New York

I just returned from a trip to New York City where I met with some of the artists whose work we carry and also met some new ones. We'll be getting some of their work for the gallery, to be arriving over the next few months.

It was windy and very cold but I had a great time. Not only meeting with our artist friends but also with friends that have galleries in Saugatuck, MI, Houston, TX, Reston, VA, and Denver, CO. We compared notes, shared information about artists and gave each other ideas.

To start I flew into Newark and took the AirTrain to NJ Transit and caught the train to Penn Station. I was surprised at how nice and easy it was. At Penn Station I was entranced by a kinetic sculpture called "New Jersey On Parade" by George Greenamyer. It was great and wish I had time to stand there and watch it longer.

Here are a few not very good photos.

This is George's description of it. "Some of New Jersey's many historical, mythological and present-day images are incorporated into this multi-level, kinetic sculptural installation in the heart of the renovated NJ TRANSIT station. The centerpiece is a 9 foot long NJ TRANSIT electric locomotive with a 3 foot tall engineer.

Penn Station, New York, New York, commissioned by NJ TRANSIT with assistance from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, forged fabricated painted steel, overall H.12' x L.72' x W.20'.

Turns out he also did the "First in Flight" sculpture that is in the Charlotte airport.

I met some new craftspeople a very famous weaver from India who is making some silk scarves for us. We try to carry mostly American made products but we realize that artists are artists no matter where they live so occasionally we will have work from artists from other countries.

We also met with people that belong to the Fair Trade Federation. What they do - artists from the US design products then work with people in other countries to produce their products "building equitable and sustainable trading partnerships and creating opportunities to alleviate poverty". We will be getting some products from them like some recycled tote bags made from recycled rice and feed bags, they're very cool.

We will have envirsax which are reusable shopping bags that roll up very small so you can carry them in your purse, save a tree! Other "green" items we found are very cute baby hats and bibs made from organic cotton and baskets made from recycled chopsticks both made in the USA.

As these items come in we'll let you know!