Entries from June 1, 2007 - July 1, 2007
Post a Comment
6/20: Kicking-Out the Boats
Having a corner of the gallery devoted to boatbuilding made sense for awhile, but it was time for the boats to go. Rebecca worked through the night, finishing the last steps in assembling her kayak. Friday morning it was ready to be moved. We had to relocate a few walls to make this possible. Good thing our walls are on wheels!
The kayak leaving the gallery.
We spent Friday getting the gallery back in order and hanging art. Unfortunately, this meant I had to miss-out on much of the writer's conference, much of which was taking place next door at the Town Hall. By late in the day, the place was looking great- new art hung, boat dust swept-up, and food and wine set out for the Lupine Festival Stonington Galleries Open Gallery Night. By evening, it was business as usual with our dedicated crowd of gallery-hoppers in attendance.
Ahh, finally. In the front window: Farrell Ruppert, Jennifer Lee Morrow and Philip Koch. Yes, that's a cat window shopping.
6/14: Down East Writer's Conference
This was last night, after coming home from a dinner in Deer Isle. Took the cat for a walk, sipped a martini and everywhere I pointed the camera seemed incredibly beautiful. When I downloaded the pictures, it looked more like someone stole my camera and took a bunch of pictures of his cat in the dark.
The Down East Writer's Conference began this evening with readings by several faculty and a keynote address by fiction writer Matthew Sharpe. He entertained us with one of the best shaggy dog stories of all time: Sheherazade. His delivery was casual, as though he were talking about something that happened last week to someone he knows well. He brought it back around to his thesis with the question "What if Sheherazade had writer's block?" The answer of course was that she couldn't; she was writing for her survival, which in a sense we all are. (Writing, painting, creating). Well done.
6/12: Last Night in Stonington
Have I ever seen a rainbow in a painting that I liked? I'd have to think about it. When I see one, I just have to get a picture, but then what?
Before this, before I went out onto the roof with my camera, drawn by the amber glow on the harbor. Before I discovered the amazing rainbow that appeared to have one end on Isle au Haut and the other on Thurlow's Hill, I sat in our front room with my feet up, recovering from a long day.
A pair of visitors walked down Main Street, and paused, as visitors always do, in front of the cute, smallish building across the street. The woman pointed, and the man pointed and took pictures. She pointed at the birch log leaning against the building, and he took a picture. She pointed at the stained glass, and he took a picture. They continued, but she then looked up and saw me.
Suddenly she was pointing again. "The feet," she said to her husband. "Get the feet!"
He took a picture of my feet.
"You'll be famous," she shouted to me, and they continued down Main Street.
Update on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 11:57AM by
isalos fine art
isalos fine art
Rainy Season in the Tropics, by Frederick Church
oil on canvas, 56 1/4" x 84 3/16"
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
I was hoping someone would suggest some great rainbows in art, which they have. Here's one by Frederick Church. Also mentioned were Camille Pissaro and George Inness.
6/6: New Open Flag
This is big news. After four years in business, we have finally succumbed to the "Open" flag trend. I've resisted, largely because I dislike those big red, white & blue flags that have all but replaced the other, more traditional red, white & blue flag.
Sometimes we fly the other red, white & blue flag with stars and stripes, especially on holidays, but that has its problems too. For one thing, it might look like you're saying something to the effect of "Yay team, let's build a Disneyland in the Middle East," when in fact you're really only trying to make it look like the place is open.
Why don't I like the usual "OPEN" flags? Let me count the ways while trying not to offend all those OPEN flag-wavers. One: they're ugly. Two: they look like a desperate cry for help- "please come in, we're open, really." Three: so many places use them that we don't even see them anymore. Four: they're ugly.
Do we need an OPEN flag? Well, yes. Despite our neon OPEN sign, our "Come In, We're Open" sign on the door, and yet another Open sign, visitors will sometimes stand in front of our open door saying "Hmm... I wonder if they're open?" Usually the wife is about to step inside and the husband is saying "no, I don't think they are."
I went to our neighbors, a shop called "The Drydock" and asked where they found their beautiful, hand-made OPEN flag. A woman in Vermont makes them, and as luck would have it, the Drydock had an extra one in slightly different colors. So now our end of Main Street looks a bit more festive and cohesive. And, oh yes... open.
Update on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 04:16PM by
isalos fine art
isalos fine art
The other reason OPEN flags don't work? People don't take them down when they're closed. They leave them up to proclaim that they're open in a general sense.