Album review: 'Here I Am', Kelly Rowland

when kelly rowland released her first single and explosive dance hit, "commander", for her latest album over a year ago, i couldn't wait for more! three more singles were released over the course of several months that i also loved, "rose colored glasses", "forever and a day", and "grown woman". Disappointingly these songs did not chart top and were not added to, Here I Am, a collection of ten songs that attempt to blend an urban/r&b vibe with a strong dance sound. unfortunately there isn't much of a balance between the two musical genres and it almost seems like there are two different albums instead of a single whole. and the songs aren't all that memorable, even after listening to the album several times. the exceptions being, "commander", "all of the night", and the most recently released single, the sexy collaboration with rapper, 'lil wayne, "motivation". but three good songs aren't enough to sustain a full album and Here I Am ultimately failed to hold my interest weeks after purchase. i discovered a deluxe edition with additional material on itunes and immediately fell in love with the erotic and bouncy, "each other". i love rowland's voice, energy, and when the song allows, passion, but the album doesn't provide enough punch for me to recommend this to friends. since rowland famously split from the group, destiny's child, in 2002, it seems the artist has been looking for her own distinct sound. judging by Here I Am, kelly rowland is still searching.

Art Class With Mr. Wilber: Student Art Show

check out the latest blog on my other site.

Art Class With Mr. Wilber: Student Art Show: The Youth Summer Student Art Show at the Worcester Art Museum runs till October 11th -- check it out!

Final playlist of summer 2011

i personally don't feel this has been a great summer of music, but that's not to say i haven't discovered or rediscovered some classics from years past. this will be most likely my last playlist of the season that i post, but i'm pleased to report that although this year's summer has been -- blase, it should end with a bang as my boyfriend and i have plans to end the month with a tour of southern mexico. cheers to all!

Video Playlist Vol. !0

Teach peace.

National night out 2011

i'm very pleased to have been asked to helm the worcester art museum's booth for tonight's special event happening all across the united states. national night out was created to promote safe and drug-free neighborhoods and partnerships with law enforcement officials. i'll be promoting summer session two classes and future fall classes for which scholarships through our outreach department are available. while talking about the positive programming we offer, my assistants and i will be working to make windsock kites with young attendees - should be lots of fun! the party runs from 4-8pm, on bell hill, the corner of Belmont St and Oak Ave. check your local city or town announcements to see if there is a national night out celebration in your area.

Summer music for 2011

i'll be honest, this has not been a great year for movies or music. i haven't felt driven to buy a single album this summer, when usually, i'm at my peak of craving for new sounds to listen to on the beach, long road trips, etc. of the four movies i've caught at the theater, i thoroughly enjoyed one, had fun with another, and the rest hardly met my expectations. below is a link of a few jams i can't get out of my head, unfortunately, not many of them are original, rather remixes from songs of old. while that does take a sort of creative genius, mostly it has me looking up music i listened to in the late '80s and early '90s. anyway, it's not the be all or end all of summer, but i had higher hopes for new music to help complete this, my favorite time of year.

Video Playlist Vol. 9










*if you've missed any of my playlists check out my YouTube channel!

Summer schedule

i can't believe summer 2011 is already here! here's a partial list of classes i'll be teaching for the worcester art museum.

June 27-July 1 (Northborough Recreation Center)

Art Safari (5-7 years old)
Go on an amazing exploration of creativity and your wildest imagination! Students, using a multitude of various materials, will develop a stronger sense of the elements of design by creating 2D and 3D projects culminating in semi-life like make believe jungle composed of real and mythological beasts. All art classes have a basis of art history and self-esteem building.

FUNdementals of Sculpture (8-12 years old)
Students will start with basic sculpting materials and tools to produce individual pieces of art inspired by various works exhibited at the museum or favorite personal artists. As the week progresses so will the creativity! Surprises are in store for all involved as this learning experience expands a child's imagination and basic understanding of the fundamentals of sculpture!

July 11-22

Draw, Sketch, Create (5-7 years old)
Explore artwork in the galleries and learn to sketch what you see. Then, create your own drawing masterpieces in the studio.

Drawing (8-10 years old)
Experiment with drawing materials and focus on basic shapes, composition, texture and volume. View art and learn how to draw the world around you in new ways.

