Fluent in the language of dreams, passion, and poetry
- frida@artyardbklyn.org
- 4 days ago
- 12 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
AYB Artist Assata Benoit started off the week with a Advanced Studio session on zoom inspired by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With The Wolves celebrating the Wild Woman archetype.
In a well prepared PowerPoint presentation, Assata shared work from Artemisia Gentileschi and Kara Walker and others as inspiration.
Assata summarizes: "This week’s lesson came as a really pleasant surprise to me, as Meridith asked me to substitute for another artist, and I came up with the subject matter pretty quickly!
I’m super grateful that the books I’ve been reading are so interesting, because I have been able to facilitate amazing classes by just reading passages from them and allowing everyone to interpret differently.
This week I read passages from “Women Who Run with The Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PH.D. Women Who Run With The Wolves is a book that focuses on reconnecting with the wild spirit that resides in every woman.
“… She is the Life/Death/Life force, she is the incubator. She is intuition, she is far-seer, she is deep listener, she is loyal heart. She encourages humans to remain multi-lingual; fluent in the language of dreams, passion, and poetry. She whispers from night dreams, she leaves behind on the terrain of a woman’s soul a coarse hair and muddy footprints. These fill women with longing to find her, free her, and love her.” (P.12)
Because of the rich imagery, the class was able to run with the idea and create images about the wild woman on both spectrums. She is sad and cries, she runs with the moon, she is Joan of Arc. I am honestly at a loss of words for the great work that was creative, and I am so grateful to have inspired others. I think the work speaks for itself!"
Ed referenced the historical figure of Joan of Arc, harkening to his memory of a painting on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art for decades “but I can't find it on their website. Probably in storage. It was probably French, maybe eighteenth century depicting Joan of Arc on horseback in full body metal armor.”
Karla shares: “This was a fun session, thoughtful observations, and great sharing! And compliments:
Clementine’s piece was super. The shifts from lighter to darker create the message. I liked the way she created the text with outline - very effective! Also liked the figure’s back to the viewer.
Adji’s multiple faces were somewhat haunting. The centerline and negative space created an interesting geometry.
Karla continues: "I researched wild woman archetypes and became fascinated with Persephone and Medusa. Persephone is the goddess of the underworld and vegetation - queen of the dead - wife of Hades. She is the goddess of spring - of growth, renewal, and the cycle of life and death.
I have always wanted to finish a piece from a previous AYB lesson and Assata’s lesson really gave me the inspiration to look at it again. Maybe part of the Wild Woman Archetype is re-imagining!”
Richie writes: “For the Wild Woman archetype, I wanted to avoid anything violent like the series I'm working on & thought of relying on making someone's movement to express tangible energy & passion by using what I've learned about gesture & perspective.”
Scarlett’s linear figure reminded us of Milton Glaser’s iconic portrait of Bob Dylan!
Scarlett Wagner, Wild Woman Archetype and Milton Glaser, Bob Dylan, 1966
Assata’s piece celebrates her heritage with the Queen of the Caribbean parade in full regalia.
Vee painted two variations of the Wild Woman archetype with glaze atop of two ceramic plates she threw during the session.
Vee Tineo, Wild Woman Archetype l & ll (unfired)
Rashidah's drawing in progress shows two selves meeting each other...come back to see an update when the Wild Woman will join the professional pediatrician!
Meridith’s cut and painted paper relief sculpture is in honor of her friend Laura, a stellar living example of the Wild Woman. The piece depicts Meridith’s hand holding a necklace made by Laura.
Leah’s gorgeous watercolor honors the Wild Woman in a howl of pain.
Vera B. views the earthly Wild Woman of water and archipelagos from above.
Lila creates a side view portrait which calls to mind a coin or medal.
Cheyenne’s drawing sees the Wild Woman dancing under the moon in a drawing which would work well in a tarot deck.
Not to be outdone...
We had a lot going on in our studio at BWAC this week! We started early celebrating then run of our exhibition Reading Music joined by a special treat as AYB Artist Ty Fletcher installed his Pop Up exhibition celebrating the intersection of math and art.
Ty writes: "10,000 Things I Love About You" was a one day pop up celebrating A. Ty Fletcher's 10,000th day on Earth. Throughout several interactive exhibits, Ty explored concepts such as inequality, reparations, gratitude, grief, and uncertainty. This pop-up served as a way for Ty to challenge the narrative that had steered him toward STEM over creative pursuits growing up.
For the interactive portion: Art Yard's Jelly Bean Count Guess (Average): 400, while the actual Jelly Bean Count: 843. The map concept refers to Brouwer's fixed-point theorem, which is to take an ordinary map of a country, and suppose that that map is laid out on a table inside that country. There will always be a "You are Here" point on the map which represents that same point in the country."
Then AYB Artist Jules Lorenzo presented Mapping Your Heart a session for Advanced Studio in person about the NYC transit map. Starting with an introduction to designer Massimo Vignelli and his cohorts whose 1972 subway map was hailed as a “design classic”.
