September Art Month

September somehow turned out to be art month for me because I went to three different art-themed events and probably spent a few hundred dollars supporting artists and feeding my soul with so many lovely images. I don’t know about you, but with the pandemic still around and all the other depressing news I hear every day on NPR, life can sometimes feel downright depressing. But I felt like all was right with the world when surrounded by all the beauty I saw at the two festivals I attended over Labor Day weekend. 

The first festival is just a little annual affair held in downtown Hilliard that I’ve attended on and off since moving here in 2004. Funnily enough I was just skimming the weekly Hilliard newsletter and saw the listing for the Old Hilliardfest. I was contemplating attending when my sister texted me and asked if I was interested in going with her. Decision made then! I met her at her house and we walked over to downtown Hilliard, then spent the next couple of hours or so browsing the various art vendors and local businesses which had set up tables on Main Street. 

As per usual I quickly surpassed my sister’s spending with my weakness for jewelry. I especially couldn’t resist the pendants made up of excess layers of paint from the Ford factory in Detroit. I love when my pieces have a provenance, so I scooped up a couple of the more interesting ones and walked away a happy customer. 

Probably the best part of the morning consisted of a free lunch and dessert compliments of Ross Realty. Don’t mind if I do! I have definitely seen their signs as a couple of my neighbors are using them to sell their houses, and I think both are in contract, so Ross must be good. I love freebies and my sister and I both accepted free bags, pens, and disc Frisbees, so we snagged some pretty decent swag! 

On Labor Day my husband and I attended the only major festival that was still being held (during the Pandemic) down here in central Ohio – that being the annual Upper Arlington Arts Festival. They  have over 100 artists spread out all over Northam Park.

Like most years, it was pretty sweaty walking around and I probably should have worn shorts, but it wasn’t that hot when we left (but you definitely warm up after the long walk from wherever you parked on the street to the actual location of the festival). At least my husband had the foresight to bring a bottle of water. We went through at least a couple and could have done with a third. 

Also, as per usual, about halfway through I felt like I had visited them all until I looked up and realized we were only about halfway through. It would probably have been better for my wallet if I had quit then, but we always soldier on, and I think we ended up browsing most of the stalls (skipping anything aimed at children or dog lovers I suppose). 

Did I mention I love jewelry? I bought an interesting circular necklace (with my husband’s approval) with an iridescent pearl dangling from the center at a booth early on, so that was my token jewelry purchase.  

Aside from a few small items (some magnets, a miniature vase and a smallish plant stand), my favorite purchase was from Dexter’s Cat (who also have an Etsy shop) retro cat prints booth. I’m pretty sure I spent at least a half hour looking through the various bins of 11” x 17” prints featuring cats in miscellaneous mid-century modern designs. Anyone who knows me knows how much I luuuuve mid-century modern!

I’m an old soul and probably should have been born a few decades earlier (but I would honestly miss my cell phone, as much as I hate to admit that). It was a painstaking (probably more for my husband than me) effort trying to narrow down my selection to half a dozen. It went up once I learned prints were only $5 a piece). I have yet to actually hang up any of them, but I plan to at some point. 

I always leave feeling both a little intimidated and jealous of the caliber of talent the artists in attendance have. I doubt I could produce a single item that would even compare to any of their masterpieces. Still, I always feel inspired and sometimes spend the afternoon making art of some sort (though I didn’t this year since we had vacation planning to do for an upcoming trip out of state). 

The most recent art event I attended was an art reception at the Concourse Gallery inside the Upper Arlington Municipal Center held on Thursday. I can’t even remember the last time I attended an art reception. Of course the enticement of free food and drinks is somewhat of a draw as well, but would not be the reason I would turn up to look at mediocre art. 

Frauke Palmer’s photo quilts were anything but mediocre. It sells them short to call them amazing, but there’s not enough adequate adjectives to describe her incredible works of art (I did hear at least one other patron call them awesome). I told her I had never seen a photo quilt previously and she said she rarely has, and certainly nothing like hers. 

