Art and Life

Sketch of ‘The ship sculpture by Emanoel Araujo’ by Meera Rao 

The ship by Emanoel Araujo 

I visited the exhibit ‘Afro-Atlantic Histories’  at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC on June 7 2022 and was so touched by this sculpture in wood & carbon steel that I had to record it! The label reads:Araujo's work reflects the influence of European modern art and African and Afro-Brazilian cultural histories. This geometric, abstract wood structure is a direct reference to slave ship plans (like the one depicted in James Phillips's Description of a Slave Ship, shown nearby). The 31 wood sculptures representing human forms echo images in abolitionist pamphlets of bodies piled inside ship holds, while a metal chain linked to a shackle recalls the brutal restraint of enslaved people. Translating iconography of the slave trade into geometric forms, The Ship suggests the symbolic capacity of abstraction.

The entire exhibit was very powerful with many paintings and sculptures. In fact I visited again during that week to slowly taken in the works. 

The spread on my upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar -Pandemic journal 2022 week 24

The photo in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 upcycled to my 3rd year of journaling during the pandemic week by week is ‘inland Niger Delta Artist Djenne, Mortimer Region, Mail Equestrian Figure 13- 15th Century Ceramic, collection of National Museum of African Art.  Unearthed from the archaeological remains of an urban center in the Inland Niger Delta region, this is among the area's largest surviving terracotta figures. Its elaborate dress suggests ceremonial military attire, and it may represent a warrior allied with the Malian emperor Sundiata Keita (c. 1210-60).’  As it has happened on almost every week there has been some connection between something my life to the photo on these calendars! I will chalk it up to serendipity. 

‘All Ladies Crew’ pencil, ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

I was a small part of ‘all Ladies Crew’ of a Habitat for humanity house built at Suffolk, Va week 24 in June 2021.  I learned how to measure, hammer and wield electric saws,  drills and nail guns :)  It was a very rewarding experience and felt a good tired at the end of the day. 

Spread of upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar week 24 2021 

The photo this particular week in 2021 is Koji Enokura (1942-1995) Symptom-Sea, Body(P. W. No. 40), 1972 Japan Gelatin silver print 1316 × 16%16 in. (33.2 × 42 cm)Collection of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Enokura was a member of the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement in Japan, a group of artists who practiced "not-making" by slightly altering materials to call attention to the relationships between things. In his Symptoms series, Enokura used photography to document his own ephemeral presence within the surrounding environment. And the photo depicts opposite of what I was up to that week - making ! 

 

Tempest In A Tea Cup

 Tempest in a Tea Cup watercolor, gouache and Ink  N.Y. Meera Rao 

A few years ago when a friend was visiting me,  I was removing a metal pin from tea bag after making my tea to put into compost. She asked ‘Did you know the tea bags are not compostable ?’  Since then I have been trying to use up tea bags I still had and buy loose tea. I have also been saving the bags and hoping to use it for some kind of eco art but never could figure out. As my stash grew bigger in a box labeled ‘tea bags for painting?’ I had to do something.  Yesterday the idea came to me to combine Hokusai’s waves coming out a Japanese teacup and title it  ‘Tempest in a tea cup’. The teabag seemed to be just right size canvas to illustrate the concept :)  So this is one of those long incubation ideas joining  my NYC metrocard art, mint tin altars, altered throwaway print photo art, upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendars, etc ! 

Preservation of History and Nature

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic Sketchbook week 23 

Parthenos sylvia Butterfly on Zinnia ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

We visited the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA with friends visiting from India. The highlight of that trip was the enclosed butterfly garden with hundreds of butterflies from all over the world. This particular butterfly is Parthenos sylvia a species from Asia and South Asia on zinnia. Seeing the beautiful creatures up close as they come and even land on your head or shoulder, definitely makes you care and want to save them from extinction! It really paired well with photo for the week in the upcycle Smithsonian Engagement Calender - ‘Front cover from 29th Annaual Catalogue, 1899 Iowa Seed co., Desmoines, IA. This lithograph print is from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. The Libraries and archives has a unique trade catalog collection that includes about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs. These publications document the history of the seed business and horticulture in the United States. Through their bold text and exuberant illustrations, they also provide a fascinating window into the history of graphic arts and advertising. 

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement calendar pandemic sketchbook 2021 week 23

Colonial Williamsburg colonial horse and buggy pen and ink by Meera Rao

At first glance the photo in the calendar and the record of a day in my life that week looks like a big contrast - and yet both are preserving the history of our country! Apollo 11 spacesuits transferred from NASA are on display at the Steven F. Unvarnished-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum.  The caption for the spacesuits reads: ‘Shown here at the Emil Buehler Conservation Lab at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center are 3 spacesuits worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic 1969 mission to the moon. From left to right are the suits of Edwin R Aldrin, Michael Collin’s, and Neil Armstrong.’ 

