Recipe for a yummy breakfast …
2 chocolate chip waffles, 2 slaps of butter, 1 generous slathering of maple syrup, 1 large handful blueberries, 1 scoop raspberries, 1 dollop of peace. (whipped cream optional.)
It’s always kind of fun to attend an art opening. It’s very organic, for the most part, without all the electronic noise or manufactured influences of our modern times. And of course, there’s the opportunity to meet the most interesting people.
If you go with Jose and Nick, it’s even better. Their enthusiasms are infectious, their humor delightful. As I’ve mentioned before, Jose Rodeiro is a prolific artist (top left image above) and art historian who teaches at NJCU. No kidding, I learn something wonderful and new every time I’m in his company.
Neither Nick (also a master artist) nor I were in this show, but we’ve become somewhat of a troop, a band of cavorting artists.
My daughter’s been around them enough now to feel at ease, and part of the troop. Nick is interested in her future and convinced she should attend Parson’s. She tries to tell him she wants to be a writer, but he’s sure she’s an artist. (It’s all good, Nick.)
And if you can’t have an early 1900’s Paris salon, this is the next best thing for earfuls and eyefuls of colorful opinions and great varieties of art. Speaking of colorful, along with lively exchanges with Jose and Nick and other artists, and friends Nutia, Robert and Lucy, we had the most charming chat with a young Argentinean who loves soccer almost as much as his 7-foot long pet iguana. (oh my.)
I will admit that my girl wasn’t too enthused when she saw the sign announcing that this was a portrait show. I said, trust me, it won’t just be paintings of generals and grandma’s (nothing wrong with those, mind you, just not what a creative-minded teen might be excited about…). And of course, she wasn’t disappointed.
So, the reason we were there: Not just your classical portraiture, this evocative exhibit of 30 artists is showing through August 15 at the Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery in Annunciation Center at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J.
Summer hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. or by appointment (artgallery@cse.edu or 973-290-4314).
More samplings of what you’ll see:
Artists Exhibiting in Who We Are: Contemporary Portraits
Rob Barth, Lafayette, N.J., Amy Becker. Madison, N.J.. Patricia A. Bender, Somerset, N.J., Gianluca Bianchino, Little Falls, N.J., Janet Boltax, Montclair, N.J., Travis Childers, Fairfax, Va., Judy Cooperman, Great Neck, N.Y., Ellen Denuto, Denville, N.J., Todd L.W. Doney, Gillette, N.J., Pat Flaherty, North Caldwell, N.J., Enrique Flores-Galbis, Forest Hills, N.Y., Marianne Fourie, Hoboken, N.J., Hayat Huma Gul, Wayne, N.J., Neal Korn, Union, N.J., Yen-Hua Lee, Scarsdale, N.Y., So Yoon Lym, Wayne, N.J., James Kearns, Dover, N.J., Kendall Messick, Jersey City, N.J., Leslie Milton, Short Hills, N.J., Charles Perkalis, Whippany, N.J., James Patrick Reid, Madison N.J., José Rodeiro, Madison, N.J., Larry Ross, Madison, N.J., Wayne Roth, Mountain Lakes, N.J., Sam Sebren, Athens, N.Y., Miriam Stern, Teaneck, N.J., Peter Tilgner, Montclair, N.J., Doreen Valenza, Livingston, N.J., Raul Villarreal, Verona, N.J., Willem VanDooijeweert, Mountain Lakes, N.J., Bill Westheimer, West Orange, N.J., Barry Zawacki, Mountain Lakes, N.J., Sue Zwick, Summit, N.J.
I found this stone in my backyard …
Some of you already own The Book of Mermaids’ companion Magnetic Mermaid Dress-up Game, and know how fun it is.
Previously available exclusively through my publisher, Shenanigan Books, it’s up on Amazon now… took a while, but it’s there!
It’s a great little self-contained toy ~ kids just adore playing with it, parents like the great quality and the no-fuss, no muss!
Happy to share the news with you. : )
“Stairways to Peace”
The path to peace is not often straight. Sometimes you have to climb around, zig and zag, twist and turn; maybe even go upside down for a while. But however you arrive, the door is welcoming… and patiently waiting to be opened.
……………… ♦ ……………….
“We meet them like a pleasant thought… ” ~ William Wordsworth, from “To the Daisy”
……………… ♦ ……………….
If peace were a flower, what better than this? ~ one of simplicity and cheer, with purity of heart, mind and soul; long-blooming and resilient … a pleasant thought indeed!
What do you get when you put together some cardboard boxes, a bunch of nifty craft stuff and a room of imaginative children? … some great fairy houses!
