New York City-August 2013

I love New York City. I do love that big, dirty, grimy, rough city.  I was lucky to be able to visit NYC on my trip to the east coast.  The Bolt Bus goes there from Philly for a reasonable price. I paid $23 round trip from downtown Philly to midtown Manhatten.  It's a two hour bus ride, with traffic.  That's closer than Portland to Seattle.  If I lived in Philly, I'd probably visit NYC once a month.

What is it that I love about NYC? I don't love crowds of people, in fact I am an introvert.  This city is alive and vibrant, yet there is a pace about it that allows space within chaos.  During my two days in the city, I found many moments of solace among crowds. I felt lost within the bubble of activity, but I did not mind.  Having brought my watercolor book and paints to the east coast, I did more artwork during the 30 hours I spent in New York than I did in all of the other places combined.  I may not know how to describe that in words, but I feel as though it is what people call inspiration.  As a visual learner, I take in the environment that surrounds me. In NYC that environment is rich with colors, people, movement, art, music and smells.  As I stepped out of the bus in midtown manhatten, I had no idea my location, but I knew that I could walk anywhere and be somewhere fascinating.  People watching is timeless in this city.

(Brooklyn Bridge, walking Manhatten to Brooklyn; a tradition of mine while in NYC)

I got some cold brew from Stumptown in Chelsea and sat in Washington Square Park near NYU for nearly two hours listening to a brass jazz band busk in the plaza while I painted what I saw.  Another aspect about NYC that really appeals to me is people's sense of self importance.  I noticed that no one bothered me while I was painting in the streets there, it must be common. Either that or people are busy doing there own thing.  

Above is a photo of an old lady collecting cans and bottles out of the trash cans in Chelsea.  She had so much weight on her shoulders, but was balancing it quite nicely on a stick. 

 

 My feet in sandals love the pavement of NYC.  I walked so much. I didn't even use my metro card that I bought on the first day, becuase walking is more enjoyable in NYC.

Just returned from "back east."

I have become aware that people on the west coast, or at least folks in the northwest refer to anywhere east of the Rockies as "back east," as if all of us have traveled in a covered wagon west during the 1800's.  I certainly did not, but I did travel from east to west.  That being said, I don't feel as if I am from the east coast, especially since where I come from is most often called the "Midwest." This I believe is currently mislabeled, as it is more "mid-east," as it is much closer in proximity to the east coast than the west coast. 

By this time, you have either stopped or are puzzled as to why I am so obsessed with geography....

(sunrise in Philadelphia, PA)

 

Last week I returned from a two week trip to the east coast.  Three time zones away and an entirely different world, if you ask me.  It almost felt like culture shock.  In any case, I knew that I was far away from everything familiar. 

I took a Friday night red-eye flight direct from Seattle to Philadelphia, PA.  A five and a half hour flight, 2830 miles according to Google Maps, and my seat didn't recline.  At least I had some tasty Thai food, a warm sweater and a content smirk on my face from the rush that got me to the airport just in time to clear TSA, banjo and all.  Yes, I was bringing my banjo because I was headed to Philly and Clifftop (for those of you who don't know....Clifftop is a small WV town that hosts the mega old time festival of 4000+ people playing tunes 24/7). Anyways...I left Seattle at 10:15pm local time and arrived in Philadelphia at 5:45am local time. 

 (right: brick gutters, left: driveway of the estate sale)

AC picked me up from the airport and we headed to get coffee and scones at a small coffee shop in a Berkley-type neighborhood called Mt. Airy, in the north part of Philadelphia. After coffee we headed to her rental house, unloaded my stuff and started out on a walk to Wissahickon park, a huge natural park that runs the length of the city.  We were shortly detoured by the prospect of an estate sale.  Wandering up the woodsy driveway, we inquired within, the sale was officially open at 9am. I believe it was 8:30am. By the time we got back to the house, I was ready for a nap. 

I ended up walking in the Wissahickon Valley Park on Sunday alone, exploring the forest and the trails, picking up loose pieces of wissahickon schist, a shiny, flaky stone, mined in the 1800's and used to build the foundations of large stone houses.  Anneclaire and Steve's new house is built with the schist.  It took me three days to be able to roll "wissahickon schist" off my tongue. 

