On the Night Table: Georgia O'Keeffe

In November, I am going to White Rock, B.C. for my west coast reading circle.  This is an opportunity not to miss.  Staying at my friend Mary's at Dancing Firs, cooking in her wonderful kitchen, eating meals and waking up to a view of the ocean, walking in the lush gardens, it is a feast for the senses.

The last time we met in March, we read Emily Carr's biography.  It was enlightening, a real discovery of an extraordinary woman.  We capped the activity with a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery to see a few of her works.

This time,  we are reading Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe by Laurie Lisle.  I am 1/3 of the way through the book and am enthralled. No doubt I will have to reread it because I am going too fast but the life of this woman captures my attention fully.  As I read, I have my iPad close by to check pictures of her paintings, of the people and places mentioned and of the gorgeous pictures that her lover and husband Alfred Steiglitz took of her.

She has much in common with Canada's Emily Carr: both were nature lovers, both liked to spend a lot of time alone and both went against tradition to bring to light modern painting techniques that allowed them to express their feelings about what they were seeing.  Both were very strong and different from the women of their time. I don't think that they knew about each other...  Emily Carr was 16 years older.

What a treat!

Bonne journée,

Stella