Copyright April M Rimpo

Visit April's website www.amrart.org
Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Collaborating with Musicians - Part I ROGUE COLLECTIVE

First of all my thanks go to Elaine Weiner-Reed who conceived of "Every Painting is a Song" a few years ago and made it come to life in 2018 at her exhibition in Chaney Gallery at Maryland Hall. When Elaine and I joined forces for our exhibition "Portraits of Life: The Art of Storytelling", Elaine immediately suggested we continue her initiative of "Every Painting is a Song" as part of our exhibition. I wanted to expand on that idea to include "Every Painting is a Story." Having been in exhibits at the Columbia Art Center where either the artist created a painting to a poem or the poets wrote paintings to the visual art, I suggested we not only collaborate with musicians, but with poets as well.  

As a number of poets and musicians agreed to participate in our collaboration, we realized we needed two collaboration events: one Collaboration with the Written Word and one Collaboration with Musicians. This blog post focuses on the Collaboration with Musicians.

We were extremely lucky to have music created by ROGUE COLLECTIVE, Bob Jacobson, and Gerald (Jerry) Richard Ingley. This post is Part I of our Music Collaboration and features ROGUE COLLECTIVE. Enjoy this amazing group of women as they explore their reactions to painting and share what they hear in the pieces.

Meet the musicians of ROGUE COLLECTIVE and learn more at their website.


Alexa Cantalupo: Violinist | Musician | Creative Director of ROGUE COLLECTIVE - Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from University of Maryland, 2019 Master of Arts in Arts Management from American University 
Kaitlin Moreno: Violinist | Musician | Professor - Performance degree from the University of Maryland. Kaitlin is dedicated to performing music of our time by collaborating with up-and-coming composers.
Natalie Spehar: Cellist | Composer | Lectures | Performs - Classical, Rock, and Folk Music. Natalie is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Maryland.

Enjoy their amazing Structured Improvisations created by the three talented women of ROGUE COLLECTIVE and hear how they saw the paintings.

Time at the Bus Stop © April M Rimpo

Time at the Bus Stop © April M Rimpo
ROGUE COLLECTIVE's interpretation of Time at the Bus Stop (shared in the video below), so aligned with my thoughts on this painting that I now know how my thoughts sound. Just thinking about it makes me get the chills and tear up at the same time.  My thanks to ROGUE COLLECTIVE for letting me have this incredible experience.




In Her Own World © April M Rimpo


In Her Own World © April M Rimpo
Video of ROGUE COLLECTIVES Structured Improvisation of In Her Own World.


And this post would not be complete without ROGUE COLLECTIVES' amazing music inspired by Elaine Weiner-Reed's paintings.

Heart and Soul © Elaine Weiner-Reed

Heart and Soul © Elaine Weiner-Reed
Enjoy Elaine Weiner-Reed's video about this wonder musical creation by ROGUE COLLECTIVE based on her painting Heart and Soul. Also learn a bit about the three musicians that are the heart of this collective.


Come What May © Elaine Weiner-Reed

Come What May © Elaine Weiner-Reed






















Enjoy Elaine Weiner-Reed's video featuring ROGUE COLLECTIVE's music based on her  painting Come What May



Challenge Accepted © Elaine Weiner-Reed

Challenge Accepted © Elaine Weiner-Reed
And last but not least, Elaine's video honoring ROGUE COLLECTIVE's music created for Challenge Accepted.



Please share your comments on the art and these amazing musicians.

Copyright of Text and Images of April M Rimpo Art held by April M Rimpo All images and content remain the property of the Artist. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright of Elaine Weiner-Reed artwork held by © 2019 Elaine Weiner-Reed (EWR) All images and content remain the property of the Artist. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright of all music held by © 2019 ROGUE COLLECTIVE. All content is the property of the Artists. All Rights Reserved.

You may share this blog post with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited. No reproductions or prints are authorized. All rights reserved.



Friday, June 14, 2019

Video about Ann Bracken's Poem Inspired by "Time at the Bus Stop"

"Time at the Bus Stop" poem by Ann Bracken to April M Rimpo's painting by the same title

Enjoy this poem by Ann Bracken as part of our initiative "Every Painting is a Story." The poem was shared as part of my and Elaine Weiner-Reed's exhibition, Portraits of Life: The Art of Storytelling. Each poem was displayed with the painting that inspired it. We loved watching the expressions of exhibition visitors as they looked back and forth between the painting and the poetry. But most exciting of all was listening to the poets read their work during our Poetry Collaboration event on May 21. Thanks to my husband for capturing the readings on video which allowed me to create the video that follows about the event and Ann's poem. I must also acknowledge that the music in the video is a Structured Improvisation created by ROGUE COLLECTIVE for this same painting during our Musician Collaboration event on May 22nd.  The music composition will be highlighted in a separate blog post. 

