Lucille and Sam flank artist-illustrator Laura James at exhibition of three of her paintings in Harlem on Friday evening.
Sam between Florence and Wendell Minor (Jeremy to the right) at book signing of GALAPAGOS GEORGE at Connecticut bookshop on Saturday afternoon.
by Sam Juliano
We are nearly half way through June, and as expected air conditioners are working overtime. Schools are winding down, and vacation plays are moving forward. Her at Wonders in the Dark, the romantic countdown continues in its fourth week.
Lucile and I saw only one film together in theaters this week, what with some other splendid activities planned and subsequently executed. We watch William Friedkin’s late 70′s The Wages of Fear adaptation THE SORCERER, which was featured in a spectacular new restored print at the Film Forum. We say it with young Sammy and two friends not seen in quite a while– Joel Bocko in from California, and Bob Clark. We discussed the film and caught up with quite a bit of unfinished business afterwards at The Dish.
The Sorcerer **** 1/2 (Wednesday night) Film Forum
The two major events of the week were as follows:
The gloriously eclectic Hickory Stick Bookshop on Green Hill Road in rustic Washington Depot, Connecticut hosted a book signing at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday for one of 2014′s supreme picture book masterpieces, the magnificent GALAPAGOS GEORGE, written by the late and beloved children’s literature icon Jean Craighead George and illustrated by her erstwhile collaborator veteran artist Wendell Minor, whose work here must certainly be seen as worthy of strong Caldecott Medal consideration. The spectacular watercolor paintings bring to live the story of Lonesome George, a giant tortoise who lived to be a hundred years old. he was the last of his kind, and his death on the wondrous Galapagos Island in the Pacific off the coast of South America marked the end of his species. The final description of his death on June 24, 2012 is tear-jerking, and the realization that Jean Craighead George herself passed just weeks later produces an emotional wallop not felt in any other picture book this year.
In the end, the star of the book is Minor, whose ravishing paintings yield a cinematic quality of movement, couched in a classical museum style that will appeal to nature, science and history lovers, while leaving art lovers awestruck. Minor and his lovely wife and collaborator Florence were incredible hosts, and made the trip north worthwhile. Looking through the illustrator’s back catalog made it very difficult to leave the store!! One beautiful book after another!! I will be playing catch-up with my collection over the coming months.
and……
Three sublime paintings by celebrated artist-illustrator Laura James were showcased in an exhibition staged in Harlem on Friday night. The three acrylic on canvas works: “Daisy,” “F Train” and “Mom’s Friends” were available to purchase. Ms. James, whose sacred works have received worldwide acclaim, is the illustrator of “Anna Carries Water”, a critically-praised picture written by Olive Senior. Ms. James posed between Lucille and Sam (pictures by Melanie Juliano)
The link below is to my book review of “Anna Carries Water,” posted weeks back at WitD:
https://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/picture-book-treasures-anna-carries-water/
Lucille and I took the kids to see Nemyses on Saturday night at the Recovery Room in Westwood. The result was another night of divine rock by first-rate musicians.
