Why Not: A Blog

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Life Doesn't Frighten Me

Shadows on the wall

Noises down the hall

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking Loud

Big ghosts in a cloud

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose

Lions on the loose

They don’t frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame

On my counterpane

That doesn’t frighten me at all

I go boo

Make them shoo

I make fun

Way they run

I won’t cry

So they fly

I just smile

They go wild

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Tough guys fight

All alone at night

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Panthers in the park

Strangers in the dark

No, they don’t frighten me at all

That new classroom where

Boys all pull my hair

(Kissy little girls

With their hair in curls)

They don’t frighten me at all

Don’t show me frogs and snakes

And listen for my scream,

If I’m afraid at all

It’s only in my dreams.

I’ve got a magic charm

That I keep up my sleeve,

I can walk the ocean floor

And never have to breathe.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Not at all

Not at all.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maya Angelou

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Alma Thomas' Fields of Color

Portrait of Alma Thomas by Laura W. Waring

To find one's self lost in the color-fields of Alma Thomas is remarkably; a very good place to be so gloriously engaged. For whatever time you find yourself in their company; you are not really lost but in the hands and talents of one of America’s finest creators. Miss Thomas’ paintings are passionate feasts of color, light and gestural forms. Patterns figure heavily into her mosaic like compositions. Her works will stand the test of time and scrutiny but at best are things to be purely enjoyed.

Miss Thomas is most associated with her beloved Washington DC where she taught in public schools and at Howard University. She was discovered after retirement while attending American University studying and quickly mastering abstraction and it’s intricacies. After a few major exhibitions her reputation grew to the highest levels and she is found in major collections, museums, magazines and histories. Her work is included at both the National Gallery and the American Art Museum in the nation’s capital as part of their permanent collections.

Nature figured greatly in the aesthetics of Alma Thomas. Her mature style was unique and by observing and using nature as her measure of excellence that singularity of expression she cherished became a reality. She loved to take long drives observing the beauty, composition and effects of light and atmosphere on the objects of the natural world. She understood the importance it played in her work and the fullness she enjoyed from experiencing it’s riches. The effect it produced on her life and art are measureless and we; the benefactors remain in wondrous awe.