I have to say that my absence here online is only about great and exciting things! 

I had the pleasure to hang out with a few of my favorite under 5 years old people last week.  I think it’s exactly the reminders I needed to remain fresh and quiet.  Iggy and I enjoyed an afternoon of rain, puddle jumping and hide and seek only to be followed by some lovely berry picking.  This is the first I saw Iggy since my return to the states and what a fun little man he is!  My lesson from him is to enjoy being where ever you are… and I did.

The next day I was greeted  at the Trivet diner by Jennie and Lily and Lily’s beautiful painting of Dorney Park.  I wish I had a way to show your the picture in my mind of walking through those diner doors with Jennie sitting on the bench, preggers with “brother”  (no name yet) and Lily standing next to her in her pink striped sundress, flowers clips in her hair and holding her painting in front of her chest with both hands.  Jennie told me she painted it while I was away and wanted to be sure to give it to me “because I like to paint.”  It now is part of my permenant collection!  So why do I tell you all of this?  Well, Jennie and I discussed a little bit of my trip and I had been talking endlessly about how much I saw while I was away and how invigorating that felt.  Lily, a little bored about my Spain travels, stands up in her seat and looks at her reflection in the chrome ceiling.  Jennie remarks “well there are new things here to see all the time… it’s just a matter of perspective.”  She then points to Lily who just decided to take a new perspective on things- a lovely lesson.

So aside from my every day life lessons- Last weekend, Mom, Dad and I headed to New York to see Merissa’s new digs, the One Stone exhibition at the Grail and the Storm King Sculpture Park.  To be hanging out in Brooklyn was great and we had the quintessential Brooklyn morning sitting on the stoop, drinking cappucinos and looking at paint swatches for the new apartment… well, maybe it wasn’t a quintessential Brooklyn morning but at least the locale was!  We then piled into the car for a beautiful drive into rural New York.  Leaving the city, we took the West Side Highway where I got a quick look at the Cloisters in the Summer (as opposed to when I was there this winter, puking).

The Grail is about an hour and a half outside the city in Cornwall on the Hudson.  It is a sleepy and charming little town that movie sets must be modelled from.  The Grail is an “intentional living community,” long for women’s commune.  This past year, Massie Jones and Marcie Farwell founded the women’s group of artist’s entitled the One Stone Collective.  This was the premier exhibition taking place on the grounds.  I’m happy to be a distant part of the group… the group’s exhibition visited the concept of “compass” and opened while I was in Spain.  If I had my shit together before I left, I could’ve been involved but let’s hope for next time.

Anyway, the group worked pretty hard getting this all together (me excluded).  It was weeks of cleaning up the grounds, lots of whitewashing, designing and networking for the opening event to take place but I hear it was fabulous.  Getting to the grounds myself with everyone was a sweet unfolding exploration of “compass” as well.  We headed down into the woods where we saw red lines wound around trees that offset the lush greenery (a piece by Meghan Sheldon).  The trail wound around to a stone wall where Merissa’s piece hung in the stone archway like it was a Byzantine relic that glowed in the sun.  Her piece was a silk painting submerged in resin.  It was a ghosty self portrait that centered around her eye.  A few years ago, she had Lyme Disease and got a rare freaky side affect of Bell’s Palsy.  Half of her face was paralyzed and still, when she is tired, feels strained.  I feel like her piece looks at the compass for a direction and she empowers her strained eye to explore unknown spaces, whether physical or emotional. 

As we look further into the enclosed area, we see felt loops buried in ground and leaves.  The great thing is that the elements welcome this piece made by Cory Breinenson.  Snails have been making themselves new homes… or at least vacation spots from the rest of the woods.  We then walked up to find denim sails hanging in the trees, made by Marcie Farwell.  A lovely little surprise is the unassuming “Boo Radley” tree that is behind the sails.  The tree is hollowed out to find what almost seems to be an alter or secret collection of precious things that only the collector would know their significance.

Finally we twisted up around the vegetable garden and into the graden shed that until 2 months ago was a waste collector.  It now is a sweet gallery for Massie’s giroscope (spelling???) and other lovely artist books and a small pieces.  If you can’t make it up there in the next few weeks, certainly check out the blog!  www.onestonecollective.com  All the gals contribute and talk about their process and progress of work… new planning stages are in the making to stay tuned!

BUT believe it or not… our day was not done!!  After a picnic lunch by the garden, we were off to STorm King Sculpture park where the landscape is the museum.  Honestly, it was pretty unreal.  I felt pretty lucky to see Richard Serra in Bilbao and now seeing this park- with Richard Serra, Magdelana Abokoniwitz, Mark DiSuvero, Louise Nevelson, Andy Goldworthy, Alexander Calder and the new addition Maya Lin (to name a few) - the Guggenheim almost seems cluttered compared the vast expanse of the grounds.  It was such a different way to experience the work and each really seemed to have a quiet cognitive presence as you arrived on it (if that makes any sense).   I loved walking under a DiSuvero and along the Goldsworthy wall and thru the Maya Lin waves.  Here’s a website to check it out but I will honestly tell you that it is worth experiencing it.  It is much different than looking at pictures (and quite honestly the website pics are kinda lame)…  http://www.stormking.org/

AND what would be another “Heather art experience” if I didn’t get yelled at.  I am sure Iggy fashioned a plan to get me into trouble.  He coaxed me over to one of the smaller sculptures in the yard and had me sit at the base of it when i was promptly yelled at by the guards.  Yup.  That Iggy- hatching a plan to get me blacklisted throughout the art venues of the world.  I’m onto you, Iggy!!