{"id":63,"date":"2009-12-14T01:06:46","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T01:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog?p=63"},"modified":"2013-03-31T17:34:22","modified_gmt":"2013-03-31T17:34:22","slug":"rock-paper-scissors-shells-and-words-of-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/rock-paper-scissors-shells-and-words-of-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shells, and Words of Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Shell<\/a>\"Shell<\/a>\"Words<\/a>\"Tiny<\/a>Tiny Japanese Zen rock sculptures which resemble pagodas \u00a0have been springing up in on the Mainline . \u00a0I have counted \u00a0about 5 \u00a0different sculptures so far. \u00a0There is a rock sculpture in front of \u00a0The Hamper ( a thrift\/consignment store) which keeps getting knocked down ( I’m assuming by angry \u00a0youths who have nothing better to do than be destructive). \u00a0 But the sculpture always \u00a0magically get \u00a0re-assembled- sometimes in a matter of hours. \u00a0Who \u00a0( or whom) is behind this wonderful subversive, quiet public art? Every time I discover another rock sculpture, I get happy.\u00a0I appreciate this anonymous art. \u00a0I wonder if the artist will ever step forward. \u00a0 It is an art mystery which is bringing me joy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0Last month, I attended the Philadelphia Craft Show. \u00a0 It was huge and overwhelming. \u00a0I had been to the craft show only once before about 12 years ago. \u00a0While there were so many amazing and talented craftspeople, I definitely picked out my 4 favorite \u00a0booths. \u00a0The first booth I loved was Roberta and David Williamson \u00a0( jewelry). \u00a0 They are \u00a0famous and were featured in the PBS documentary about Crafts in America. Their creations are incredible. \u00a0I wanted EVERYTHING \u00a0they were showing- especially their Victorian inspired magnified glass bauble necklaces and insect pieces. \u00a0I also loved Betsey Youngquist (byart.com). \u00a0She makes amazing beaded sculptures and wall art- some with baby faces, toys, \u00a0hands, hamsas, and eyes. \u00a0 Her art is truly fantastic! \u00a0I am a sucker for dioramas, and was thrilled by \u00a0the work of Christine R. Schukow ( www.Christineoriginals.com). \u00a0Her dioramas \u00a0were full of humor. \u00a0 Some of them light up. \u00a0AWESOME! \u00a0 My favorite artist at the craft show \u00a0was Chris Roberts- Antieau<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(www.Chrisroberts-antieau.com) . \u00a0She is a self taught outsider artist from Michigan ( everyone I mentioned is famous as is Chris). \u00a0 She takes fabric to a whole new level. \u00a0She cuts and stitches \u00a0people and animals and \u00a0with text. \u00a0Her art is hilarious, uplifting and sublime. \u00a0 \u00a0I think my favorite piece she created was \u00a0a cartoon like panel piece about \u00a0“what if I owned a monkey?” \u00a0 Her sense of humor is offbeat and quirky ( very me!). \u00a0I also \u00a0chatted with her briefly. \u00a0Very nice person. \u00a0 I am in awe of all the artists I mentioned.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This past Saturday, an event I had been anxiously awaiting \u00a0happened. \u00a0It was the3rd annual Book,Paper, Scissors \u00a0artist’s book faire sponsored by \u00a0the Philadelphia Center for the Book( Philadelphiacenterforthebook.org) This past Saturday, an event I had been anxiously awaiting \u00a0happened. \u00a0It was the 3rd annual Book,Paper, Scissors \u00a0artist’s book faire sponsored by \u00a0the Philadelphia Center for the Book and held at the Central library. \u00a0I \u00a0stumbled upon the faire last year while looking for something else on the internet. \u00a0 I \u00a0became conflicted about even blogging about the \u00a0event \u00a0because it is \u00a0such \u00a0a magical and intoxicating experience, that helps me fuel my own personal art obsessions and explorations. \u00a0I am also a paper and ephemera junkie. \u00a0Always have been. \u00a0 This is why I was so ecstatic over the James Castle exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art last year. \u00a0My heart races at the thought of using an IBM Selectric typewriter. \u00a0I have decided to now share this great annual event. \u00a0Last year I spent 6 hours at the event. \u00a0I talked to many of the artists and really stopped to look at the work. \u00a0The \u00a0fair is not \u00a0like a flea market. \u00a0It requires you to go up to each table and \u00a0interact with the hand made books, paper and prints and engage the artists in dialogue. \u00a0 \u00a0The artists range in age and in education. \u00a0Many art students from the University of the arts who are studying book making but there are other artists who are self taught, graduated, or teachers. \u00a0 \u00a0I \u00a0 scored \u00a0a few awesome handmade giant disc \u00a0lucite pendants with Superman comics