The 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan

The Charles W. Morgan whaling ship, the last of its kind in the world, left Mystic Seaport on Saturday, May 17, for the first time since 1941, to commence the historic 38th voyage. As the news reporter, who was doing a live report right behind me, pointed out, the Morgan was at Mystic before Pearl Harbor happened and before WWII began. I thought to myself "…and before my father was born."

One of the two tug boats at Mystic Seaport that pulled The Morgan

She was toed by a tug boat via Mystic River across Fishers Island Sound and up the Thames River to New London. As the ship disappeared from view at Mystic, we jumped into cars and drove to Avery Point by UConn to watch her pass in the distance from a scenic overlook.

Watching The Morgan from Avery Point

Welcoming crowds in New London's City Pier

Charles W. Morgan docked in New London's City Pier

Charles W. Morgan in New London

New London's train station right across from the pier

The ship docked in New London's City Pier and that's where she will be outfitted for June sea trials.

Worker bending sails on top of the mast

Following Sunday the outfitting began with workers bending sails, i.e. attaching them to masts. It was so amazing to watch and draw them!

Bending Sails on the Morgan

Bending sails on the Morgan

I have yet to see and draw the Morgan in her full glory, with opened sails. Can't wait till June!

Dalvero Academy is working on a new show, scheduled to open in 2015 at the Museum of America and the Sea. Stay tuned for more on that! 

"Draftsmen's Congress" by Pawel Althamer. New Museum, NYC

Dalvero Academy artists came to New Museum's "Draftsmen's Congress" on Saturday, March 22, 2014, to participate in the ongoing collaborative installation by Pawel Althamer. Here's a video I put together of what it looked like. We had fun!


Dalvero Academy Artists at "Draftsmen's Congress" by Pawel Althamer. New Museum, NYC. 03.22.2014 from Julia Sverchuk on Vimeo.
Soundtrack: Bucky Pizzarelli "Lime House Blues" live. Video: JuliaSverchuk.com (c) 2014

Milestones at Mystic Seaport

Scaffolding around the Charles W. Morgan whaleship during restoration.

This upcoming Labor Day weekend of 2013 marks the end of a year-and-a-half-long gallery exhibit at the Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic Seaport, CT, for our Dalvero art group. "Restoring A Past, Charting A Future" opened in the spring of 2012, and it is a major milestone for us as an artist collective. We curated and produced our first museum exhibit, led by our beloved visionaries, artists, teachers and founders of Dalvero Academy, Margaret Hurst and Veronica Lawlor. They brought us to Mystic one freezing winter of 2009 to reportage an on-going restoration of the world's last surviving wooden whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan. And we have been returning to Mystic a few times a year ever since. The weekend of July 21st 2013, Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport, under the leadership of a great man and our big supporter, director Quentin Snediker, witnessed a milestone in the life of the ship. The Charles W. Morgan was lowered into the water, after spending 4+ years in restoration. It's the 172nd anniversary of the vessel’s initial launch!

Scaffolding around the Charles W. Morgan whaleship during restoration.

The Morgan has been covered by so many various arrangements of scaffolding over the course of the last 4 years, that I began to see much poetry in it. The scaffolding, I mean. And I drew it on various visits, attracted to its transient nature and beauty. It's a support system and a symbol of commitment to change and completion of what's set in motion. Its role is that of a bridge: to connect past with the future. And then it's gone... Fascinating to draw its complications and spaces.

The ship spent years being cocooned, looking like a whale in scaffolding.

Charles W. Morgan whaleship, cocooned in scaffolding during restoration.

Until she finally emerged, a new kind of symbol. And people rushed to greet and embrace the new beginning.

Emerging new symbol of restored whaleship, the last of it's kind in the world.

Right before the launch ceremony, cleaning and applying last touches to the ship. July 21 of 2013.

The lowering of the ship into the water attracted many spectators, there were notable speakers, and our art group received a special invitation to draw during this ceremony. A few of us had passes to be on board of Sabino, a boat parked right next to the Morgan. I had a breath-taking view of the Mystic river at it's busiest. I've never seen so many boats in it. People sailed in to watch, and had celebratory parties afloat. 

Here in the middle is Quentin Snediker, the director of restoration. This was a big day for him.

A very expensive and complicated dolly was created just for the Charles W. Morgan.

The Sheriff of the Mystic police department at the ceremony.

Sabino, the boat on which I was stationed during the ceremony.

View from the Sabino onto the Mystic river and thousands of floating spectators.