The description of the exhibit says, “Inspired by the mountains and canyons of the Southwest. Frauke Palmer prints her own fabric using personal photographs and transforms them into quilts, creating her own personal world on fabric. Experience Palmer’s combined love of nature and art at this upcoming exhibit.” 

The first interesting fact I learned was why she chose to print her photos on fabric, rather than go the traditional route of quilt making by sewing together various scraps of material. This was because of the difficulty she had finding material in the various shades and tones of colors of what was captured in the photos. Necessity may be the mother of invention, and I’m glad it is because I’m not sure her quilts would have been nearly as awe-striking had they been created the other way. I guess that’s part of what makes a great artist is out-of-the-box thinking. 

Palmer’s quilts aren’t simply just photos printed and sewn done and dusted, but some have smaller pieces adding a level of detail that is easy to overlook if just walking past, like in Rock Sandwich. At first glance it looks a bit like a stack of bricks, but there are smaller photos sewn in on a few of the rectangular brick-like pieces. 

Her intricate stitching shouldn’t be overlooked either. Someone asked whether she had a quilting (sewing) machine with a long arm. She said she didn’t, which one would think might make it a bit more difficult to maneuver the material, but she obviously makes it work for her. Someone complimented how nicely stitched the various shapes are and asked how she manages to get them so perfect. She said it just takes practice (and probably lots of patience along the way). 

I also heard some of the visitors discussing their interpretation of what some of the more abstract designs reminded them of. I think there was universal agreement on some, but others a lot less so. Palmer has named them all, but the names don’t always give away the subject matter. 

There was one called Grand Ensemble some of us were wondering about as regards the subject matter. I asked Palmer if it was a dissected photo(s) of the Grand Canyon, and it is, indeed. The story behind it is that the photos were taken on a very cold January morning at sunrise (at the south rim). I asked her if they had the place pretty much to themselves being the off-season and all. She said not really because there were also several other photographers there. This proves that she also has the motivation and determination to endure waking up in the dark and then standing out in the cold hoping for the perfect shot, or at least enough good photos to work with. She was obviously successful because her quilt looks amazing with the various layers representing the yellows, oranges and reds as they slowly revealed themselves on that chilly morning.

 Have a good week everyone!

 

 

Travelogue: Chinatown San Francisco & Pittsburgh, PA

Since my summer has been fairly lackluster (though my husband and I did manage a week in the Big Apple back in June), I am turning to a couple guest bloggers (well, neither is actually a blogger) who shared their recent adventures with me, and now I'm sharing them with you. 

My uncle (who resides in northern CA) shared this recent adventure: 

Monday seven of the hikers went to San Francisco for a tour of Chinatown by City Guides.  https://sfcityguides.org/tour/chinatown/ 

According to the website description:  San Francisco’s Chinatown rose from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake to evolve into a Chinese community holding fast to its traditions amid a rapidly changing cityscape. Discover the local alleys where this community has continued to flourish for over 150 years, in spite of harsh racial discrimination.  Family associations and temples, dim sum, herbal apothecaries and jade jewelry shops built by the local community, all contribute to the vibrancy of this place, one of the oldest Chinese communities outside of China.  

One of the guys is of Chinese background and he arranged the tour.  We had a perky, enthusiastic guide who took us down some obscure alleys, including one where the fortune cookie factory (https://www.goldengatefortunecookies.com/) was located.  Of course there were free samples.  

For lunch we had reservations at a dim sum restaurant.  Normally you choose items from a cart as it rolls by your table, but the pandemic regulations required ordering from a menu.  Randy ordered for all of us and we shared about twenty (!) small plates of various items, mostly steamed.  Not the typical Chinese egg rolls, sweet and sour chicken, etc.  I had no idea what I was eating most of the time, but it was good. 

