Monday, October 8, 2007

Robert's Snow: Visiting the Snowflake Exhibit

Yesterday, Kevin and I were lucky enough to view the Robert's Snow exhibit at Child at Heart Gallery in Newburyport, MA. We weren't able to get down on Saturday for the Open House, but thanks to Elaine Magliaro over at Wild Rose Reader, you can view some pictures (here's a great one of Grace Lin looking at all the snowflakes with a *big* smile on her face.)

Penny Geis also posted a great bunch of photos of the Child at Heart Gallery's Open House and the snowflakes. (Thanks again to Elaine M. for the link!)

Kevin & I were on our way down to Boston and made the stopover in Newburyport around noon. Inn Street was bustling...a quaint pedestrian street with small boutiques (and a candy shop that smelled *insanely* delicious).

Child at Heart Gallery was *worth* the stop. The tiny space is filled with prints and original artwork from illustrators like Maurice Sendak, Cicely Mary Barker, David McPhail, and a number of this year's Robert's Snow artists like Matt Tavares, Grace Lin, and Ruth Sanderson. Kevin and I picked up a couple gorgeous Michael McCurdy woodcut prints paired with Thoreau quotes. Owners Paul & Mary McDonough were so kind and took the time to show us various pieces and tell us stories about Maurice Sendak's agent (whose other passion is apparently Chinese propaganda) and Michael McCurdy's work (now I have to pick up The Man Who Planted Trees).

And the snowflakes! They're absolutely stunning. So much better in person (and I thought they were pretty cool online!) They cover one section of the wall, and some are also hanging in the window. I could have spent hours looking them over. It's amazing to me how *different* each one is...in both approach (paint, texture, some are even three-dimensional) and theme (pirates, santa, snow, palm trees, dogs, beavers, you name it!)

Paul McDonough told me that over the past two years, Robert's Snow has raised over $200,000 for cancer research. Looking at all the work that the illustrators have put into their snowflakes this year, I felt really proud to have even a small part to play in this event.

For those of you who are in the Boston area, I definitely recommend a visit to one of the snowflake gallery showings.

For those who are further afield, here are some favorites from the exhibit (sorry...I'm unable to link to each individual snowflake...when you click on each snowflake below, it will take you to the list of all snowflakes being auctioned that week...scroll down or search to find the ones I've listed):

John Hassett: "Geographic Compromise"
Carol Schwartz: "Penguins"
(Fellow Mainer) Jeannie Brett:"Race for a Cure"
Julie Paschkis: "Winter Birds"
Matt Phelen: "She Never Misses"
Alissa Imre Geis: "Hope in Winter"

View all 2007 Robert's Snow snowflakes.

2 comments:

Elaine Magliaro said...

Josephine,

So glad you had an opportunity to see the snowflakes in person. They look so much better up close. Photographs don't do them justice.

Josephine Cameron said...

It's so true. Definitely worth the visit!