on them from artist Lesley Mitchell (www.lesleymitchell.com) \u00a0 I \u00a0bought some cool tiny notebooks from from egg cartons and margarine boxes from Tara O’ Brien- a \u00a0multi talent book artist who also knits. \u00a0 I was in heaven as I looked at the collage books by artist Rebecca Kelly. \u00a0We talked about our love of artist \u00a0James Castle and she pulled out a book she made as an homage to him. \u00a0 I also loved the \u00a0tiny hand \u00a0shaped \u00a0Victorian paper love tokens \u00a0made by Jennifer Rosen. \u00a0The story she told me about how she discovered the \u00a0love tokens was \u00a0very interesting. \u00a0Love token preceded valentines and were given to family members and friends. \u00a0 \u00a0The ones Jennifer Rosen made and were selling had an \u00a0intricate woven pattern with a heart in the middle of the hand.<\/p>\n

Speaking of \u00a0Valentines- A few months ago I attended the Philadelphia Shell Show at the Academy of Natural Sciences. \u00a0I found out about \u00a0the event the night before and my gut feeling urged me to go. \u00a0I like shells. \u00a0I love the ocean but I couldn’t understand what compelling force was pushing me to attend a shell show. \u00a0 I thought it would just be a room of over zealous shell collectors buying and selling seashells. \u00a0Well, yes there was a room of sea shells being sold but the shell show was so much more. \u00a0It was a combination of education, art and discovery. \u00a0The shell show had entries for shell art and sailor’s valentines. \u00a0It was the first time \u00a0I had seen or heard about sailor’s valentines. \u00a0What are sailor’s \u00a0valentines you ask? \u00a0 Answer: \u00a0Sailor’s Valentines were originally souvenirs they brought home to \u00a0their loved ones after being away at sea. \u00a0Composed of \u00a0octagonal glass , these fronted \u00a0hinged \u00a0wooden boxes ranging in size \u00a0 from 8 to 15 inches in width . \u00a0Inside they display \u00a0intricate symmetrical designs composed entirely of small sea \u00a0shells of various colors glued onto a backing. \u00a0Patterns often feature a center piece such as a compass rose or heart design . Some of the valentines have small shells spelling out sentimental love messages. \u00a0Sailor valentines were \u00a0originally popular \u00a0from the 1830s to the 1890s. \u00a0 \u00a0This \u00a0form of folk art \u00a0has been revitalized and \u00a0there are many artists and shell enthusiasts \u00a0making them today. \u00a0 \u00a0The shell show had entries of these Sailor’s valentines from all over the country; many from the Cape Cod area. \u00a0 \u00a0But my happiest discovery at the show was the shell art sculptures by Alla \u00a0Baksanskaya ( www.allaexpressions.com). \u00a0Alla \u00a0is originally from Azerbaijan but \u00a0has lived in Brooklyn since 1994. \u00a0Her 3D paintings and \u00a0shell sculptures are whimsical, naive, playful \u00a0and like the Sailor’s valentines, border on kitsch ( which I LOVE!). \u00a0 Her art made me smile. \u00a0I love it.\"Shell<\/a>\u00a0\"Sea<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For many, many months now, \u00a0 I have been seeing these fantastic signs with spiritual messages on them in Wynnewood. \u00a0The signs \u00a0sit on a \u00a0grassy curb outside a large home and are designed \u00a0to be read and contemplated. \u00a0 There are two sayings ( one on each side ) so cars going in either direction will get a message. \u00a0It almost reminds me of a suburban fortune cookie fortune. \u00a0The messages change about every two weeks. \u00a0A few weeks ago, \u00a0the sign was temporarily gone and I panicked a little. \u00a0I enjoy \u00a0seeing the messages. \u00a0I want to say a big THANK YOU to the family who has had the guts to post these \u00a0sayings which \u00a0are about treating others with kindness, love and looking at life \u00a0in a deeper and more profound way. \u00a0By having these signs up especially on the Mainline, I think it gives people a mini jolt. \u00a0I see so much unconscious behavior \u00a0and selfish acts driven by materialistic greed. \u00a0I ‘m so grateful there are at least few other people here trying to \u00a0raise \u00a0the consciousness of the Mainline. \u00a0 Blame my frustration on being from California. \u00a0Happy Holidays.Excuse the \u00a0double photos. I am having issues with word press. \u00a0I will be writing another blog \u00a0in the very near future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Love,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Katie<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Words<\/a>\"Words<\/a>\"Words<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[365,221,400,377,376,416,113,451,402,401,383,371,382,368,415,375,405,378,379,369,370,419,177,372,366,381,407,399,449,367,450,386,384,406,420,385,374,373],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katiepfeiffer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}