If you have to run errands…
If you have to run errands, take time to smell the roses on the way. This photo is for Jacquie, with a detail below:
OR, in the case of doctor’s appointments in far-away cities, do fun stuff! Last Monday I had to drive to Brunswick (75 minutes) for a 20 minute appointment. But it is right near Freeport, home to L.L. Bean. So I did some Christmas shopping and thanks to MANY credit card points, got a couple great bargains. The next day, I had another longer drive: nearly 2 hours each way to Portland for a final check-up on my feet (a year ago I had arthritis in my big toe joints removed and can now bend my feet again!). So I visited Portland Architectural Salvage, Micucci’s Grocery, the Old Port Specialty Tile store and the Portland Museum of Art, and finally Whole Foods (the Key Lime cheesecake is awesome).
There weren’t any great deals at the Salvage shop; it has clearly been discovered by the young 20-somethings fixing up their cool downtown Portland apartments and condos! But there was plenty of free inspiration. I just LOVED looking at the lines of doors stacked up and the abstract strata design in this close up:
There were several ogival panels, too, that I am guessing came from a church. What awesome quilting or applique designs these would make:
And more inspiration in the form of old heat registers: you know how we have ugly rectangles with straight lines through which dry air blows heat at us? Well, a century ago those openings for the heat to reach you were much more interesting:
Next I went to find Micucci’s, an Italian grocery that also wholesales gourmet foods to various places around the state, including Megunticook Market in Camden where Joshua works in catering. I found a jar of chestnuts, torrona, and other delectables, and I also discovered the tile store was two doors away. I had seen ads for this place, and OH MY. Now, to win that lottery so I can re-do the bathrooms….
Then before I went to Whole Foods on the way home (I call that place the hundred-dollar-a-bag store, my foot doc says locally it is called Whole Paycheck, but my they have good food and stuff you can’t find unless you order on the internet), I treated myself to visiting the PieceWork exhibit at Portland Museum of Art. I joined the museum when I signed up to visit the Winslow Homer house at Prout’s Neck, and I promise I WILL share pics from that visit a while back. I was beyond thrilled to see at least EIGHT textile works of art as well as several mixed media.
I first saw this installation piece—it is easily 9 feet tall and much wider–at a gallery in nearby Belfast, Maine. I was thrilled it made the cut for the biennial exhibit, which is of works by people living in or with other significant ties to Maine.
You could spend an hour or more poring over the artworks within the artworks. I kept taking pictures, fascinated by the materials and messages. Here is just one of the detail photos:
I left SO inspired…all I wanted to do was head to my studio!
So you can see, I am VERY BUSY. Can someone please find me another 27 hours a day so I can make some art??????
December 16th, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Thank you for sharing you inspirational photos, you obviously made this trip before your latest snow storm. How much snow did you get this time?
If you are snowed in perhaps you are in your studio making art.
December 18th, 2013 at 4:20 am
Thanks for sending these wonderful photos. They are beautiful and inspiring. I love the owls. Have a great Christmas. Dorothy.