Tag: writing

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Gail Tremblay

Gail Tremblay (American, Onondaga, and Mi'kmaq), In Great Expectations, There is no Red Leader, 2011, 35mm film, leader, and metallic braid, Museum Purchase: Native American Acquisitions Fund, © artist or other rights holder, 2013.74.1, Photo Credit: Rebekah Johnson.

In this piece by Onondaga and Mi’kmaq artist Gail Tremblay, 35 mm film finds new life, transformed into a woven basket. Tremblay adapts Indigenous weaving practices, traditionally used to make ash splint and sweetgrass baskets, to this new medium. She “enjoys the notion of recycling film and gaining control over a medium that had historically…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Nan MacDonald

Image Description: Honor the Harvest (Corn Washing Basket). Nan MacDonald. 2014. White ash, sweetgrass, and oak basket. 18 in x 12 in diameter. This tall basket is square on the bottom with pointed bases on the four sides and has a rounded top with a smooth wooden handle that runs over the top diagonally and down both sides, connecting on the bottom of the basket. The intricate woven pattern has larger strips of light wood evenly spaced vertically with two thin horizontal bands connecting them. The smooth wooden lip at the top has a darker grain and then thin strips which are angled diagonally and evenly spaced. They cross the handle against the lip in an x shape.
Nan MacDonald (American, Abenaki, and Mohaw, born 1956), Honor the Harvest (Corn Washing Basket), 2014, white ash, sweetgrass, and oak, 18 in x 12 in diam., Museum Purchase: Funds provided by bequest of Elizabeth Cole Butler by exchange. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2014.17.1

As we shift our clocks back to standard time this weekend and our bodies adjust to the change, it feels like just the right time to pause and reflect on all this recent season has offered. Cooler and wetter weather, colorful leaves, harvests, celebrations, even a busyness of newfound routines. Whatever fall has offered you,…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Silas Aittauq

Image Description: Spirits. Silas Aittauq. 1986. Serpentine carving 9 in x 4 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in. Sleek gray carving of a spirit with multiple faces. From the angle of the photograph - the body is facing to the right, but the head is turned to face the camera. The face is round with almond shaped eyes and a thin nose carved into it. A slightly opened mouth lies behind a raised strip under the nose. It has bangs that are parted in the middle and angle to each side of the head. The body is leaning forward, right arm bent at the elbow with the hand holding the chin of the turned face. The legs are bent at the knees and there are rounded feet below. The back and space behind the legs has the profile of two additional faces. Long thin noses and plump lips are visible. There are blemishes in the material and scratches across the sculpture. A prominent light colored scratch runs from the right eye, over the lips and chin, over the finger, and down to the armpit.
Silas Aittauq (Canadian, Inuit, and Baker Lake, 1933-2013), Spirits, 1986, serpentine, 9 in x 4 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in, Gift of Meredith and Robert Amon. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2012.127.35

Spirits, by Inuit sculptor Silas Aittauq, carries an energy that seems fitting for this season of Halloween, of harvest, of Dia de Muertos, and of remembering those who have passed. We invite you to take some time today to reflect on, and then write about, your own spirit in this moment. What parts of your…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Shreve & Company

One of the joys of cooler days and longer nights is more chances to drink warm beverages, likely from a favorite mug. While your in-home setup might not be quite as beautiful as this sterling silver set by San Francisco–based Shreve & Company, it likely has many stories connected to it. There is a ritual…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: David Park

David Park (American, 1911-1960), The Cellist, 1959, oil on canvas, 56 in x 56 in, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by Ronna and Eric Hoffman. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 86.77

All forms of creative expression invite us deeper into ourselves, with opportunities to reflect, to be changed, to feel inspired. Today we invite you to bring some energy from David Park’s The Cellist into your creative writing, and see how centering music can open up new spaces or connections in your writing. First, think of…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Wally Dion

Green Star Quilt, Wally Dion, 75 5/8 x 70, circuit boards, brass wire, copper tube. A large square work composed of circuit boards in various shades of green pieced together like a quilt and connected with brass wire. At center, the circuit boards have been cut into diamond shapes and pieced to form an eight-pointed star. Further diamond shapes surround this star and radiate outward until they create a large star that almost fills the entire work. A thin gold line encompasses the large star forming a square. A border of more circuit boards completes the work. Many shades of green make up the different boards and they are heavily textured with silver and brass colored workings. Small silver balls in rows or patterns dominate the boards along with other metallic geometric shapes. Etched lines in patterns feature in most of the green boards.

Wally Dion created Green Star Quilt out of computer circuit boards, brass wire, and copper tubing, rather than the fabric squares of a traditional quilt. As Native American Art Curator Kathleen Ash-Milby writes, “Dion has cleverly transformed ordinary materials that most people rely upon every day, but do not notice, into a bold work of…  Read more

