Review of Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin

   

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

In a sort of steroidal six-degrees-of-separation excercise, In Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann spins a giant tale out of several disparate small tales.  Sometimes the threads spin with a a leaden sense of doom, somtimes with a jolt of recognition and joy.   

Set in the mid-70’s days of Vietnam, racial tension, and sexual revolution, Let the Great World Spin begins with a discomfiting scene at the World Trade Center twin towers.  A tight-rope walker has inexplicably strung a wire between the twin towers and is performing a breathtaking balancing act, mid-air, in the exact spot that, years later, takes a punch in the gut from two airplanes.   

Next we meet a young Irish man trying to make sense of the life his brother, Corrigan, has chosen to lead – the life of a priest whose only church exists under the freeway in the projects where his congregation – a group of hookers that include a mother and daughter team – ply their trade.  

Next we meet Claire, a blue blood Park Avenue wife struggling with loosing her only son in Viet Nam.  Through Claire, we meet Gloria, another grieving mother, but from the Bronx, a million miles from Park Place in the seventies.  Gently unfolding fully developed characters, McCann gives us a judge, desperate for something, anything, meaningful in his life.  He gives us a self-centered new-aged artist and the woman who is more than ready to walk away from him, given good enough reason — which she has after a monstrous car crash.   

If any of these tales sounds comical, they are not.  They are wry, ironic, and sharp.  But not comic.    There is no “I knew it all along” moment for the reader.  McCann’s writing is delicate enough  to avoid reeking of conicidence yet strong enough – like the tightrope- that each scene carries its own weight.   In Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann suspends relational definitions.  People slide into common orbit through nothing more than grief.  With nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, lives change.  With nothing but shared awe at a speck prancing boldly in the sky, bonds forge.   While familial relationships  form the baseline bonds for most people, sometimes it is the encounter with a stranger that leads to the most important bonds. 

The end of most books telegraph their arrival by dwindling pages and a sense of denouement.  Even very great books can have unsatisfying conclusions.  The best books leave the reader missing the characters.  The ending of Let the Great World Spin took me by surprise.  Literally, I must admit I was fooled by the inclusion of a readers’ guide in my edition.  When I reached the last page of the last chapter, I expected to turn the page to a new chapter, but I didn’t.  It’s not that the book ends abruptly – not in the way that disappoints a  reader hungering for resolution.  The abruptness is due instead,  to the circular nature of the tale.  I was engaged to the last word.  Though I expected to read on, immediately I knew that the story ended right where it needed to end.   The only way to survive loss is to keep moving.  McCann’s story moves  in a rich, full and expanding circle.  Being a Nashvillian, I couldn’t help thinking, in the words of  bluegrass musician Alvin Pleasant Carter,  “Will the circle be unbroken, Lord, by and by, Lord, by and by.”

Encaustic Art Opens New Possibilities

A Moment in Time: New encaustic piece from ruthsartsandletters.etsy.com

 

Encaustic art uses beeswax and resin to add texture and intense color to pieces of art.  It is an art form that has been around since ancient times.  More and more modern artists are learning about and using this ancient technique.

Using wax is as multi-faceted as using any other painting media.  In general, beeswax is mixed with a resin – often damar resin – and then melted and applied to a surface.  Encaustic paints are available, and the colors are particularly saturated and rich.  An artist can also mix their own colors using pigments.  The melted wax is applied to the surface in any number of ways, including with a tacking iron, a heated spatula or other hot tool, a brush, or simply drizzled on the canvas.  Once the wax is applied – it dries almost instantly – the artist can manipulate the wax using a heat tool.  You can embed almost anything in the wax, and build up the layers to form 3-D images.  Paints or other colors can be applied on top of the wax, also.  Due to the resin content, the wax cures to a very hard and resilient finish.

For more information on encaustic art, visit the following link:

www.encaustic.com

Another Too Cool Artist — Lana Rabinovich of Fine Embroidery on Etsy

Golden Venice - A piece from a series by Lana Rabinovich from Fine Embroidery on Etsy

Lana Rabinovich’s award-winning embroidery is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.  Rabinovich is the owner of Fine Embroidery, with two shops on Etsy and a website http://www.embroideryny.com/index.html.    She works closely with individual clients, fashion designers, and interior designers to create unique pieces.  Her work has been featured in Elle and Stitches magazines. 

Close up detail of the amazing embroidery in Golden Venice

Rabinovich is inspired by romantic historical images, in particular the unique masks of Venetian carnival.   She used Dupioni silk as the canvas and also incorporated pieces of velvet, satin, organza, tulle, silk, suede, lace and irridescent fabric in the finely detailed work.Embroidered details placed on hand painted “Dupioni” silk.

Christmas Blues and Winter White

As beautiful as Christmastime may be, nothing looks more debauched the day after than the empty stocking half-hidden under the couch, or the faded piece of torn wrapping paper blown into the fence row.  Even the handmade wooden crèche has collected a shabby coat of dust.

