I've always been drawn to her work. Gag's lithographs, book illustrations, and drawings use dramatic lights and darks that bring you to a place where the sun is low and the day borders on night - a magical time when evening pulls itself around you - where everything is a little more wild. The landscapes are sinuous and coax the natural world into pattern.
Dreamy
During our last trip to the library my daughter and I found this book to take home and enjoy
In the back there was a picture of Wanda Gag
That's Wanda? I got the feeling there was probably more I wanted to know. I went home and did some quick research. Did you know that this beautiful Bohemian was truly ahead of her time? Her freethinking politics predated the feminist, sexual liberation, and back-to-nature movements by almost fifty years. She designed her own clothing and once she was financially able, she moved to her own rural farmstead in New Jersey, which she called "All Creation."
Art, sex, and growing things - that's how Wanda described her three passions, in order of their importance. At the same time that her mind was free, she was also very disciplined. As a young teenager she was left to support her six younger siblings after her parents' death. As I learn more about her life, I'm beginning to appreciate her work in a new way.
This is on the reading list - should be good
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