Monday, March 29, 2010

A Literary Weekend

How often do we get Nobel Laureates on St. Croix? Not too often, from my experience. But last weekend, Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, was at Undercover Books. Many of us flocked to hear him answer a variety of questions, mostly dealing with the healthcare reform drama unfolding in Washington at the time.
My husband Bob had a list of general questions that he didn't get to ask. I wish he'd had a chance to ask Mr. Krugman: Is it possible, in today's world, for the entire population of the planet to have a decent standard of living?

If Friday was about economics, Saturday was all for literature. Tiphanie Yanique was on St. Croix celebrating the launch of her debut collection of short stories: How to Escape From a Leper Colony (Published by Graywolf Press). Tiphanie is a native of St. Thomas and also has family here on St. Croix. She is now an assistant professor of literature at Drew University in NJ. Her portrayal of island characters is so authentic that, after reading her book, I find myself thinking about these people and almost wondering if I might pass them on the street.

Tiphanie invited a young Crucian poet named Wendell to share some of his poetry. He warmed up with a little instantaneous stream-of-consciousness poem that had me hooked! Wendell plans to go study biology in college. I hope he doesn't leave behind his immense poetic talent.

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Friday, March 05, 2010

Good Hope Art Exhibit

Last month I showed five pieces at the Twenty-Third Annual Caribbean Fine Art Exhibit at The Good Hope School here on St. Croix. Here is the result of many hours contemplating fabric, color, texture, form, and overall feel. These pieces represent to me a tribute to the inspired life, where it isn't so much about the final product, but about those hours surrendering to the creative spirit.

Marlena (41"x55"). She's the big version of the little quilt I made last summer.

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Coral Confetti (27"x27"). This guy took me a year to figure out. I'm happy with the results, and so is the patron who bought it.
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Slow Tide at Sunset (17"x37"). This one also sold at the Exhibit.

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Fantastic Fish 3 (22"x16.5"). Part of the Fantastic Fish series begun last year.
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Fantastic Fish 4 (20"X17"). Ditto.

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