What's New
| December 25, 2017: |
ART AND INTERIOR DESIGN This past year Maura has returned to one of her earlier careers, that of interior designer. Since the family decided to sell the "casa grande" in Rancho Santa Fe and rightsize into a two bedroom condominium near the beach in Oceanside, there was a great deal of art and design work required. Maura chose the color palette and wood and stone surfaces for the condo which was totally gutted and rebuilt by our contractor sons. To prepare the Rancho home for selling, Maura staged the rooms by removing about one third of the furniture and over half the art. The goal is to make a house look neutral and stylish, not easy for a house that looked like a personal art gallery. The house sold quickly, fortunately, and the art collection is being relocated and art is once again covers the Harvey walls. Maura somehow managed to paint a bit between all this commotion and these pieces are added here in the Gallery. |
| December 24, 2017: |
THE CALIFORNIA QUARTERLY AND OTHER LITERARY ACTIVITIES Maura was editor of Volume 43, Number 2 of the California Quarterly this spring. She continues to write poetry and publishes here and there. Her collage "Miao Girl" was chosen as cover for C. Q., Volume 44, Number 4. She has assumed a new task for the California Poetry Society, that of coordinating the nominations for the annual Pushcart Prize. She submits nominations from the quarterly to compete with little magazine and small book press editors from throughout the world the for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. She is active in three book clubs, two in Marin (dedicated to reading in Spanish), and one in Del Mar. Maura and her husband Bob are traveling to Havana, Cuba, this January where she will meet and work with Cuban artists and writers. |
| May 22, 2016: |
NEW PAINTINGS AND RETABLOS IN THE GALLERIES There was lots going on in the at studio these past few years. Maura's work ranged in theme from Women, Nature, Landscape, and her signature theme Virgins, Saints and Angels. There are new Retablos to peruse and these are also featured in that Gallery. |
| May 14, 2016: |
THE CALIFORNIA QUARTERLY Maura has become more and more active in the California State Poetry Society over the past years and has edited several issues of the quarterly. Her most recent stint as editor was late 2015 for Volume 41, Number 4. The journal, established in 1971, is the official state organization representing California to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) and has begun to thrive in recent decades. For Maura the position as member of the editorial board is a tribute to her father, poet and artist, James E. MacWhinney, who was a founding member of the board. Maura also serves as a member of the art panel of the California Quarterly, a group of board members who help choose the art for the quarterly cover. The quarterly she edited in 2014, Volume 40, Number 3, was dedicated in part to Cuba. After a trip in January, 2015, where she met Cuban poets and artists, her life-long fascination with the island led her to incorporate a dramatic Afro-Cuban piece for the issue cover and to include work by poets she had met there in her issue. In April, 2016, Maura and three Northern California poet editors from CSPS hosted a successful poetry reading at the Sausalito Library. About thirty poets who had published in recent C Q issues read and all enjoyed a chance to meet one another and savor their craetive talents. Among Maura's recent poetry published in CQ is this piece in Spanish and English about Cuba: Questions for Cuba, or Preguntas para Cuba. |
| May 12, 2016: |
SHOWS and TEACHING In 2008, Maura showed pieces at the National City Library, San Diego County, and taught the art of Retablo making to teens in an after school program there. Maura's art shows at the Fairfax Library in Marin County ( 2010 and 2012) were well attended and she also taught Retablo techniques to teens at Cascade Canyon School in Fairfax. More works were sold at a Day of the Dead show and then a Valentine's Day show in The Corner gallery, San Diego, in 2012. A Carnegie Library, the San Anselmo Library, Marin, hosted a show of Retablos in the lovely vitrine in 2013. In 2014, an exhibit of paintings in the Georgina Cole Library in Carlsbad, northern San Diego County took place as well as a smaller exhibit of Retablos in the Library Learning Center nearby. In early 2016, Maura was thrilled to work with Granddaughter Grace Szczuka and her sixth grade classmates at Skyline Elementary School in Solana Beach on an annual school fund raising project. Together the nineteen children created a wonderful collage of separate "tiles" made from recycled newspaper clippings from the recent months. The four by four foot collage, made entirely by the children, showed the piece each child created as a reflective of 2016, the year of their graduation from elementary school. Together the children cooperated to devise a flower-like formation for all the pieces and to find a title for their work. They called the collage "Extra! Extra!" In April, 2016, Maura returned to Skyline to Grace's classroom to lead the children in a class. Now each child made a small acrylic piece on canvas (6" by 6") as a gift for a family member. The pieces were colorful and expressive of great individuality and charm.
