Quixotic

The Pony in the West, 2020, G. Brunini Congdon

The Pony in the West, 2020, by G. Brunini Congdon, oil on canvas, 24" x 28"

This piece pairs with Boy Posse, 2018. Both are inspired by time spent in my youth living in the Yucatan. Both compositions play tribute to the inner world of boyhood. 

Unlimited Intelligence

Puppy love drives one to distraction. 

Love, and peace, and happiness in 2020 to my readers, both near and far! Love, Jo

Hummingbird, 2019

Hummingbird, oil on canvas, 20" x 28," 2019. 

My first self-portrait. My feathered friends joined me in my meadow. The graffiti includes inspiration from my novel, which is in the editing process. —To an Etruscan, all was alive. 

Juno by Moonlight, 2018

Juno by Moonlight, 2018, oil on canvas, 24" x 20."

The first in a series on wildlife conservation, possibly titled, 'One Earth.' Juno, like her consort Jupiter, was prepared to throw a lightning bolt to protect those she loved and did so often.  Regally positioned as one of the Capitoline Triad, she sat on the hill above Rome, Italy, besides Jupiter and Minerva. The threesome made the Latin equivalent of the Greek, Hera, Zeus, and Athena.  Juno wears her goatskin cloak, the favored garment of Roman soldiers on campaign, observed by two, guarded by one. She stands at the ready, able to wage a little battle, out under the wild figs, to save the planet. Only Apollo's worship was more solemn or extensive. 

Please visit Lek Chailert's "Save Elephant Foundation" and watch the movie of her life's work told by the LA director Ashley Bell, Love & Bananas, an elephant story. 

Boy Posse, 2018

Boy Posse, 2018, oil on canvas, 22" x 28."

I dedicate this painting to the children of DACA and the American south-west. I lived for a period in Mexico across my nineteenth year. I fell in love with the people. They watched over me, shared what little they had, and forged a place in my heart forever. 

Sette Lingerie Chest

I designed this lingerie chest in 2010. Johns built it out of solid walnut with cedar lined drawers, and nickel plated hardware from France. It makes great work of getting dressed every day. 

 

 

 

Lucca Armoire

This was the first piece I designed. My blueprint is worth nothing if Johns wasn't around to fabricate it. I hit the ground running and looked to enter it in competition. As fate would have it, Design Within Reach was looking for entries. DWR has locations across the country presenting an international collection of contemporary and reissued modern design. We have bought furniture and lighting from them in the past. The Lucca Armoire was accepted as one of twenty-three finalists from across the nation for their 2008 M + D + F, Modern + Design + Function show in Providence, Rhode Island. The winner's piece would go into production with DWR. We did not win but were thrilled to be a finalist alongside other designers, and architects, including Brown, Smith, Yale and RISD grads. 

The piece is Macassar ebony veneer over quarter sawn walnut, with nickel hardware. The finish is organic linseed oil and beeswax. 

Aliénor Writing Desk

Sapele pommele veneer with hand dove-tailed Swiss pear drawers. Sterling silver custom made hardware by jeweler Timothy Grannis. Organic French varnish finish. 

1st Place Vermont Fine Furniture Design Competition 2011

I designed this piece for myself and have the luxury of writing at it. When we showed Alienor, it being my first show with Johns, I had no idea what to expect. The comments went like this:
—"It makes me think of an animal because the veneer looks like animal hide. It feels alive."
—"It's super sexy."
—"The legs are so feminine like a woman in stilettos. I can imagine a whole bedroom suite like this one. But it might be hard to sleep."
—"I feel like it could talk to me."
—"I want to caress it, can I touch it?"
I couldn't have asked for more. It meant the world to me. Design has to be one of the most complete out of the body experiences. An image in one's mind materializes from thin air into an entity by way of determination and skill. Beyond the joy I find working on the canvas or written page, furniture makes contact and serves my body. I've jumped outside myself to land back inside. I couldn't live without any of the three discplines I love.

I named the piece after Alienor, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Spirited 12th century wife of  Henry II of England. The mother of Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland. Held in my esteem, Alienor was one of the world's first feminists. I'll dedicate a post to her one day. 

Leda and the Swan

oil on canvas, 30" x 60"

Inspired by a wall panel from 9BC at Rome's Museo dell'Ara Pacis. The temple/altar was discovered in 1938 buried in a flood plain beneath 13' of silt and moved to its present location. 

On the left: Leda = a Sparta queen

                     Swan = Zeus,  (Helen of Troy = the daughter of Leda and Zeus)

At center: Pax = Roman goddess of Peace, call her Gaia, the mother goddess or Sofia/ Sophia

On the right: Persephone and the Serpent

Spartan women were nicknamed 'thigh slappers' because they held competitions to see who could jump and touch their derriere the most times. –It's hard work.– In Sparta, the women ate the same food as the warriors. And there were no restrictions on women voicing their opinion. Sparta was marked by a communal sharing of resources, over time inequalities led to plutocracy and their decline and subjugation by Rome.

Elysian fields or Eden, Earth's resources are all we will ever have. 

"Spartan women were who they were because Spartan men were strong enough and confident enough to appreciate them." –Gorgo, a Sparta queen

 

Wenge Table

Solid Wenge with French natural varnish.