Blog – Ellen Kwatnoski

STARE… IT IS THE WAY TO EDUCATE YOUR EYE, AND MORE. STARE, PRY, LISTEN, EAVESDROP. DIE KNOWING SOMETHING. YOU ARE NOT HERE LONG.

– WALKER EVANS

Let’s stir up the mulch of inspiration — the sparking, loamy source of the creative process. At times, my mulch-stirring will have direct bearing on what I’m writing, and at others, none at all. Or, more likely, I just haven’t yet found the connection. Let me know what inspires you . . .

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Museums, Uncategorized

Joan Mitchell: She Carried her Landscapes with Her

Up until this summer, I’d seen only one or two of Joan Mitchell’s paintings and they were always hung with other painters’ work. Thanks to my friend, Bonnie, who invited me to join her at the Mitchell retrospective at the Baltimore…

Museums

Seeing Differently at the Phillips Collection

All my life, art museums have been refuges, places to peer into the faces of long dead men, women, and children, to inspect the clothing worn in the 16th century, to be pulled into the vortex of a Pollack paint storm, to feel the power of…

Gardens, Museums, Outdoor Art

Happy New Year from the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden

And good-bye 2020. Universally deemed a dumpster fire or an unprintable act among consenting adults, the year hauled a lot of crap in its wake. But there were unexpected benefits, too. I slowed down. That was good. As for my art rambles,…

Dance, Museums

Degas at the Opera–the National Gallery Reopens

At my reserved time slot, properly masked and distanced, I walked into the National Gallery of Art on a beautiful September day. It was like going home after a six-month exile and I was more than ready to see some art, in the flesh, so to…

Museums, Outdoor Art

Seeing Slowly on the National Mall

Hey, howdy! What’s keeping you sane-ish in these strange and trying times? For me, it’s been hour-long walks near our Southwest DC condo. But with museums and galleries closed, I’m really missing art. Sure, I could tour museums online,…

Dance, Museums

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company — 25 Years of Delighting Audiences in Washington and Around the World

Every time I see the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company perform, I wish I could watch each dance over and over again. On Saturday, my wish came true. My friend Jeanne and I were privileged to observe a rehearsal for the up-coming DTSBDC…

Ellen Boyers Kwatnoski

Stories of Secrets Kept and Told