surrounding me. I sometimes look at photos and books I have collected to get me started on a new idea.

How is everything (Covid-19, social distancing, wearing masks, lock downs, shutdowns, the political environment, Black Lives Matter and the protests against police brutality to name a few) that is now being called our “New Normal” affecting your work and your life?

I am a very social creature and I am finding it difficult that I can’t have open studios or go to museums or art openings or host dinner parties. I am grateful for the beautiful space where I can work, but I am struggling to accept the isolation. I am very disturbed by the lack of leadership in this country during the crises we are facing, and I am hopeful that we will head in a new direction after the election.

www.lisahouck.com

MUSING AROUND AT HOME!

Museums around the world are inviting people who are staying at home during quarantine to reinterpret artworks from their collection. Using themselves, their pets and items from the house, people are coming up with clever and amusing photographs and sharing them on social media.

We decided to jump on the bandwagon and have some fun!

Our Education Coordinator, Sally Dean Mello, arranged this still life after the color etching from the museum’s collection.

We have chosen five images from our permanent collection for you to try. Have some fun! We will spotlight a few of them in our museletter. Email your images to sally@artcomplex.org, or post on Instagram- please tag us @theartcomplexmuseum and use the #inspiredbyacm.

An interview with one of The Art Complex Museum’s painting instructors, Laura Tryon Jennings

Tell me a little about your background. When did you know you wanted to do what you are doing now? 

Since I was a young girl, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I would spend all day drawing or creating something. My mother would encourage me to go out to play. Sometimes I took her advice, but often I would stand at the end of the driveway waiting for what seemed a reasonable amount of time to go back to making art. I majored in art in college and minored in graphic design. I always felt there was nothing else for me to be but an artist. The first seven or eight years after college I was a graphic designer, feeling it was a more practical choice. I continued to paint for myself. After my second child was born (I have three children, two boys and a girl), I decided to try being a full-time artist. I woke up at 5:00 am. Monday thru Friday to enable three to four hours of uninterrupted painting. I squeaked out another few hours in between naps and trying to keep the children entertained with toys at my feet while painting. I entered my first juried show and won best in show, which gave me the courage to keep going. I was fortunate to receive some awards, attention, exhibits, and sales, in those first few years which made me feel I was on the right path. Through the nineties and early two-thousands I was lucky to maintain a steady presence in the art scene. A series of difficult life events, including divorce and the death of my sweet mother, along with a horrible economy forced me to reevaluate how to go about being an artist. With the new challenge of being a single mum to three adventurous adolescents, I began teaching oil painting and became an expressive arts consultant/facilitator while continuing to paint. I ended up loving both of these other hats in the art world and for a while they were a bit more in the driver’s seat. After a few years of managing this balancing act, the reduced attention to my painting just wasn’t feeling right anymore. Now, I have blissfully returned painting to the driver’s seat while still incorporating teaching and expressive arts.

Who are your biggest influences?

There are so many artists. Off the top of my head the more well-known influences would be Edward Hopper, Pierre Bonnard, Jamie Wyeth, David Hockney, William Merritt Chase, Henri Matisse, and Edgar Dega. I’m constantly inspired by the artists I meet and exhibit with locally and in this region. I feel like I’m part of a community. I need to mention my mum too for her sense of fun, whimsy, creativity, perseverance, ambition, caring and love..among many more attributes.

Where do you find inspiration?

The light always informs and drives my work. The subtleties of light. Painting the stream of light falling into a room while the nuances of the landscape/seascape light play through the window vista grabs me on a core level. I tend to like cozy, quiet, scenic spaces.

What do you like to do for fun?

Anything involving my sweetie and my family! I also like hiking, yoga, bike riding, going to hear live music, hanging out with friends, and reading. A favorite activity is on Sundays. grabbing the Boston Globe, breakfast sandwiches, ice lattes, a little jazz music, and heading to the beach for a couple hours in the morning with my husband.

What are you reading right now?

I usually have a few going at the same time. Right now it’s Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings, Anya Yurchyshyn’s  My dead parents : A Memoir, Julie Andrews A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, and I always have some psychological and art books in the mix.

What is your favorite medium?

Oil painting on linen or panel.

Can you describe your process?

I’ve lived in coastal and scenic areas for a good part of my life. The connection to nature and beauty surrounding me is part of the energy I need to paint. The passion to create usually comes from a deeply felt place or concept. For instance, my rumpled sheets or “bedscape” series came from a very transitional period in my life. I tend to go through different phases of how I work on a painting. The one I’m currently using is first to tone a canvas and then sketch on top of the toning. I paint at least 2 -3 layers. My “wow” factor is at the very beginning of the painting. This is where all of the possibilities are in front of me!