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Community Connect Discover

Write Around PAM: Kuna artist

Image Description: Fish Mola. Kuna artist. Cotton. 13 ¾ in x 17 ½ in. Bright red fabric with a fish embroidered on it. The fish is outlined in a thick black line with a bright blue line against it on the inside and a bright orange line on the outside. The fish is triangular shaped and facing the right. It has a large flat tail and small fins in front. Its mouth is small and beak shaped. It has a large black eye with a white outline. Its face is a series of lines of small dots that are yellow and red. Behind the eye, solid colorful lines: blue, black, pink, red, pink, scalloped black, blue, red, blue, black, yellow, red, yellow, scalloped black, blue, red, blue, black, orange, red, orange, scalloped black, blue, red, blue, black, green, red, green, scalloped black, blue, red, blue, black, yellow, red, yellow, scalloped black, blue, red, blue, black, orange, red, orange, scalloped black, blue. The tail has several horizontal lines of varying colors (green, yellow, white, red, orange). There are also lines of various colors between the outline of the fish and the edge of the fabric (black, yellow, orange, and purple). There are four shapes at the corners of the fish. The top left is a triangular shape with a green and black outline and yellow dots. The top right is a shape that resembles a bird with a long tail diving downward. It is outlined in yellow and black and has dark spots. The bottom right also resembles a bird diving and is outlined in green and black with yellow spots inside. The bottom left is flame shaped with blue and black outlines and yellow dots inside.
Kuna artist (Kuna), Fish Mola, cotton, 13 3/4 in x 17 1/2 in, Gift of Barbara Christy Wagner. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2016.109.1

The Kuna are Indigenous people living in present-day Panama. Mola, the Kuna word meaning “to cover” are hand-sewn, embroidered blouse fronts and backs made and worn by Kuna women. Artists use a technique called reverse appliqué to create Mola, layering two to seven pieces of different-colored cloth together. The artist cuts away parts of each…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Larry Poons

Image Description: Larry Poons. “Open Country”. 1968. Acrylic on canvas. 84” x 204”. Large colorful painting with a thin wood frame. The background on the left two thirds is a muted rose color and the right third is a yellow orange color. A straight line separates the two colors with a few diagonal brush strokes on the pink that create a lighter ink color and a series of overlapping vertical brushstrokes on the edge of the yellow. There are two additional light yellow strokes above and out to the right. There is also an area of lighter yellow blended into the upper right corner. The bottom left of the painting is a lighter pink color with an organic line in the shape of a steeply sloping hill. Just below the slope is a series of six brush strokes—pink, white, yellow, red, purple, yellow.
Larry Poons (American, born 1937), Open Country, 1968, acrylic on canvas, 84 in x 204 in, Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2011.98.3

Color can evoke such strong feelings and memories, and allow us to engage with our senses in new ways. This painting by Larry Poons calls to mind summer delights: cotton candy, rose petals, sorbets, sunsets, warm sand, early mornings, and more. As we get our first dose of fall rain and cooler temperatures this weekend,…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer

Image Description: Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, Antoine Monnoyer. “Still Life with Flowers, Fruits, a Parrot and a Monkey.” 1690/1699. Oil on canvas. 43 ⅜ “ and 59 ⅛”. Large painting with a dark background and brightly colored flowers with a thick gold frame with ornate filigree. A dark blue sky filled with a thin layer of flat clouds fills the background. Rolling hills can be seen in the distance with sunlight illuminating low clouds behind them. A dark tree trunk raises up behind a large plant with layers of leaves that are green at the tips and purple at the base. A tiny monkey hides in the darkness at the base of the plant. Only its head is visible. The monkey has black fur, a dark brown face, and small teeth. It looks towards the middle of the painting with its mouth gently open, teeth visible. To the right of the monkey is a large pile of fruit. Two large clusters of grapes are stacked high. Those on top are oval shaped, with a darker blue and purple color. The smaller grapes are round and a lighter blue color with purple accents. The grapes reflect the light source that seems to be illuminating the middle of the painting. Under the grapes are five dark blue oval plums, still on the branch with small dark green leaves. Two sets of three peaches are set below and above the grapes on the right. The peaches are cream and orange and blend into the dark shadows. Above the fruit is a large plant with pinnate leaves each with eight, serrated leaflets. Above the leaves, long thin green stems reach out and curve downward with eleven large blossoms with white centers and feathered red petals. Light reflects off the white portion of the petals creating a striking contrast to the dark shadows covering the leaves in the background. To the right is a large peony plant with sixteen buds and blossoms growing from thin green stems with light green oval leaves with strong veins. The large blossoms have dark pink centers and light pink outer petals and stand out, reflecting the light. Under the peonies is a smaller plant with large dark green leaves that have thin stems growing outward with groups of round flowers with white centers with a shiny black ball in the middle. Three groups to the left and back of the leaves are red and green striped. The groups in the middle and front are light pink with green stripes. Next to them are clumps of four-petaled star-shaped purple flowers. A bunch of these flowers extend upward past the peony leaves. The clumps at the top right are light blue and white. Next to them a dark colored parrot with a blue body, brown head, red forehead, black beak, and golden round eyes camouflage behind dark leaves. Behind the flowers, tree branches with large dark green leaves extend to the edge of the painting.
Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, 1636-1699); Antoine Monnoyer (French, 1670-1747), Still Life with Flowers, Fruits, a Parrot and a Monkey, 1690/1699, oil on canvas, 43 3/8 in x 59 1/8 in, Museum Purchase: Support provided by Laura and Roger Meier through the Director's Fund and the North Building Campaign. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2004.1

This still life painting by Jean-Baptiste and Antoine Monnoyer captures a richness of color, texture, shadow, and light. The blossoms and fruits evoke a bountiful energy that invites us to step further into the scene. Our own lives also offer places of abundance, richness, and delight, if we take a moment to step further into…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Maude Kerns

Labor Day weekend often represents an end to summertime vacations, but let’s hang on to that energy just a little bit longer through our writing this week. This painting by avant-garde artist and educator Maude Kerns carries the feeling of a late-summer road trip, with something new waiting beyond the bend in the road. Kerns…  Read more