If you are looking for a great excuse to eat a doughnut today, let me help! The world’s first doughnut was fried on this day in France (1917) by Salvation Army volunteers for the soldiers fighting in WWI. This means that everything that happened before 1917 happened in a doughnutless world. Imagine. The victims of the Titanic went down without ever having a doughnut. Henry Ford could not drive his first Model T with one hand on the steering wheel and a doughnut in the other. Without a doughnut in the world, Albert Einstein published his Theory of Relativity, which I have never enjoyed. Know what I have enjoyed? Doughnuts.

Because I have academic pursuits regarding doughnuts, I did a Google search for “famous doughnuts in art.” I didn’t really expect anything to turn up, but the results were as abundant as sprinkles in a bakery. If you have a hankering for some doughnut art, here are some recommendations. Check out this site to see your favorite artwork in doughnut form. Visit Emily Eveleth’s site to get up close and personal with some doughnuts. Kenny Scharf takes a cosmic perspective in his doughnut art. Even Banksy gets in on the action. Here is a great article: 10 Things to Know About Banksy’s Donuts. Truly, I did not realize doughnuts were such a “thing” in pop art right now. It makes me hungry.

But if we’re going to be serious about our doughnut art, we need to talk about Jae Yong Kim out of South Korea. His art is nuts! Doughnuts! He sculpts doughnuts from clay like many a preschooler, then glazes it like many a baker, but then he paints and decorates it like nobody else! I want one for my kitchen, as a matter of fact. One of the Swarovski crystal ones, to be specific. Too bad they go for about $950 a pop.

I love that Jae Yong Kim was like, “yeah, I like donuts. I’m going to make some art out of this humble passion. And it’s going to be bright and funky even though I’m color blind. And I’m going to take it all over the world and make millions.” And he does. His shows are sold out for months because who wouldn’t want in on this fun exhibit? His attitude is as bright and shiny as his artwork, as you can see if you give him a follow on IG.

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Like so many of us, my fifth grade teacher had a doughnut addiction. To convince himself not to eat any, he called them “do nots.” I remember because he talked about them a lot, as you do when you’re passionate about something. In any event, do not sleep on Jae Yong Kim! He is one delectable artist.

I don’t know about you guys, but we are in full-on school mode around here. This year I have a high-schooler, middle-schooler, and elementary kid and they all have tests. Every single day it seems somebody has a test or quiz. In the spirit of learning, I thought it would be fun to put together a little (very, very little) glossary of art terms. You probably know most of them and that’s because I picked my favorites. I did throw in a few I was unfamiliar with because I am trying to learn a thing or two about art, after all. You may notice a meaty thread running through the sample sentences. I’m not sure how that happened, but here we are. Sink your teeth in, friends!

Action Painting: Think Jackson Pollock. This is a method of painting involving more movement than standing at an easel. The artist specialized in action painting, which was even messier than when he made bacon and splattered grease all over the stovetop.

Avant-garde: Artists or works of art that are new, innovative, unusual. At one time sculpting with meat was considered avant-garde, but once Lady Gaga wore her meat dress, meats are all the rage in any form!

Curator: A person who researches and assembles an exhibition. The curator did not anticipate the slew of pyromaniacs who wanted to view her exhibit: “Flame Mignon.”

Diptych: Two pieces of art side by side (often two parts making a whole). Not to be confused with dipstick. The diptych featured the giraffe’s body on one canvas, his head on the NECKst one over.            

Ecole des Beaux-Arts: An art school specializing in classical arts, using Greek and Roman art as their foundation for learning. Little Otter Preschool is no Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but those kids can fingerpaint like nobody’s business.

Fin de siècle: Translates to “end of the century.” The ending of an era. Usually referring to the end of the 19^th century. Impressionism became popular at the fin de siècle, around the same time Lizzie Borden was leaving her own impression on the world.

Gallerist: The owner of an art gallery. The gallerist liked to speak with a faux British accent, to which his patrons muttered, “the gall of that man!”

Gouache: An opaque watercolor. The artist used gouache to paint a still-life of goulash.

