A cyan sky swirls luminescent around pink daffodil trumpets and petals that curl and stretch skyward as a pipevine swallowtail comes to rest, its metallic blue hindwing shimmers above its characteristic orange dots. Yanggen un tånom, siempre dokko, created using soft pastels by artist Fu’una, is Chamoru for: If you plant it, it will grow. […]
Walking into Nick McKnight’s neon studio in Providence, I immediately see the signature glow of neon. The studio, Night Light Neon, is warmer than the warehouse-type building it is housed in. The signs are kicking off heat. There is a sign on the opposite wall that demonstrates the different colors of neon in two columns, […]
Behind every abandoned building is a story. Within its walls forgotten voices whisper endless conversations, once-important papers yellow in the sun that sneaks through cracked windows, old time cards sit in their holders, covered in the smudged fingerprints of their old owners. Rhode Island is full of these vacant, lively, buildings. For someone who builds […]
When I walk up to the triple-decker home on the quaint residential street, the blinds are closed. In the space between the blinds, a pedestal is visible in the center of an otherwise empty room. Is this the right place? I assume it is either the newly opened art gallery I seek, or some kind […]
“The universe is so divine.” Savaree “Sav” Hazard-Chaney noted the synchronicity as she sat in a waiting room with a copy of Motif when I reached out to her about creating the cover art. Hazard-Chaney is many things – a fiber artist, the entrepreneur behind TuftxPVD, a wife, mom of four, a music-lover, a champion […]
In my first date night guide installment, I professed my love for date nights in the fall due to their comfy, cozy vibe, and I stand by that. For many of the same reasons, I would argue that winter is the second-best season for dates. For this article, I’ve compiled fun activities to consider for […]
When the Mixed Magic Exult Choir comes together to sing, there is a palpable magic in the air. “Some of it is technical and practical,” says artistic director Jonathon Pitts-Wiley. “Kim [the choir director] makes sure the instruments are tuned at a certain frequency, 432 Hertz, the healing frequency. There is intention in what Kim […]
We here at Motif are blushing after receiving the following Valentine’s in the mail, made out of old copies of the magazine. Check out the work below!
I disappeared for a couple of months and the world ended. Legends have left us, notably Shane MacGowan and Robert “Balcony Bob” McBride. MacGowan once tried to drive his tour bus into Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel when it was at the Peerless Building for his stage entrance. Balcony Bob worked for over 30 years to keep […]
In 1968, The Beatles released one of the most highly regarded albums in popular music, The White Album. And in 2003, Jay-Z, in stark contrast, released his magnum opus, The Black Album. We associate a blackwash with things somber and final. But Motif’s Black History Month Issue is anything but. Featuring the artwork of Jordan […]