RELIC and their Enchanted Forest

Thanks to a neighbor’s recommendation, I discovered the period chamber orchestra Relic and attended their concert, “Enchanted Forest,” which included pieces by Corelli, Purcell, Couperin, and other 17th/18th century composers, each work introduced by a brief relevant poetic reading. The concert was aptly named: on a cold wintry night, the audience was transported by Relic’s gorgeous and haunting music to a place of enchantment. Relic’s mission is to make the music they love easily available to a wide and diverse audience. This particular venue was, appropriately, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, which has a parallel mission and long history of welcome and inclusiveness. But you can experience Relic in many other locations as they travel the country in 2024. Eventually they hope to reach all fifty states.

(There were actually nine musicians performing, but I only managed to sketch five and a half of them during the concert)

Canova: Sketching in Clay

We spent an uncrowded Tuesday morning slowly wandering awestruck through this NGA exhibit which features not only completed works in marble but SKETCH MODELS IN CLAY that preceded them—with visible marks of tools, quick changes, fingerprints—giving the viewer a glimpse of Canova’s thinking and process. (I was sketching on a page begun earlier; sorry to confuse.)

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke to a full house at the Embassy of France on The 1619 Project. She was fascinating and eloquent despite an interviewer who had never heard of Ida B. Wells and who interrupted her repeatedly (which she handled imperturbably, with grace). I was sitting waaay in the back so my sketch is rather, well, sketchy.