My staycation

My staycation

I hope you and your loved ones had a good holiday.

We were home, which was lovely (aside from some intensive de-cluttering efforts). I was overjoyed that NPR chose THREE MUSES for this amazing roundup: 2022 was a big year for ballet books.

I have reviewed Meg Howrey’s THEY’RE GOING TO LOVE YOU and Toni Bentley’s SERENADE, and can highly recommend both of them. I look forward to reading the other books here.

We spent a wonderful day at the National Gallery. Initially, we went to see an exhibit on John Singer Sargent. (I am knee deep in a long term fiction project about Sargent.)

John Singer Sargent in his Paris Studio, ca. 1884

We stayed at the museum all day. I loved Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South, where I discovered many wonderful artists who were unfamiliar to me, such as Joe Light (1934-2005). There were also a few extraodinary Gee’s Bend quilts in this exhibit.

Jewelry Mountain, 1987, by Joe Light (wood, costume jewelry, and enamel on wood)

On the way out, I paid homage to Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964). I am not alone in finding his work serene and haunting, a spiritual experience.

Two Still Lifes, 1948 and 1962, by Giorgio Morandi (oil on canvas)

Even the water fountains are beautiful at the National Gallery.

When a water fountain is a work of art

I hope your New Year is filled with beauty and joy.

Love, Martha