coney island

i went to coney island the other day and it had me thinking how it seems every generation has its own take on the area. once a swanky resort area, coney island had faded considerably by the time i got to know it. i remember my folks discussing when coney boasted the famous amusement parks...dreamland, luna park and steeplechase. all of them were destroyed by fire, i believe, but a version of steeplechase still existed when i was a kid...and seemed as magical to me as the stories i heard of coney island's history. the conversations always ended with someone sighing wistfully...."it's not what it was when i was a kid"...

some of the new rides made me dizzy just watching. of course some of the old standards looked as intimidating as ever. most of the games and food were still the same.

coney island is still a fun place to spend the day....but, its not what it was when I was a kid....

a new painting "crossing over"

introducing ....sapphire skye

homecoming

sam and kohl welcome the little one.

NEW BABY

here she is after being adopted

yesterday there was a new baby at the shawn casey animal rescue. she is somewhere between six months to a year old and weighs four and a half pounds.

painting ties for father's day

photos by barbara valianti over at "reading the sky". visit her blog for some breathtaking images of sunsets.
applying the color


preparing the dyes

at a recent craft show

some new painted silks

painter of the wind

i've been watching a korean historical drama, "the painter of the wind." there are 20 wonderful episodes in this story of a young painter in korea,circa 1774.Highly recommended.
in one scene there is a discussion about painting. one student offers:

"perhaps painting is to reminisce"

perhaps.

how say you?

ps

"new home/new life/new name",says charles of sean casey animal rescue. based on that advice, "butterfly" is now "cassie"

new member of the family

welcome butterfly! this new addition to the household arrived christmas day from the sean casey animal shelter. she was rescued from a hoarder house with 56 other cats.
the first five years of her life were spent in a cage.
she's free now and running around her new home like a kitten.
just this afternoon a friend described my apartment as a "playground for cats". there's lots of stuff to climb on and hide in and butterfly is exploring every inch.

new work... on the subject of time

mixed media collage

a year with sam

lived in living room with new paint

sadly, it doesn't look that much different to me. still too cluttered and messy.

paint job

finally the painting is finished. most of the heavy furniture is back in place. the people who invaded my space for the last 8 days are mercifully gone. now there's just the cleaning up and arranging of things to be done. no small job, but at least i can take this on at my own pace.