laura summer-recent work

Summer Courses 2012

2011-05-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Free Columbia Summer Art Courses

3 courses with renowned and inspiring musician and visual artist - Manfred Bleffert

Color and music through the circle of the year

June 16-22 – Instrument Building - The breathing process of the earth, and of the cosmos, as a musical base for the development of new instruments and musical form. We will make iron and copper gongs and Glockenspiele

June 25-29 – New Music Improvisation - What does music want to become now and in the future? And what is North America’s role in the development of new music? With Manfred’s guidance, we will explore these questions together through ever-varied improvisation and listening exercises. Using both our own instruments and Manfred’s uniquely designed new instruments (chimes, gongs, Glockenspiele, among others), we will bring to consciousness the elements of musical breathing and listening that allow new musical experiences to come to birth. In this co-creative process, each individual contributes to the breathing, listening, and sounding within the group. All experience levels welcome!

July 2-6 – Color and Tone in Relation to Rudolf Steiner’s Soul Calendar Using painting and music we will explore the cycle of the year in creative process. We will work with the relationships of color and tone in the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner. We will see what is revealed in gesture and movement when we enter the world of tone, color, sound and form as we follow the course of the year.

Manfred Bleffert has dedicated his life to developing new music. His work includes a unique approach to graphic notation, composition and instrument building. His research is both broad and profound. His compositions are improvisational and unique. He is both a musician and a visual artist and a dynamic and inspiring teacher.

July 14-18

5 days of experimental work with color, light, music and puppetry

with Laura Summer, Nathaniel Williams, Faye Shapiro and Marisa Michelson

July 23-27

Seeing the Word through Painting
a workshop with Laura Summer

Working with poems and stories as well as watercolor, pastel, charcoal, and collage we will explore this subject. Through relaxing our expectations, while playfully manipulating our media, we will experience the realm of creation and develop skills for our further work.

July 23-27

Orientation Toward an Inner Voice

Vocal Experimentation with Composed and Improvised Music with Marisa Michelson and Faye Shapiro

The lands of the soul open up and show themselves to us- we see them with our imagination, we travel them with our voices... With exercises aimed to free the body and awaken the soul we will explore possibilities given to us in the voice. We will improvise together and compose music in real time, we will try to find a relationship to music inside, around and outside of ourselves with the aid of imagining. All that needed is the desire to sing.

All of the work at Free Columbia is based on an understanding of the importance of creating a free cultural space, therefore there are no set tuitions. Rather we offer suggested donation amounts based on what it costs to run courses. If you prefer it is possible to make a monthly pledge to support Free Columbia rather than making a one time donation.

A commodity fee of $180 will be charged to each participant in the instrument building workshop. This fee is related to your being able to take home the instrument you build. This fee is in addition to the suggested donation.

5 day courses suggested donation $250 – 450

instrument building fee = $180

all supplies are included but not housing or food

contact: Laura Summer 518 672 7302 laurasummer@taconic.net

Living Plant/Dying Plant

2010-10-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

From Philosophy of Freedom continued

2010-10-06T09:16:00.001-07:00

10 and 11

from Philosophy of Freedom continued

2010-10-06T09:07:00.001-07:00

6-9

From the Philosophy of Freedom

2010-10-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

This summer I worked with the Philosophy of Freedom by Rudolf Steiner, I wanted to develop a painting for each idea as they progressed through the chapters. First I painted a series working with movement and color only. Then I translated these into motif that included figurative elements. These are that last progression, 1-5

stone, water, air, fire

2010-05-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

plump angel

2010-05-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

angels

2009-07-19T17:14:00.001-07:00

2009-07-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

in memory of Rudolf Copple

2009-07-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

dark face

2009-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

ladder

2009-02-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

washed in the blood of the Lord

2009-02-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

washed in the blood of the Lord

cats

2009-02-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

cats

composition red-yellow-blue

2009-01-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

wide/narrow path

2009-01-17T14:45:00.000-08:00

How do we find our path? how is ours different from someone else's? do they overlap?

still life with angel

2009-01-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

Color Nativity

2008-11-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

Color Nativity

2008-11-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas I received this card of a painting by Adriaen Isenbrant circa 1521 from the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When I opened it I was surprised at the experience of going from gray and white to color. I wondered if I could achieve a similar experience without the representational content. Could a viewer experience the truth of before and after the birth of Christ in nonrepresentational color? This is my attempt. Contact me if you wish to order cards.

never again

2008-11-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

Pentacost Cup 1-4

2008-09-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Transitory/Eternal Self

2008-06-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Easter

2008-05-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

2008-04-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

What is it like to be surrounded by red? In this installation viewers are asked to set a timer for the amount of time they would like to remain in the room. After experiencing the red room viewers are asked to record their impressions on a collage of red words.

red room

2008-04-29T19:03:00.001-07:00

Flight

2008-04-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

to fly

to turn

to lift

to reach