I know it’s bad form to write about a museum exhibition that is now closed, which means that those of you reading these words no longer have the option of visiting the show. But I am somehow compelled to do so anyway, as the exhibition of Martin Puryear’s work, which I experienced at the Museum of Modern Art this past November, has stayed with me through the holiday season and into the new year.

It was a cold Sunday afternoon in November, and the agenda for my New York trip was derailed by the stagehand’s union strike. Instead of attending the afternoon matinee for which we held tickets, my friends and I made our way to MOMA in search of inspiration.

And find it we did. If you are not familiar with this artist, my recommendation is that you take action to change that immediately! Martin Puryear is an internationally acclaimed artist who works primarily in wood using traditional construction techniques. This retrospective highlighted his sculptural work over the past 30 years.

It is difficult for me to explain why, so many months later, I am still thinking about this show. Puryear’s sculpture is powerful, beautiful, large in scale and in spirit. Each piece had a singular physical presence, simultaneously simple and complex. The images somehow got stuck in my brain and refuse to go away.

Worse things can happen, believe me. It is a happy occurrence when art has such an impact. The exhibition Martin Puryear was accompanied by a very fine publication, which can be ordered at www.momastore.org.

I’m on vacation this week, so I’m taking a break from the blog.

Last week I wrote about my passion for pottery. This piece prompted a response from artist Bonnie Brave, of O’Fallon, Illinois. With her permission, I’m reprinting her words for you to enjoy.

“Being a studio potter in a classroom setting, I could totally relate to your viewpoint on pottery pieces. Clay can take on so many different forms and meanings to each person who is lucky enough to come in contact with this very tactile art medium. For me, it is all summed up in one simple line that I have posted on my bulletin board at my desk, which says, ‘It’s not pots we are forming, it’s ourselves,’ as quoted from M.C. Richards. I think this is true for any form of art. We evolve through our art, and it becomes a part of us. A pottery piece retains memory as seen in the throwing lines of the outer walls of a clay pot. That is the artist’s indelible mark of uniqueness, which becomes a lasting part of the vessel after it goes through the heat of the fire into its final transformation. The passionate work of the human hand is captured for eternity within the clay and, along with it, the spirit of the artist. It is the ultimate bond of sharing with another a small part of ourselves.”