Happy fourth everybody.
For years, the Meadville Elks have been putting out a few dozen flags around the town during the 4th of July, Flag Day, Memorial Day and Veterans' Day. I noticed a bunch of little plastic flags around the Diamond late last night as I was passing through, so I wondering if they still did. A short jaunt to the Diamond today revealed they indeed still are, so I made a few photos while I hung out for a few minutes.
Happy fourth everybody.
0 Comments
There is art under foot along the Greenways Walking Trail in Lions Park in Cochranton. To create a fun community project the Cochranton Junior Fair Board held a BYOC(Bring Your Own Chalk) event this past week in time for the July 4th holiday. More than a dozen artworks stretch along the trail encircling the small park tucked behind the fire department. Artists of all ages participated. The works will be available for viewing as long as mother nature and scuff marks allow.
Organizers encouraged social distancing and provided many 15 or 30 sections for the projects. If you're out and about before the next rain and need a walk, check out the art. Featured photographs of the day Each year the Oil City fire department collects money through boot drives in order to pay for a July 4th celebration of fireworks on Jolly July 3rd. Usually the city is abuzz with activity with events throughout downtown and in Justus Park. Due to COVID-19 much of the festivities were cancelled, but the fireworks were not.
Happy Independence Day. Every stay safe! I have many great memories during the quarter century I have known the artist DP Warner. The Meadville painter was a professor of mine at Edinboro University. We hit off after he gave my entire class a pretty scathing critique of our effort and work. I proceeded to paint a self portrait flipping the viewer the bird. Without hesitation at the next critique DP asked "is that for me?" We've been friends ever since. But the one story I want to share here relates directly to work he is doing now. DP arrange a trip to Canada to look at art in the museums in and around Toronto. There were exhibitions on the collections of the artists known as The Group of Seven, Canadian Landscape painters during the roaring twenties and the Great Depression. DP was excited to look at these works even though, at the time, landscape painting in that sense wasn't really a part of his work. These were not artist's that were in our history books so I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't a landscape painter either. One artist, Tom Thomson, who wasn't technically in The Group of Seven, but was kind of the Neil Young to the Grunge movement, in that each artist credited Thomson for his influence on them. I tagged along on this journey across the border. DP's current work is quite different from the majority of his career where he explored themes such as abstractions based on musical rhythms and sounds in mostly jazz that somehow became Twombly-esque paintings; or his political art where his painting had punchlines in the titles if not directly through the imagery; or his bent takes on society and man's infiltration into natural wonders that became full show installations that read more as question marks than statements.
Today DP is a landscape painter. In the traditional sense, he straps supplies to his back and sets up somewhere to paint. His small works remind me of the time he and I opened drawer after drawer in the Toronto Museum of Art housing The Group of Seven and Thomson's work. One of my top art experiences. DP was a part of two of my top art experiences actually. Besides teaching me the proper way to drink a shot of tequila, DP taught me a great deal about pushing convention and not being afraid to experiment with other materials I never thought of as art supplies. One spring and summer in the mid-nineties, he and I shared a barn loft for a studio. That was one of the greatest periods for my understanding or the creative process. We discussed over and over again navigation of surfaces and how serendipity can be embraceable when recognized. It was also a great space that occasionally had visitors like bats, mice and a cool barn owl that seemed to want to fly all around me one night and landed on the installation I was constructing. This friendship and working relationship has lasted a long time and currently DP and I share a studio in Meadville. I love to walk back into his space and see what he's got going,,, plus he's a drummer in Touch of Grey and he and boys practice in my part of the studio sometimes. Which is awesome when I am able to be there working in another room. Over the next month I will showcase more of DP's work and perhaps more stories. I'll ask him for more insights and history of his over 50 years of creating and we might even tell you what the DP stands for. This week I'm sharing a few of his images that relate, in my mind to that trip to Toronto, that I picked out from his instagram account.. You can follow DP at his website at https://www.dpwarner.