Yesterday I led a fairy-house-making afternoon at the library, based around A Book of Fairies. The kids had tons of fun ~ each one proudly carrying home their colorful, imaginative creations. I think there are a lot of delighted woodland fairies around town right now!
(Many thanks to our fantastic librarian “Miss Lynn”, for organizing and supplying lots of great tools and good cheer.)
Carolyn Naught Saxton, circa 1940's
On this day reserved for mothers. I thought I’d share some words from my own mother.
My mother was, of course, “my world” when I was little, and a role model as I grew. She did all the things you’d expect a Mom might do, like fix meals, teach manners, dry tears, cheer you up and on. She was always there for her family, She was involved in her community. She loved to laugh. She loved to give. She loved life and tried to worry only on Tuesdays. (or was it Wednesdays?)
Like many mothers, she was an unsung hero.
But she was also a poet. Her works first appeared in anthologies as early as her teens. Later, perhaps her greatest work, was the collection of sonnets published in her book titled The Pine and The Power.
My mother left the world much too soon ~ nearly 30 years ago ~ but she left gifts behind. Treasured, timeless words; gifts from the heart, mind and spirit.
It was hard to choose just one selection ~ but I share this in honor and life-giving celebration of mothers near and far, here or remembered.
Happy Mother’s Day!
♦
…………………………..
God help our children to transcend the dark
And walk the earth with dignity and cheer;
God help them seek the mountains, persevere
The road that twists through thorn and tanglebark,
Ascending finally where eagles mark
Their point of vision. Help our children find
Two masters ~ one the spirit, one the mind ~
And rediscover constancy of heart.
Help us to find cathedrals in the skies,
A will to walk the long uncharted mile;
(The will to find in winter’s legacy
The ochre sands from which the lime trees rise!)
Help us to know the measure of the child ~
To live in time and in eternity.
© Carolyn Naught Saxton
…………………………..
♦
“Cosmic Peace”
Dare to dream upon the stars ~
Dare to dream of peace,
Beaming
From life’s grandest stage ~
Unrestrained,
Where thousands
fold to millions ~
Shining. Alighting. Dancing,
Through an endless velvet sky.
Floating in layers
of patterns on patterns,
Shades of bright white
Shimmering
In the blackened pool
Of an upside down sea.
Eternity’s dream catcher ~
Twinkling,
Winking,
Silver-rimmed storytellers ~
Architects of heaven ~
A symphony of light
Plucked from the night
For all time.
Beacons,
Guides,
Galactic jewels,
Wished upon
and worshipped,
Where secrets
are surrendered
And wonders breathe ~
Bright,
Inconceivable and constant.
“Spring Dream”
Wow. This isn’t reading, it’s a multi-media experience.
Alice in Wonderland gets an animation makeover in the video below … it’s frenetic (clearly shown at warp speed for promotional purposes), but there’s definitely a “wow” factor and a vivid sense of what’s possible.
It’s very cool storytelling. It’s fun. But it certainly distracts from the act of reading – an act that’s pretty important in my book (no pun intended).
It’s not unlike the difference between reading a book and watching a movie. Yet entirely different from both because of the interactivity neither a classic book nor movie can claim.
And it begs the question: is this a good thing? Will it discourage reading, by making the words simply part of the visual action? Or will it encourage reading, by making it come alive?
I saw a comment calling this an “imagination killer”. Boy did that ring a bell. But will it be true?
There’s a lot to be said for hearing a story, imagining in your own mind what might be happening, and how and where, and what places look like. I don’t think this should ever be devalued. But we know so little of the human mind … is it possible that an interactive story like this might expand a mind into even more imaginings?
I don’t have the answers, but I do agree with one thing: Whether animated or straight-forward, the iPad (and its likely successors) will probably be the next big medium for children’s books. Sooner than later.
And what I’m finding particularly strange, is that even a devout book appreciator like myself doesn’t really mind.
Nothing will replace the wonderfully textural experience of holding a book, turning the pages, smelling the paper … it’s almost sacred. But I can accept another medium, one that will show off colors in their brightest brilliance and whites at their crispiest and words their most sharp and dapper. All at the touch of a screen. It’s very neat. Very clean.
I also have to admit, I wouldn’t mind seeing my Fairies alight that screen. Not so sure I want them doing backflips or shaking fairy dust around at the whim of a “reader” … because, of course, I’d actually like them to read the words. But just a little flitting about might not hurt.
………………
Please feel free to share your thoughts! I’d love to know how people feel about this.
