Downtown Columbus Walking Tour - Part 2 (cont'd.)

So here are more photos from my walking tour of downtown Columbus just before getting ready for my cousin Amy's wedding while winds from hurricane Ike gathered strength...enjoy!


Small courtyard at front of church...


Front door of church ...


Close-up of church's front door...


Church courtyard from another angle ...

Ohio state office building...


Across from an official state office building was this amusing art installation... three giant metal sunflowers rising from the parking lot next to the sidewalk ...




This adorable little house is actually the office for a parking lot - if you look closely in the window you can see my reflection taking this photo...
A new high rise office building just down from the Hyatt Hotel with a large poster advertising an Andy Warhol art exhibit in town...


Close up of Andy Warhol poster....


located at State Street...


Curtains on the window of one of the older official state office buildings next to the Capitol...


Entrance to that same building...



Loved the lamp posts at the building entrance...


Another old church in the same block ... this one Presbyterian...

Close up of church door...


Railing around this church courtyard...

Old tree in the small courtyard...

Fire hydrants downtown were painted orange - this one's for you Andrew!

Just past the church was a small park filled with very old trees - if you look closely you'll see a big nest on one of it's branches...

Another angle of the small park - surrounded by state capitol buildings...

Just past the trees - was this amazing tribute to fallen firefighters and police officers - this statue is of a firefighter, a police officer and a young child wearing a firefighter's jacket holding a helmet ...
The above statue faces this dedication and flags...

I looked down at the ground and saw that the patio was made of bricks - and each one had a dedication to a specific fallen public servant or a group of them... very moving...


All around the patio were benches like this one - this one reads " in Honor of all Cleveland Police Officers who make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty - Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association"
Back view of the statue above ...

Walking back to the hotel - The Renaissance - I noticed that the trees along the curb each had this around them...

Old fashioned parking meter ...

Another church in that same block ....

Interesting bark on tree along the sidewalk....


Older office building ....

Fountain in the back of Hyatt -

Close up of fountain ....

Close up from another angle ...

Another larger park down the street from the smaller one... metal barriers for security ...

Decorative iron fence lining the side of the park...

Tree on the park border ... looks like it would be fun to climb...


Entrance to underground public parking at the park ...

To be continued....

Columbus, Ohio at the End of Hurricane Ike

My cousin Amy got married on Sept 14th to a great guy she met at her best friend's wedding - we later found out that her best friend and her new husband had arranged for them to meet at the wedding. Amy is the daughter of my cousin Judy who is the daughter of my Mom's identical twin sister Marge (who passed away several years ago). Confused yet? The wedding was held in Columbus, Ohio where Amy grew up rather than in New York City where she now lives due to the cost of having a formal wedding for 200 of their "closest" friends. Unfortunately, neither my Mom nor I got to actually see the wedding because my Mom got very ill and I took her back to the hotel just after family photos were taken at the synagogue. The trip back to the hotel was interesting because the tail end of hurricane Ike decided to hit Columbus just at that moment that we began the twenty minute drive back to downtown where the hotel was located. We literally dodged tree limbs flying in front of the windshield and watched huge trees topple over on the side of the road. Electricity went out all over town, but luckily not at the hotel.

Me & my mom at the synagogue lobby - Mom's wearing her twin's dress that Aunt Marge wore at her daughter's wedding 25 years ago (in honor of her memory) I'm wearing the jewelry I bought at AU vendors day and the necklace made by Jane Wynn.

My cousin Amy with her Dad Gerry


The morning of the wedding, I took a long walk in deserted downtown near the hotel as the winds began to gather strength. Ala, Andrew and Kelly Kilmer's blogs, I photographed things that I thought were interesting. After photographing these pictures, I literally was blown back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding I would not attend :) Enjoy!


Couch in the lounge area of the hotel lobby

Close up of couch pattern

Sculpture in hotel lobby

Another sculpture in the hotel lobby

Carribbean Restaurant less than a block from the hotel - with entrance in the alley - wonder why?

The other wall of the same alley

Lamp in alley - not sure if it's an origianl or copy made to look old - love the lines of the lamp
Part of a frieze on the wall in the alley

Old fashioned andy store window just outside and around the corner from the alley - the tubs are wrapped with newspaper comic strips!


Another part of the candy store window display

Old fashioned barrell filled with peanuts in the candy store window - note the reflection of the American flag from the street caught in the photo
Street clock outside the candy store - downtown has been re-developed but kept the old feel with new items such as this clock

Down the street and around another corner - looking towards the state capitol - an old sign advertising the Columbus newspaper - as I turned this corner to take the photo the wind picked up and I was pushed into the building behind me by the force of the wind - but I still didn't make the connection to Hurricane Ike at this time!

Same sign closer
After taking the photo of the newspaper sign, I turned around and realized I was standing in front of a sculpture in front of a State office building named for him - James A. Rhodes

One of several old churches in a large downtown block just on the other side of the capitol building

Plaque from the above church - Episcopal - organized 1817 this building erected 1869 (and still actively in use).