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| July 16, 2012: |
DIVERSE DIVAS These works pay homage to women, from diverse cultures and various historical moments; some are purely imagined. Many wear a crown to symbolize their eternity. Oil and acrylic combine at times with orphan jewelry, fabric, and found objects. The Artist she works a canvas with a red and yellow sunset a black sky of early stars a full moon counts the stars calls them by name paints them one by one late into the night |
| July 15, 2012: |
August, 2012 brings over fifty pieces of art to the FAIRFAX LIBRARY... The
show will be up August 1-31 and there will be an artist's reception on August
25, Saturday from 3 to 5 pm.
Fairfax Library 2097 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Fairfax, Ca 94930 (415) 453-8092 Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am - 9pm; Sat 10am - 6pm |
| July 14, 2012: |
Teaching Art to Grandchildren. One of Maura's favorite and most rewarding projects is to teach art to her four grandchildren. With Henry , the eldest, she has been leading a BOYS' BOOK CLUB and the members have done clay and other art projects, including mastering the art of "scumbling" to illustrate the books they have read together. Mariah and Grace have worked on embroidery and Retablos and Irene is using mixed media.
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| July 14, 2012: |
In April Maura taught middle schoolers how to make their own Retablos. At Cascade Canyon, a private school in Fairfax, California, Maura spent a few days teaching students how to make a Retablo as a keepsake box or as an artistic creation with a theme they came up with, using recycled pieces of fabric, paper, ribbon and objects they brought in themselves.
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| November 21, 2011: |
Maura has been writing poetry and several poems will appear soon in
anthologies. This one, inspired by her granddaughter Irene (aged two), will
appear in the Magee Park Poets Anthology in December, 2011: Pumpkins for Irene we picked late blackberries this summer a gentle shower refreshed us at home I strung grapes into a bracelet of worry beads wove a rosary of pomegranate seeds we tasted rhubarb jam with coffee you brewed a month ago you started a small orchard tomorrow we will plant the seeds we gathered in the forest foxgloves may bloom next year in this autumn of desires the sun and moon light the ridgeline of each new day on Saturday we take pumpkins north for Irene Maura Harvey September, 2011 |
| November 20, 2011: |
Maura has been busy with all four grandchildren, Henry, Grace, Mariah, and
Irene. She and Henry (aged nine and a half) have formed a BOYS BOOK CLUB
with four of Henry's friends and have read about seven books by now. At our
last club meeting the boys were inspired to paint and learned how
to "scumble" their art after reading Ingrid law's book SCUMBLE. We sent the
pieces to the author and Ingrid Law liked them so much she displayed them on
her blog
and website. |
| May 26, 2011: |
Marin County Shows: Fairfax Library Show, May 2011 Mixed-media works, including about 25 paintings and 20 Retablos were on view at the Fairfax Public Library from May 2 to May 28, 2011. There was an artist's reception May 21st from 3 to 5:30 pm with over fifty guests attending. Paintings from this exhibit will be in a new gallery called "Recent Work".
San Anselmo Library, 2010 Last October Maura had a show in the San Anselmo Library which featured 30 Retablos, including one by her granddaughter Mariah Rose Nyberg, called "Garden Day". San Diego County Shows, 2010-2011: Dove Library and Cole Libraryand Learning Center About 75 Retablos were exhibited in Carlsbad during 2010 and 2011 and helped inaugurate some new display cases in these libraries. Encinitas City Gallery Recycled Art, 2010 A Retablo was chosen for this exciting show in 2010 in the City of Encinitas. |
| November 5, 2009: |
Images of Nature Since moving half time to Nicasio, in Northern California, I have become inspired by the glories of the landscape of Marin County. Please enjoy my new works in this series. Retablos I continue to develop Retablos as a genre and create a fanciful world in each new piece. |
| September 21, 2008: |
Please view the paintings added to the galleries. There is also a new gallery
called Exhibits where photos of recent exhibits will appear.
