What a great time we had visiting the Weiner Museum of Decorative art in Dania Beach!
I was inspired by the Ardmore Safari for the Soul exhibition and the Paul Stankard Glass paperweights.
Don't miss the opportunity to be inspired by all the amazing collections in this hidden South Florida gem. As always it was wonderful to be with a group who is just as excited as I am about art and to hear your impressions of the works we were seeing. I can’t wait until our next art adventure.
Thursday, September 16, 2021
This is not a book of drawing techniques. It is, instead, a book about the experience of drawing. Greenhalgh suggests that drawing can help us to observe the world around us more fully, rather than being stuck inside our heads in the maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, worries and dreams that go through our minds every day. The book is peppered with quotes and exercises which encourage us to slow down, take time away from the computer and enjoy the outdoors.
The author believes that anyone can draw. No exceptions. Anyone can do it. So anyone has access to the benefits that drawing can bring. What most often gets in the way is our self-criticism. Children don’t worry about whether their drawing is good enough, whether the colours or perspective are accurate. It's only as we get older than we start to judge ourselves. We would feel better if we allowed ourselves to just draw, without judgement - to simply be a beginner with no expectations. “Come to drawing as if you've never done it before. Come to drawing with a curiosity about the marks you could make and the world you could explore. Come to drawing as a beginner. Being a beginner is the best thing to be, because as be-ginners we can simply be.”
In one chapter Greenhalgh talks about the difference between “seeing” instead of “looking”. She suggests that before starting to draw something, you spend a few minutes really concentrating on it: the shape, the size, the colours, the way the light falls on it. Perhaps even think about what it smells like and how heavy it is. You might leave it somewhere you can pass it daily and look at it in different light levels at different times of day. Then sketch it out, without looking at the paper. Look only at the object. Don’t look at the page until the drawing is finished. There are many such exercises which will pay off both in improved drawing and more peace and presence in your daily life.
The Ardmore studio was founded in 1985 by Fée Halsted, a young graduate ceramicist who started teaching local people how to sculpt and paint on pottery. Awards and accolades in the early years led to the expansion of her enterprise and an international market for the studio’s ceramic art, which pulsates with vitality and originality. There are now more than 80 artists earning a living through their work at Ardmore. They are known by their Zulu neighbors as the Isigweli, the fortunate ones.
Not only has the Ardmore community been uplifted socially and economically by their ceramic art, the natural exuberance of the artists lifts the spirits of everyone who encounters their fanciful animal creations. Their whimsical sense of humor is contagious and invariably inspires joy and happiness in audiences around the world. The scope and imagination of Fée and the artists knows no bounds now that their ceramic designs are being interpreted for silk wearable art by Hermès, wallpapers by Cole & Son, and fabulous fabrics for table linens and scatter cushions.
The Ardmore Studio helps create awareness of the plight of endangered animals in Africa and the need to protect the environment. Their designs address issues such as ivory poaching, illegal hunting and trafficking are represented in sensitive studies of rhinos, elephants, leopards, and pangolins.
481 South Federal Hwy
Dania Beach, FL 33004
Inside the Gallery of Amazing Things
Phone: 954.376.6690
