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Leigh Ross, Assistant Curator at Wave Hill’s Glyndor Gallery, provided this posting.
Last winter, our Visual Arts and Education Departments collaborated to present Wave Hill’s first-ever public-program participants’ exhibition, Naturally Inspired. Displayed in Wave Hill House, it featured a truly exceptional selection of paintings, works on paper, photography and Family Art Project creations. I thought the show was a great success. I was fascinated to see the unique and intimate view of Wave Hill evident in each piece, and impressed to see how, cumulatively, they spoke to the richness of Wave Hill’s landscape and the variety of techniques taught in our workshops. Carol Mangis, one of the artist’s featured in Naturally Inspired, had this to say about her experience: “The photography workshop I took two winters ago with Benjamin Swett was truly helpful to me, as an amateur shooter, and I was really happy with some of the photos that resulted. So when Wave Hill called for submissions for the workshop show last year, I was thrilled; even more so when they accepted one of my pictures for the show. Wave Hill means a lot to me. It was an honor to have my photo displayed at one of my favorite places in the world, and an inspiration to view the work of other participants. “
Carol Mangis' photograph from last year's exhibition. Submissions for this year's exhibition are due October 8.
This year we plan to reprise the public-program participants’ exhibition with Illuminating Nature, scheduled to be up November 27, 2009–February 28, 2010. Paula Morvay, Wave Hill’s Nature and Art Programs Manager, has set a deadline of Thursday, October 8, 2009, for the Call for Submissions. This is intended only for current and previous participants of Wave Hill art workshops and the Artists’ Circle Program and for artwork not previously exhibited at Wave Hill. For basic questions, please contact me, Leigh Ross, at 718.549.3200 x397, or leighr@wavehill.org.
It’s never too late to share our connections with nature! This posting from Courtney White, Director of Education & Public Programs, dates from late July.
Early Tuesday morning, I ran into Nancy Talley, a Wave Hill gardener who has done an amazing job on the Conifer Slope, near the Sally and Gilbert Kerlin Learning Center. With a big smile, she shared that she had just come from looking at the work in the woods done by the Family Art Project children at our weekend workshop, A Tiny Village Among Trees. I immediately knew that I needed to head that way before starting the day.
I turned the corner of Wave Hill House to find a Red Admiral butterfly’s beautiful colors standing out in the mist. It fluttered away into the woodland path, and I followed. Determined to find the tiny dwellings, I soon forgot about the butterfly and all of a sudden an American Robin began to call from above. It was not the typical “cheerup, cheerily, cheerily”; instead it was much more demanding, as if wanting all of my attention. I thought to myself that I must be near a nest and should move on to find the children’s work.
I moved, and the Robin moved. I moved again, and the Robin moved again. Finally, I stopped and gave my full attention to the sounds above me, “cheerup, cheerily, cheerily,” “feebee, feebee”, “what-cheer, what-cheer, what-cheer”, “tee-shaay.” Right above my head on the same tree branch, as content as could be, sat the American Robin, along with a Northern Cardinal, a Black-capped Chickadee and a Sparrow. I had never seen such a thing and watched with delight. In time, each flew away. Standing in awe, I looked back down to the ground, only to discover that I was standing among the children’s most amazing work—small twigs supporting a dried evergreen roof, a hammock perhaps for a newborn mouse, itsy ladders to the lowest branches, bitty beds for ants, centipedes or spiders, and so much more.
As I walked away, reflecting on the beauty of the children’s creativity and imagination, I thought how these birds must have enjoyed all the excitement, too. I was glad to see this special place with the birds. I walked back up the hill…and the Red Admiral returned to follow.
