2019 WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN!

My last post ended when we got back from our BC to BAJA and back.  Once we got home it was time to catch up with friends, family and computer work!  Come May we were on the road again and pretty much for the next few months we came home did laundry and left again for all sorts of wonderful adventures.

BANFF ALBERTA was our destination in May for Arnt's residency with his gallery www.mountaingalleries.com On the way we stopped in Jasper to meet up with Wendy who owns the four galleries and check out the Jasper Gallery.  The drive from Jasper to Banff is unbelievable! The vistas of mountains incredible. Once at Banff Arnt works for a week in the art room next to the gallery and he chose to plane wood, work on hand cut dovetails and make maquettes from some of his drawings while encouraging conversations with the hotel visitors. The rest of the time we get to sample the wonderful restaurants, pools in the hotel and walk or bike around the town and area.  I use that time to help Arnt a bit every day in the art room by talking to people and the rest of the time I set up somewhere in the hotel for a bit of art making.  This residency is graciously sponsored by his gallery and the hotel.  We cannot thank them enough.  

the view from the Jasper Lodge where Mountain Galleries is

 

BC to Baja and Back (part two) scroll down a bit for part one

We headed north up to Loreto where we stayed for 4 days.  Spent the time hanging at the Zocalo (square), toured the mission, walked all over the town and one day we went on a day trip to San Javier. Our hotel was comfortable but Loreto is a very noisy town.  The bells at the mission go off all the time starting at 6 in the morning and sometimes whole songs are played.  I would have to live out of downtown for sure.

hanging out at the square sampling margaritas, craft beer and food

Lots of teens and families hang out at the Zocalo

BC to BAJA and BACK (part one)

This is another travel blog.  My husband Arnt turned 60 Dec 2018 and I asked what he wanted to do for his birthday and "surf in Baja" was his answer.  So we loaded up our truck with camp gear and headed out.

Coast of Oregon via the number 1 highway was our choice of route.  First stop was Astoria which I don't think we had been back to since we sailed there 39 years ago.  We stayed at this fab motel called Atomic Motel. 

Entrance to the Columbia River ... pretty challenging port to enter.

 

Fabulous Maritime Museum

Lots of boats and marine history. There was an incredible display about World War 2.  I normally don't go to these but this one really struck me.  The flags below were carried by the Japanese soldiers with names and sayings from their homes.  The US is now returning these to the families they can find.  They were war souvenirs taken by the US soldiers. 

ALL ABOUT 65! PART TWO

New York City is a visual overload.  As promised from the last post this one is all about the art!  I did not get most of the artist's names as I looked at hundreds of pieces of art in the two weeks we were there.  But sometimes it is just fine to look at the visuals without names, titles or written intent.  

One update is: the big band Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks which we saw at the Iguana Club I wrote a about in my last post has now hired my nephew Evan as the clarinet player and has also hired as sub a couple of times his brother Arnt on banjo.  So cool!!!

 
Sharon and I went with Rob to see his old pal Sanjay and we met them at 
the St Cloud Social on Time Square...we did not have champagne $$$$$$

went for lunch with our nephew Arnt and this is his wallet....quite the assemblage I would say

NOW FOR THE ART!

both of these on the Highline Park

on the side of a restaurant...you know how I love doors

 Chelsea

I love this small Chamberlain

All About 65! (part one)

Well I turned 65 this year and wanted to do something special.  For my 60th we moved to Amsterdam for 6 months.  On my actual birthday I rented this cool old motor boat and 6 of us toured the canals, drank champagne and ate snacks.

How to top that one?  New York City of course!  I had 7 of my nearest and dearest with significant birthdays in 2017 (1 at 50, 3 at 60 and 3 at 65 and me).
So I put my organizing hat on and 12 of us came from Vancouver, 2 from Berlin, 2 from Amsterdam, 2 from Memphis, 1 from Florida and about 10 from NYC to make this great gang that hung out over 10 days with art, music, walks, sailing, eating, drinking and partying.

Everyone took care of their own accommodations so we had people in Brooklyn, Lower East Side,  Soho and we were in the West Village in a fabulous apartment with a spiral staircase to the deck, lent to us by a friend. 