(wissahickon schist)

 

 Many proper names in Philly were so foreign to me; names of stones, streets, neighborhoods and then specific types of architecture, houses and flats.  Manayunk (MAN-eee-UHNK) is a trendy neighborhood where college students live, located on the banks of the schuylkill (SKOO kill) river. 

In Philadelphia, or perhaps much of the east coast, steak is not a sirloin or t-bone, but rather refers to Philly cheese steak, which is basically sliced meat on a kaiser roll with melted cheese. Steve introduced me to another local speciality that I was not aware of, the "Schmitter." It is basically a Philly cheese steak add pastrami, thousand island dressing sauce, more melted cheese and tomatoes.  To me, it tasted like cheeseburger with a different texture.  I could have done with less than half of the sauce they put on that sandwich. 

 (right: the schmitter at the tavern it originated in, left: explanation of "schmitter" at the ballpark)

 Below is a photo of me lounging on the wrap-around porch of Ac and Steve's new house in Mt. Airy neighborhood. It's a Victorian house from the 1850's made partially of wissahickon schist.  It is a four story house with a full side lot and a huge garden.  I have to say, the porch is perfect for jamming at painting.  I spent some time painting, while Ac took care of her garden work. 

 

On Monday, Steve drove me around to diffferent parts of Philly, including downtown and the colonial area where there are houses from the 1700's. The "trinity" was a special building, a very narrow brick row-house with only one window and door in the front.  It was a three story row-house with each floor only having one long room. These are now very rare and saught after in the old part of town. Unfortunately I was not able to get a photo of one. The photo on the right below is that of some brick work done in the 1700's and then again in the 1800 or 1900's.  You can see where the brick style changed. 

 

  To the left is a photo of me posing at the Magic Gardens, a place I remember from last time I was in Philadelphia about five years ago visiting a friend on the east coast.  It amazed me how many public mosaic installations this artist had throguhout the city of Philly. 

 

We stopped by the Magic Gardens (www.phillymagicgardens.org), where a local mosaic tile artist Isaiah Zagar's work is displayed. 





 On Tuesday morning after packing the car we headed out of Philly, destination Clifftop, West Virginia for a week long music festival, the Appalachian String band Music Festival.  Before leaving the Philadelphia area we went to the gas station to fill up.  Because of a broken hose attached the nozzle, gasoline began spraying inside the car as well as on Anneclaire.  It took me a second to register what was happening.  Because of the gas leak, we ended up doing the 8 hour road trip inhaling some gas fumes. Not at all pleasant, especially since the windows had to be rolled down quite a bit to get some ventilation.  Below is a picture of us at rest stop airing out the car.  I believe this story is one of those that I can laugh about now, but at the time was annoying. 

 

 

(airing out the gas fumes somewhere in the state of Virginia)

 We made it to Clifftop in time to pitch our tent and have burritos with the folks we were camping with before it got dark.  We decided to share a tent and pitch it close to the road, probably not the safest place, but definitely the most level place we could find. Clifftop does not have the most ideal camping situations.  We camped with friends of mine from Chicago and Dayton Ohio, some musicians from Melbourne, Australia and a couple from Tasmania.  They had quite the set-up by the time we arrived. 

  I didn't take nearly enough photos at clifftop this year, but I did play lots of fiddle. I was fortunate to play with many new folks, most of them from the east coast; a lovely couple from Rhode Island, a group from Connecticut and an accordian player from NYC.  Ac and I played tunes with a great banjo player camped with us from Melbourne.  We also got to catch up and play tunes with our friends David and Michelle, folks who moved from Seattle to Ithaca, NY.  The weather at clifftop was rainy and muddy some days, and sunny other days. The mud was quite thick and encompassing.  My toes were so grimy.  The couple from Tanzania cooked us the best meal one evening, I felt as though I was in Italy at the home of a gourmet cook.  I couldn't put down my fork. 

More to come....

 

Red Peds, June 2013 in White Center

Red Peds:

A series of detailed oil paintings depicting various moped components.

