The new exhibit in the main gallery at Studio Place Arts (SPA) is Golden, a group exhibit with work in a variety of media exploring the many aspects of aging. The opening reception is on Saturday, February 3, 3-5 PM.
I've been into using bones in a lot of my current work, so my proposal was a box I made out of galvanized tin filled with bones. As it went along, I decided to put the bones on top of old photographs given to me by dear friend who died recently. Like much of my work in the Long Haul series, it's suspended from the ceiling.
After the fact, however, I wish I hadn't presented such a death-looking take on ageing. My own experience of aging, truthfully, has been mostly glorious -- liberating, and joyful in lots of ways, especially in our relationships with our fabulous grandchildren.
My husband and grandson Manny playing their ukuleles:
Painting on the porch with a specially-constructed brush:
Even older people are prey to the negativity of Ageism. Here's a neat TED talk about this https://www.ted.com/talks/ashton_applewhite_let_s_end_ageism
in which the presenter posits a U-shaped curve of happiness, with young children and old people both being happier than in middle life. I think there's something true there.