Part of the lovely little front lawn of the church - love the iron fence

More photos in my next posting . . .

Time Flies

I can't believe I haven't posted since mid-September - lots happening both personally and professionally - will give updates in snippets in my next few posts - and they most likely won't be in chronological order - Here's a little tease for the topics to be addressed (so I won't forget) will include my trip to Colombus, Ohio for my cousin Amy's wedding - our So. Cal. Mixed Media groups 2nd gathering - my trip to Thousand Oaks for another great class with Kelly Kilmer - this one at Staci Staler's wonderful studio in her home - upcoming classes I'm teaching - the election and registering to vote -what I learned during the Jewish High Holy Days this year - fat book page swap - this one with 120 pages - yikes! and so much more...

So we (So Cal Mixed Media Group) had our 2nd gathering on Sunday, October 5th at Viva Gallery upstairs studio - again we had an amazing turnout - ten women gathered and shared completed and works-in-progress with the group - what great talent in one room! We also explained what we were working on that day and then in-between great conversations and snacking on the several delicious homemade baked goods - wow! people actually bake?! - we all worked on our individual projects - five o'clock came all too soon and we made plans to meet again at the same location on November 2nd (Sunday) from 1 - 5 pm - please join us - several gals from our group attended Art & Soul in Portland and will be telling us about their experiences, classes and showing what they created when they were in Portland -


Carole, Carmen and Tina


Renee and Staci


Amy Elise and Terrill

Artwork display table - view #1


Artwork display table - view #2

Then my batteries in my camera went dead and I didn't have any fresh ones with me ...

****

I belong to a Yahoo group called "ArtTechniques" - one of the leaders of the group - Sherre H. offered an idea for a fat book 4 x 4 swap - a book simply showing various techniques with explanation of how to do it on the back - no frills, no embellishments - simply the technique - each person signing up had to have a unique technique - no duplicates - most fat book swaps are about 40 - 45 pages or less - well, this one began to grow in popularity - when we got to about 45 plus - Sherre asked if we wanted to start a second book - but no one wanted to miss out on the techniques that might be in that book and not the book we signed up for - so we voted to have just one book - unfortunately there was no cut off on the number of artists that could join - and it grew and grew and grew - we began posting back and forth on the Yahoo group that this was no longer a "fat" book but an "obese" book :) We ended up with 120 pages!

A portion of the 120 pages 4 x 4 originals for fat book swap - ArtTechniques Yahoo group

For those that have never done a swap that means 120 ORIGINAL 4 x 4 pages with a typed explanation pasted on the back of each!

Close-up (upside down :) 4 x 4 antique patina on cardboard

The deadline to send them to Sherre was Oct 15th - a call went out for anyone living near Sherre in Northern CA that could help her sort the pages to volunteer - people began posting that they were sending Sherre and her "crew" gifts of popcorn and chocolate and tea and cookies and more to help them as they put together 120 flat rate priority boxes and sort the 14,400 pages sent to her - (120 participants x 120 pages each = 14,400) to send out to us next month - Sherre posted a photo of her house filled with these boxes and the gals helping her - Bless you all! as much of a chore as it was to create 120 pages, I'm so glad I participated and can't wait to see everyone else's work - and we just learned that Sherre has submitted the idea to a magazine for publication! Here are my pages - my technique was the antique patina on cardboard - My challenge now is how to bind 120 4 x 4 pages into a book! Any suggestions are welcomed -

More photos from Mixed Media gathering

Here are a few more photos from our first mixed media gathering that were sent to me by Pat M. from our group - thanks!

Carole from Claremont works on her painting.

Renee from West LA creating a calligraphy mixed media page in her book.

Me pretending to know how to work a sewing machine to stitch my first puffy heart.

Carmen from West Hills completing some pages for her book.

Me again! (hey, it's my blog!) With my first completed puffy heart.

We had eleven women show up for our first gathering at the beautiful upstairs studio above the Valley artists gallery.  Amazing!

Our next gathering will be held Sunday, October 5th from 1pm - 5pm at VIVA Gallery in Sherman Oaks.  We are encouraging members to bring a piece of completed work or a work-in-progress to share with the group - giving a short explanation of your process or if you prefer to display your work on our display table as we work on our own projects.  Last time Terrill generously brought homemade snacks to share - we encourage food sharing at our gatherings!  

If you live in LA and want to attend our next mixed media gathering, please contact me privately or check out our Yahoo Group.   It is really thrilling to see the response from LA artists that want to participate in creating a mixed media community.  