How or where can people see your work?

I’m preparing for a solo exhibit at the Woodman Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, MA from July 24-August 6, 2020, which I’ve been assured WILL happen. My work is currently in a traveling group exhibit titled “Mel Leipzig and Friends” which began at the Art Complex Museum in 2017 and was exhibited at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, MA in 2019 and will proceed to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 2022 (date TBA, check back on my website for dates). I’m represented by Copley Society of Art in Boston, MA, Elizabeth Moss Gallery in Falmouth, ME, Woodman Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, MA and Sunne Savage, in Winchester, MA. My work can also be seen on Instagram under Laura_Tryon_Jennings, my website at www.LTryonJennings.com, and in my Marshfield, MA studio by appointment.

Click below for a virtual visit to Laura’s home studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrY3L4AJ2WE

An interview with The Art Complex Museum’s yoga instructor Kezia Bacon

Tell me a little about your background.

I’ve been teaching yoga since 1997- almost half my life! I did most of my training at Kripalu, in the Berkshires, and try to get back there regularly to learn more. I teach several weekly public classes, including Wednesdays at The Art Complex, and also work with several private clients. (These days they are all online, because of Social Distancing). I also teach various workshops (“Meditation Basics” is popular), and run the outdoor Yoga at the River’s Edge program for the North & South Rivers Watershed Association.

When did you know you wanted to do what you are doing now?

I started teaching yoga when I was 25. I had been studying it for several years and my teacher encouraged me to become a certified instructor. At the time, I was also beginning a career as a freelance writer, and my hope was that the two vocations would balance each other and provide a sustainable income. It wasn’t until I added my work as a Wedding Celebrant (writing and officiating wedding ceremonies) to the mix that I truly found the balance I was seeking. So yes, I have three different lines of work, and together they are very fulfilling!

Who are your biggest influences?

For yoga, Mary Norton was my mentor. She ran The Yoga Center in Cohasset, and informed a lot of my teaching and business sense when I first got started. I’ve especially enjoyed Stephen Cope, a teacher and scholar, for his insights into yoga-related “big picture” stuff. These days I’m especially enjoying classes with Emma Boyle, who runs Dragonfly in Marshfield.

Where do you find inspiration?

Nature. Much of the writing I do (articles and website content) centers on discovering and sharing aspects of the natural world, at the local level (South Shore). Our local rivers (North, South, Green Harbor) are my happy place. Between that and talking with friends and family, I often gain insights and perspectives that I can incorporate into my yoga classes. For me, the meaning of life is to spread as much goodness and love around as possible. I’m always looking for ways to do that.

What do you like to do for fun?

Walk in the woods, kayak and paddleboard on the rivers, discover new places, share stories with friends and family. I’m also a huge music fan – listening to albums and podcasts, talking about music, reading about music, going to shows, and even playing/singing a little bit.

What are you reading right now?

Liz Phair’s memoir, Horror Stories, and the latest issue of Harper’s Magazine.

How has the current pandemic affected your teaching – the challenges, and advantages?

I had to learn quickly how to teach live classes online! Teaching to the camera on my laptop, constantly checking to make sure that I’m remaining in the frame, and not cutting off my head or feet – it’s been a learning curve. Also, my voice tends to get tired more quickly, because I have to project quite a bit more. On the bright side, people are generally at home, looking for things to do, and also looking for solace, so I’ve seen an increase in attendance, which is – of course – very welcome!

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen on Zoom?

My students typically set up their laptops and phones at home, where life continues to happen, so there are often random sets of legs (human) walking through the backgrounds, and also pets and small children. But my favorite was the toddler who noticed herself on her grandmother’s monitor and started dancing joyfully, fascinated by her own image!

Social Distancing!

In late February, the Duxbury Middle School installed an exciting and colorful display of paper mache masks created under the guidance of their teacher, Amy Squillante. This exhibit is the latest installment of of our ongoing “Complex Collaborations” hallway exhibit series, showcasing the talent of our local students.

The masks are still there, hanging out together, while the museum waits to greet visitors again.

As we know, teachers, on a very short notice, had to adapt to teaching remotely. When Amy was asked how it was going, she responded:

“Remote teaching has been different and challenging.  I have been creating drawing videos each week from ‘’Mrs Squill’s Art Basement”. The kids are practicing drawing, photographing their drawings and submitting in Schoology, our online platform.  I’m a YouTube artist!”

Amy’s love for teaching and enthusiasm is infectious (sorry, no pun intended), and it shows in her students’ work.