The ship is slowly being lowered into the water, as the men hold ropes.

The Charles W. Morgan, Ship Of Hope.
Getting ready for its 38th voyage in 2014. ‪‪
A historic event for America.
Another milestone. 

Portrait Of An Artist

I just returned from the Brooklyn Museum, where El Anatsui gave an artist talk. He is a Ghanaian painter and sculptor, whose main medium is ... bottle caps. The installations El makes must be experienced in person! You might just find yourselves as overwhelemed as I was by their beauty and meaning. Here's a quick iPhone portrait of the artist I did from the mezzanine during his talk. He seems to constantly wear a smile, which I noticed only from up close, during the book signing. Don't miss "Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui"

Drawn on my iPhone

Dalvero Mystic Augmented Reality Trailer

Dalvero Mystic AR gallery at the Museum of America and the Sea is viewable to visitors on their iPhone and Android devices. Artworks of 24 participating artists are spread all over the Mystic Seaport at locations that inspired them, as an extension of "Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" physical gallery exhibit. Through September 2013.



To view the AR gallery,
1. Download free AR app Layar
2. Search for "Dalvero Mystic AR"
3. Launch it on premises of Mystic Seaport

*Special thanks to Sander Veenhof for making this possible.

"Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" Exhibit is Open!

Today is a big day for me and the Dalvero Academy: our group gallery show "Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" that we curated for the Museum of America and the Sea is officially open to the public, and will be on view through September 2013. I'd like to commemorate this big day by posting a drawing I did during our very first visit to Mystic Seaport three years ago. The temperatures were way below freezing and my watercolors turned to frost right on paper.

Mystic Seaport became a milestone: never before have I had such a dive into American history.

On May 19th, we will be launching an Augmented Reality exhibit for this in-gallery show: visitors are able to experience artworks at locations that inspired them, visible on mobile devices, while walking the grounds of the Seaport. I believe this new technology will become ubiquitous one day, and it's a beautiful extension to our show as a connector between "Restoring a Past" and "Charting a Future".

*Special thanks from all 24 of us to Sander Veenhof for making this possible*

Stay tuned!

"Overview as an Artist"

Read my interview with The Wall Breakers >

Positive Feedback Loops in Wood Planks

I spent many contemplative hours drawing planks of wood inside the belly of the world's last surviving wooden whale ship at the Mystic Seaport. As I was drawing ship's interior undergoing restoration (old planks are taken out, new planks are put in), I was thinking about healing and regeneration. Regeneration is essentially the creation of a positive feedback loop: making an old whaling vessel seaworthy again gives it a new meaning in today's context. 

I kept looking at these drawings over time, they held true to me for an unknown reason. Until I looked up meanings of "positive feedback loop":

"Feedback Loops can enhance or buffer changes that occur in a system.

 Positive feedback loops enhance or amplify changes; this tends to move a system away from its equilibrium state and make it more unstable."

"Positive feedback is used in digital electronics to force voltages away from intermediate voltages into '0' and '1' states."

And...back to looking at these drawings. Now they become abstract illustrations of binary code and how information is encoded in digital electronics. Or maybe it's my attempt at understanding how events are encoded within the wood fibers as the tree grows. Thinking through the hand makes new connections happen. I'll keep looking...

Breathing new life into the boat

P.S. The installation of the upcoming gallery show at the Mystic Seaport's Museum of America and The Sea has officially commenced on Monday, April 16th. I'm one of the 24 participating artists. More info here: dalveromystic.com

Most Perfect Container in History

Cooper, stemming from the Latin "cuparius", has the same root as the word "cup". Cooper makes barrels: individual staves of wood held by metal hoops.

 "The oak for a wine maker is like the sauce for a great chef". 

Egyptian painting depicts first known barrel. Then, Greek and Roman art reveals that barrel design remained the same throughout history. It's a perfect container: it can be as big as you make it,  it can be dis-assembled and re-assembled, it can hold as much weight as you put inside, and it can be moved by a 5-year-old, by rolling it on it's side.

Tobacco is held in white oak barrels. So is wine and Tabasco sauce. Bourbon is aged in new barrels, while Tequila is aged in old barrels. And during the Age of Sail, barrels stored and were a measurement of whale oil.