Jules recaps: "For this week’s lesson, we took a peek into the history of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), particularly in regards to the Vignelli Map. We discussed the NYCTA’s transition from confusing multi-layered signages on subway platforms to clear and accessible means of relaying passenger related information. This was done through collabing with the design firm Unimark International. One of the principals for the firm, Massimo Vignelli, played a huge role in creating the subway map we know and look at today. By interweaving simplified route designs and the removal of unnecessary New York topography, amongst many other stylistic changes, Vigenlli helped to create a map “that changed the way New Yorkers thought about (and navigated) the subway forever.” (NYTransitMuseum.org)
Artists were then instructed to create “maps of their hearts” where they incorporate places that matter to them in NYC, whether that be a local coffee shop, a favorite book store, a friend’s house, or even BWAC! Using Vignelli inspired subway lines to connect these specific spots were also a part of the assignment to signify different routes.
Clementine illustrated a very witty and whimsical map of the city that included doing a play on the names of the boroughs like “Man-Hat-Tan” and “Booklyn” with corresponding hat and book doodles.
Cheyenne and Brenn both made maps that paid homage to their Puerto Rican heritage.
Cheyenne Rivera, Map of my Heart and Brenn Lorenzo, Map of my Heart
Ed Rath’s “Mapping the Muse” took a look into the internal map of an artist’s mind with spiraling twists and turns that are eerily reminiscent of German expressionist film backgrounds.
Lastly, Assata who depicted Brownstone Brooklyn in her own map, made a brilliant comparison of Vee’s map to a piece by Jermaine Percy Neal in which both depict a figure looming over a map of the city along with a bit of text.
Vee Tineo, Map of my Heart, and drawing by Jermaine Percy Neal
The students were very successfully able to capture the essence of not only their day to day travels and the city around them, but also all the small things that resonate with us in between a crowded train ride and our home.
Maps of the Heart by (in order) Adji Ngathe Kebe, Simone Awor, Nasir Benoit, Leah Eliopulos, Jacob Rath, Jules Lorenzo, Mia Lew and Evelyn Beliveau.
While Advanced Studio artists were at work, Reg and I deinstalled the Reading Music exhibition. Evelyn and Ed pitching in once their maps were complete. Ardelia thankfully providing art transportation.
Teaching Artist Evelyn Beliveau reports in on ART YARD Art Matters at PS 17: We’re back to watercolor at PS 17! Our team—Dennis, Leo, Clementine, and I (Evelyn)—guided students as they began adding color to their artworks inspired by The Treachery of Images (This is Not a Pipe) by Rene Magritte.
Last week, students in Grades 1, 2, 4, and 6 made pencil drawings from observation of objects in a still life, including bottles, vases, cups, and spoons. Students added the text “This is not a …” to their drawings, following in Magritte’s footsteps to highlight the difference between an image of an object and the object itself.
Now, we’re using watercolor from observation to add another level of realism to the images. We advised students to use thin washes and let the white of the paper show through for highlights, since it’s difficult to add highlights back in later when using watercolor. We opted for bright color contrasts with Grade 1, and encouraged older students to find their own balance between carefully observed colors and inventive flair.
Managing Director Dennis Buonagura continues reporting in: A new batch of afterschool students joined our group this week - about 20! Rather than put a halt to the momentum our previous students have built up, we let the new students join in on the same lesson in sort of a "let's see what you can do/let's see what your interests are". We're still working that out - BUT they all did amazingly well.
Painting in process and complete
Our original students (not the right way to classify them - but you know what I mean), - Julianna, Nyelle, Justin, Nathleen, Wadia, and Alyson worked on watercolor landscapes. Additionally, they acted as mentors to the new students and offered assistance. With Teaching Artist Marina Soliman's guidance, students learned about degrees of color (example: distant objects tend to appear lighter, paler, and less detailed due to the effect of atmospheric perspective) and their results are incredible. Breakout groups during afterschool is doable but a lot more work. Thinking cap ON for next week!
Honorable mention to Julianna who offered to participate in the new students' first ever critique by helping to organize and offer constructive criticism and compliments. Great work, Julianna.
Teaching Artist Leo Emabat continued (with the assistance of our intern Clementine Finn) with the Women's History project - looking great! - and Teaching Artist/Muralist Gia Gutierrez is on a slight break from her 98% completed library mural and will return next week.
Details of paintings in progress
Thanks to PS 17 teacher, Miss Scott, for her assistance during after school session."
Dennis checks in with Portraits in color at AYB Art Matters at PS 6: “Teaching Artist Evelyn Beliveau's excellent lesson on portraiture moved into its new phase. With models in place (once again sitting and reading), students painted from observation.
Evelyn demonstrates technique
Evelyn demonstrated various watercolor painting techniques and asked students to select a contrasting color (to the school's navy blue uniform shirt - worn by the models) for the backgrounds. While some students needed more time to draw, most jumped right into painting which allowed us the needed time to have rounds of voluntary critiques.