In winter, through the nude trees, nothing is hidden.  Trash cans blown over by the wind.  The side of the house that needs a fresh coat of paint.  A forgotten junk car.

So, snowfall is welcome.  It blankets the stark greys and browns with an iridescent coat.  Those miraculous little flakes drift through the air and knowing that each one of them is a unique work of nature’s art excuses the urge to just simply sit and stare out the window.

A house, a yard, a street blanketed in snow is quiet.  The dogs don’t bark, the children don’t yell, the cars do not whiz by.  Even the noisy diesel roar of the school bus is absent. 

The snow cleanses us, it isolates us, and it almost demands reflection – like Robert Frost and his snowy night.  Temperatures will rise, the snow will melt and be replaced with dirty-looking slush.  There’s still much stark winter to  get  through before the buds bring the promise of spring.  So, fill your eyes while you can with the beauty of snow.

Too Cool Artist: The creative eye of lucybones

Browsing through Etsy on a dull post-Christmas morning, I came across lucybones.  (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lucybones).  Lucybones incorporates nature into the art in a unique way.  For instance, “Stem” is an original oil painting and photomicrograph on Hahnemuhle William Turner 310 gsm paper.  The subject of this piece is bamboo.

Stem by lucybones on Etsy

“Warmth” is another oil painting and photomicrograph.

Warmth by lucybones on Etsy

 The subject of “Warmth” is a silicone breast implant.  Lucybones draws on her appreciation of “the unseen world of minerals, plants, and animals” in her art.

Before Christmas, I was thinking about creativity and analogy.  I’ve read that very creative people are those who can think in analogies.  The Private Eye is an education program based on encouraging just such thinking. Creativity is fostered by looking at common objects through a jeweler’s loupe and asking questions like, “this reminds me of…” or “When I see this it makes me think of…”  When I see lucybones’s art, it makes me think she is a master of analogy, for it’s not just anyone who can find warmth and beauty in a silicone breast implant!

As artists, we should all make a New Year’s resolution  to look at the things around us with fresh eyes.

The Filigree–A World of its Own

Cromora Nicholson, Tightrope Walker Extraordinaire by the Filigree

ScareCrow Moni by thefiligree

     

Imagine a world where mermaidens sink ships, scarecrows compete to see who is scariest, and the clouds dance in the red glow of October’s Blood Moon.  Just such a world exists.  Last weekend at the Dickens Christmas Festival in Franklin, Tennessee I was bored by the usual jewelry and pottery vendors and tempted by the fried pie booth (which, oddly enough, was right next door to a booth extolling the benefits of cosmetic surgery)  when I was captured by an odd creature about two feet tall offering me a maggot on a serving tray.  The creature–a candy troll – was warty and wrinkly and strangely endearing.       

Candy Trolls Confectionary

 I had stumbled into the world of The Filigree.    

    

    

The Filigree is actually a newspaper, brilliantly edited by Celena Cavala, that is published four times a year.    Articles like Summer solstice in Sangamon Forest – Butterfield Sisters Host Fancy Dress Ball, and State of the Art Haunting – Old School Style at Vic’s Meatatorium,  cover the exploits and tragedies of the  imaginary population of the Filigree world.  Cleverly illustrated advertisements tout the benefit of fantasy products like Never Die Life Elixir and Ligeria Formula stain remover.    There are even classifieds, like this one from the Autumn 09 Issue:    

“Gorgeous assorted colored glass bottles Empty but very large capacity.  Maybe even bottomless as my sister fit a very small storm in one of the blue ones.”    

This is no flimsy, gimmacky tabloid.  The newspaper is substantial and well done.  The writing is engagingly whimsical and original  and the artwork (drawings and photos) is excellent.   But the best thing about this newspaper is that it “covers” the exploits and tragedies of the  imaginary population of the filigree world.    

This is where Martin Obakke, Artistic Director of the Filigree, struts his stuff.  Obakke brings to life these fascinating creatures, dubbed  Filigreetures, with a variety of mediums including resin and polymer clay.  Filagreetures are lifelike and etherial at the same time.  I would not have been surprised if one of the Filigreetures at the festival drifted up with a gentle breeze and landed on my shoulder.  The latent movement contained in these creatures is so powerful, you can’t help suspected they change position in the blink of an eye.  Even the clothes in which they are dressed – whispy clouds of thin cotton – take on life, draping  the creatures like  a gown on a Greek statue.     

