Perry Morgan lives, loves, and paints New Orleans

Savannah, Ga. born artist, Perry Morgan 111, has an MA in psychology and is a winner of the Absolute Vodka Art Search. He has successfully owned an art gallery on Magazine Street, a very well known New Orleans haunt, and he's employed as an artist by the House of Blues, which boasts the largest folk and self-taught collection in the US. Quite a varied resume!

Mr. Morgan has worked in clay, assemblage, painted silk, canvas, and wood. He paints his own frames and has a friend construct them. His works clearly reflect the melting pot that is New Orleans, and the joyfulness of his immersion in the music, art and architecture there is apparent. I will let these very appealing works speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Beauty from The Earth

Of all Pueblo pottery, the thin walled storage jugs, medicine bowls, seed jars and canteens from Acoma, have reigned supreme. For over 600 years the residents of this pueblo, also known as Sky City, in the western desert of New Mexico, have gathered local clay from secret areas, and shards from old pottery. After traditional and tedious methods, they have turned this gift from Mother Earth into pottery which holds it's head high in the field of hand made art. Special stones are ground with native vegetation to create a paint which is then applied with brushes made from local plants, chewed down to a few long strands. After air drying, the pots are dung fired and with a prayer are pronounced complete.

The earth tone color at the bottom of many of these pots and the thin black and white lines denoting rain and thunderclouds are familiar iconography used by the artisans here. Each Pueblo has their own symbols. Some of the contemporary makers have included designs from their ancestors after having been introduced to these Mimbres symbols at local museums. Both men and woman create pots here on top of and in the three small towns at the foot of Sky City, and they are among the finest in the world. More examples can be seen by clicking on the title.

Ronald Sloan's Situation.........

Ronald Sloan has been obsessively painting his private world for over forty years. An examination of this almost intact, and vast body of work, exposes an alternate reality painted in a masterful and unique style. The human figure, deconstructed and then reconstructed into skeletal form, often exists in a world of fear, pain, trauma and sexual abuse. Geometric figures, grids, boxes, far off center lines, and numbers appear hand in hand with quasi human figures struggling to make sense of an unsettling world. The disturbing themes share the canvas with recurring symbols of comfort. The mathematical elements, along with tropical vegetation, and an extraordinary talent for laying down paint in a seductive manner give you a reprieve, allowing you to catch your breath, and gather courage to look once more.

Each painting is a mini drama, audience not required. Ronald Sloan paints his world to survive yet one more day in it. On the canvas, survival often depends upon being both mute and deaf. Mother is portrayed with her mouth covered, unable to speak out about the untenable life she leads. In one painting, words warn, "Do not HEAR the Forest Burning." The inclusion of explanatory text offers precious access to this curious reality. In response to questions about the nature or purpose of his work, Ronald simply states, "I paint."

Iranian Woman Artist, despite all odds......

When a sixty year old Iranian woman, named Akram Sarkhti, illiterate, traditional, and in an arranged marriage, finds a way to create art, we all must applaud. She started painting ten years ago and poignantly portrays her hard life, her remembered childhood and all her dreams of a better future. Fortunately she has a benefactor in the name of Rokhsareh Ghaema, who is making a documentary film about Akram and trying to find a European venue in which to have an exhibition of this remarkable body of work. The film maker can be reached at the following e-mail address if any of you can help to facilitate this process. "Roxareh@yahoo.ca"

Akram was married to a 30 year old man when she was 9 years old, and her husband did not allow her to go to school. She painted to calm herself and when her son found the paintings he was astonished. Some of the work has been sold to the Tehran Contemporary Art Museum, but need to be seen by a wider audience.

The three images I have chosen to post are called My Engagement Day, My Wedding Day, and Conversation. How easily we take for granted our freedoms, and how painful to hear of our sisters in foreign lands living a feudal life in the 21st century. Two of my next door neighbors, who are women from Iran, are both highly educated and are medical doctors. A flip of the penny.......

