For all of us October people, here is a whimsical and imprecise and very partial record of moments  of bliss or environments of bliss-making. 

 

With every hope that the sources of bliss multiply as our years multiply!

 

 

 

The Birth of Eve, 2013, as below

Leaves of the Japanese Maple in mid-October.  Winterthur, Delaware

The Birth of Eve, 2013, as below

Berries of the firethorn bush in October.  Winterthur, Delaware

….and of wintergold winterberry in October. Mt. Cuba, Delaware

The Birth of Eve, 2013, as below

Toxic and seasonally coloured October mushrooms, Winterthur, Delaware

and pumpkin in time for Halloween on the last day of October

The Birth of Eve, 2013, as below

Black-eyed susan and aster alongside a meadow in early October.  Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia

The Birth of Eve, 2013, flash glass with vitreous paint, silver stain and copper foil. 

Judith Schaechter, American born 1961. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC

 

 

 

 

Note To Our Higher Selves, 2019, screenprint.  From the portfolio Continuum.

Stephanie Santana, American born 1984. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

The artist’s mother and aunt are laughing.  Behind them, their silhouettes evoke the shadow of influence they would later cast. 

The artist describes this as a “dialogue between past and present with images of loved ones.”

 

 

 

Shine, 2017, inkjet print on San Gabriel Baryta fine art paper.

Cheryl Tracy, American born 1975. Loaned by the artist to the 77th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Woodmere Museum of Art, Philadelphia in 2018

 

 

 

Ours To Hold And Caress And Cherish, 2017, acrylic and diluted chalk on canvas.

Mwangi Hutter founded 2005:  Ingrid Mwangi born 1975 Kenya and Robert Hutter born 1964 Germany fused their artistic identities in 2005. 

This work is part of their Embracing Series.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

 

 

Limb, 1981, oil on canvas. 

Louisa Chase, 1951-2016, American.  Whitney Museum of (North) American Art, NY

 

 

 

Amur Tiger in the Siberian forest, 2020

Verbatim from the London Guardian of October 14, 2020

“An image of a clearly ecstatic tigress hugging an ancient Manchurian fir tree in a remote Siberian forest has won one of the world’s most prestigious photography prizes.

“It took Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov 11 months to capture the moment using hidden cameras. His patience led to him being named 2020 wildlife photographer of the year…..

“The image was selected from more than 49,000, with Roz Kidman Cox, the chair of the judging panel, calling the photograph “a unique glimpse of an intimate moment deep in a magical forest”.

“The animal is an Amur or Siberian tiger, which live in the vast woodlands of eastern Russia with a small number over the border in China and possibly North Korea.

“Hunted to the verge of extinction, the population is still threatened by poaching and logging, which also affects their prey – mostly deer and wild boar. Recent surveys have indicated that greater protection may have resulted in a population of 500 to 600.”

 

 

 

Fragmentary Bliss, 2021, acrylic and airbrush ink on panel. 

Isaac Tin Wei Lin, born 1976, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

 

 

Pallas Athena, 1961, oil on canvas.

Grace Hartigan, 1922-2008, American.  Baltimore Art Museum

Believed to be a self-portrait in which the artist presents herself as an atmosphere rather than as a person with defined and knowable attributes.

 

 

 

Baptism, 2021, archival digital print on Epson Legacy Platine. 

From the series Walking in Beauty which deals with the closing prayer of the Navaho Blessingway.  (With light interference).

Jacqueline Asplundh, American born 1955. 

Third Prize in the 2023 International Photography Competition organized annually by Photo Review.  On display at the Woodmere Museum of Art, Philadelphia in 2023

 

 

 

Drawing of an Angel, 16th century, ink and gold on paper, Iran (Safavid period).

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY from whose website this image

 

 

 

 

Needlework Tree of Life, c. 1750, silk, beads, muslin, crepeline, cotton, metal; made in Philadelphia.

Winterthur, Delaware