Set up, clean up, encouragement, paint distribution, water changing (!!!) were all done quickly and orderly thanks to terrific assistance today by Gem, Scarlett, Clementine, and Jess (Evelyn's sister visiting NYC). Thanks to all!”
Other Art News
AYB Artists Richard Lee Chong and Kevin Anderson visited the Brooklyn Museum, they not only looked at the work on display, enjoying the conversation inspired by the art, they stopped to draw from pieces they felt most drawn to!
Sketches and sculptural inspriation by Richard Lee Chong and Kevin Anderson
Kevin writes: "Last weekend, Richie and I went to the Brooklyn Museum to practice figure drawing. We mainly focused on the 5th floor, drawing which ever statues captured our interest. I decided to focus on the form of the body as well as the lighting. The hardest part was trying to account for the sizing of the whole body, and keeping each part to scale.
I (Meridith) am pleased to be exhibiting in Ireland for the first time in Palette x Palate presented by The Old Bank and artist Liana Asiate in Dungarvan.
AYB Artist Ardelia (Dede) Lovelace shares updates of two new paintings in progress.
Ardelia (Dede) Lovelace paintings in progress
Opportunity for Artists
Have you applied to participate in the Valley Cottage Library’s Banned Book project? Several AYB Artists have already. I (Meridith) finished my piece on Munro Leaf’s The Story of Ferdinand.
Meridith McNeal, Ferdinand, 2025 and Selection of Banned Book Trading Cards 2024
This week Candy came by to deliver artwork and a set of the 2024 Banned Book Trading Cards. They look great! Those who participate in the 2025 project will have their work included in the next deck of trading cards.
What We Are Reading
If you keep up on this section of the recap, it will come as no surprise that I am a big fan of Nobel Prize winning Turkish writer and visual artist Orhan Pamuk. I very much enjoyed his book Other Colors (Knopf Canada, 2010) a series of personal essays which have not found their way into his novels. Evocatively, in the introduction Pamuk states: "Over time, I have come to see the work of literature less as narrating the world than seeing the world with words.”
Chock-full of wonderful tales, I particularly loved the essay Bellini and the East inspired by a visit to an exhibition of the same name organized by the National Gallery in London. Pamuk, in his richly descriptive style, dives into the history of the Ottoman-Venetian war 1463-1469 and even more tantalizingly into a comparison of East/West artistic styles of that time period. We learn painter Gentile Bellini was sent on a diplomatic mission in 1480 to paint the famous portrait of Sultan Mehmed II which is the centerpiece of the exhibition.
Pamuk continues his investigation in the artist’s work at the Isabela Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where he carefully lifts a protective drape to view a Bellini watercolor of an artist sitting crossed legged with a blank sheet of paper and a beatific expression in a “burst of poetic inspiration”. Wonderfully making the comparison in the depicted artists expression to the gaze of the Spanish painter (and AYB favorite) Diego Velázquez, in his 1656 painting Las Meninas.
Book cover, Gentile Bellini, Sultan Mehmed II, 1480, and Gentile Bellini, Seated Scribe, 1479-1481
Drop In: The Gender Rebels Who Changed the Face of Skateboarding by Deborah Stoll (Dey Street Books, 2024) and How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What It Means to Be Fit in American Culture, edited by Justice Roe Williams (North Atlantic Books, 2023), are two athletically-centered books that resonated with me on several levels.
While many AYB artists skate, run, play basketball, baseball, participate in martial arts, power lift, and hula hoop, it's not just the athletics that made these books relevant to AYB, but the larger societal, cultural context and their emphasis on inclusivity. In fact, I’d say both are powerful calls to action!
Justice Roe Williams has done an excellent job bringing together compelling and diverse perspectives from QTBIPOC, large-sized, and disabled trainers, bodyworkers, and coaches, all of whom are reimagining fitness for all bodies. How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What It Means to Be Fit in American Culture presents radical, yet important concepts about the current state of the fitness industry in this country. What makes it stand out is that these essays go beyond critique—they offer tangible solutions. I was particularly moved by Justice’s assertion that, at its core, fitness is about love.
Deborah Stoll is a superb storyteller. In Drop In: The Gender Rebels Who Changed the Face of Skateboarding, she strikes the perfect balance between breezy vernacular and historical insight, while seamlessly connecting subjects and incorporating insider skateboarding terminology. In the audio version, she even adds sound effects, a technique more often found in conversations with musicians who sing, intone, or rhythmically vocalize to enhance a story. The four skaters profiled in the book are portrayed with deep empathy, compassion, and respect. I found myself rooting for them as I learned about their lives.
“Whatever you’re into, whether it’s art or music or writing, when you spend day after day doing that thing with a group of other people doing that thing, you’re going to advance exponentially faster than practicing that thing alone, in short spurts. And it’s not just the consistent doing of the thing that matters, it’s being surrounded by a community of like-minded people. It’s learning from each other and encouraging each other, and engaging in conversations about the minutiae of your communal obsession.” — Deborah Stoll, Drop In: The Gender Rebels Who Changed the Face of Skateboarding
🧡💜💛💚🩷❤️