In situ: In its original position or place. I’d love to visit Van Gogh’s untouched room in Arles, where everything is still in situ. (Untrue! Sometimes a girl just needs a sentence.)

Montage: A collection of pictures put together to make a new work. (This is my most used art term that I didn’t even consider an art term until now.) Every Sunday night my family watches America’s Funniest Home Videos and laughs at the ridiculous video montages.

Motif: Recurring feature in a piece of art. The artist’s nude motif was very revealing.

Muse: An artist’s inspiration. (Sidebar: Don’t you just love that muses are a thing?!) When the artist told me her muse for the painting was her daughter, I was crying before I even saw the work.

Oeuvre: An artist’s body of work. To honor the artist’s life, her family displayed a personal collection, proving the common theme throughout her oeuvre was sausage.

Salon hang: A bunch of artwork hung on a wall, usually very close together. It was so awkward to see my in-laws still had wedding portraits of my husband with his ex-wife in their hallway in a Salon hang fashion.

Tempera: A painting medium, usually made by mixing colored pigments with water and egg yolk. Paintings made with this medium are also called temperas. The angry, redheaded artist lost his tempera and had to find more eggs to mix up another batch.

Triptych: Three pieces of art side by side. The triptych featured one, two, three photographs of the family’s… well, trip.

Vernissage: A private viewing the opening night of an exhibition. Only the swankiest people and the artist’s pet lemming were invited to the vernissage.

Viscosity: The thickness of a liquid. The meat sculptor found the viscosity of bacon grease to be just right for his masterpiece.

No need to make flashcards! You all get an A in my book!

It never rains, but it pours. There are days I randomly pick artists or topics to write about here, but this week? So. Much. Art. And I have to tell you- it’s my favorite art in the world, because it was done by my incredibly talented friends. I don’t know how they put up with an art peasant like me, honestly.

Last week they threw a party, nay! A soiree that would make any art lover’s heart race. I took notes, and gleaned three steps to throwing an epic art soiree:

1. Set the mood. Look, you don’t have to have an art party at a gallery or museum, or banquet hall. In fact, if this is going to be truly unique, you have to do it in a garage. Which we did. And it was epic. It gave the whole party a much edgier feel and you know how art enthusiasts love to be edgy. Mix in a bougie Spotify playlist (any jazz or instrumental will do), some red wine (or white if it has a punny name- see Exhibit A), wear black, exclusively, and BOOM! You have the makings of one swanky, (but not too swanky) art party.

2. Invite all attendees to bring a creation. This is the most critical piece of the party. This is what makes it extra, meta, uber! All the slang! You guys. We had it all. All kinds of mediums, genres, textures- everyone brought their A game. And nobody brought video art because my friends know what’s what. I was talking too much, I’m afraid, and didn’t take enough pictures, but let me share a few with you. Now, I knew my friends were insanely creative, and I was still surprised by their brilliance. If you think your friends aren’t creative geniuses, please give this a go anyway. I think you will be very surprised.

3. Mingle. Absorb. Enjoy. Pretend you’re at the Uffizi. Float around the room together, discuss, get each exhibit’s backstory, sip your drink, channel your inner snob until you bust out laughing because there is nothing snobby about this! Your friends are so cool! Try on the paper mache masks, get teary over beautiful photography, poke fun at your own silly creation (I literally added tacky stickers to an ironic flag.) Chit-chat all evening, but be sure to take more pictures than I did. Finally, share your pictures on social media, because if there’s one thing I know about art, it’s best when shared with friends.

Artists are inspired by all kinds of things: music, nature, stories, politics, maybe they have a muse (or a bunch of muses!) I’m no artist, but if I need to get my creative juices flowing, one thing never fails me.

Rocks.

The place we visit in northern Michigan is on the best rocky shoreline I’ve ever seen. The beach is covered with stones of all shapes, sizes, and color combinations. We spend hours out there every summer finding our favorites. This past Labor Day was no exception. Some of the rocks remind me of a particular artist, and using that (very subjective) basis, I designed a quiz, because who doesn’t love a quiz?! A while back there was this one on finding your art hero, and this one for determining your Enneagram/Art match, but nothing lately! We’re due for some quizzy fun.