Sculpture in The Garden show 2010

Despite the bleak economy, the oil spill and the troubles in the Middle East, I am forging ahead and planning the 17th annual Sculpture in The Garden show. People need art, they need to see it, touch it, and experience it in a garden on a lovely day. So I have invited ten outstanding self-taught artists who use recycled materials to participate in this show. Out of junk yard finds, old car and truck parts, ancient tools, wire and stone, they have forged objects of desire and delight. There will be life sized horses standing side by side with musicians, rare birds, stone heads, robots, slate garden signs, and so much more. Prepare to be astonished, and bring the whole family.

Eddie Wood's Clay Creations....

The serpent never looked so beguiling, nor the apple so appealing. The figures of Christ in the tomb and on the cross elicit an immediate response. These are works beyond the ordinary. The artist, Eddie Wood, age 43, is a very talented man, yet he only started making his sculptures in Louisiana, a year ago. He loves patina so after the clay base is completed and hardened, he adds many layers of paint and touches of gold leaf to his work. Besides these exciting mixed media creations, he also paints seascapes with a very sophisticated eye. This is an artist to watch!

A Mother's story

Please read this Mother's story about a son whose school suggested he work in a sheltered workshop making nylon pot scrubbers. Hat's off to all Mother's who hold on to a dream for their children and have the fortitude to never let go.

"Michael Jurogue Johnson is entirely self taught. When he graduated from a special education

public school at the age of 21 he didn't want anyone telling him what to do! He learned how to

paint and in 1999 a young couple wanted him to paint portraits of their dogs. They kept sending photographs of their dogs laying around in the garden. Finally Michael did an oil painting of their dogs playing on the beach. He could get a pretty good likeness as long as he could paint his own ideas. Since 2000 he has painted more than 500 portraits of pets, children, houses, a few older people and racehorses. The portraits and the illustration jobs have expanded his subject matter and have challenged him to develop new techniques.

Michael works in oils, acrylics and watercolors. He has no fear of a blank paper or canvas, he just starts painting. He uses bright colors freely and naturally. The colors don't clash, they harmonize. He paints from a cheerful and innocent point of view. He has a limited grasp of perspective but a great eye for detail. Forget washes! Michael wants to paint every blade of grass, every leaf on the tree and every pebble on the beach. He likes to paint all day long and listen to music.

Painting is his job, not his hobby. He sells from his website and has been painting for 17 years.

You can see his current work at: http://www.artistmichaeljohnson.com"

Blood Horse gave Michael many magazines so he could study the physicality of the horses and when he picked up his brush to paint, the work was amazing. The Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan auctioned off the paintings and raised a large amount of money with Michael's art. So much for the school which wanted him to go into a sheltered workshop and make nylon pot scrubbers the rest of his life! Happy Mother's Day to his mom, Robin from an art dealer who was also blessed with a Mother who understood her love of art.

Purvis Young, RIP

Years ago, as many private dealers are wont to do, I participated in a folk art tour, which included a dealer's row. Translation, all dealers registered at the show were placed on the same floor and were allowed to set up their rooms as booths. It was a bustling and affluent crowd and many paintings and sculpture were sold. Across the hall from my room was dealer Jimmy Hedges, Rising Fawn Folk Art from Tennessee, who brought with him an artist from Miami who he had great faith in, rightly so. Late one of the nights, the artist slipped out for a bit of fresh air. He had been painting and speaking with collectors all day. When he tried to return into the hotel, he was stopped by the staff. Refused reentry. He was a poor, black man, and didn't seem "a fit" with the guards. Eventually the artist, Purvis Young, was allowed access to his room.

He died yesterday of a heart attack after a kidney transplant, dialysis, and a long fight against diabetes. He died as a world renown and deeply loved artist. He was a genius, a loving soul, and a keen reporter of life in Overtown, a slum neighborhood in Miami where he lived his life and created masterpieces from recycled materials and paint. His access into museums was a much easier ride than his access back into that hotel. For all who had the pleasure of knowing Purvis, either personally or through his art, I share your pain, and am brokenhearted.

Sculpture in the Garden Show, 2010

It's almost time! Kids are getting restless, their parents are eyeing their gardens, searching for an empty, but deserving spot. Childless collectors practice their best "I've just come to look" faces, and the fun begins! The annual Sculpture in the Garden Show featuring works of art made from recycled materials and junk yard finds, is almost upon us. Here's a sneak peek at the ad which will be published in the stunning and delightful international art magazine called Raw Vision. The issue will be out in May, the dates to hold are Saturday and Sunday, June 12th and 13th. Collectors with flashlights who show up Friday night, please try to wait your turn! You know who you are!