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dpwarnerartwww.instagram.com/dpwarnerart// With the same level of hyper activity and neurotic tendencies of it founder Nicholas Hess, the Red Eye Theatre project is a fun and exhausting theatrical experience. A collection of one act plays that are conceived, written, staged and performed all in just 24 hours. It is a chance for local actors and directors to stretch their wings while trying something experimental and new. It is open to dozens of theater aficionados of varying levels of experience. This year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Red Eye had to modify its offering. Dubbed with the tongue-in-cheek new monicker, the Pink Eye Theatre, the time constraints were slightly relaxed and each group got a little more time and space to work out their bugs. To maintain current social distancing guidelines the more than 60 participants have been braking into small groups to work on their plays on separate nights over a three week period. The writers were given a little more time, three days, to write their twenty page scripts. The actors and directors were then given their scripts to learn the night before their rehearsal date. Each group would have the theater to themselves with the Barrow crew members to work out the material. At the end of the six hours in the theater, a set was constructed, wardrobe attired, staging blocked and lines learned. The performance was then filmed rather than presented to an audience. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year the audience can stretch beyond the elevated seats of the theater. It might not be ideal for local theater productions, but they are happy to be able to still put something out in order to help raise much-needed funds for the Barrow. The theater has been shut down since March. So beginning tomorrow the first show will be available on the Barrow's website or social media platforms for purchase. Each Friday into August a new episode will be released. And all six episodes will be available into the future. Tickets can be purchased from the website or directly here. They are only $15 for all six performances. Once purchased a code will be sent to view the episodes. You can follow along at https://www.facebook.com/barrowcivictheatre for further announcements. and donations are always welcomed to support the theater. Here are series of photographs from a few of the rehearsal over the last few weeks. You can click on the image to enlarge on your PC. Learn more about the project by clicking on link below for a video.
The Franklin Fine Arts Council has taken COVID-19 by the scruff of the neck and said no - you are not going to ruin our fun by raining on our parade. The 11th annual event had to change the way it has presented the performers, but they have brought 12 talented vocalists to a stage and with the help of The Stream media is able to reach an audience beyond a space or time. The shows continue to be live streamed and made available. Up-dates and information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/FranklinPAEvents/ I dropped by in-between things last night in Franklin to make a few photographs on the fly. I heard a familiar song even from this old guy who isn't much into show tunes, country or pop. And I saw a buy warming up and entertaining the neighborhood to boot.
Editor's Note: Here is a link to pictures from the first week of the competition. Last Sunday the Together We Can gathering took place in Oil City's Justus Park. It was a peaceful chance to share ideas about humanity while honoring the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others who have lost their lives to systemic brutality. Several speakers eloquently delivered meaningful words to the well over 100 people scattered through the park. The community of people, affected by the events of the country, took a moment to reflect on what it all means to them in this time and in this place. Among the speakers was Major Smith, a well known area black man who headed the county's jail system at one time. He spoke about overcoming his own personal racism as he grew to understand the premise of strength, kindness and honesty in his everyday life. He told a story about using racial slurs himself before a friend made him understand his words and meanings did not truly reflect the person he is. He openly shared his shame of that time in his life. Young people were also given a strong voice in this vigil of hope and remembrance. Several essayists from Venango Catholic spoke. Former students like Jenna Ronchi, who read Maya Angelo's words and Josh Puleo who told of personally being taught great lessons from a friend of color. The event included a silent walk around Oil City followed by a short candlelight prayer to end the evening.
Editor's note: This event. like many others in the area begs the question, What's next? Here at Eight and 322 we are asking ourselves the same question. We will be going over this in a series of Op/Ed pieces and stories in the coming weeks. Featured Photograph of today I've been thinking a great deal lately about how everything together makes everything we experience. I've also been thinking about all the work that goes un around us that we just take for granted. A few dead bumble bees and just a general lack of seeing many bees at all has me quite worried actually. These unsung heroes truly make this planet sustainable for so much of its life. When I saw this worker honey bee while backing out of my driveway I was pretty happy. Given I'm seeing a lot fewer around my yard, I'm hoping this workers is ready to put in some overtime!
|
Sponsors of Eight & 322
Follow them on Facebbok.
Archives
April 2024
Categories |