Like an Incantation
“Autumn begins the time for longer thoughts,”
~ Gioia Timpanelli, Sometimes the Soul
This it the week our toes are on the starting line for AYB programming - Advanced Studio zoom and in person, ART YARD Art Matters in the School, and Drawing the Line exhibition. On your marks, get set...
Of course, while we do that we are also making and showing and looking at art. Our reading list is eclectic and good, plus we caught wind of a cool new way to try out art tools -- with no cash, just a library card!
Alley-oop and here we go! *
ART YARD Art Matters in the School
Dennis Buonagura recaps: “On Friday, Evelyn and I went out to PS 34 as a prelude to our upcoming 3 week (+) programming stint at the school. I needed to check our supplies left from last year and get class head counts (also for supplies but mostly for class management purposes). Additionally, Evelyn has never taught at PS 34 and I felt it important to help her navigate her way from NY to the school itself - while she’s a pro now with traveling to our other schools in JC, this particular school is way out on the Bayonne border. With the many memorials for the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we opted against the PATH train out of the Oculus - so we took a different route. ART YARD BKLYN people are very resourceful!!!
We met with the principal, Dr. Maniscalco, and with the art teacher, Marilyn Carpena - both huge advocates of our programs. Looking forward to our first day on Monday the 14th.”
Advanced Studio
Advanced Studio sessions resume Monday, September 14 on zoom with Ajani Russell, and Tuesday September 15 in person with Evelyn Beliveau, diving into our theme Drawing the Line. Classes are FREE and open to all!
Registration will open on our website on Sunday, Sept 13 at 5pm!
Art News & Work in Progress
Cecile Chong checks in from Ecuador: “I am officially kicking off my Artist Residency in Quito! While in residence I will explore migration, the ancient Valdivia ceramic cultures, language, memory, and community storytelling.”
Cecile, other artists and Ryan at her residency in Quito, Ecuador, 2026
Leah Eliopulos shares two new watercolor paintings. "I've been spending a lot of time in Central Park and I believe these pieces are inspired by the colors and organic shapes I've been observing. Also from people watching! I really enjoy working with watercolor."
Leah Eliopulos, Green and Red Watercolors, 2026
Flo shares his latest drawing which depicts dream imagery, explaining: "This piece is a continuation of a series of intuitive drawings created as I’ve started coming out of a dream state. I think this one is the same girl from a previous dream. I look forward to meeting her again in another dream."
Marie Roberts always drawing, explains: “Last Saturday I joined the NYC Urban Sketchers (@nycurbansketchers) at Sunset Park, located in the neighborhood of the same name. I have driven past, but had no idea of the beauty and panoramic vistas of this lovely neighborhood park. Of course, I was fascinated by the garbage can in front of me.”
Marie Roberts, Sunset Park Drawings, 2026
Evelyn Beliveau shares: “Progress on this tondo! I added some highlights and background color. Planning to reestablish strands of hair over the background next.”
Travis Pereira "went to figure drawing to practice drawing portraits, which I just love!"
Travis Pereira, Portraits, 2026
Maria Polanco is “working on this mini-me out of clay for a gift!”
Karla Prickett has been soldiering on through a virus that has had her dragging. However, it has not dampened her sense of humor and ability to make a link to artmaking. Karla said being down with the bug, reminds this of her collage made in an Advanced Studio zoom session of a healer!
I (Meridith) finished a new Magical Things painting, of the plants, crystals, miniature and bowls on my kitchen bay window sill after Colin and I changed things up to get rid of an ant invasion! It worked…see, Magical Things!
Jenn Dodson works in paint and plants. Here is her “crazy jungle corner!!”
Exhibitions To See
Travis Deen (Pereira), Sudan Green, Candy Heiland, Free Inside, Florian Kiniffo-Neven du Mont, Meridith McNeal, Jacob Rath, Marie Roberts and Ajani Russell are thrilled to have work included in the Banned Book Trading Card exhibition at the Valley Cottage Library (Valley Cottage NY).
We invite you to attend the opening on Saturday Sept. 19 1-3pm.
Kentler International Drawing Space (353 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn) 100 Works on Paper (including a set of miniatures by Meridith McNeal!) opens with a kick-off party on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 4-6pm.
Hawley Hussey has a solo exhibition Nineties To Aughts Paint & Prints at Knaus Gallery & Wine Bar, Highland, NY “a community hub of good vibes! I put large work in a tiny space and it really worked! All of the ceramics were already there thus I installed my show around the existing vessels.”
Hawley installing, exhibiting and performing
Hawley also has work on view at Atlantic Highland Arts Council open Sept 19th through October 16th.
Join AYB on Saturday, September 26 from 6-8pm for the opening Ajani Russell: Drawing The Line at The Gallery at 180 Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn.
This is Ajani's first solo exhibition, and we must all be there with bells on to ring in this wonderful occasion!
