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Images tagged "shrub" — No Comments

  1. Reasons against?

    You are so not a hermit. For someone that’s too busy to blog and since you were promoted in your Pilates class to intermediate, along with your green thumbs and other green digits, I’d never consider you a hermit. Let’s not forget all the art shows your a part of all year round.

    Commitments/goals? You? You have a problem with those things? I don’t think so.

  2. Hi Mary,

    Wow you are really on a roll. I like the direction you are going with the custom prints. I was just discussing what a “giclee” print was with one of my students….. merely an inkjet I told her…. she was shocked. There are so many types of printers and Printers of art that the quality varies so much that you are right….. the limited edition print market is dead as we once knew it. You have a fresh and modern approach to getting your clients to buy your work.

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  3. Thanks Mary for the great inspiration. They look amazing and the color is sure welcomed at this time of year. I have never tried to paint that large but they look awesome on the wall. Hopefully I will get a chance to see them in person.

  4. Don’t forget I made you go see that show – just like I’m gonna make you see it again Friday!

  5. HI Mary- nice work and I love the processes you use! I was at the workshop this past weekend too— I’ll check back again soon- chris

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  8. Mary,
    it Sounds wonderful. I took a self-study Lutron Lighting course and we learned about choosing the right bulbs for the job … Your paintings look very colorful and
    inspiring . I’d like to visit your studio some day to see your work

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  9. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and comment. Studio lighting is so critical when creating Art so it’s important to spend time studying the subject.
    If you’d like to be informed when I have my Open-Studio tours you can sign up for my newsletter which is where I not only write about my Art but announce where it will be on show.

    …mary

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  10. I love this! I also liked how you can raise and lower the painting on the easel and save your back! Will we be able to see the rest of the process?

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  11. I had a graduate school experience similar, but not as devastating. The professor told me “People like you always make Cs in my classes.” People like me? Women? Married women? WHAT THE HELL? 50% of the grade was class participation. I participated my little 20 year old heart out. I made a C. With 50% of the grade subjective he did as he pleased. I should have gone to the Dean, but I did not.

    I am sorry for this man’s misogynistic abuse. Thank you for blazing a trail for your sisters. We appreciate your hard work and sacrifices.

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    • No, I didn’t take any action at the time. I was too numb to react at all. It took me 6 months to mull over my options and make decisions about my future. The decision I made was that if I couldn’t stay home with my sons and give them cookies at 3 o’clock plus having to give up my dreams of being an Artist, I would go out into the world and make the most money I could. And I did. I went back to school after graduating with a degree in Fine Arts and studied computer programming at Columbia University School of Engineering. I zig-zagged my career into the field of computer graphics and sold that equipment into the TV Broadcast & Production industries. My art background enabled me to more effectively present my products to the creative communities within those organizations. All the while I maintained my studio whether I was able to create art or not. It has been my life long anchor which I’m able now to embrace full-time. Success is the sweetest revenge!

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  14. Mary, this is an extremely sad and irritating story. My heart hurts to read it and unfortunately I can relate. I must add too that for all the reasons that I respected you for your talent and accomplishments before I read this, it is all ten-fold now. Well done sister! from me and all other women.

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  15. Yikes! What a terrible blow. Hopefully, things have improved for young women today, but I know that bias always exists. Yes, success is the best revenge. Bravo to you. Love the work that you did while in school, and what you are doing now.

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  18. Queens College was notoriously harsh to art students in the 70s and 80s with many students in tears from harsh reviews. Words like dilettante were thrown around continually. There were (fortunately) many extremely talented professionl artists teaching there as well so at least there was balance. I had one not so supportive dude tell me I wasn’t painting I was only doing tinted drawings. Or I’m not an artist I’m an illustrator. Being a smart ass NYC kid who had a fabulous mentor since 15 I swatted back at him regularly. He never gave me a high grade even though I certainly deserved it. I was lucky. I heard many students told they should take up anothet hobby. Thank god the good teachers were fantastic artists as well. My sr review was a sweet victory when I overheard the panel saying wow! Who did these? Even the beasts.

