Bike Art and Woods and Nature Photography at Fairmout Arts Crawl

The Arts Crawl in Fairmount is Sunday, April 17th, from 2-6 pm and I will be at 2014 and 2015 Fairmount Ave. with two shows: one of Philly Street Bikes at Fairmount Bicycles and the other, Walk into the Woods at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine. The whole exent is amazing with street performances, artist demos, bike rentals, free food and drinks, free Thai massage and Acupuncture demos. The whole hood is filled with art, over 70 artists and all the shops are open. It's a great neighborhood atmosphere.

Take the 33 bus from downtown and get off right at 20th and Fairmount or ride your bike over and get a tune-up while you are there!

Orange Bike and Shadow, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

Greyhound Station, Chinatown, Philadelphia

Red and Blue Bikes, Chinatown, Philadelphia

Snow Day in Fairmount

Walk Into The Woods Opening Night

Walk into the Woods Opening is Tonight

The show opens tonight at Wellpoint and I'm very excited. The images include waterfalls, creeks, trails, and rocks from Bushkill, Dingmans Ferry, the Wissahickon, the Adirondacks and Ithaca. If you know any hikers, campers, outdoors folks, environmentalists, geologists, biologists, bring them along!

I think my work appeals to a particular crowd of folks who can see the beauty in some lichen on a rock surface and the peacefullness of water in a creek.


The show opens at 6 pm and runs until 8:30 at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine, 2014 Fairmount Ave. in Philly and there will be food, wine, hot cider, and I'm raffling off a prize of an original 11 x 14 photograph. You get a raffle ticket just for coming. There will be music and free acupuncture and massage demos throughout the night. Should be lots of fun!

Sneek Peek and Neighbor Thanks

Wellpoint Show is Getting Closer!

My photography show WALK INTO THE WOODS is getting closer: Friday, November 19th at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine at 2014 Fairmount Ave. The large prints arrived from the printer today and I am very happy with them. The show emcompasses two rooms and a hallway in the center and the opening will be from 6:00 - 8:30 pm.

There will be free massage and acupuncture demos, hot cider, wine, food, music and everyone who attends will get a raffle ticket to win a free signed print!

Upcoming Show: Space Planning

I'm currently showing work at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine in Fairmount in Philadelphia (2014 Fairmount Ave.) in an evolving show over the month. I had to move some work in to keep the walls from being empty as another artist moved out, but I only had the work sitting around my house to put up on short notice.

Starting next month, date TBA, I'll hang work in the waiting area, hallway and a second room that doors treatment doors open up to face. The space appealed to me because the eastern medicine, acupuncture and massage connects well with my nature photography and environmental conservation interest. It led me to start thinking about Feng Shui when I was hanging the nine pieces currently in the waiting room (the flowing water photo should flow into the building, not send energy out).

I wish I had more training in wall placement and creative show hanging. It's always a struggle to hang shows myself and feel like I did something to make the work more dynamic and not just static dots on the wall. Anyone teach a class in show hanging?

Come check out the results as they change from what I already hung in the space to the new pieces that go up in early November!

Nature Narratives, Fairmount Arts Crawl, APRIL 25

Tomorrow is the big day and I'm psyched!

I'm calling it Nature Narratives and each piece is a series from one walk once in a place. The only piece that is a collage of different times and places is the grid wall hanging in the back with small 4 x 6" photos of color and chaos. The majority of the images are in wall border strips that wrap from one wall to another and are in sequence from the start of the trip to the end. I selected walks from Ocean City, Cape May, the Wissahickon trail here in Philly, Tigertail Beach in Florida and the Cherry Blossom Walk (21st Street between Parrish and Brown). Also in the show are a wall of quads, four images in a grid, of pictures from my hike in the Ashville, NC Blue Ridge Mountains, taken just last month.

I hung the show last night and it was really strange to not have any frames and trying to get everythig level and flush on the walls was a challenge, as was the huge wall in the back of the Beehive Hair Salon. I'm not a big fan of rickety ladders and heights, I just imagine stories of people breaking their backs or scenes from America's Funniest Home Videos of people doing stupid things, but all want well.

I'm not sure how poeple will respond to the images, since they are not just pretty pictures of flowers or waterfalls or something. Some are dark and wintery and have fungus and lichen and bare trees or pictures of birds partially obscured in tree branches, but I wanted to show the honest spaces, not just the edited pretty bits, the whole experience. I've been working on this problem since I was in college, and I think this is an exciting way to present a place and a time.

Let me know what you think.

I'll be there tomorrow from 2-6 pm selling quad prints of select images from the show and cards. Stop by, despite the rain. They'll be a band, food and drinks and hair demos going on! Beehive Hair Salon is closest to 23rd and Fairmount Streets, across from the CVS at 2323 Fairmount. Everything in the hood will be open for the Fairmont Arts Crawl with artists and free food and drinks.

FREE 8 x 10 PHOTOGRAPH GIVEAWAY!

I'm giving away one free 8 x 10 Photograph of your choice, and you can choose from any image in my etsy shop that is 8 x 10 or larger! All it takes to enter is to leave a comment someplace here on my blog (any posting)! When you leave your comment, be sure to mention you'd like to be included in the giveaway! The drawing will be in two weeks and I will notify the winner by e-mail.

Fairmount Park Home: Woodford House

Miniature china painting

Portrait

Kitchen Table

English pottery

Front Parlor

I was walking down the drive today to East Falls and back through Fairmount park when I noticed the Woodford House had an open flag hanging out front. I don't think I've ever saw the house before, even though I worked down the street at the recreation center one summer.

Second Story Addition Model

They charge $5 for a tour of the 11 rooms, but even though I had no cash, Bill, the guide was nice enough to give me a tour anyway (I'll send them a check). I've toured houses in Charleston, but this was my first Fairmount Park house tour.

I was particularly interested in the furniture and woodwork in the house. There's Georgian and Federal styles, depending on which wing of the house you are walking in. All of the furniture is period, non-reproduction.

The yellow pine floors had dowels inserted laterally to keep the wood in place, and the wood has worn away in heavily trafficed places to show the dowel.

Bench that converts into a Table

Miniature Boxes

Period Fake Mahogony Finish Applied to Woodwork

"My Fairmount" Show at Rembrant's Restaurant

On the walk down to the gym this morning I had to stop and photograph the blossoms on the trees all up and down the block. I left Rembrant's to see the other art exhibits and found these amazing weavings at the Ukranian Social Club display. They had hand crafted wood carvings, embroidery, batiks, eggs, ceramics and paintings on glass that were intricate and beautiful.

All this month my work will be on display in the Z Cafe at Rembrant's Restaurant. There are 14 framed photographs, ranging from smaller 8" x 10" works to large 21" x 27" photo collages. The cafe opens at 8 am to serve coffee(espresso, etc.) and breakfast for folks waiting for the 48 or 7 bus at 23rd and Aspen Streets (like me) and has a really nice old wood bar to enjoy your coffee at while watching the flat screen to see when the bus is coming down the street (Bus Cam).

This is a nice neighborhood place in Philly.

The SHADFEST in Fishtown was great. I ran into many many Handmade Philly/Philly ETSY Teamers and local folks from garden, farm, library and design projects in the city. It's a wonderful park and being next to the water was great.

New Neighborhood Photo Series

I've been walking around photographing with new eyes with my new camera and shooting in amazing light in my neighborhood. Click on the photos to see all of the new ones.