Ann Bracken has authored two poetry collections, No Barking in the Hallways: Poems from the Classroom and The Altar of Innocence. She serves as a contributing editor for Little Patuxent Review, and co-facilitates the Wilde Readings Poetry Series in Columbia, MD. Her poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in anthologies and journals, including Gargoyle, Bared: Contemporary Poetry & Art on Bras & Breasts, Fledgling Rag, and Texture among others. Ann's poetry has garnered two Pushcart Prize nominations. She offers writing workshops in schools and community education centers. 
Time at the Bus Stop by April M Rimpo © 2018


My 3 minute 20 second video shares how the poetry collaboration got underway and most importantly Ann Bracken's explanation of her thoughts on my painting and her reading of her wonderful poem. I encourage you to read Ann's blog post about her poem and our event here



Here is Ann's poem for you to savor and live with.

Time at the Bus Stop” Ann Bracken © 2019

I had a vision that if we came here
we’d find a new kind of fortune.

But who feeds guests with scraps
from cans instead of
platters heavy with fruit?

My grandson places his hand of my knee
and pleads “Where is my bed?”
“I don’t want to sleep on this hard step again.”

But steps are all I can see
one step for food, the next step maybe
someone will smile.

Please share your thoughts on Ann Bracken's poem as it relates to my painting in the comments below.

Copyright of images of April M Rimpo Art held by April M Rimpo  All images and content remain the property of the Artist. All Rights Reserved. You may share these videos with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.No reproductions or prints are authorized. All rights reserved.

Ekphrastic poem "Time at the Bus Stop" by Ann Bracken © 2019 

Structured Improvisation Music inspired by April M. Rimpo's painting "Time at the Bus Stop"  by ROGUE COLLECTIVE © 2019

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who Select the General Interest topic you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art.


You can also stay up to date with April M Rimpo art through Instagram @aprilrimpo -  Please join me.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Video with Patti Ross performing her poem based on "Together"

"Catching Sunday Breakfast" ekphrastic poem by Patti Ross to April M Rimpo's painting, "Together"

When Elaine and I joined forces for our exhibition "Portraits of Life: The Art of Storytelling" Elaine immediately suggested we continue her initiative of "Every Painting is a Song" as part of our exhibition. I wanted to expand on that idea to include "Every Painting is a Story." Having been in exhibits at the Columbia Art Center where either the artist created a painting to a poem or the poets wrote paintings to the visual art, I suggested we not only collaborate with musicians, but with poets as well.  

As a number of poets and musicians agreed to participate in our collaboration we realized we needed two collaboration events: one Collaboration with the Written Word and one Collaboration with Musicians. This blog post features Patti Ross. 

Patti Ross currently works for the Maryland Writer's Association, after many years of working in the IT industry. She started out with a journalist degree from American University and has now returned to these roots. She is now a Spoken Word artist, performing as "little pi" at local performances around our community. Her poem to my painting, "Together, " is in the voice of "little pi." 
Together by April M Rimpo © 2016

Enjoy my video which includes an introduction to our night of Poetic Collaboration, Patti's thoughts on the paintings, and her poetry reading. Patti's memories from growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland are tied to this painting.




Please share your thoughts on the painting and Patti Ross' painting in the comments below.


Copyright of Text and Images of April M Rimpo Art held by April M Rimpo All images and content remain the property of the Artist. All Rights Reserved. You may share these videos with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.No reproductions or prints are authorized. All rights reserved.

Poem "Catching Sunday Breakfast" by Patti Ross © 2019 

Music: Schubert - Piano Trio in B flat (2nd movement) by Apollo Symphony Orchestra used under a Standard license agreement between SHUTTERSTOCK MUSIC CANADA ULC, doing business as PremiumBeat.com ("PremiumBeat") and April M Rimpo, the licensee.

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who Select the General Interest topic you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

You can also stay up to date with April M Rimpo art through Instagram @aprilrimpo -  Please join me.

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