Arnt barbecuing chicken and veg skewers
for a final dinner with the leftover gang

this is next door to our building

BROOKLYN

We started in Brooklyn at our very generous friend Michael's 5 story brownstone for a brunch and to make a plan of attack.  Our list of fun was so great that we ended up with most events having 10 to 20 people at each.  I had never been to Brooklyn and was pleasantly surprised with the neighbourhood feel, direct train from our stop in the Village and architecture.  Pauline, Simon and Michael hosted a delicious brunch and we hung out for quite awhile before taking a walk through Dumbo and then up onto the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. 

 Rina, Rob and Pauline

ART ABOUT TOWN!

This last month I have been getting out to a few galleries for the Capture Festival and also had an inspiration pass from the library and went with friends and family to museums, etc.

CAPTURE FESTIVAL 2017

I was so pleased to be a venue in this year's http://capturephotofest.com/  Two artists from the neighbourhood, Ross den Otter and Kiku Hawkes www.kikuhawkes.com created an installation in my two storefront windows.  It is up until May 30th so if you are in the hood please stop by.  Open 24 hours and does look great at night as well.  Here is a link to a video I did of it.. https://www.instagram.com/p/BSuCEuThsz-/ (click on the image for the video)
Here is a brief write up they wrote about the show:
"For some decades, Ross den Otter and Kiku Hawkes  artists and long-time residents of Strathcona, have documented the area’s built form. Their collaborative installation sites images of the area’s ethnically and economically diverse past within the context of its current iteration. A landscape of local, found materials frame photographs rotating at varying speeds, expressing time and space. These unique 3D objects, created through alternative processes, reanimate a rapidly vanishing world."
 

Ross and Kiku setting up the installation

I went with my photographer friend Sally Gooding sallygooding.ca to a few venues.

Ross den Otter was having another show all based on the selfie at his studio

www.pinkmonkeystudios.com  He sets up his camera but you pull the string (which is the shutter) when you want.  Who owns the rights to this photo? A thinker right!

 

We then headed over to The Flats and bumped into another photographer Jeff Cruz www.jeffcruz.ca from Calgary so the three of us went to several galleries together.

First up was www.galleryjones.com to see Danny Singer,  Mike Bayne and James Nizam

Danny's work is all about the Saskatchewan small towns and big skies.

They are made up of several photos stitched together.

ENGLAND

NORMA

I have not done a blog post for quite a while.  The reason is my friend for over 40 years, Norma died in December.   One of the things we did together was talk about what I had posted last time whether it was travels or art.  I won't have that part of my blog posts anymore and has taken me this long to try to deal with that.  

Our friendship started in Panajachel, Guatemala with dancing at the Coco Loco and drinking rum out of a coconut.  I had to cross a river on a log to get home so if it was too late I would sleep at Norma's and that bonded us for life.  

She lived in Santa Fe at a Buddhist Centre and was a painter and sculptor.  I am lucky to have a few of her pieces.  Norma was a fantastic friend...I could call her anytime and talk about anything.  I visited her in Santa Fe several times and we always had such a great time.  Whenever anyone would visit her she made a list of things to do that she knew we would be interested in.  I loved her rooms at the Centre where we had PJ parties and made art, drives in the desert, visits to the Taos Pueblo, Spanish Market, Harry's Diner for pie, the old lady who ran the religious store, Mexican food, churches, graveyards, thrifts and of course visiting the many museums and art galleries.  We would have deep discussions as well as great belly laughs.  

On the days she worked she would drop me off in the neighbourhood she was working in and I would spend hours photographing so I have some lovely photo memories.  She was a gentle soul and I will miss her terribly. 

I left off my last post in Scotland and this is the second half of the journey when we headed to England.  I asked a couple friends who came from England about a place to visit other than London and both said York.  We got off the train in York and stayed for three days.  A lovely quaint walled city with the biggest church!

 staircase to the top of the wall

 view of the huge church from the wall

 we heard a choir rehearsing when we went in

 quaint

 old buildings with a bit of a sag

 love the timber work