Back To Play

Most  people  will  say  they  have  to  go  back  to  work  after  a  little  vacation,  but  this  isn't  work  for  me--it's  always  playtime.   And  this  is  the  time  of  the  year  when  I  get  into  serious  play  mode.   Next  month  my  show  season  starts  up--so  I've  been  getting  busy. 

Last  week  for  the  Memorial  Day  holiday  we  went  to  visit  our  son  in  New  York  City--always  a  fun,  but  exhausting  time.   We  wanted  to  go  when  it  wasn't  too  hot  or  too  cold--everyday  was  close  to  90  degrees  when  we  went  this  time...............so  I  guess  that  plan  didn't  work  out  too  well,  but  it  was  still  a  good  time.   

Our  son  always  takes  us  around  to  places  that  we've  never  been  before,  but  one  place  that  I  always  go  back  to  is  a  store--The  Ink  Pad--a  VERY  cool  stamp  (and  more)  store--

.....some  of  my  purchases--the  Lynne  Perrella  stamps  I'm  swooning  over.....and  I've  been  using  them  in  my  new  pieces  that  I've  just  made--

These   are  on  6 x 6  gallery  canvases--they're  very  popular  and  affordable....

                                                                                                    

.....I  really  like  working  with  these  deep  edge  canvases  too--they  add  so  much  more  to  the  piece...

.....this  is  a  good  start---there's  more  to  come...

Another  place  that  I  want  to  mention  that  we  went  to  when  we  were  there  was  a  flea  market  in  Brooklyn--that  was  fun..  and  just  like  any  other  flea  market--pretty  reasonable  prices  and  lots  of  haggling....

I  found  lots  more  too,  but  without  a  car,  it  was  impossible.   You  see  the  watch  and  clock  parts,  the  keys,  and  the  little  bulbs  and  those  tin  type  photos (I  think  that's  what  they  are)?  I  found  these  all  at  one  booth--they  had  hundreds  of  items  like  this--I  would  have  been  happy  if  this  was  the  only  booth  there!

And  there's  one  more  place  that  I  have  to  mention--the  9/11  Memorial.   It's  pretty  hard  to  describe  the  feeling  when  you're  there  or  even  capture  a  photo  to  explain--

This  is  one  of  the  two  Memorial  Pools  there.   Each  one  is  placed  where  the  towers  were.    They  are  the  exact  size  of  the  tower  bases--if  you  look  at  the  upper  area  of  this  photo,  you  can  see  the  people  standing  there.   This  gives  you  an idea  of  how  large  these  are  and  the  magnitude  of  this  tragedy.   There's  a  30  foot  waterfall  inside  of  the  pools   that  falls  into  a  void  and  you  can  see  the  name  of  one  of  the  victims  in  the  photo  here.   All  of  the  names  of  the  victims  from  the  9/11  attacks  and  the  1993  World  Trade  Center  attack  are  inscribed  around the  entire  border  of  the  pools.    It's  a  beautiful  memorial,  and  if  you  ever  get  a  chance--to  go  visit.

Scenes From NYC, a Giveaway, and a Treasury

We  had  a  great  time  in  New  York--just  a  bit  cold,  though.   Last  summer  when  we  went,  it  was  just  a  "bit"  hot--we  really   need  to  go  when  the  temperatures  are  a  little  better.   Well,  at   least  it  didn't  rain  :  )  So  let  me  show  you  a  few  places  that  we  went  to--

We  took  a  walk  on  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  and   while  we  were  there  we  had  the  BEST  pizza  at  Grimaldi's--a  very  popular  pizza  shop  there.   And  we  also  went  to  the  Brooklyn  Museum  of  Art--

It's  a  beautiful  museum,  but  I  think  I  liked  the  MoMA  a  little  better. 

Saw  the  Dakota  where  John  Lennon  lived 

And   right  across  the  street--Central  Park  West--

              

If  I  lived  here,  I'd   be  here everyday--I  loved  this  park,  and  obviously  do  does  this  little  guy--

We  kept  busy  and  saw  some  great  art  everywhere  we  went!