The quest to find different walking trails took us to Colonial Williamsburg that morning. The horses were also on a walk ! 

 

Whitehouse spring Garden Tour

Band playing in the Balcony finished sketch by Meera Rao 

En Plein air sketching done while waiting around by Meera Rao 

Band playing in the White House Balcony 

On Saturday May 11, we were lucky to go on White House Spring Garden Tour - tickets courtesy of our son.  While waiting in line to get in, I sketched the Boy Scout Memorial (seen below) I realized later on our way back that the statue looks quite different up close in the front view with a Boy Scout in the midst !  I sketched the band playing in the balcony while listening to the music but could not  complete the sketch as we needed to keep moving! -crowd management was necessary when lines of people were streaming in ! It was a gorgeous day to be outside. The beautiful immaculate grounds and colorful flower gardens, luscious vegetable patches were such a pleasure to walk thru! The Rose garden was in full bloom ! There were signs in front of many trees indicating which President or First lady had planted them. Some of the trees were still young but many were huge trees with wide circumference and 100+ years old! 

                                             Boy Scout Memorial : Partial view of the Statues  

Lessons from History and Nature

Up-cycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar  Pandemic sketchbook 2022 week 22 

Nautical Mailbox Post Pen & ink, watercolor By Meera Rao 

I did not realize how much pleasure I would get revisiting my up-cycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar and being reminded about how our days and weeks were spent noticing little things around us. I was always looking for new places then to do our daily walks for a change in routine. The experience and novelty of that has continued through and we still have not rejoined the gym but walk on various trails. I noticed this nautical themed mail post and many others like this walking around our little town by the water. It made the postal theme with the photo of the week from the calendar: Schermack stamp vending machine c. 1955 now on exhibit at the National Postal Museum in DC.  The coincidences of what was in the photo of the week matching with at least one of incidences from my week was always a fun project to check ! 

Orchid Bloom Pen &ink and water color by Meera Rao 

Up-cycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic sketchbook 2021 Week 22

 

We have a couple of orchid plants that are gifts given to us a few years ago. They still bloom almost every year but I can’t seem to figure out their cycle. I remember going on search on the web trying to figure out the cycle when I saw that it finally bloomed during week 22 in 2021.  The note I made on the calendar says that orchids  ‘symbolize the bravery of Harry and Harriette Moore - pictured on the locket shown in facing page. ‘On Christmas night 1951, Ku Klux Klan members bombed the home of Florida NAACP leaders  Harry T and Harriette Moore, killing them both. The Moores were the first NAACP members to be murdered for their civil rights activism. The locket shown belonging to Harriette, features photographs of the couple when they were young.’  Their daughter,  grandson and great-grandson donated the locket to National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC.  It was sobering to see it in person later when we visited the museum. 

Desperately Seeking

Desperately seeking nesting place !  Sketch by Meera Rao 

On Feb 27th,  at a parkinglot, saw a bird check out the tailpipe of a car while its mate(?)was following faithfully.  Just a second or two and then they were gone !! There was no time to take a pic but  my Strathmore 400 series Toned gray paper sketchbook in hand - memory still fresh and the car still parked, I quickly sketched it using a bic ballpoint pen with multicolors in ink and a white pastelpencil. I had just enough time to record what I saw :) Later I discovered the internet has many stories of birds nesting in tailpipes if the car had not been moved a while during spring !!!

Awesome Nature

                                                                                    

Hi-Yu ( Abundance) Pen and Ink /watercolor By Meera Rao

I had a few holes here and there in both of my 2021 and 2022 Journals - a few weeks that I was unable to sketch for some reason or other.  I felt I should fill them up, complete the recording and then start posting - a bit unreasonable on my part but then sometimes that's how I move unfortunately. I relied on my photos to jog my memory. Now that I have filled in every single week in both the journals, hope the posting will be be easier on my psyche - even if its two and three year delayed. 

week 21 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic Journal 2021 

The photo on the Smithsonian Engagement calendar which I had upcycled as my Covid diary / journal has Hi Yu Apples crate label, from Wenatchee, WA now in the collection of National Museum of the American Indian, The label is done in Ink on paper.  

"Before they were replaced by the cardboard boxes in the 1960s wooden boxes bearing colorful designs were used to ship fruit and vegetables. Often the designs featured Native American motifs. HI-Yu the Chinook language words meaning abundance was the name of a brand of apples shipped from Wenatchee, WA." True the word for the week, in our garden on that week the blueberries and blackberries were in abundance ! We did not get to enjoy them because the birds were having feast  and we weren't invited :) 

Week 21 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic Journal 2022 

This week's photo in the Smithsonian Engagement calendar 2022 is "Niimiipuu(Nez Perce) quiver and bow case c.1890 Idaho. It is made from otter skin and fur, hide wool cloth, muslin, glass beads and silk ribbon and is in the National museum of the American Indian.  

