The abstract artist Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) ran with a pretty serious art crowd. The names are icons of the form: Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly and Robert Rauschenberg to name just a few. He also established the American Abstract Artists group with Arshile Gorky and William deKooning to help educate the American public regarding this new movement.

Artful Laughter

When discussing her art, Patricia Carlet speaks clearly about what she intends.

“My art is created to evoke smiles and encourage laughter. If it captures the pleasure and irony of the everyday for the viewer, then I feel that I have succeeded as an artist.”

As cabin fever sets in on the Island, and here comes February, Ms. Carlet’s art sounds like just the antidote for all those gray, wintry days.

Reading Like a Writer

Night falls early. Stores and shops have mostly shuttered for the winter. The mercury in the thermometer can barely get out of bed it’s so cold outside. To fight, or maybe perhaps to embrace, the quiet, the solititude, the blues, you know what you’ve been doing. You’ve been writing. But you’ve been keeping it a secret for too long. Time to let your light shine.

Course Helps Families

Deal With Mental Illness

A free family-to-family educational course in Oak Bluffs for family members of individuals with a serious mental illness will begin on Thursday, Feb. 17.