My parents recently visited Pittsburgh (and the casino there) and absolutely raved about the Bed & Breakfast they stayed at called The Inn on the Mexican War Streets.

http://www.innonthemexicanwarstreets.com/  According to their website it is “…the renovated Boggs Mansion. Once the town home of financier and department store baron Russell H. Boggs, now an elegant Bed & Breakfast rich in character with guest rooms that are charmingly unique.” 

My mom enjoyed how gregarious the owners (Karl Kargle & Jeffrey Stasko) were as they shared details about the history of the mansion and many of its contents. Judging from my mom’s video, they had more antiques than a museum, and the house itself was practically a museum. Knowing how much of a people person I am and my appreciation for antiques (which comes from my late aunt and uncle Cummings), my mom said she wished I had been there. Me too. I agree that it would have been quite an experience, and I promised her I would definitely consider staying there someday. If anyone reading this is interested in a visit, might I suggest sooner rather than later, as according to the website, Karl & Jeffrey are retiring and the inn is on the market for any interested buyers out there: http://innonthemexicanwarstreets.info/ 

In case you need enticing to visit Pittsburgh, here’s just a sampling of what my husband and I did on our 2005 visit:

Fort Duquesne Bridge & Fort Pitt Bridge

Kentuck Knob (FLW house)

Falling Water (FLW house)

Andy Warhol Museum

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

 

June was a very busy month!

June turned out to be a busier month than I had anticipated, and I kept a journal of my notes and thought I'd share them here:

Saturday, June 5, 2021 “A Quiet Place 2”

Andrew and I visited a cinema for the first time since the pandemic. [Yes, I know some were still open most of the time, but the quality of what was showing was mediocre at best, so we just streamed things at home]. We went to see “Quiet Place II,” the sequel to the 2018 film, “A Quiet Place.” 

For those who aren’t familiar with the plot, the premise of the movie is the fact that the earth (or at least the United States) has been invaded by blind aliens with an acute sense of hearing (which the deaf daughter finally figures out at the end of the first film, so are thus able to kill at least one of the aliens.) The family knows the aliens hunt by sound, so are super careful not to make any noise (which is how their toddler son died when playing with a toy space shuttle equipped with sound effects). Apparently this is also the reason the family never wear shoes (I guess there’s no moccasins in Appalachia where the movie is set). Of course every possible barrier and obstacle is put in their way including those of their own making (like having a baby and then making sure it never cries). 

My husband and I both very much enjoyed the first movie because of the uniqueness of the plot and my appreciation of the fact that they hired a deaf actress (Millicent Simmonds) to play the role of the hearing-impaired daughter. Having once dabbled in ASL (American Sign Language), I could follow along fairly well with the few hand gestures they used in the movie. 

Having been so long between the two movies, I had a hard time following the plot based on the beginning of the movie which was apparently a flashback. The plot also bore a strong resemblance to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” in that it isn’t just the zombies or aliens you need to watch out for, but your fellow man can also turn on you (and the whole steal-a-boat-to-flee-to-an- island for safety mimics the plot of “Fear the Walking Dead”). 

Overall, not a bad movie, but not the most cheerful movie for our first post-pandemic viewing.

Sunday, June 6, 2021 Bexley House & Garden Tour

Today Andrew and I visited one of our favorite suburbs of Columbus, Bexley. We can probably count on one hand how many times we’ve been there and have only ever visited to see movies at the Drexel Theatre (one of the few independent cinemas still left in Ohio) including one directed by and starring Bexley native, Josh Radnor (probably best known for his role as Ted on “How I Met Your Mother”). Hence, we’ve really only seen a tiny fraction of the city, so this was a great chance to see most of the rest of it (and certainly a mixture of different house sizes, styles and prices I’m sure). The reason for our visit was to go on the Bexley House & Garden Tour (though it was really just gardens) sponsored by the Bexley Women’s Club.

There were nine gardens, two community gardens, and one alleyway open to the public. Not surprisingly you either had to take a shuttle around, or drive to most of the homes (some were clustered, but we still had to move at least half a dozen times). I think my sister-in-law would have appreciated the first garden we visited because of the five hens housed in a spacious chicken coop which even included a solar panel on the outside (very nice!).

