Brooklyn Visit

Earlier this summer, I went back to my old neighborhood in Brooklyn to check out the enormously popular exhibit by Kara Walker at the soon-to-be-demolished Domino Sugar Factory (new photo-filled post about that coming soon). I saw how much the area has changed in the last couple of years. Even when I lived there, the development was rapid, and hot spots were popping up where an empty lot had been just a week ago. On my way to the art show by the Brooklyn Waterfront, I discovered these two colorful murals by Phetus (top) and R. Robots (bottom).

Road Trip - Larchmont

With temps in the high sixties and access to a car last week, I went for a stroll up the road apiece to broaden my horizons. This post is part "road trip" and part of my "walk around the neighborhood" series. How would you like this view to be within the confines of where you live? The lucky residents of Larchmont get to enjoy the fresh air and fabulous sunsets of Manor Park right in their backyard. The rocky coastline of this little New York village has a walkway with gazebos and benches for gazers to stop and rest. I happen to know the area from the other side- that is, the water side. After learning to sail last summer, our racing team spends a lot of time in these waters. Just a 20 minute ride from City Island, it's a nice place to get a little exercise or sit and read a good book. 

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - Williamsburg

Walking around the Williamsburg neighborhood can be like stepping into an art gallery, especially if you follow the major players of street art. I love the way pre-existing elements of the street complement the work. (Top) Shepard Fairey has many paste-ups in the area since his send-ff show for Deitch Projects last May. Above, is an enormous bunny by ROA who created this piece over an earlier painting of a pig. If you look closely, you'll see that the animal is partially decomposing as the artist plays with the idea of sleep vs. death.

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - Williamsburg

Street decorations brighten the skies in preparation for the street carnival in celebration of the feast day for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in July.

 

The four-story high giglio (meaning "lily" in Italian) is carried or "danced" through the neighborhood during the week by dozens of men as a towering processional and devotional item. This year marks the 123rd anniversary of this event.

Below, this little guy looks like he's ready to cruise off for a day at the beach. 

I encountered many textural and iconic visuals during this walk. This landmark church above is a landmark that can be seen towering above the trees, and was once featured on a Seinfeld episode long ago. I never thought it would be right in my own backyard!

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - SoHo

After a particularly long week, I went to catch a matinee of the newly released Sex and the City 2 with a girlfriend to mindlessly drool over some clothes. I won't go into Samantha's gratuitous one-liners or the fact that there will be no Oscar for the screenplay, but we certainly did enjoy the fashion. After the movie, I still needed to go for a walk to get my mind off of some things and headed to the SoHo area of downtown to take some photos.

This is one of my favorite ever-changing walls in the city. There's something new here just about everyday. I haven't been here in a while and enjoyed taking in what's on the mind of the city's street artists.

As the sun started to dip in the sky, and was walking down Crosby Street in search of some interesting wall pieces, when I ran into an interesting character instead- graff writer, Jaes. He was just coming from a job, and wondered if I just saw common friends of ours, the Plaztik duo. Coincidentally, they were right around the corner.

Mimi's shoes and Jaes's colorful cans.

We all decided to convene and relax at Plaztik's secondary space, affectionately called "the Lab" where we sipped strawberry-flavored vodka with lemon, ordered up some of the best pizza I've ever had (with truffle oil!), and watched stupidly funny movies. What better way to welcome in summer and the holiday weekend than an unplanned soiree with friends?

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - Greenpoint/Williamsburg

I love to go on long, exploratory walks on weekends always making sure that I remember to bring my camera. The weather was perfect on Sunday, and the air was fragrant with spring. I decided that I would enjoy it as long as my allergies can hold out!

(Top photo: Marilyn by Head Hoods)

I live in a predominantly Polish neighborhood, and many of my neighbors still have a direct connection to Poland.  Lots of them have expressed a response to yesterday's tragedy, loss of leadership, and tragic anniversary in Katyn by putting out a flag with a black ribbon attached.

Amidst all of the urban decay, there are spots where Mother Nature reveals

herself to us city dwellers every now and then.

 

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - Bushwick

This past Saturday, even though we're still very much in the last spasms of winter, North Easters were treated to an extraordinary late spring preview. It was a pristine, cloudless day, and the temperature reached almost 80 degrees! I decided to go for a long walk to get out of my own neighborhood, and explore the very colorful Bushwick area of Brooklyn. I visited the Factory Fresh Gallery to pick up my painting from the Pufferella/McCutchen show (and ended up choosing another stunning piece by Dark Cloud).

A well-placed paste-up from Skewville in my over-developed neighborhood of Williamsburg
(what I sometimes refer to as, "Condo-burg").

Roberta's (left), is a place known in these parts for its brick-oven pizzas, and
which I have every intention of trying one day soon. A detail of more local color (right).

You can't go to this area of Brooklyn without seeing a something by the elusive stikman (left). This larger than usual pink piece appeared to be very fresh and new. What I love about coming here, is that there are loads of artist studios and there is always a new artistic surprise which is very inspiring. This mural (right) by the subway entrance wasn't here the last time I ducked down this particular street to get home.

A trompe l'oeil security camera paste-up.

A message in the details.

Interlude in the Woods - New Hampshire Getaway

This past weekend, I escaped the New York area with some friends to the woods of New Hampshire. Our intent was to get out of the frenzied city, enjoy a change of scenery, and do some sort of a snow activity; like snowshoeing lessons. We reserved our trip over a month ago, but as time drew near, weather systems in New Hampshire got much warmer; and this meant no snowshoeing. The monsoon scheduled for the New England area, never quite happened and the New York region got everything, most disastrously. And so, some of us went skiing- others of us stayed behind to indulge in a slower pace and enjoyed the afternoon with a sojourn in the woods.

I enjoyed the fresh air and the winter scenery with a nice long walk. I was mindful to take a close look at the different textures of mushrooms, ice formations, fauna, and lichen, and was rewarded with these photos showing the fabulous diversity found in nature.

Some people were ice fishing on the lake, and we even encountered one of those romantic and fabled wooden covered bridges for which New England is famous (sorry, no pics).

Even though it was a dreary winter day, and the boats have been docked in expectation since their last day of summer, I encountered so much life holding the familiar signs with the promise of spring.

And now, back to the lodge and the fire place for some relaxation!

Always looking for love in unexpected places....