Mystic Seaport's 19th century village is a time-capsule with historic buildings that are home to many old trades. Here are my drawings and notes after visiting the cooper's neighbor, a blacksmith >>  

You can also visit a sail loft, a rope-making shop, a print shop, an old drugstore, a rigging loft, sailor's reading room and other 19th century New England historic buildings along the Mystic River at the Museum of America and the Sea.>

And while you're there, stop by the Stillman building, where I'm exhibiting along with 23 fellow artists in a group show we ourselves curated for the Museum of America and The Sea.  Visit "Restoring a past. Charting a future". >

24 Artists. 1 last surviving American wooden whaleship in the world. 3 years in the making. Over 180 artworks on display at The Museum of America and The Sea, Mystic Seaport, CT. Opening April 28, 2012.  www.dalveromystic.com >

logo design: Margaret Hurst, Todd Rawson.

Mystic Seaport Show :: Follow Us on FB & Twitter

In light of our approaching gallery opening at The Museum of America and The Sea at Mystic Seaport, artists of Dalvero Academy have launched a Facebook page> and Twitter @DalveroMystic>. Follow us to see the behind-the-scenes photos from 2009 up to date!

The Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport, 2011

The Morgan Restoration, 2011

MoMA Eindhoven :: Augmented Reality Gallery

I now exhibit my drawings in MoMA Eindhoven, Netherlands, in an augmented reality gallery as part of the DIY museum by Sander Veenhof. You can participate too, by uploading your artworks here >

Sander Veenhof pioneered the idea of infiltrating physical museum spaces with augmented reality exhibitions in New York back in 2010, proving there are no more boundaries. He and Mark Skwarek had an "Uninvited" augmented reality art opening at MoMA NYC. I wrote about this incredible event here >

As an artist who practices the oldest of art forms - drawing from life - I am captivated by the newest of art forms - augmented reality, wondering how the two will effect each other. Changing the way artists can exhibit art and what "exhibiting" actually means in augmented reality is just the beginning.

Follow Me!

I   a m   n o w   a   T w i t t e r e r .

@JuliaSverchuk 

#iDrawing

@JuliaSverchuk #iDrawing

The Bringers of Light

Every year, Dalvero Academy's founders and my art teachers Ronnie and Margaret gather friends at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to draw the magnificent Neapolitan Angel Tree. A beautiful tradition. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and love to all the bringers of light in our lives. 

 

My iPhone Drawings in MoMA Augmented Reality Exhibition

This Saturday was a gorgeous summer-like day in New York. I was at the MoMA, anticipating the launch of the DIY Augmented Reality Art Invasion at 4pm. All that was needed was to figure out how to use Layar app. It took about 10 minutes of utter confusion, until the first signs of "it works!" appeared on my iPhone, in the room with Monet's Water Lilies.

The next hour and a half were spent roaming the museum and the atrium outside, discovering layers of virtual art galleries. My drawings were "attached" to the 5th floor, but technically could be viewed from any place inside and near MoMA by selecting the floor level within the Layar app. 

I was among 35 other artists who participated. I only met 2 while there, and one of them was Sander Veenhof, the mastermind / pioneer / curator of this exhibition. 

It's a very exciting experiment (well-executed, too) that has amazing potential. This exhibition opened my eyes to the idea of phychogeography.

"Developments in the field of phychogeography advance rapidly and radically. In former times the discipline required mental capabilities such as concentration and imagination, nowadays mobile phones provide us with easy-to-use viewing tools to percieve a multitude of fictive realities, anywhere we are, instantly. The technique causing this 'progression' is called augmented reality. It has led to an armada of virtual creativity of various kinds into our public physical space. Actually, AR has rewritten the scope of 'public space'. Physically walled private spaces, such as musea, are now open areas for anyone's objects and actions. To reflect on this and to investigate the implications for art intitutes, Mark Skwarek and I propose to infiltrate the MoMA with an augmented reality exhibition, curated and transmitted from a distance using GPS-driven Layer AR technology. A helpdesk will assist Conflux participants to collaborate and contribute a work to this "virtual DIY museum". ~Sander Veenhof (quote taken from conflux festival.org)

The 7 virtual MoMA floors will remain available/viewable permanently!

Instructions on how to see this virtual gallery: 

iPhone/Android: 

-Download (free) Layar Augmented Reality Browser app. 

-In your phone's general settings, make sure "location services" for Layar are "on". 

-Open the app, search for "art moma" and select "MoMA AR exhibition" 
 (Sander Veenhof / Mark Skwarek). 

-Open it, go to "settings": select "alternative positioning ON" / move "viewing range" to max / select floor

-My iPhone drawings are on the "5th-2D" level. 

-You can explore all the floors from any location within the museum. 

Enjoy! 

watch video >

read Opinions / NY Times >

read Wired >