By Brigid Blume

June 2013 at Center Studio

        Artist Reception: Thursday June 13^th 6-9pm

Center Studio, 9611 16^th Ave SW, White Center, WA

www.whitecenterstudio.com

"When I graduate high school....

.....you're going to be 30!" my sister said to me several years ago, when she stated our 12 year age difference out loud. Yes, I am THAT old now.  It was about 12 years ago when I graduated from high school.

Last Wednesday Maggie graduated from a private, all-girls high school located in Chicago.  I was  fortunate to be able to fly back for her graduation ceremony, located at the Copernicus Center, a beautiful old theater on the "nordwestSIDe" of Chicago. Two hundred plus girls in white gowns and heels with an average of 5-6inches. Some had sparkles. No one tripped! It was a very sweet ceremony. I love my sister. She is beautiful, smart AND an amazing water polo player.  We celebrated afterwards at my grandparents' house with round pizza cut in rectangle, square and triangle shapes (don't ask me why, it's a Chicago thing).   I cannot believe she will be leaving Chicago soon. Mom, dad, Grandma Carol, Aunt Karen,  Brendan and Christian also attended the ceremony. We really missed Peter, but I'm pretty sure we can photo shop him into the photo below.

(from left to right: Brendan, Me, Christian, and Maggie)

 

I love my siblings and am so very proud of all they are up to.  Brendan and Christian own a pedi-cab business that is doing extremely well. Check them out: www.blumebrotherspedicab.com Brendan also is co-owner of a fantastic community supported brewery in the Ravenswood neighborhood called Begyle, check them out: www.begylebrewing.com. Right now they distribute to bars and stores in Lincoln Square.  I helped him fold t-shirts the other day, in exchange for some brews. My trip to Chicago was short, but very sweet. Congratulations to my beautiful sister. More to come!

Snowshoeing in Paradise

It is spring here in the Northwest, which means daffodils, rain, tulips and longer days in Seattle.  Outisde of Seattle, in the mountains it means snow at 6,000 feet. 

On Saturday, my friend Hans and I drove out to Mt. Rainier early to enjoy a day of snowshoeing near Paradise.  There is a reason they call it Paradise.  It was a winter wonderland, just cold enough to be pleasantly warm while trekking over the 10 ft snow drifts.  We left Seattle around eight in the morning, coffee in our mugs, in hopes of finding a nice snow shoe.  We entered Mt Rainier national park around 11 and put our gear on.  I've always owned winter clothing, living in Chicago during the winter requires it.  I had several layers topped with a waterproof jacket and a pair of rain pants. My balaclava and sunglasses were also necessary.  I realize after this experience that I must Snow-Seal my hiking boots. 

We did about 3 miles in all of snowshoeing between pleasant tree coverage and open valleys with a bit of wind.  The snow was so pristine and soft.  Often the drifts resembled sand dunes or waves.  Though it was mostly cloudy, there were periods of clearing when the sun sparkled down on the evergreens in the distance.  I sunk about 6 inches into the snow with each footstep. Without my snowshoes it probably would have been a three feet sinking.  The snow was in drifts deeper than 12 feet.  Trekking around in this snow was not tedious but energizing and warming.

I was blissed out to be in the wilderness in the snow, finally, my first snow expedition of the season.  We passed a few others, but for the most part, it was quite empty. Hans was quite versed in following the safe tree line and not venturing into large open spaces with steep drifts that could collapse.  We stopped twice to picnic in the snow, butts plopped in the body encapsulating snow. 

Towards the end of our hike, we decided that it was super fun to make snow angels by falling into the snow, turning into planks and just letting go.  The snow caught us.  Together we formed over a dozen of snow imprints by falling either on our backs, fronts or sides.  Hans also did a few front flips landing on his back.  The snow was so deep and so supportive, there was little impact.  Having the snowshoes on made maneuvering into a jump a bit challenging, so after awhile we took them off.  Laughing more than I have in a long time, the falling and playing was so fun.  We were practicing and perfecting the falling and trusting the earth to hold us. It was quite wonderful. 