According to the guide book we were given –

“On the opposite corner of the backyard is the family COVID project begun in April 2020, a chicken coop with five laying hens. Dubbed All COOPed up 2020.” It was a wonderful way to constructively pass the time of quarantine and shutdown with their sons, who helped build the coop with their dad and learned to care for “the ladies” over the many months since, even entering Columbus’ annual National Poultry Show digitally this year. Marie insists chickens require little care, easily winter outdoors in their coop and even provide family breakfast with 3-5 eggs per day!

With a separate, secure area for sleeping and egg-laying, and a run for daytime exercise, the Hurts installed an ingenious system to automatically control the door between the two with a small solar panel. It powers a dawn-to-dusk switch, opening the door for daytime use and closing it again when time to retire for the evening. The hens quickly adapted to their schedule and easily make curfew before bedtime each night.”

One of the gardens had a display on loan from the Bexley Historical Society consisting of old newspapers and yellowed photographs (recently discovered we were told) illuminating the history of the house we were visiting, so that was a nice touch. 

We liked the “Love Your Alley” aspect of the tour which reminded me very much of German Village, which is also known for its alleys. The alley on the tour had tin butterflies mounted on one section of the wall,

a few painted bees on another panel,

and an outstanding display of knitted yarn creations (alongside a Beware of Dog sign :  )  I especially liked that section (yet another reason to someday learn to knit or crochet) Nice way to beautify a thoroughfare.

The north and south Bexley Community Gardens were nice enough and worth a brief stop, though probably underappreciated by us since neither of us are really gardening enthusiasts (and anything we can get to grow in our shaded back garden is usually eaten by the resident rabbits and deer).

I liked that the South Bexley Community Garden had several bee hives, which is something I definitely support (or at least the idea of as I’m not ready to don the white suit and smoker just yet). 

The gardens were a good mixture of homeowners’ spaces who did everything themselves whereas others were just adverts for patio design companies. Still, it was a nice mixture and I don’t mind seeing how the other half lives. I told Andrew I wouldn’t mind renting any of the homes as an Air BNB, but not sure how many I would want to own and have to maintain ourselves. 

Of the nine gardens we saw, without hesitation we both agreed the yards at location #3 (2610 East Broad Street owned by Cheryl Vaia and Herb Bresler) and location #9 (2624 Bexley Park Road owned by Erin and Mike Simpson) were definitely the most outstanding. 

Property #3 was interesting because of all the art, cute planters, and interesting and colorful plants throughout the property. Everywhere you looked another whimsical object was thoughtfully placed for full impact. This fact isn’t surprising considering that Ms Vaia once had her own garden design business (and is now retired), according to the booklet we were given.

Property #9 had a mixture of historical charm (like functional gas light poles and a non-working water pump),

the world’s sturdiest tree swing (check out the size of those knots!),

and not one but two hammocks

for a little R & R in the back yard. They also had a somewhat modern designer patio, but we won’t fault them for that since their house (built in the late 1800s) is a century dwelling and they had what appeared to be a very antique (or at least antique-looking) ping pong table

out there too. I don’t think you could ever be bored there, and at the very least could certainly unwind at the end of a long day or week and probably throw some awesome parties there too. 

At the last property we visited I happened to glance over the wall to the neighbor’s backyard and had a flashback to the property my family lived at in Cleveland until we moved to Madison when I was five. The house was probably built in the same time period and the yard was definitely the same size. My one memory of playing in the backyard was running around barefoot in the clover and getting my first bee sting after crushing a poor little bee just going about its business. 

All in all it was fun walking around the different neighborhoods and observing the mixture of architecture (I haven’t seen that many screened in porches since last time we were in my mom’s old neighborhood) both old and new, big and small. So glad to finally leave my neighborhood and see more of the outside world! 