Aisha Tandiwe Bell writes: “I am honored to be part of Thresholds at The Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I will be exhibiting 10 works 8 of which are brand new, incorporating mid-fire black and blue porcelain components on wood.”
Irish Art Center , a multidisciplinary performing and visual arts organization 726 11th Avenue(bet. 51st & 52nd) New York, NY invites us to their exhibition Array Collective: In The Round opening Friday September 18 at 6pm.
Related programming includes: Under Seaveillance Protest Karaoke open mic on September 19, 7:30pm. Sea-themed protest apparel is optional but encouraged. Digital pirates, urchins of the deep, sirens of the streets, pearls of the proletariat—all are welcome! You can submit a song for the Under Seaveillance Protest Karaoke Songbook here.
Public Art
When you are catching some rays at the beach, cruising down the boardwalk, or grabbing a beer at Ruby's or a snack at Nathan's, be sure to stop by to see Hawley Hussey's writing in situ!
Hawley texts: "I got this breakup letter from back in the day included with bunch of poetry on the fences in front of the Wonder Wheel in Coney. Also included is one of our fav's Penny Arcade, and there’s a little history thing about Sun Ra and John Cale meeting on the boardwalk and I was like ... man, I need to be on this chain-link fence."
Hawley and her poetry on the chain link fence in Coney. Photos Hawley Hussey.
Jacob Rath spotted this gem: “right next to my building. A spot where people leave things they no longer want.” If this isn't public art, I don't know what is!
What We Are Reading
Nayarit Tineo has been “Reflecting back on the work of Winfred Rembert we saw together in Fort Gansevoort New York in 2021 and reading Winfred Rembert: Pivitor Truths, His work is very powerful and I still moved by the work of this remarkable artist.”
Marie Polanco messages: “I just finished The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It was a short and sweet book and it was beautifully written. It was unique to me because it was structured as a series of vignettes. It follows the life of a young girl growing up in Chicago. It explores identity, race, gender, and poverty! 5 ⭐️ read for me.”
* Did you notice the Sandra Cisneros quote in my intro?! (From her poem Little Clown, My Heart.)
Evelyn Beliveau “just finished the novel The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (which I came across by chance when looking up the term for a potential Year of Drawing the Line lesson). Intricate and lushly detailed social commentary, from the point of view of a young gay man who becomes involved with a wealthy family in 80s London. It's funny, sad, and threaded with references to literature, classical music, and art history. I learned the term "ogee curve"!”
Travis Pereira has discovered the joy of audiobooks! He writes: “I’m reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. A very interesting story! I’m almost done with it…If I were to ever become an insect it would be a embellished cockroach and or translucent butterfly (lol)!”
Mia Lew checks in from RISD, where she is embarking on her first semester as a declared Fiber Major. We enthusiastically await reports on her new work!
Mia writes: “Leading tours for new student orientation has been even crazier this week, but I have my first classes tomorrow. Haven’t made much but am enjoying reading Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth. It’s a novel about a teenage girl in rural Ireland in the 90s coming of age and coming to terms with her queerness.”
A friend once remarked that I (Meridith) read as if I am taking a graduate course—with a focus and interest in a particular topic or theme that allows me to dive deep. This week, it was Sicily.
My reading list this week included two memoirs by Tembi Locke: Someday, Now: A Memoir of Family, Reclaiming Possibility (Simon & Schuster, 2025) and From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home (Simon & Schuster, 2019). I listened to both beautifully read by the author, in reverse order, which did not diminish the enjoyment of either. Coincidentally, The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner which had been kicking around my library hold list became available. A time-switching novel of historical fiction and magical realism, featuring sea witches along the Amalfi Coast (close enough).
From Scratch, Someday, Now and The Amalfi Curse book covers
The book I really want to recommend, though, is Gioia Timpanelli's Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily (Vintage, 1999), which I am rereading for the fourth time. Timpanelli's poetic language feels almost like an incantation or spell. The two novella-length fables are mesmerizing stories of women, art, solitude, and transformation. There is something about the way Timpanelli tells these stories as if being remembered—or dreamed.
Opportunities
Dennis Bunagura and Tangie Murray both sent messages bringing our attention to a great new opportunity for free access to art materials! The AYB Board is looking out for us!
Get out your library card, and head over to the Craft Supply Library at Grand Army Branch of BPL!!
2026 BLICK Pet Portrait Challenge! Submit an original, non-digital, non-photographic artwork of your pet for a chance to win a prize pack worth more than $300.
Submit a photo of your original pet art—all painting, drawing, textile, and sculpting mediums are welcome—to be entered into this campaign. Your submission must include your first name, last name, email address, city, and state. The submission period is from 9/10/26–9/24/26.
Click to submit your work for the Blick Pet Portrait Challenge!
Comments