Clyde Angel, answers at last....

For years the art community has debated the existence of Clyde Angel, "highway wanderer". His works captured the hearts and fascination of collectors at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, when veteran dealer Sherry Pardee first showed his works. When the work was banned from the show, as questions about the veracity of the person and the sculpture were brought into question, some dealers, myself included, stood by the work. Judy Saslow and her Chicago gallery was a top advocate for Angel's work, and I personally thank her for her steadfastness.

Finally we have some of our questions answered. Clyde Angel's son, Skip Willits has written this moving account of his father's life and art. History will make the final judgments. I will just sit back and enjoy the art. The images I've included were grabbed from the net. My own personal collection will be published at a later date.

Clyde Angel, 1920 - 2006

By Skip Willits

My father was Clyde Angel, an artist who made a name for himself by producing a powerful body of work while fiercely protecting his identity and privacy from the art world until the day he died. I didn’t say this while he was alive because he asked me not to. I knew him as Vernon Clyde Willits for most of my life. He was a welder in a small factory called Climax Engines in Clinton Iowa for 40 years. He was a family man, an avid swimmer, a traveler, a very curious soul always up for an adventure. In his retirement he took up cross country skiing. He loved books. The local library used to get rid of their old books in a dumpster that sat behind his house. He couldn’t stand to see these books thrown away, so nightly he would sneak over to pull them out. His studio and house were filled with these old discarded library books.

My dad was a product of the great depression, a World War ll vet and, like many of his generation, a man of tools and reality. He lived a factory life, usually working 10 hour days, 6 days a week, paid his bills on time. Whenever he found a little time for himself he was content in making crafty, clever works which often took the form of visual jokes; nut and bolt figures that appeared to be chasing each other, a depiction of a snow skier’s trail going through a pine tree, or flowers made out of metal pipe. He also busied himself making utilitarian constructions; stainless steel house boats, spiral staircases, porch railings. Family and friends would continually request all sorts of repair jobs and welding projects, all of which he enthusiastically took on. These craft objects and welding projects continued to give him great pride through out his life, even after his success as Clyde Angel.

In the early 1990’s, several years after his retirement he began to make uniquely strange and powerful artworks out of steel found objects and other media. He was very prolific but secretive and at times ritualistic in this new form of art making. I first discovered his new direction when I found 3 pieces of his “secret artwork” hidden under a pile of scrap steel I was getting ready to discard. These objects were startling to me and the way in which he made them bizarre, compared to his normal craft. This new artwork was out of context with his usual daily life. Through drawings, writings, wall reliefs and sculpture objects he referenced his past, present and where he thought he was going in a most unusual way. The people he knew, pets he’d had, traumas experienced were all part of his subject matter. While talking to him about this work it became clear to me that it was an essential part of his life and he could no more have stopped this new type of image making than stop his breathing.

The new artwork gave him great satisfaction but at the same time made him uncomfortable. He felt that he would be ridiculed or perhaps considered an eccentric if he showed it to anyone who was used to his ‘normal’ work. Also, he was personally unsure of where this new inspiration came from; this feeling of obligation to “make these things” puzzled him. In a peculiar way I think he was almost embarrassed by what he was making. He knew the questions would come; Why such a compulsion to create, why did he go in such a strange direction at this point in his life, why such wild outlandish figures and writings. Perhaps he didn’t want to know the answers.

Though he intuited that this new work wouldn’t be accepted in his local world he still had a desire to “get it out there.” I convinced him to let me show his work to some people who could help do this, but he insisted on anonymity. And so he created his new name, Clyde Angel. Clyde because it was his middle name, but more importantly because Clyde was the name of his father whom he loved dearly and admired greatly. The Angel part I’m not so sure of.

Though I tried to convince my dad many times to let me introduce him to the people who admired his work, he refused. This stand that he took didn’t make things easy for those who admired his artwork or represented him. The art world demanded the proper credentials and a face to go with the art. When he refused the uproar it created sometimes over shadowed his artwork. Some, like gallerist Judy Saslow understood his request to let the artwork speak for itself, “If you want to know me, know me by my art.”

