Getting Back on Track with George Bellows

My step-dad’s funeral was two days ago. We have to empty out the contents of his apartment by the end of the month, so there is not a lot of time to spare for work or play. Much like life, we have to grab it whilst we can. Yesterday, my mom and I took a much-needed mental health break at the Columbus Museum of Art. The short walk there and back provided us with a liberal dose of sunshine, which was a partial cure in and of itself to the stress of the last two weeks.

A sculpture and its shadow

A sculpture and its shadow in front of the museum.

I was super excited to see the George Bellows exhibit, and it did not disappoint. Four large rooms are given over to the show, which runs until January 4, 2014. To read more about it, go here. Although his work encompassed so much more than the famous boxing images, standing in front of a few of those legendary canvases was extraordinary. I was also delighted to see a few copies of The Masses, for which Bellows supplied artwork, on display underneath a glass case. What an unexpected highlight!

Then, there was this:

Bathsheba, by Artemisia Gentileschi. Circa 1636.

Bathsheba, by Artemisia Gentileschi. Circa 1636.

Absolutely awe-inspiring in person!

An afternoon at the museum was a great reminder that art is good for the soul, and a further indication that life is slowly returning to normal.

“Try everything that can be done…Learn your own possibilities.”-George Bellows

Blogging and Grief

As some of you know, my dog, Crosley, and my step-dad, Charlie, were both ill last week. I would like to thank everyone who sent their prayers, good wishes, and happy thoughts our way. We lost both of them on Friday the Thirteenth, just 6 hours apart. I was there for the one, but not the other. My husband held strong 100 miles away, as he cuddled Crosley during his final moments.

Since then, I’ve been reading a lot of Ibsen, drinking too much strong tea, and helping plan the funeral for the man who raised me. Yesterday, in a few short hours, I finished a short story that I started a year ago. Thank goodness that my words have not failed me. Blogging will be hit or miss for the next week or so, but it will not cease. I love my little A Small Press Life community too much for that. Some day, when I am up to the challenge, I will share with you what Crosley and Charlie meant to me.

“It’s so curious: one can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer…and everything collapses.”-Colette

Daily Diversion #158: Wonder Woman

Although I’m feeling anything but invincible these days, I still think this Wonder Woman mural decorating a wall in the women’s restroom at the High Beck Tavern in Columbus is pretty amazing!

Wonder Woman Mural

Wonder Woman Mural

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”-Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

“You have power over your mind-not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”-Marcus Aurelius

 

Quote

“You know, they ask me if I were on a desert island and I knew nobody would ever see what I wrote, would I go on writing. My answer is most emphatically yes. I would go on writing for company. Because I’m creating an imaginary–it’s always imaginary–world in which I would like to live.”-William S. Burroughs, in The Paris Review

[Alternative Muses] Writerly Style: George Bernard Shaw Demonstrates How to Wear a Suit

 George Bernard Shaw wore suits almost as well as he wrote plays. Case in point:

George Bernard Shaw, 1909

George Bernard Shaw, 1909.

The hat is a nice touch.

George Bernard Shaw, 1914

George Bernard Shaw, 1914.

Hmm. This looks familiar.

George Bernard Shaw, 1946

George Bernard Shaw, 1946.

Jaunty at 90.