The Beginning Ate the END

"Beginning Ate The End, Because Beginning Was The Trend.
The End Ran In Terror, Because The End Was An Error."
(The first words you see in my new sketchbook)

I've been in Connecticut the past 2 weeks visiting with Dave's family. We've also been to VT during this time to visit some of my family, and went to NY to visit with a friend and visit the Metropolitan Museum of ART. I am rejuvenated with inspiration!

sketchbooks! Art and books and STUFF!
Hallelujah! I have my SEAWHITE OF BRIGHTON Jumbo square sketchbooks of England again, thanks to my friend Erich who found some in Paris!! *JOY*
(10" x 10" nice smooth paper, sewn in, not merely glued) 
We met in NY where he gave me 3 books and I gave him a painting -
By the way, if you ever plan on visiting the Metropolitan museum of art, do not plan on carrying any art inside with you - they will not check paintings due to liability issues. Thankfully, he was staying at an apartment fairly close, so he could store the painting there. Here's a peek at the first bits of sketchbook joy. I'll show a more full pic once I get back to my scanner.


I was very AWE inspired by the oceanic and african art collection at the Met. This guy is a mental conglomeration of my own creation remembering bits and pieces from various works. 

I have never seen such large african/oceanic art of extreme SRANGENESS in person. I could have spent an hour in the main room just staring at and being in the presence of everything. There are some images I had never encountered before which made me VERY excited. Especially the Baining Night Dance Masks.


(google Baining Night Dance Masks for more fun)

Here is another Sketchbook image

I helped organize the basement while I was here - thus the LYDIA MOLE.

BOOKS
THE BOOK BARN!!
Hours of a beautiful book laden environment - gardens, cats, decorations, buildings of books, little alcoves, etc etc. Visit for yourself in Niantic, CT. 


~
And now I must get ready to leave for home. Here's hoping for a good day of driving!!

NYC, and other things I've been doing on vacation

Just a quickish post. ish.

This past 2 weeks have been awesome (or almost 2 weeks)
D and I are visiting his family in Connecticut where we have
- played plenty of games in the evening like contract rummy, fill or bust, and upwords.
- eaten copious amounts of tasty food
- been VERY silly
- visited old buddies of Dave
- visited his friend's workplace: an awesome music studio where many awesome people have come to record music.
- had a big family get-together lunch where D got to see and hold his baby Niece!
- visited the sea wall
- seen a live band and a few tricks by a localish magician
- played duck pin bowling (my first time)
- Drove just into NY (not the city) to see JEFF McBRIDE - AWESOME MAGICIAN - it was a small intimate setting where he was even greeting people at the door - and we stayed for a 2 hour lecture afterwards. How awesome is that?!



We also visited Vermont where we got to
- see my aunt, uncle and cousin
- play the Wii (my first time!)
- visit the Fairbanks museum of natural history and planetarium in St. Johnsbury.
Incidently... while in St. Johnsbury, we drove past the museum and decided to drive around the block so we could find a good parking space further back.... driving around the block on in a MOUNTAIN VILLAGE is not an easy task! We ended up on this VERY STEEP AND THIN CURVY hill going DOWN down down down and then wound our way back up the street... awesome and a bit scary but we ended up where we wanted to go. :)
The Fairbanks is this small museum with a bit of everything from geology, stuffed animals, plant displays, civil war history, cultural history (such as an egyptian mummy next to another section with a miniature Japanese temple display) , antique toys, and .... some paintings made from bugs - mainly moths and beetles, created by John Hampson - there is a Roadside America report about it HERE.
See image below - THAT is all made of moths and beetles.


THEN
We visited my cousin Lily in NEW YORK CITY! I have never been there before!
Well, I take that back. I have a vague memory of being in NYC as a kid - so vague a memory I wasn't sure I made it up. I have been told that I was brought to the Statue of Liberty.
BUT. while we were there we
- visited a few galleries - one was the Joshua Liner gallery - very cool , the artists currently on exhibit were Sylvia Ji and Travis Louie
- saw a man dressed in a shirt composed of an old dirty ripped flannel and newspapers - he seemed normal (enough) and smiling, talking to someone until he sat down and suddenly he transformed into the most pitiful creature on the planet, and holding out a cup for money- now thats an art form.
- visited Lily's appt - tiny but nice!
- walked on a raised railroad track transformed into a beautiful walkway and garden. Awesome!
- Visited central park. Beautiful. Awesome. Rocks and hidden areas. We saw a man practicing his golf putting in a small cleared dirt area next to some bushes, a Rastafarian man selling hair wraps for money or weed, and we walked on a huge rock hill overlooking a small fair and from the top of the rock was a wonderful view of the city above the trees.
I had a blast.




Today is our last day in Connecticut. we end it with a small family get together. We have done so much this year and I think I'm inspired and ready to hop back into art!

quick update

I'm in Connecticut!

Last weekend was Famous Monsters Con -it was awesome.
Pictures on Facebook. I was in a GREAT spot in the hallway. The neighboring artists to the left of me were Primo and Jay Fife. Dick Starr was to the right. We had a good time.
Even Mother showed up with one of her scary heads.


And this 2 week period D and I are visiting his family in Connecticut - and possibly some of my family in Vermont. Might get to NY too.

How exciting was that post, eh?
I'm not very wordy lately.