With fall came clear blue skies again and how welcome they are. Living under a pall of smoke is as depressing as Chicago’s gray winters were when I was a young adult. Our arrival in the west committed us to a new way of life that is now threatened by this unexpected summer phenomenon. The local paper has made the smoke problem its big issue and has a countdown to the opening day of the 2019 fire season every day on the front page. Today it is only 200+ days.
This fall has seen so many wonderful occasions, I will have to limit my enthusiasm for writing about them for fear of reader exhaustion. Starting from today (Nov 6) and working backwards they are the opening of a show at Hanson Howard gallery that included several of my mosaics, the fantastic musical weekend that was Heath’s visit and a bit more about Jenny. And in a few days I will be 95, and birthdays have are now big occasions big occasions, with more celebrations every year. This one will be recounted in the next post.
Last Friday was a highlight in my already incredibly good life. It was 1st Friday and Jackie, Jack and I went to Hanson/Howard Gallery to see Judy Howard’s winter show – Animal Crackers. She had invited me to contribute mosaics, which delighted me, and I have been working since September on 3 pieces for the show. It was supposed to be up for the month of December but in mid-October she called and said it would be up for both Nov. and Dec. I had barely started a 3rd piece so exhibited just two, with and older one thrown in, but not for sale. They seemed to delight viewers and I’ve received lots of enthusiastic emails. They looked pretty wonderful to me, and I had a strong feeling of ‘arrival’ as a mosaic artist.
Afterward we went to the Schneider to see a fine photography exhibit featuring fire and smoke. Then out to dinner at Sauce, where we drank a toast to mosaics and ordered bowls of mixed veggies, sauces, and optional meats. And took home 3 containers of leftovers – even Jack couldn’t finish). It was my treat, a feeble attempt to pay back for all the things they do for ne.
Heath arrived for a weekend in late October and we attended 3 musical events in 2 days. The HD opera on Sat. morning was ‘La Fancuilla’ which I had never seen or heard, but now rates very high on my list of Puccini favorites, even nudging ‘Tosca’, which has long been in 1st place. The two leads were simply fabulous, and Jonas Kaufman was pure eye candy as well as a great tenor. None of the arias was familiar, but still sounded very Puccini-like and more listening would surely make them hummable. We then lunched at ReMix, Ashland’s newest coffee shop and had time for a nap before attending the next event.
This one was initiated several weekends before when Jenny and I went on a tour of open studios in the valley. The old ‘Daily Tidings’ building on Siskiyou Blvd. now now houses the studios of 5 Ashland artists, and one of them is Inger Nova Jorgenson. Inger is a very fine sculptor and we were very impressed by a torso of Jordan Barbour, one of the leads in ‘Oklahoma’ at OSF. Jenny and I had tickets for the show the next day and were delighted to recognize Jordan, a wonderfully versatile actor/singer/dancer who plays half of a gay couple in this innovative production.
But not to digress…..Inger also paints acrylics and sings! She told us about the Rhythm-and-Blues concerts conce held at Stone House where she lives with her husband Jeff Pevar. They occur regularly when these two musicians are in town. We signed up to get emails and I received one for Sat. Oct 27. Knowing Heath would be here and also that her birthday was on the 30th, I signed us up to go. And what fun it was. I am a passionate lover of classical music and pretty negative about ‘Rock’ but Inger assured me I would be fine with the music (and the volume). The Stone House is in a hollow off Rte 66 before you get to Emigrant Lake, an area I’d never been to, on a large acreage that includes two pretty ponds (which immediately aroused my birding interest). People were arriving with food and inside there was a buffet, wine, beer and conviviality. The musical setup was complex, with lots of guitars waiting to be played. There were two sets and Jeff played straight through. What a fine guitarist. Inger sang the second set and has a rich, bluesy voice and great presence. At intermission I spotted Phoenix Singalov, whom I know as a tennis pro from whom grandson Sam takes lessons whenever he comes to Ashland. (Phooenix is a universal man – a guitarist whose group plays at the Green Show and many other events in the valley, song writer, tennis player and most recently owner of a new food truck in Medford called Daddy Ramen). The audience was packed with musicians, some of whom came up and played. It was, for me, very different from my regular musical experiences – symphonty, opera, choral, percussion, etc. I’ll surely go again with Jenny when one of her visits coincide with a concert.
About Jenny – on her October visit she was asked to visit Chris Briscoe to have professional photos take for use in the symphony brochures. She was not very enthusiastic and did not get her hair-and-nails done as others do. And she took NuNu, her rascally dog. But the outcome was wonderful, and Chris took some very classy photos. Unfortunately I can’t post them, but for anyone interested his website is fascinating and perhaps he will post them there.
We also finally got through a long-needed event that Jenny kept postponing, and that was to disburse Mac’s ashes on Mount Ashland. It is where he proposed to her, and where they often walked when they were in Ashland. She has been here several times since his death, but (understandably) always found a reason to postpone. And as sometimes happens, the reality was far different from, and far better than, the anticipation. It was a beautiful Monday morning and very few people were around, and after realizing that she could actually do it she began. I was the photographer, and so felt like and active participant. It was such a freeing experience I decided it would be the right place for Eric and me, when that time comes. And that pleased her.