Mosaic  tile  floor  at  the  Waldorf  Astoria

The  ceiling  at  St.  Patrick's  cathedral

Anthropologie's  great  window  display---Okay--I'm  saving  my  pennies--I'm  shopping  here  next  time  I  visit  New  York--LOVED!!!  this  store!!

Only  in  New  York  City  in  45  degree  temps  will  you  see  this  : )

Another  fun  time  at  the  David  Letterman  show,  and  we  also  some  other  familiar  faces--

Kiefer  and  Chris  Noth!   We  saw  them  on  the  last  night  just  before  we  went  back  to  our  motel--that  was  fun! 

And  I  have  more  photos  at  my  Facebook  page.   

And  I  want  to  tell  you  about  the  giveaway  that  Tina  Kirk  is  having.  I  just  met  her  a  couple  of  months  ago--WOW--what  an excellent  artist!!Please-- Everyone go  and  visit  her  blog--what  wonderful  art she  creates!  And  her  giveaway  is  here 

She's  giving  away  6  postcards  of  her  art,  and  here  is  just  a  sampling  of  them--

Don' t  you  just  love??!!

 

And  one  more  thing--Thank  You  Natasha  May  for  adding  me  to  your  Etsy  treasury  that  everyone  can  see  HERE.   Thank  You  so  much!! 

MoMA

What a great place to see some stunning art.  And the special exhibit that was going on, and still is, was Picasso.  His art was everywhere to be seen--here's just a sampling of what was there of his work--

Yes, these are all works of Picasso--even this next one--

He was such an amazing artist!

And then there was a little Jackson Pollock--

...mixed with Gustav Klimt--

and Henri Matisse--

Don't forget about Van Gogh!

Any Frida fans out there?  ; )

(LOVE this one!)

Here's another self-portrait of Frida.......and Diane Salter--

(see how inspiring she is?    : )

And what's the Museum of Modern  Art without a little Warhol--

But you know---some art, I just don't get--

I could go on, believe me, I took many more photos--needless to say, I really enjoyed this.  And I forgot to show you another place that I had to go to  while I was in New York--

Another highlight of my vacation--Blick art supplies.

So how do you finish off a trip to New York City?--What else--a Broadway show!

And of course, it has to be the Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre--what a fantastic experience--I recommend this to everyone.

We really enjoyed ourselves when we were there, but we were certainly ready to come back home---because you know what they say about home--there's no place like it!

P.S. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!

Scenes From New York City

Hi everyone--I made it back after an 8 hour drive today, and all I know,  is that I need some R & R after this vacation!  I am tired!  We packed in  a lot in  just 3 days.  So  we were here about 6 years ago, so we tried to go to places that we hadn't been to yet.  And one of the places was the Statue of Liberty, because it was closed last time due to 9/11.  It was still very hot when we went, so the boat ride over felt good, and we were able to get great shots of the New York skyline--

This is my son, Nick, the New Yorker--he's doing so well and is so happy.  He LOVES New York and  we had such a good time.

 

There's nothing like being up close and personal with Lady Liberty, and did you know that they had to replace the torch?  (I'm not exactly sure when), basically because it was falling apart.  They have the original inside the pedestal building  that she stands on.

 We weren't able to go to the top (6 month wait list), but we went up to  the top of pedestal building that she's standing  on, and got a great shot of her--

And you can't go to New York without experiencing Times Square--

or Central Park

Or Grand Central Station

And a ride on the subway--

And of course, the Late Show with David Letterman!

This was a Very, Very fun experience--we LOVED it!!

And it's nice when your son is friends with the head pastry chef  at  a restaurant  in  New York  (who, BTW had appeared on the Today show and the Food Network), and let us sample some of his speciality desserts along with the ones we chose--

I have no way of explaining how delicious all of these desserts were!

And you never know who you'll see in New York!

His hair was in his face--I had to brush it out of the way--you don't want to cover up that beautiful face!

And of course I had to go to the MoMA--I'll show you pics of that in my next post--Wonderful art experience!!