So Cal Mixed Media Group - 1st Gathering

Carole from Claremont

After a bunch of us talked at Art Unraveled in August, our goal was to create an art community here in LA . We felt a bit lost here after returning because everything is so spread out and everyone is driving their cars everywhere so no chance of meeting on the street like in NYC or San Francisco. Saturday was an amazing day! After having 30 artists sign up for our new Yahoo Group, 11 amazing women showed up at VIVA Gallery studio for our groups first gathering - Thanks to Renee, JoAnn, Pat, Terrill, Carmen, Amy Elise (my co-moderator), Kara, Laurel, Carole and Tally!Terrill from Claremont - my first friend from Art Unraveled 2007!

Amy Elise - co-moderator of our So Cal Mixed Media Group - She taught the fabric puffy hearts.

Pat M. - we met on the phone a few months ago - both students of Kelly Kilmer.

Renee - mixed media artist who is also an extraordinary Calligrapher!

I forgot to take pictures before some left and I also forgot to take photos of everyone's artwork - both the completed projects on our display table and things they were working on in the studio. Hopefully they will post it on our Yahoo Group or send a jpg version to me so I can post them.

Amy Elise brought her sewing machine and lots and lots of vintage fabric, buttons, sequins, ribbons and lace and generously let us use her materials. She decided to teach us how to make fabric puffy hearts as described in Belinda Spiwak's great article with photos (Cloth,Paper, Scissors - Sept/Oct 2008 pp. 50-52). It was so much fun and I loved them so much, I've been working on some at home. Will post them as soon as I finish them.

My first attempt at fabric puffy hearts - Hey, Mom - Don't faint, I used a sewing machine!

Terrill made an apricot cobbler to die for with apricots off her tree in her yard - What a treat - also forgot to take a photo of that - guess she'll just have to make another one for our next gathering in October!

We had a great start and look forward to more next month. Feel free to join our group if it interests you. We will be meeting the first Sunday of the month (except for July) from 1 pm - 5 pm at VIVA gallery studio (upstairs). Our next gathering will be Sunday, October 5th. I will be teaching a class (TBA) in that same studio - Sunday, October 12th from 1 pm - 5 pm. Will be posting info on my blog and on the VIVA Gallery website in the next few days.

Food for thought - from a postcard on my fridge:

"In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Gays and Lesbians, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't Gay or Lesbian. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was Protestant. Then they came for me - and by that time no one was left to speak up." ...Pastor Martin Niemoller

Stand Up To Cancer

Tonight at 8 pm - on all three major networks for one hour - will be a show filled with over 50 celebrities and performers to create awareness and raise $$$ for cancer research.  Most government funding has been taken away from research, so the $$$ collected will be earmarked for research purposes to find a cure in the next few years.  It is estimated that 1 in 3 people in the United States will be diagnosed with some form of the disease.  Most of us have more than one friend, family member or business acquaintance that is a survivor or dealing with treatment at this time, or sadly passed away.  For me, I have had several family members pass away from cancer - my Dad, my mom's twin sister - my Aunt Marge, my Grandma Rosset (my Mom's mother), and survivor friends, Kara, Amy Elise, and Alan (my friend Erin's husband) and my neighbor Mark and so many more.  I choose to wear a Live Strong bracelet everyday for awareness.  

So tonite watch any of the networks at 8 pm for one hour or set your TIVO for Stand Up To Cancer - make a donation or go online - make a donation - buy a T-shirt - buy the necklace.  No amount of donation is too small.  This disease doesn't discriminate - it doesn't matter if you are a celebrity or the guy/girl next door.  Here's a way to be of service and to help others with a click of your mouse.  

So Cal Mixed Media Art Group

I seem to have a knack for starting groups. I've started a couple of writing groups, re-created and headed the women's group at my synagogue, served on Boards of Women in Theatre and Women in Film, created and taught writing and journal classes, life coaching workshops/classes, and taught mixed media art classes and book/journal making classes. It's not a difficult thing for me to do. I'm not bragging. It's just something I do easily. So when several fellow artists at Art Unraveled spoke about wanting our fabulous week to continue throughout the year, I suggested that we form a group. Everyone was enthusiastic about it, but no one really wanted to head it up. Until I met my new friend, Amy Elise Roberts. We both had the same enthusiasm and both were eager to get the group going. So I said I'd do the set up if she'd help run it with me. She said yes, and we were off and running. We also got the support of a group in Phoenix who had formed a group last year after AU and offered to be our "sister" group.

I set up a Yahoo Group - SoCalArtUnraveled and rented a studio at VIVA gallery - an artists collective in the San Fernando Valley. And after many e-mails back and forth, our first gathering will be this Saturday - from 1 - 5 pm - with future once-a-month gatherings to be held on the 1st Sunday of each month (except July). We will have a peer led activity - a "make and take" - a table to share completed projects and the rest of the time to work on existing projects or to start new ones. The enthusiasm and interest has been amazing. As of this writing, we have 30 people signed up on our Yahoo Group list. Hopefully, many of them will show up on Saturday! I will post photos and give an update on this blog. Wish us luck and if you're in the LA area sign up and come join us.