Being called to be yourself, being called to transfigure what has hardened or been wounded within you, is also the heart of creativity – John O'Donohue
https://catemcquaid.substack.com/
Cate McQuaid
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I've avoided having parties. They make me anxious. Now I'm renovating, and imagining all new light and energy here. When I read this chapter of my memoir, Communion, I recognized it as the origin story of my hosting phobia. And I saw just what the lesson was. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/the-perils...
I'm not a solid structure sitting in space. Why should I assume a sculpture is? Roberley Bell's show Almost Knowing opens at Cove Street Arts in Portland Thursday. She disrupts notions of solidity with appendages and color. Here, she relates making Lipstick. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/the-volati...
Suzi Grossman had a toxic relationship with an invasive weed, so they brought it into their studio and made "Black Swallow-wort Entangled," now at MassArt x SoWa in the 2026 MFA thesis show through this week. Here's how Suzi made the sculpture. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/making-hat...
I visited several Boston galleries for an old-style roundup. In this week's Ocean in a Drop: Suara Welitoff at Anthony Greaney, Jennifer Liston Munson at Kingston Gallery, Dana Clancy at Alpha Gallery, and Crystalle Lacouture at Praise Shadows Art Gallery. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/pathways-t...
Barbara Ishikura's paintings reflect on women's constrictions through art history. Her work is also a legacy of touch, gesture, and pattern that culminates in reclamation. Barbara’s show In Plain Sight is up at Gallery 1832 at LabCentral. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/were-here-...
Who's control? What does play have to do with it? Young people feel increasingly at the mercy of fate. In the 1960s, kids who played autonomously grew up with a strong sense of agency. Play is central to making art. Agency is central to making a democracy. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/who-is-in-...
Reading Katrine Hildenbrandt describe artmaking, I saw how the details set the stage for the transcendent to occur. If you have patience and set your ego aside. Katrine dyes and burns paper, matching pattern to chance. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/artist-as-...
Jackie Reeves made "Big Plans," a 13.5' painting, as she studied for her U.S. citizenship exam. It became an allegory of creation – plan, messy process, product – that applies to democracy and art. It's in her show at Provincetown Art Assoc. and Museum. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/a-more-per...
I was seduced by righteousness. Then it knocked the creative spark right out of me. I used to think righteousness was a horse to ride through life, but sometimes you have to put aside your outrage in order to keep moving. That's in today's Ocean in a Drop. catemcquaid.substack.com/p/just-a-dri...
Avital Sagalyn went to Provincetown in 1945 to study with Hans Hofmann. He said, "You don’t need to take my classes... There’s nothing I can teach you.” She was 20. "Avital Sagalyn: Mid-Century Provincetown" is now up at Provincetown Art Association and Museum. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/10/a...
Cate McQuaid
Cate McQuaid
Cate McQuaid
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Her work was highly praised. Picasso and Brancusi were mentors. But she dropped out of the art world to paint her own vision.
Roberley Bell on crafting "Lipstick" for her show "Almost Knowing" at Cove Street Arts
catemcquaid.substack.com
Suara Welitoff at Anthony Greaney, Jennifer Liston Munson at Kingston Gallery, Dana Clancy at Alpha Gallery, and Crystalle Lacoutoure at Praise Shadows Art Gallery
