Category women artists
Applaud Playground Turtles and their Creators: Nancy Schön and Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg
Endurance is a quality shared by the turtle sculptures in this post. Lilli Ann Roseberg’s colorful concrete turtles in Cambridge have been ridden, jumped on, snowed in, flooded over and lots more in the past three decades. Nancy Schön’s bronze Myrtle the Turtle was bound up and relocated within Boston’s Myrtle Street Playground soon after settling in last year. These sculptures endured isolation while playgrounds were closed in the spring and then cautiously reopened.
Animal Sculptures by Judy McKie and Jay Coogan Prove Patient, Purposeful and Playful
Judy McKie’s bronze cat benches and Jay Coogan’s aluminum dogs and cats were kept off location during extensive construction of Cambridge Public school and library properties where they had become favorite features. Soon after they returned ready to resume their roles, the closing of all schools and libraries in March 2020 cut short the opportunities for children and adults to interact with them again. Though I had found opportunities to admire and photograph these artful animals, I didn’t want to share the images until the sculptures could be part of daily life once more.
Gardens in Radcliffe Yard Contain Changing and Constant Art
While kept apart from most indoor art throughout the spring of 2020, I became especially grateful for the outdoor art in Radcliffe Yard. I managed to post about one sculpture then, with intentions to mention more. Here now is a broader view that encompasses other highlights of Radcliffe Yard.
See Poems in New Ways along the Bikeway in Arlington and Somerville
This week I enjoyed Walking Poetry in Arlington and Poetry on the Path in Somerville. Both added to my awareness of when, how, and where a poem can move people. I should post swiftly and simply with quotes, links, and photos that let anyone who lives near these locations experience poems that may be elsewhere in a week or two.
Playgrounds Thrive on Art by Mitch Ryerson and Gail Boyajian
As playgrounds have cautiously reopened, I can happily share photos of art by Mitch Ryerson and Gail Boyajian. This lifts my own sad restrictions on earlier posts about these artists and others with work outside Maud Morgan Arts. Now I can show and celebrate art that was meant to be where children play.
Marianna Pineda’s Sculptures Create Connections
While museums everywhere, including deCordova Sculpture Park, were closed for the past two months, I began to look more closely at the art that was still accessible in my neighborhood. Fortunately for me that includes the grounds of Harvard University and within those Radcliffe Yard. There among other areas with intriguing art is the Alexandra D. Korry Sculpture Garden around Marianna Pineda’s Oracle Portentous.
Nancy Webb’s Bronze Insects and Plants Became Treasures in Cambridge
I’ve walked through Charles Park before, (on the way to or from CambridgeSide Galleria) without noticing most of nearly forty bronze representations of insects and plants Nancy Webb created almost three decades ago. This week I came to find and focus on them, guided by the Cambridge Public Art Fact Sheet.
Gail Boyajian’s Mosaic on the Ground Looks Up to Birds, Myths, Flight, and Sky
While museums and art centers must be closed, I’ve opened my eyes to art outside their doors. Today I’ll focus on “Bird Mosaic” by Gail Boyajian in the memorial garden to the right of the gate to Maud Morgan Arts in my neighborhood. Planned sequel posts should show and tell more about the art center and the garden (Mary’s Garden).
Ink Block Underground Murals by Women Artists: Indie 184, Silvia López Chavez, Imagine876, Thy Doan
In honor of International Women’s Day, I will first focus on the four women artists who have created murals for Underground at Ink Block, an urban park that opened in Boston’s South End 2017. I have already enthusiastically posted about other murals by Silvia López Chavez and Imagine876 (Sneha Shrestha), but Thy Doan and Indie184 (Soraya Marquez) are new discoveries for me.
Murals by Lisa Houck, Joshua Winer, and Ellery Eddy Reflect Cambridge History in Inman Square
These three murals within three blocks of each other build on local history and also have histories of their own, revealed as I lately took time to look at them and look online about them. A great resource was Lisa Houck’s documenting of the processes and people involved in restoring her mural on her blog and website. I hope now that the other murals noted here can get similar support to regain clarity, color, and impact.
Art Outdoors 