    In the end I am grateful for even the harsh critics. Being a female Artist you have to be tough and that early commando training comes in handy.

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  19. Yes indeed Virginia the critiques were harsh but I appreciated them because they motivated me and toughened me up. The art world is tough as a female artist but it’s not all that easy on the males either. Experiencing those critiques and learning where to store them so they didn’t destroy me helped me in the equally difficult world of sales. I thank my Professors Robert Birmelin & Herb Aach who were my mentors and truly encouraged my work and my style. My understanding and love of color was instilled in me by Prof. Aach. Wolf Kahn on the other hand praised my work if I painted in his style and was extraordinarily harsh to me if I didn’t.

    I’m eternally grateful for the comprehensive art education I received at Queens College. I’ve carried those lessons on a daily basis in my studio and elsewhere throughout my life. .

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  20. Dear Mary Ahern,
    So good to hear the story of your courage and perseverance. It’s heartening to know that your experience at Queens Art Dept., eventually found a use at a later point in your remarkable career. In looking back I realize that many of the dismissive things said in crits were often often made from the too narrowly focused ideological positions of faculty members, sometimes, myself included .
    Even so the faculty( almost all men) was made up of serious artists who took their profession seriously.
    Were women students often undervalued and treated as less worthy than the men? YES. Women had to work harder and be more assertive to receive the same level of attention as men. The ingrained sexism of that generation of us men (artists included) was pervasive and often unconscious ( I don’t exempt myself either). It took the courage and determination of many of women, like you to move the dial toward greater respect and equality.
    If you imagine from this that I have been influenced by a smart ,strong woman you would be right. My dear wife, Blair and I have discussed,and often argued about these issues for over 50 years.

    I enjoyed seeing the photo showing your paintings.You still love color.
    I’m fortunate to be still painting and drawing, working in my studio in Midtown Manhattan, following out my imagination.
    My best regards,
    Robert

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    • I am so pleased to hear from you Prof Birmelin! It is such a treat to be able to thank someone for the support they gave you 40 years ago during the difficult formative years of my art school education. You encouraged me to pursue my own style and that my voice had merit. You took me aside when you saw that I was attacked cruelly by another professor and confirmed that I was an Artist, that my own personal work was strong and that I should stay focused on my vision. That was such an important gift you gave me and one which I still carry through my art to this day. Thank you!

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  22. I love this, Mary. Your expression about how you have been working for years is a great insight. I love your flower paintings and the work looks terrific in the venue where you are showing. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Upon entering the Bronx High School of Science in 1966, I became a charter member of the National Organization for Women. I enrolled at Queens College in 1969. In 1970, I created an urban studies major that included my taking some of the first college-level ethnic, gender and sexuality studies courses in the U.S. One of my best teachers was Bernice Kliman who was a part-time instructor between ’69 and ’73 as she had been at C.W. Post and Stony Brook since 1964.

    Bernice became a full-time assistant professor at Baruch in 1974, a full-time professor at Nassau Community College in 1976, retiring as an Emerita Professor in 1999. She really began to publish in 1976. She would ultimately become Chair of the Columbia University Shakespeare Seminar as well as an award winning scholar. The reason for the delay in her teaching full-time as well as publishing was that she had been raising four children including one with special needs.

    In 1969, urban studies meant regional planning in rural areas, land use in suburbia and landscape architecture in cities. I studied art history with Robert Pincus-Witten who introduced me to landscape architecture. He was openly gay, an ardent feminist, a supportive instructor and a lovely person. He spoke with what sounded like an affected British accent and had a Crispian flair. I am sorry that sexism both damaged your career and prevented you from meeting RPW.

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    • Thanks for commenting on my blog post and giving additional information about that era in NY education. It was a tough time for many people and not only women. I love your poetic description of RPW and it makes me even sadder that I never got to meet him in person!

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