Pick your favorite of these rocks. Then read below to see which famous (dead!) artist you are most drawn to. As always, this is one hundred percent accurate, no re-takes or re-dos. If the rock determines you love Edgar Degas, then Edgar Degas must be your favorite painter for all of eternity. Now, let’s rock and roll:

Don’t overthink it! There is no right or wrong answer. Just imagine walking down the beach… which of these beauties do you just have to pick up for a closer look?

Did you pick your favorite? Read on to learn who your new favorite artist is!

If you picked number ONE as you favorite: You must love Donatello! He worked with such marbley stone all the time, after all. This light swirly rock is reminiscent of the sculptures Donatello is so famous for. His David isn’t as famous as Michelangelo’s, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. He also sculpted St. Mark and St. John, the Evangelist. Rock #1 is probably thousands of years old and just now getting discovered, but Donatello was already famous by the time he was twenty. He was like the Taylor Swift of sculpting.

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If you like rock number THREE the best: You are into rebel artist and shadow master, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. If you’ve been reading Nice and Easel for a while, you know Caravaggio comes up a lot in my posts. He’s the bad boy of Baroque painting. He died after a brawl (not his first), at the tender age of thirty-six, but his legacy lived on in artists that admired and studied his techniques. Guys like Vermeer and Rembrandt. Fun fact: Caravaggio and I share a birthday! No surprise since we are both wild renegades.

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If you picked rock number FOUR: Remember when I said there are no right or wrong answers? I lied! This is the right answer! Congratulations! You have better taste than everybody else! Just kidding. Maybe. This is a Petoskey stone- my favorite rock. (It’s normal to have a favorite rock, right?) Probably all Michiganders would pick this as the favorite. We have a thing for Petoskeys. If you liked this one best, you are a lover of fine things and obviously will only settle for the very best when it comes to art: Leonardo da Vinci. The King of the Renaissance. Maybe the King of Art, period. Like a Petoskey, da Vinci was unique and refined. He’s of course known for his paintings, but was a master drawer too. Here is some of his work with the same color palette as our beloved Petoskeys.

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Last, but not least, if you picked rock number SIX: Isn’t this one so fun and funky? Are you a wild child like painter Jackson Pollock? Pollock was controversial, but even his critics were fascinated by him. He made active painting a “thing” by painting on the floor, moving all around the canvas, and splattering paint strategically. If he wasn’t the first artist to do all this, he was certainly the most famous. This rock looks like it could have been on the floor of Pollock’s studio when he was working on Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).

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That concludes our gravely quiz! Rock on, friends!

Thirty-six years ago today, before I was even born”, Tears for Fears was blowing up the charts with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Michael Jordan was named “Rookie of the Year,” you could get 5 pounds of potatoes for a dollar, New Coke made its villainous debut, and oceanographers found the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Who else is picturing scuba divers in jean jackets and fanny packs? They all look like George Michael in my head!

In the movie, they allude to priceless art being lost on the Titanic. No word on whether or not anybody flung their arms open at the bow Kate Winslet-style, but on the art point, writers were correct. In fact, not only was priceless art lost that day, but so was an incredible artist.

Francis David Millet was one accomplished guy. He packed a lot into his tragically shortened life. Things like: assisted his surgeon father on the battlefields of the Civil War, attended Harvard University, was a board member for The Met and The National Gallery. He kept company with the likes of John Singer Sargent and Mark Twain. He was notorious for throwing great parties full of prominent people. Wikipedia says he was last seen helping women and children into lifeboats as the Titanic went down. He was a good person, with a full life. We were robbed of the art he never had the chance to create.

The good news is, his work is peppered across the world in various museums. But if you can’t make it to Brooklyn or London anytime soon, let me help:

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*Lie.

Sidebar: I feel I deserve a pat on the back for the lack of puns in this post. I wrecken I showed great restraint.