Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Laumeier Sculpture Park Big Dinner September 17, 2022

The Aaronson Fine Arts Building proudly showcases a selection of artists celebrating the environment of trees. Gallery visitor traffic observe a range of works from figurative to conceptual. It is an ideal starting point as supporters check in for our fundraising diner. Laumeier Sculpture Park is a remarkable gem in our region. More than 275 citizens enthusiastically gather to support of the mission that merges art and nature.

 

The catering crew from Ces and Judy's have prepared each plate as if a work of art. The staff at Laumeier attend to a million details. The evening is mapped out to showcase the bucolic setting adjacent to the neon art of David Hutson, Big Deer by Tony Tasset, Ginnever's Crete, Alexander Liberman's The Way and dozens of other world-class pieces of monumental heroic contemporaty art in a very public place. We find ourselves dining at tables positioned in the heart of the midway that earlier this year attracted over 17,000 visitors to the juried show and Art Fair on Mother's Day weekend in May. 

The moveable feast guides guests from check in and gallery viewing to cocktails, diner, coffee/desert and the music by the Screechin' Halts on a stage in front of the estate house. The evening was lovely and the weather behaved as if Sumer would last forever. The fun included auction items and pledge opportunities that crushed the goal of $135,000.00 before the valet parking crew started the orderly end of a beautiful evening. Needless to say: A good time was had by all. Congratulations to Executive Director Lauren Ross and the staff at Laumeier Sculpture Park.

A Day in Cleveland with Janie (part 2)

 

A Day in Cleveland 8-20-22

Divine Intervention

Sunrise 6:45am - Pier W is truly a one of a kind place for a beautiful sunrise. It's been a landmark restaurant since 1965 and its architecture is designed to resemble the hull of a ship. Set within a cliff overlooking Lake Erie, with a panoramic view of Cleveland. (The photo my brother Dan captured of Janie and me is a kind of magical documentation of what I later claimed as Divine Intervention. (Janie’s border line agnostic text response - Divine Intervention: Sometimes that works.) 

Breakfast - The Dinerbar on Clifton serves tasty, high quality American fare with health conscious options for breakfast in a sleek & stylish retro diner. I wanted coffee. She wanted Tea. We lingered over breakfast for over 2 hours. OMG it’s 11:00 already.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - A highlight of our visit was An immersive complement to Peter Jackson's docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back.” We are fans experiencing The Beatles on film, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon and even Billy Preston on keyboards. The film takes us to the rooftop of Apple Studio in January of 1969. 

The Cleveland Museum of Art – I am delighted to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art with Janie. She has agreed to be a student and I cannot resist being a docent. This is the place where as a youngster I was introduced to Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period La Vie, George Wesley Bellows Stag at Sharkey’s and of course Rodin’s Thinker. Janie smiles as she continues to struggle for appreciation of the abstract expressionism of Mark Rothko. Dan embraces his “side hustle” as a part time museum guard in addition to his ongoing career as an extraordinary photographer.

Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park - The perfect day included a finale sunset at Lakewood Park’s Solstice Steps. We stopped to reflect at Coach Angelo Privetera’s lovely tribute to his wife Karen at the Pavilion between Foster Pool and a baseball diamond. Clouds and a light rain caused us to cut it short but we agreed to get a bite to eat before calling it a day.

Immigrant Son Brewery - Janie suggested we visit this place at 18120 Sloane Avenue. Years ago this was a common hangout where the McDonald’s restaurant nearby attracted students from Lakewood High School. On this night it was busy and so we elected to sit at the bar. Perfect! We found ourselves adjacent to a social media couple just getting to know each other. (He was divorced and she was a widow.) They were a kind of proof positive that people deserve happiness. It is beautiful when people find each other and extra special if you are fortunate enough to rediscover one another. "How long have you two been together?" she asks. Well, we first dated about 48 years ago. (Ha) Again we lingered effortlessly (until after 10 pm).   

Back at the Winton Place we said goodbye in the darkness of the parking lot. I had an early flight back to Saint Louis the following morning. Divine Intervention? Yeah, I think sometimes that works.