gimme shelter jaclyn mednicov

Vacancy by Jaclyn Mednicov

If you happen to be in New York City anywhere from July 15th til August 20th, then pop on over to the group show Gimme Shelter at Mixed Greens in Chelsea. My good friend, Jaclyn Mednicov, is one of the featured artists. I've seen Jaclyn's art go from good to really, really great over the years - I own several of her paintings myself - and I continue to be impressed by what she produces.

Here's a blurb from the press release: "Mixed Greens is excited to present the group exhibition Gimme Shelter. While shelter is traditionally defined as a structure that provides protection, these seventeen artists present a more complex, multifaceted understanding of the concept. More specifically, the works in this show investigate the delicate balance of perception: whether a space is inviting or uninhabitable, comforting or crumbling, being constructed or consumed.... Many other artists represent structures as having fallen out of use or ceasing to exist. Jaclyn Mednicov’s deserted landscapes, Nicholas Johnston’s ice caves, and Eric Heist’s renderings of post-Katrina New Orleans capture sites that 'once were'..." Read more about Gimme Shelter here.

I remember when Jaclyn and I were just wee-ones living in New York City, trying to navigate through the crowded streets, and equally packed and stinky subway trains. We always talked about what it would be like if Jaclyn were to ever have a show in the Chelsea district...ahhh, memories. Well, Jaclyn has stuck it out and her resume is the proof. I don't think anyone can predict where life will take them, but I think that Jaclyn's 20-something self would be impressed with the artist she's become today.

Since I can't be in NYC to see the show in person, if anyone makes it over there I'd love to hear what you think...

Mixed Greens is located at 531 W 26th Street/ 1st Floor, NYC 10001

the author's world becomes real...or as close as can be

If I were a kid today I would totally be begging my mom to go to Literary Camp. How come they didn't have stuff like this when I was 11?! When we were kids, my sister and I were busy playing dorky spy games around our backyard, ducking behind bushes hiding from the neighbor mowing his lawn on a summer Saturday, and practicing karate rolls, but now kids can actually go to a camp where having a rather large imagination that one is an actual warrior is accepted and cool. Plus, they get to learn real archery, camouflage, covert movement, and tracking, among other rad things - yes, I said rad. Based on John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, BookPeople set up camp in Austin, Texas, where 75 lucky kids between the ages of 9 and 14 got to spend five days learning the skills that Flanagan's characters learn in his books. Other literary camps have been based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (think Lightning Thief) and Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's Spiderwick books. (side note, I saw Holly Black speak at Books of Wonder in NYC a few years ago, before I knew who she was. She was awesome!)

a bad guy at Ranger's camp, no doubt

A letter written to the literary campers by John Flanagan in the voice of Will Treaty, a fictional character at the camp, states that the apprentices "...will learn the secrets of putting an arrow exactly where you want it in the target..." and "...to blend into the background so that nobody can see you." They also are told that they will learn "...other important things like loyalty to your friends and companions, like respect for your instructors, like honesty, and perseverance when things seem a little tough."

learning the mad skills from the dude with the breast-plate, ya'll

It seems like more of these literary camps will be popping up over different locations all over the nation, which makes me happy to know that kids are reading books and their imaginations are coming alive. After all, picturing the world that the author creates really is one of the best parts of reading.

only learning the skills of how to be stealth could get kids to sit at such strict attention

photo pops and doggie-in-a-bag series

Happy belated fourth everyone! I hope it was a good one. I spent the weekend up in wine country gallivanting around with my girlfriends, drinking pinot noir and eating lots and lots of Mexican food. I'm ready to tie on my running shoes and hit the pavement, but maybe I'll just relax for one more day...

So photo pops was in Europe recently and it seems that he's taken a liking to photographing dogs. Maybe his granddogger Sadie has inspired him (my sister told me not to tell people that I use words like granddogger and dogger, but I think it's clever), or maybe there were just lots of people in Paris who carried their little dogs around in bags and my dad thought it was funny - after all, you don't see much of that in Colorado. Sadie and I would fit in well in Paris, except that I don't really speak French, I do know how to ask for a glass of red wine though. Anyway, while I eagerly await photo pops' photographs of the Matterhorn in Switzerland, I wanted to post a couple of pics from what I like to call "The Doggie-in-a-bag Series".....

notice the Sadie-but-smaller lookalike...

yes, lots of Terriers in Paris. I tried putting Sadie in my bag like this once, I almost threw out my shoulder.

(All photos property of Richard Hagar. Any unauthorized use is prohibited and illegal).