Comedians on Couches Watching House Hunters 

While program-surfing on Amazon Prime one night I came across this gem (only available on Discovery + channel) and checked it out before mentioning it to my husband. Since you can get a one-week trial subscription to the channel it’s offered on (and there’s currently only 8 episodes available), we signed up and started streaming them. 

Although I haven’t heard of either of the two hosts, they’re both fairly likeable and funny, so I enjoyed their presence alongside the 4 or 5 different guests they selected for the various episodes. Hard to know how much to tell you without spoiling it for you, but I can tell you John Mulaney was my favorite guest star (and really the only one I had heard of), and my favorite pair on the show were the couple where the husband was obsessed with building a cat tube between the garage and house (they had several cats as pets, obviously). His wife was a little more grounded in reality, but humored him. I was almost disappointed not to see one actually constructed when the camera crew visited them at the house they chose, but I imagine such things take a lot of planning and probably permission (not to mention $$$) from wife and city council maybe. 

I hope they make more episodes because this was definitely a fun and funny show! 

A Disney-themed Summer (at least so far)

Back in May Andrew and I started streaming a series on Disney + called “The Imagineering Story” which consists of 6 hour-long episodes providing a pretty in-depth background to the history of most of the Disney theme parks around the world. As neither of us are experts on the subject, especially having only visited a handful (mostly the ones in Fla, but I’ve been to Disneyland in CA too), we found it all very fascinating. It goes without saying that the Disney employees take their jobs very seriously, but also seem to really enjoy what they do (or at least the ones they interviewed for the program). As someone who thrives on creativity, I enjoyed and appreciated their enthusiasm and am grateful for all the phenomenal attractions they’ve created. 

We learned there was no textbook to go by for most of what they did - much of it learning on the job and lots of trial and error. They are such experts that the public rarely (at least nowadays) see any flaws or anything behind-the-scenes that might detract from the magic they’ve created. That’s why they’re the masters of illusion and why people keep coming back in droves year after year. 

My parent’s neighbor used to (and maybe still does) go to Disney World (Fla) as a family vacation every year staying at one of the many Disney-owned hotels just outside the park. In fact, one of their grandchildren works as a landscaper at one of the Disney Parks carving those ornately shaped topiaries scattered around the grounds. 

My uncle, a lifelong California resident, said back in the day he remembers Disney Land offering special after-hours discounts to local residents. Here’s what he said: 

When I lived in Southern California, Disneyland offered a “moonlight special” for $10 which allowed entry after 6pm until closing if you showed your California driver’s license.  I went a few times since it was just about a 45 minute drive (less traffic in the 1960’s).  The main difference between Disneyland and Disney World is that Disneyland is surrounded with motels and hotels since Disney just bought land for his park.  The Florida version is much larger with several Disney hotels on the property. 

 

You might be aware that the Walt Disney Family Museum is located in San Francisco.  This museum highlights the life of Walt and his accomplishments.  It is really a place more appealing to adults than children. 

My uncle sent the e-mail in response to an e-mail I sent to him with an attachment of a vintage postcard (August 1966) I had found. The postcard, which depicted Skyway Through the Matterhorn, was written by my grandma who (with my mom) was visiting my uncle in California and had apparently visited Disney Land one day. On the postcard my grandma wrote about visiting Universal Studios. “Saw 4 movies being filmed. Missed seeing Julie Andrews by about 5 minutes.”

Link to postcards: https://www.flickr.com/photos/authorwannabe/?

Having been inspired by watching the Imagineers series, I decided to reread a book of my husband’s that is a fictionalized, futuristic, novel about employees trying to make changes to certain areas of the park that many hold sacred – like the Hall of Presidents (I still get chills when I remember how surprised I was when President Lincoln stood up) and the Haunted Mansion Ride (which one character said he rode five times in succession seeing and experiencing something new each time). If you’re interested, it’s called Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. 

According to the plot summary on Amazon.com: 

Jules is a young man barely a century old. He’s lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies … and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.

Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now overseen by a network of ‘ad hocs’ who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.

But the ad hocs are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of Presidents and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.

Worse: it appears that this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It’s only his fourth death and revival after all.) Now it’s war.

 

Sunday June 27, 2021 My First Ever Virtual Cooking Class

 

A few weeks ago my husband asked me if I was interested in taking part in an online cooking class his company was planning in conjunction with a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Having never done that before it sounded like food, I mean fun!

I’m not sure Andrew was as enthusiastic as me, especially after he had to go to two different grocery stores to find all the ingredients and still came up empty-handed on the fennel fronds (I’ve heard of fennel but didn’t know it came in a frond, though I did find a bottle of ground fennel in the spice section of Target). Fennel seeds were definitely the most difficult ingredient for him to locate, whereas others had difficulty with the semolina flour (we already had that as we’ve used it for baking something on another occasion).

 

The class started at 5pm (2pm Pacific Time) and Rachael Grossman from the Artisano Restaurant on the southeast side of Portland was our instructor (who had the day off) https://artigianopdx.com/

 

Due to the heatwave they’re currently experiencing in the Pacific Northwest, Rachael (who had to constantly spritz herself to stay cool in the already 100+ degree day) scaled down the menu a bit opting to not demonstrate how to make the pasta sauce which needed to simmer for several hours. She left it up to us to decide which of the recipes we wanted to make. Since Andrew had already shopped for and acquired all the ingredients, we did all four recipes: Sugo Pomodoro (Simple Tomato Sauce), Sausage & Broccoli Sauce for Cavatelli, Plain Cavatelli Pasta and Carrot Cavatelli.

Although Andrew had prepared a bit in advance and had gotten most things out and spread out, he still made a few trips to the refrigerator and cupboards. He constantly bounced back and forth between counters and stove trying to do what chefs do and juggle multiple tasks at one time. I helped where I could, but was hesitant to clean up too much or put something away lest he not be done with it yet. I decided it was just easier if he assigned me chores, so that’s how I ended up grating the lemons for the required zest (something Andrew’s coworkers asked about since apparently some of them had never shaved a lemon before).

I felt like skill-wise we were more than capable since we do frequently cook and bake and definitely know our way around a kitchen. However, rolling out the dough and then cutting and shaping it into Cavatelli put both of us way out of our comfort zone. Andrew’s resembled conch shells or perhaps gnocchi,

whereas mine were more like little hotdog buns. We had difficulty following Rachael’s demonstration since we were doing it on the counter with our backs to his laptop. That’s the problem when you don’t have an island; not that common in 1960s houses from what I’ve seen, and the Brady house is an anomaly (but then that show took place in the 70s). We both felt a little better after pouring ourselves a small glass of red wine from the bottle we used to add some to the pasta sauce.

In spite of all the stress and rushing around, we still managed to get 3 out of 4 of the dishes done in the 2 hour period (left the Carrot Cavatelli to finish after we ate some of the Plain Cavatelli with the sausage and a little pasta sauce on the last few bites. I think I prefer the dish without the sauce, but it still tasted good either way.

It took about an hour to do all the clean-up, which we split – him finishing rolling, shaping, and cutting the carrot dough into the Cavatelli shapes

while I washed the dishes. Thankfully we have quite a lot of leftovers, so that’s a huge relief.

In hindsight I think we would have been wise to do what they do on cooking shows and do all the prep (i.e., cutting things up, getting out all your implements, etc.) so all that’s left to do is combine and cook the ingredients. Of course things like the dough are slightly more time-dependent in that you make the dough, let it rest for 20-30 min, then roll it out and shape it, so I’m not sure that could have been done too much in advance. Probably could have cooked the meat though since that was probably the easiest recipe, and surprisingly good. Andrew and I both assumed the fennel would permeate and we weren’t sure we would like the flavor, but it’s really quite subtle and the lemon is a bit more prominent as you definitely taste that.