On May 17 2022, I had gone to check the trees I had planed to sketch for a Tree sketching Class I had volunteered to teach later in the month at the Historical Endview at Newport News, Va. As I was walking around the property I saw a snake skin under one of the bushes. Upon further research, I learned that snakes shed a layer of their skin in on continuous piece, a process called 'ecdysis'  which occurs between four and twelve times a year. Why? While snakes body continues to grow, the skin does not! How cool is that !

Snake skin on forest floor  watercolors by Meera Rao.  

Recording Memories

Me And First Born Pen and ink by Meera Rao

Sometimes I wonder what’s the point of sketching and then recording it in the blog.  Doing the covid diaries, I have recorded moments that looking back now, I could have easily forgotten and dug up memories that brought me joy. Now publishing in the blog after two and three years later brings some amazement to me!   This was a memory from years ago and yet now fresh - and refreshed again ! 

Week 20 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic journal 2021 

The photo in the Smithsonian Engagement calendar 2021, upcycled to pandemic diary/journal 2nd year in a row, is by Elinor Cahn: East Baltimore Documentary Survey Project c.1975Gelatin silver print Smithsonian American Art Museum.  Cahn was one of the several photographers involved in the National Endowment for the Arts 1978 East Baltimore Documentary Survey Project, which aimed to capture the realities of life in a multiethnic community. 

Week 20 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic journal 2022

 My sketch for this week is of the mural Pool House Blues by Anickan Udofias at the William H  Ramsey Aquatic center by the Eastern Market at DC.  I have learned a lot about various artists and history, science, archeology etc. through the photographs in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar and also by the art I saw in and around various places I visited during those days.  The poster shown in the calendar photograph is for Richard Norman’s 1922 movie.  The movie featured “Bill Pickett(1870-1932), a famous cowboy and a rodeo performer of African and Native American descent.  Pickett created the technique of bulldogging( also known as steer wrestling) featured in the film. The film itself is presumed lost, as only fragments have been found”. 

Sketch of the mural ‘Pool House Blues by Anickan Udofias’

Sketch by Meera Rao 

Birdbath Adventures

Birdbath Silhouette photography by Meera Rao

We had to take down our birdfeeders a few years ago. During Covid pandemic stay home days we installed a simple bird bath, It has given us so much pleasure ! Some birds fly in and out taking quick sips of water.  Red winged black birds love to dip and shake vigorously. Mourning doves like to linger in small groups. Chickadees and Cardinals are always busy and don't stay long. This year January has been very cold and the water often freezes. I started to heat water indoors in my kitchen and then pour hot water to loosen and thaw the frozen water. I then check to make sure water is not hot. Usually in a matter of minutes the birds seem to notice and happily visit to sip! This photo was taken the first time I did it this year when the I saw the steam rising and a silhouetted bird against the early light from the sunrise.

Its a fine morning

oh the glorious sunrise

and water for birds

~haiku by Meera Rao~

Manholes and Memories

Smithsonian Emgagement Calendar sketching the pandemic 2021 week 19 May 2-8 

Manhole Mandalas photocopy of miniature paintings from  accordion album sketchbook

The wonderful side benefit of very late postings from my 2nd and 3rd year of sketching the pandemic days is that it reminds me things I have done and places I have visited that I almost have forgotten about !!  That weekend 2021 I was inspired to pull together different manhole covers from places I had visited ( yes, I notice interesting manhole covers wherever I visit !) I sketched and painted about 20 in a mini Japanese accordion sketchbook.   I photocopied one side and put it in my Smithsonian Engagement Calendar up-cycled to my sketchbook ! Uncannily, it paired  well with Alexandra Agudelo’s ‘Molly bowl’. The bowl embodies her ‘use of pre Colombian metal working techniques of batado in which a sheet of silver is placed between two hard surfaces and struck with a hammer in order to manipulate the material without welding’. For her ‘They evoke vessels used in ancestral rituals.’ 

National Museum of the Marine corps ink and watercolor  2022 week May 1-7 

In 2022, on May 2nd we visited the National Museum of Marine corps in Quantico, Va. We pass it all the time on our trips to and back from Washington DC but never did take that exit. The magnificent building evokes the scene of soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima. An exhibition of 50 huge and absolutely stunning watercolors by the artist Mary Whyte of ‘We the people:Portraits of Veterans in America’ drew us to finally take the exit from the highway.  It was a memorable exhibit by an artist I had always admired. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic year 2022 sketchbook 

The painting the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar is by Elmer Wachtel of California spring landscape c. 1920.