One of the most impressive things I saw this summer....

...does not have to do with the usual things I write about in this blog. It has to do with PORK!

Last Saturday D and I had a day immersed in nature. We drove to Ohiopyle State Park and rented bikes. We rode 9 miles along the Youghiogheny River, ate lunch in Confluence and then headed back. When we arrived, we checked out the little town, some of the hiking trails, the waterfall and the small festival along the river. It was there, behind a food cart that we happened upon 2 huge barrel cookers, one of which was billowing a roasty pork smell. A man was standing there looking in charge so we asked him, "what's in the cooker?"
As he lifted the lid a huge billow of white smoke wafted out and then.... we saw this.........



An entire pig being roasted! It was quite a sight, and being the nice Jewish girl that I am-- one that I have never before set eyes upon. In general, I try to stay pork free but D is known to indulge from time to time.....
Luckily, he was able to see this pig, and get a sample too.

and so it begins

Spring is pushing up out of the ground in the form of buds and leaves.
Went to the library this morning to do research and took out a bunch of interesting books including one about the use of Craft in Contemporary Art. Discovered the artist Carolyn Salas whose soft sculptures take the form of underwater seascapes. An idea I have been playing around with in the form of drawings inspired by creatures who dwell at the ocean floor. I love it when I get to see into other artist's studios. The photo at right is a studio view.


I also checked season 1 of Art:21 out of the library. This is such a fantastic series-- showing artists at work in their studios, practicing their art- and discussing what they're doing, how they do it, and the ideas behind it. Every time I watch one of the segments I feel inspired and opened up to art engaging people in so many different ways. It was really inspiring to hear/see Margaret Kilgallen talk a little bit about her work. She passed away at the age of 33 in 2001. Her work has this really western meets folksy, handmade feel. I love the section in Art:21 where she is riding her bike and stops to take a photo of a painted sign and the store owner comes out to ask what she's doing. I love that she was inspired by the handmade visual world around her and that part of her process was to document and archive the images and typography she saw.


very inspiring......

100s of robins

The other day, we drove through Schenley Park and there were hundreds of Robins on the ground waiting for spring to arrive. Right now, it is blustery and snowy and cold out-- it started suddenly this morning with tiny hail balls that quickly turned to wet snow. But fear not, Spring is on its way. I'm having a lovely morning, slept in, had a cappuccino and now, I'm listening to Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland and writing these words.

Last night, we saw the play, A Number, which was very good. The set was wonderful. Stacks of file boxes surround the stage and create the walls of an apartment. The stacks were of varying heights and made you think of a city skyline as well as endless files stacked up. At a scene change- one of the characters steps off the stage in the front onto the file boxes and the spotlights go out while lights go on under the stage and a few of the file boxes have lights in them-- like windows in buildings. It was a very cool effect.

hello. Yesterday, D and I spent a glorious day driving out to Ohiopyle State Park and renting bicycles. We then rode our rented bicycles 10 miles to Confluence, PA and a cute little B & B where all the bikers had lunch before the trek back. When we arrived, I realized I had left my wallet in the car and D had to leave his credit card for the bike rental. We were so sad because we wanted to eat at the River Front Cafe as it was called. We went in to refill our water bottles and freshen up and luckily we ran into the owner who said, "please stay and eat whatever you would like and mail us a check when you get home." They were so nice and we had a lovely lunch outside on the porch overlooking a pretty garden. It was a perfect day and such fun and we rode a total of 20 miles which is awesome but my ass hurts a little!