The idea that all artists, through their art, aspire to leave something behind that will let future generations know they were here, to make a statement about themselves, their experiences, who they loved, who they were – that’s all he wanted to do. In his stubbornness and wisdom he accomplished all of this.

In his lifetime I stayed quiet; I honored my father’s wishes. Now things have changed. When he was alive we talked with each other everyday, often times about art. I don’t have that luxury anymore. In the three years since his death I’ve done a lot of thinking about the meaning of his life and art, where things should go from here. What to do with what I know and what was left to me.

Two weeks before he died I took him to the circus. He always loved a good circus. His favorites were the acrobats on the flying trapeze. Once he created a sculpture depicting the Great Wallendas. During this part of the show I leaned over and told him I thought the acrobats looked like his artwork. He just smiled and kept watching the show.

“I remember flying down the deep inside the wind.” – Clyde Angel

Skip Willits

An Abundance of A. Huber.....new show

Germany's Alexandra Huber has not forgotten her childhood, nor has she turned her back on freely using lines and color that explode off the page, leaving boundaries behind. Her playful works, reminiscent of Dubuffet and Basquiat, deal with relationships and inner feelings, without the screening of the superego. She challenges the viewer to examine themselves as they consider her works. What is in your Suitcase of Intentions? And in this economy, what surprise does you Shopping Bag to Go contain? The highly saturated Poet's Eye nudges us to fantasize what processes flow through the mind of someone so gifted and unique, while trying not to get lost in the deeply saturated colors.

This comprehensive show of over 50 works runs from March 1st through June 1st at the gallery in Connecticut, and much of the art is on-line at Beverly Kaye Gallery

This is a private space, open at your convenience. Huber's work ranges from 6" x6" pieces to works which are 25" x 19", as are the three artworks pictured above. Don't miss this very exciting show!

These images are courtesy of Hans Seidenabel, Munich.

Intuit presents Black Barbers and the Artistry of the Barbershops

Black Barbers and the Artistry of the Barbershop

Saturday, March 13, 11 am
Free and open to the public
(This notification is from the group called Intuit in Chicago. I highly recommend membership here!)

In conjunction with the exhibition The Treasure of Ulysses Davis, Quincy Mills, Assistant Professor of History at Vassar College, will give a presentation on the social and political culture of African American barbershops in the mid Twentieth-Century. Black barbershops have historically been places where commerce, culture and community intersect to inform African Americans' individual and collective freedom.

Ulysses Davis cut hair and created sculptures inside his barbershop in Savannah, Georgia, as an expression of his economic and artistic freedom. Barbering provided him the skill to maintain control of his economic life and the barbershop provided him the space to exercise his artistic creativity.

My friend the very accomplished hooker......

Article from Hand/Eye

Article from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best thingsabout being a rug hookeare a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when yArticle from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!Article from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image t eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. The traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!

From Intuit, a new and very important exhibition

The Treasure of Ulysses Davis

February 12, 2010 - May 15, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, February 12, 5-8pm

The Treasure of Ulysses Davis debuted at the High Museum in Atlanta and traveled to the American Folk Art Museum in New York and the Menello Museum of Art in Florida, before arriving in Chicago. Organized by Susan Crawley of the High Museum of Art in collaboration with the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation of Savannah, Georgia, this retrospective features about 109 pieces, including 78 from the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation, which acquired most of Davis’s work after he died, fulfilling his desire to keep his corpus intact. The title comes from Davis’s explanation of why he disliked parting with his work: “They’re my treasure. If I sold these, I’d be really poor." The exhibition will increase public knowledge of and appreciation for the work of this much admired but rarely seen sculptor.

Laura N. James, praying out loud

With an Antiguan heritage and a love for detail and storytelling, in the year 2000, Laura N. James made a spectacular group of paintings for a Book of Gospels , for the Roman Catholic Church. There is a diverse cast of characters represented, of all shades and nationalities, and the artwork is gorgeous! But this young New Yorker also paints Jazz figures which seduce the eye with their colors and movement, and her series, "Nannies and Other Mothers" grabs at your heart. Women who leave their own families far behind to come to the United States to care for the children of others is a powerful and often neglected subject. She handles it with a grace and compassion for all involved and the paintings are luscious.