The marriage of  the art and the word enhances the power of each form.  It creates a launch pad for the imagination.  Subscriptions to the newspaper are only six dollars for one year.  The Filigreetures aren’t cheap, but it would be worth it to have one of Obakke’s creations join your household.   A selection of black and white photographic prints – filigraphy -are also available.   Be sure to look through the Gallery on the Filigry website.  ( http://www.thefiligree.com/?content=gallery)   The mermaidens escaping from underwater after causing a shipwreck in The Sinking of the Concordia  is heart-wrenchingly elegant.   But, be warned!  A tour through the Filigree’s gallery and newspaper will make you want to lay aside your grown-up things and BELIEVE.    

    

Cromora Nicholson once again claims Crown by the Filigree 

     

Altering Photographs

My altered photograph collage, “Love is Blind” available on ruthsartsandletters.etsy.com

In the process of moving, I ran across a box of photos from my younger days, including lots of the beautiful cliffs and canyons of New Mexico.  I decided to use the photos to practice altered photography techniques.  First, I read a book by Karen Michel, The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery.  The book explains several methods for altering photographs.  One of the easiest ways is to alter 35mm photographs with sandpaper and and awl.    Dip the photo in water for about thirty seconds.  While it is wet, you can sand away the emulsion with sandpaper.  You can start at the edges or sand away particular areas.  You can use an awl or other sharp tool to scratch away finer areas or to create borders or words. 

 

Once you’re satisfied with the sanding, you can add back in or accentuate color with watercolors, paints, and markers.  Watercolor pencils dipped in water work beautifully.

 

The experiments with my photos yielded more failures than successes, but it’s such an easy and fun technique to use.  If you have photos you don’t mind mutilating, give it a try.

 

The image in the collage above, Love is Blind, was originally an interesting rock formation — two long thin rocks that rose side by side from the canyon floor.  The couple in an embrace just kind of emerged as I used an awl to scratch a border of sorts around the rocks.  Unfortunately, I learned a hard lesson.  I forgot to make a copy of the photo first, so I can’t show a before and after image. 

Refocusing on the Art

One of my gifty jewelry boxes available on ruthsartsandletters.etsy.com

 

It’s cyber Monday.  The Christmas season is upon us, whether we are ready or not.  (Personally, this past year went by entirely too fast, but that’s another thing altogether.)  The thing is, I did a couple of craft shows this fall, so I worked like a demon to crank out stuff I thought would sell well as Christmas gifts.  But, I overdo everything.  I made way too many cards and ornaments and jewelry boxes, and even worse, the work – and the holiday preparations – stopped being fun.  

It was time to refocus my efforts.  I reminded myself why I’m doing this — how good it feels to create something that others find beautiful or evocative.  The best compliment I ever got was from a young woman who told me my collages were like treasure hunts — you kept finding little things hidden here and there.  I love being able to create meaning for people — or more precisely, helping people create meaning for themselves.

So, it’s back to the artistry and away from giftable gadgets.  I decided to spend the holiday dabbling in something new — encaustic art.  I’ve ordered some supplies and look forward to experimenting and learning.  This may not be proper proceedure, but I like to experiment a little first, before I learn actual techniques because it frees me up to see all the possibilities.

Once this decision was made, that glorious feeling came back.   I don’t know that my encaustic work will be masterpiece-ful.  But the process of learning it will be.  Plus, Christmas can be Christmas again!

It’s Greek to Me

If you’ve not been to Nashville, you may not know about our version of The Parthenon.  A full-sized replica of the ancient Greek structure stands in the middle of Centennial Park near Vanderbilt University.   It’s such an accustomed sight that I hardly notice it anymore, but Friday I had the opportunity to revisit the architectural gem.  On the bottom floor of the building is a fine arts gallery that has changing exhibits.  I was thrilled to see several collage and mixed-media pieces among the oil paintings.

The main level, though, is where the jaw-dropping piece of art resides.  I is a 41 foot, 10 inch statue of the Greek Goddess Athena by Nashville uber-sculptor Alan Le Quire.  I’ve seen Athena before, but each time I’m bowled over – at first by her massiveness, but ultimately by the uncanny grace and detail of LeQuire’s work.  You can see an amazing slide show of the making of Athena at http://www.alanlequire.com/athena.shtml and visit LeQuire’s  gallery at  http://www.lequiregallery.com/home.html 

We visited Athena in her temple to see a production of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.   Three actors in traditional masks performed the tragic tale, and in place of the Greek chorus between scenes, each actor gave a brief recitation on the art of Greek tragic  drama. 

Their voices echoed eerily in the cavernous room where we sat in chairs at Athena’s feet.  The masks magically transformed the actor and despite the stiffness of the ancient drama convention, the modern audience had no problem suspending disbelief in order to travel back in time.  Theater has come a long way since Sophecles’ day, but it doesn’t get anymore dramatic that Oedipus at the golden-sandaled feet of Athena.

Artists and Myth Makers

If you ever waver in your belief in the importance of the work of the artist, read what Joseph Campbell said in The Power of Myths:

“Myths must be kept alive.  The people who can keep them alive are artists of one kind or another.  The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world.”