After getting completely covered in snow, we decided that we may get too wet and cold and must stop, though I have to admit stopping this play was difficult, as it was SO FUN. We walked out and took some photos next to the snowdrifts, had IPA's and unpeeled our wet gear as the sun began to shine more clearly.  Below are some of what Hans called "peekaboo views" of the beautiful mountains at Rainier:

The pictures do not fully capture what I saw up in the mountains. Sometimes your eye can take a better photograph, than any lens could.  In any case, the photos are a reminder of how wonderful snow can be.  A day of play in the snowy mountains is exactly what I needed. More to come...  

Rain in the Desert

It is the cloudiest, rainiest, yuckiest (as the children I watch would say)month in Seattle, in my opinion. The excitement of the beginning of the year has somewhat faded and the dawning of spring has not yet arrived. It is during this time that people go inwards and nest. I have been doing some of that when not working. My easel is set up and my hold list at the library is becoming quite extensive.

My month began with a trip to Phoenix, Arizona; a trip to escape from the oppression of the clouds, dampness and rain. Arriving in Phoenix there was a definite reprieve from the moisture, though the five days I was there the temperature did rise above 63 and it actually rained one day...in the desert! Quite unusual, even for this time of year. But the point of my trip was not just to soak up some vitamin D, but to visit Katrina, a good friend of mine from grad school who moved out to the desert to take an art therapy job. We visited Four Peaks Brewery and received a free tour and free beer.

We went hiking in the rainy desert and we felt as though we were back in Portland, hoodies and all. Katrina took me to Tonto National Park, where we looked for wild horses, and watched herons near the water.
I collected rocks in the desert! The rocks in Arizona are warm colored, most of them some tint of red. Getting through security at the Phoenix airport was interesting. I got stopped because of the rocks. While the TSA officer was going through my bag, she said "these are beautiful, where did you get them?" I hesitated "...uh." Before I could say anything she said "the beach?", and I just nodded. There is no beach in several hundred miles of this arid land. My rocks had to run through the security belt one more time.

While in Phoenix, I did hours of job searching/applying, as well as finding a bed at Ikea. Funny the things you do when you are on a rainy and cold vacation in the desert.

I still have yet to obtain a job in the field of Art Therapy or Mental Health. I have been averaging 2-3 applications per week. I finally received my LMHCA, my associates license for the state of Washington. This is a step in the right direction.

Meanwhile I have been nannying quite a bit and volunteering on Mondays with an open art therapy studio group, where we have been working on a group mural project. It is a project funded by the city of Seattle. The giant painted mural will be installed at a public Metro Bus stop in Belltown next month! It has been quite the learning experience to co-facilitate a large mural painting with elderly and folks with developmental disabilities.

My own oil painting sessions have resumed with a focus on detailed, enlarged, metal components of mopeds. I will be showing these in a studio in White Center during the month of June.

Speaking of bikes, I rode from White Center to Capitol Hill yesterday, what a nice and intense ride. 10.3 miles and it took me 90 minutes.  I need to get back into riding.  21st Ave SW is a wonderful street to ride on; little traffic for a few miles.  Riding in Seattle is a challenge, but fun.   
  

2013: Home, sweet home

Welcome to 2013 friends! We made it! The world did not end!

A week ago I moved to White Center, into this cute little red cottage (photo below).

For those of you living far away from the northwest; White Center is an unincorporated part of Seattle, just south of West Seattle. It is one of the most diverse and transitioning neighborhoords of Seattle. My house is situated on a quiet block, a few blocks from a local hardware store and several blocks from a variety of Vietnamese, Peruvian, Mexican and African resteraunts. This afternoon I had pho at one of the local establishments; hot beef and broth, rice noodles, vegetables with a side of bean sprouts, jalepeno pepers and lime. A satisfying cure for a post-moving cold.
My house is a well-insulated, beautifully designed dwelling with a loft and gigantic south facing windows. It has a modern gas fireplace and a gas stove, along with a spiral staircase to a large loft space. Most of my belongings and I have begun to unpack my art supplies. Slowly my art making space is being established again.


Friday, January 11th will be my five year anniversary of arriving in Seattle. Time is a funny thing. Five years ago I began blogging about begining my life in the northwest, and this year I am making the resolution to continue writing about my adventures, art and music. After six months of house sitting, cat sitting, and sleeping on friends' couches, I am happy to say that I am home, sweet home.