August 8-12

Drawing Your World (8-10 years old)
Explore landscape, cityscape and dreamscape in the galleries. Then draw your own beautiful world using inks, watercolors, oil pastels and other drawing materials.

Express Yourself! (8-10 years old)
Get inspired in the Museum and let loose your creativity. Experiment in sculpture, printmaking, paint and other materials to develop fun, colorful and experimental projects.

The music from which I was raised

yes it's true, i was raised on disco. anyone who has followed my posts, blogs, or video playlists knows i love to do dance, so did my mother. my younger brother and i danced most of our childhood while mom cooked, cleaned, did aerobics, or wanted to cheer herself up -- all the while playing music from the mid-seventies to early eighties, many of the songs that are a part of this fifth video playlist. so get get down!

Video Playlist Vol. 5

Why i love wonder woman

dc comics has been publishing wonder woman for seventy years. recent changes with the comic book have long-time fans in an uproar. a new costume and origin, along with a more aggressive attitude originally generated to bring greater attention to the feminist icon seems to have backfired. with less and less positive public reaction becoming apparent as monthly sales continue to decline. that doesn't mean dc is done trying to "revitalize" wonder woman for a more modern audience by making her even more edgier, as seen in this promo shot of the all new justice league, Details Emerge on DC's Relaunch. currently the amazon princess is embroiled in a massive dc comics crossover involving an altered timeline where wonder woman is a murderous tyrant having conquered the united kingdom with her army of amazons. this coupled with rumors that the failed wonder woman tv pilot starred an overly violent amazon princess. fans of the superheroine have had enough of a blood thirsty wonder woman and want a return of the peace loving character known for being stronger than heracles, swifter than hermes, wise as athena, and as beautiful as aphrodite.

christie marston, the granddaughter of wonder woman creator, william moulton marston, and co-curator of the wonder woman family museum has implored wonder woman fans to speak out their frustration to the changes made and implore dc comics to return the wonder woman we all know and love. what follows is the letter i drafted to christie yesterday evening.

Dear Christie, I was moved when you announced a call to arms among long-time Wonder Woman fans in hope that we could explain why we're fans of the Amazing Amazon, particularly what it is that makes the Princess of Paradise Island so special among the DC Comics pantheon of heroes. The answer is simple, Wonder Woman, a strong, intelligent, and beautiful female, strives to make a difference in the world besides using just her fists or sex appeal. Growing up in the late Eighties, I started reading the comic book with the George Perez reboot following Crisis of Infinite Earths. Perez presented a very vocal character who strived to bring peace to a war torn world past the shores of her island home. Even before Crisis, Wonder Woman was known for bringing her foes to Reformation Island in attempts to reform her enemies, a unique characteristic of our favorite heroine. Princess Diana made allies of the Cheetah, Circe, Silver Swan and more. Wonder Woman also prevented a third world war by defeating Ares, the God of War, using only the power of truth, the heroine's greatest weapon utilized by her golden lasso. Also the element of fantasy, Paradise Island, the Greek gods -- this surely appealed to me as a child and sets Wonder Woman apart from Superman or Batman in her own fantastic fashion. Now as an adult, as an educator, I bring the values that I learned from Wonder Woman, a strong role model, a warrior of peace and equality from an exciting world of wonder, to a whole new generation. The key to all this is, that although Wonder Woman gets into physical altercations with her enemies, it's not before she tries to reason and subdue them with reason and understanding. As of late it seems the creators behind Wonder Woman may have forgotten the core sensibility of the heroine I've been following for over twenty years, but I'm hopeful that this iconic character will return to basics sooner than later.

My latest painting

this untitled piece was done for a client for her cape house. the inspiration for this dyptic is the ocean, the need for color in the room it's to be displayed, shapes of objects that interested me in the room, and the earthiness the entire house invokes. it's surprisingly less complicated image-wise compared to past works, yet still painstakingly detailed in my own visual style.











as with other recent paintings, i've wrapped a second border (or layer) of canvas and newspaper around the edges of each stretched painting to give a sense of depth and slight tactility.







i was pleased how some of the added layer of material withered away after being painted and the canvas underneath shown through.
















originally intended to be a triptych, the simplistic nature of the design chosen by the client from various sketches of mine fit better on two 15"x30" canvases. the diptych better breaks up the space of the wall the painting will be assigned to.