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| September 20, 2008: |
October, 2008 Many works have sold this past year. The new owners have told me that, when they look at their piece, they sense the joy and warmth with went into each creation. |
| September 19, 2008: |
October, 2008 Homage Series This series pays homage to a real person, mother, sister, father, friend, or mentor. Using objects that belonged to this person, I create either a painting with collage elements or a Retablo. So I have developed the Homage series. |
| November 9, 2007: |
Events to come: May, 2008 Paintings and Retablos at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Gallery, Vista |
| November 9, 2007: |
November 19, 2007- January 4, 2008 Retablo Exhibit in Carlsbad at Dove Library My retablos are a collaboration between many hands and many hearts. Each of the retablos evokes a specific person, culture, or emotion, and, as portable art, transports the viewer to its small cosmos. Dove Library 1775 Dove Lane Carlsbad, CA 92011 tel 760 602-2038 Mon. - Thurs.:9 am to 9 pm Fri., Sat.: 9 am to 5 pm Sun.: 1-5 pm |
| November 8, 2007: |
Many changes have come to the website.
A new section called Istanbul Art has been added
to commemorate the exciting show in a
6th century Byzantine cistern in Istanbul. Images of more new work have been added
throughout the website and especially to the Retablos.
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| January 10, 2007: |
Encinitas Civic Center Exhibit: Maura's RETABLOS
team up with fine art portraits A catered Artist Reception for Mr. Wagemakers and Ms. Harvey will be held on Wednesday, January 17, from 5:00-7:00pm. For more information, please call (760) 633-2746 or Maura (858) 509-2130. Old World meets New in City Hall Exhibits Dutch master style portraits and contemporary found object retablos are featured. Two established artists from diverse artistic genres will exhibit their works in the month of January at the Civic Center Art Gallery in Encinitas. Portraits in oil by Rene Wagemakers and found object retablos by Maura Harvey. What are Retablos? Retablos or Santero boxes, as they were first called, originated in Europe and came to Peru with the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century. Before bringing them to Peru, the boxes were used as portable altars by medieval travelers and were carried by soldiers into battle during the Crusades. Wagemakers' Portraits Wagemakers' portraits are “so realistic they have been mistaken for photographs” The artworks will be on view during January and February at Encinitas City Hall, located at 505 South Vulcan Avenue, Encinitas, California 92014. Hours of operation are from 7:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday. please note, City Hall is closed every other Friday. |
| September 17, 2006: |
Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Show Maura is one of over twenty local artists featured in this annual exhibit at The Next Door Gallery September 30, Saturday, 5 to 8 p m Opening Reception with Mexican munchies, music and a free mini-shrine workshop. Show continues Sept. 30 to Nov. 4 Store/Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, Noon to 5 p m. Studio Maureen and The Next Door Gallery 2963 Beech at 30th Street in South Park San Diego, CA 92102 (619) 233-6679 www.studiomaureen.com |
| September 5, 2006: |
Reception September 13, 2006, from 5 to 7 p m HOMAGE and HONOR: A Message of Hope Please join me for refreshments and music by guitarist Alejandro Padilla. Encinitas Civic Center Art Gallery 505 South Vulcan, Encinitas, CA 92024 (across from Coaster Station) Show continues September 1 through September 29 Open, 7 to 6 p m,Monday - Thursday, open alternate Fridays (closed, 9/8 and 9/22) HOMAGE I paint the eyes the faces of all the sisters of the world beautiful they shine jewels skin colors at night I dream of them long braids shell necklaces rustling silks they envelop me on the head of the smallest sister I place a golden wreath |
| August 15, 2006: |
We have added Poetry Page.
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| August 3, 2006: |
ONE WOMAN SHOW HOMAGE and HONOR: A Message of Hope Encinitas Civic Center Art Gallery September 1 through September 29 505 South Vulcan, Encinitas, CA 92024 (across from Coaster Station) Open, 7 to 6 p m, Monday - Thursday, open alternate Fridays (closed, 9/8 and 9/22) Reception September 13, 2006, from 5 to 7 p m |
| August 3, 2006: |
Distinction Gallery Saturday, August 12, Reception, 5 to 8 p m with reggae band 317 East Grand Avenue Escondido, CA 92025 Exhibit (Aug. 10-Oct.7, 2006) A large studio (STUDIO 14) upstairs in Distinction is devoted entirely to my pieces; 24 works and many poems are exhibited |
| August 3, 2006: |
San Diego Book Arts National Juried Exhibition Friday, August 11, Reception, 4 to 6 p m UCSD,Geisel Library, Main Floor La Jolla, CA 92093 Exhibit lasts Aug. 11 through Sept. 8, 2006 I have a piece chosen here entitled "Chula" |
| April 30, 2006: |
We have added a web counter.
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| April 25, 2006: | Welcome to my new website. We opened. |
