Category flowers

Look Back at Daniel Gordon’s Dewey Square Mural on the Greenway 2021
Though I visited and photographed Daniel Gordon’s art on the Greenway in 2021, I didn’t get to post about it. I kept meaning to go back for better photos and then the art was gone. But there are better photos and valuable perspectives in the Key Resources from Wonderland, WBUR, and Daniel Gordon’s own website, all quoted and listed here. Also now I want to document the transformations created by all nine Dewey Square murals in the past ten years.

ART SCRIM Extends Possibilities for Public Art Outdoors, as shown by Yenny Hernandez, Anna Dugan and Deborah Johnson
Each of these three artists has created several fabric panels that transform stretches of metal construction fencing near the intersection of Harvard Street and Western Avenue in Allston. One, Anna Dugan, incorporated concrete Jersey barriers as well. All three worked out their own distinctive series of panels printed on scrim, a lightweight durable translucent textile that has long been used in theater sets. Daylight, street light, clouds, the sky itself, and any machinery or equipment behind the fence can add variables to our view. Whether driving by or standing near, we respond to these shifting features. I grew more aware of such changes as I photographed the art. In fact, I felt that each artist had recognized and successfully addressed the possibilities of scrim.

Murals offer Many Ways to Celebrate a City: “Chelsea Resilient: Call and Response Through the Ages” and “City of Dreams”
In mid-May I visited two mighty murals barely two blocks apart: “Chelsea Resilient: Call and Response Through the Ages” by David Fichter and “City of Dreams” by Silvia López Chavez. With great enthusiasm, I now share photos, quotes, and links that should convey the rich history and possibilities of both murals.

Anna Thurber’s Ice Sculptures Enliven the Esplanade: “Frozen in Life,” March 18-20
From 10 a.m. till 4 p.m., explore a row of 15 different ice sculptures on display in Fiedler Field, each of the three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Quotes and links give background and perspective.

Cheer for Changes in One Tree through Several Holidays and Seasons
Here is my record of seasonal decorations in the front yard of a historical house near me in Cambridge: William James House at 95 Irving Street. Most of the photos here focus on the tree and fence, though the steps, porch, and roof have also been transformed for several holidays. This post just keeps track of the leaves, blossoms, lawn, and snowfall as they interact with holiday shapes and colors people placed within the landscape.

Artists Add New Life to Familiar Forms: “GO OUT DOORS – ARLINGTON 2021” November Notes and Quotes
Guided by the very helpful interactive map on the GO OUT DOORS NEIGHBORS!, Arts Arlington, I have visited most of the 2021 doors. I hope to see them all before November ends, when they’ll be kept safe from the threats of winter weather. Then I will watch for their return in spring 2022 and for newly created doors as well. If able, I will want to show and tell more about “Go Out Doors” beyond Arlington.* Meanwhile here are names, art titles, links ( click on artists’ names in red for their websites), and quotes for the doors I’ve seen so far.

New Murals on Blue Hill Avenue by Ekua Holmes and London Parker-McWhorter Make Many Meaningful Connections
My visit to “Honoring the past, seeding the future,” the newest Grove Hall murals, extended my own range of travel after too long a time. Simply walking a few blocks around their location (on and near 345 Blue Hill Avenue) offered such an abundance of promising connections that I must now choose a few of many for focus in this post. Here are the chosen three.