Where the Games Begin: New Art and the Dying Coral Reefs

Begin the work week with a look at where imagination, creativity, and sheer hard work can take a person. My mother, Mary Hourihan Lynch (mhlynch.com), is an accomplished artist, with a studio at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. Every so often, I spend a Sunday there, keeping the place open, talking to visitors, and … Continue reading “Where the Games Begin: New Art and the Dying Coral Reefs”

Begin the work week with a look at where imagination, creativity, and sheer hard work can take a person. My mother, Mary Hourihan Lynch (mhlynch.com), is an accomplished artist, with a studio at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. Every so often, I spend a Sunday there, keeping the place open, talking to visitors, and hoping to make a sale. I meet many interesting people, from Mom’s artist friends to art lovers from the world over, to tourists taking in the Washington, DC, area.

Panoramic view, Coral Reef on display, Mary Hourihan Lynch, Torpedo Factory, 3d floor

Last Sunday’s delight was a young woman who admired this piece (see below)–Coral Reef--of a dead coral reef. A bleached coral reef can be a horror: my mother has made it into something beautiful by playing with form and material. Here, she manipulates with a mastery that I still find marvelous and extraordinary. 

If only she had a 100-foot wall in a public space–Got one? Below are a few images to pique your love of the beautiful and unusual…these are all canvas stretched over wood forms that my mother builds. What an imagination!  

TAGS: TORPEDO FACTORY, MARY HOURIHAN LYNCH, CANVAS SCULPTURE, CORAL REEFS, GREAT BARRIER REEF

 

 

Author: Janice

A creative. Lifelong Marylander. After many odd jobs of adolescence and college, have always worked as a writer and published essays, op-eds, articles, and poetry in national news media and small presses. Collection of poetry, "Saturday at the Gym", about boxing, aging, and motherhood; collection of artwork and poetry, "What Are Mothers For?" On the verge of an empty nest for the first time in 30 years, my question is: What am I for?