Friday, July 27, 2012

Gilbert Stuart House

Gilber Stuart. The guy who famously painted George Washington. According to our tour guide, he was quite a dandy and also didn't like Washington, which is why he painted him next to a horse's ass. Literally.

According to this guy, standing next to a self-portrait by Stuart, oddly resembling him, Stuart chewed nine pounds of snuff every day.

All of the rooms of the original house were filled with furniture similar to what would have been there at the time and not-to-scale reproductions of the original Stuart paintings. Go. It's in RI. Worth every penny.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Monday, July 23, 2012

Beavertail RI



Got home, went to the Ocean. Beavertail on Jamestown (island) is one of my favorite places. Untamed, rocky and violent, no beach blanket bingo here.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

big skies



Driving from Plainfield, IN to Delphos OH and onward to PA. Corn and soy as far as the eye can see and the horizon lined with wind turbines.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Library Unicycle

Plainfield, IN

ants

I just want to know what made the ants stay only on the edge of this rest-stop toast. Do they hate butter?

Monday, July 16, 2012

last night in KY

On my last night in Louisville, I was waiting for my film to arrive so I could photograph libraries on the way home. Tired of refreshing the UPS tracking page we went out to dinner and then stopped at Captain's Quarters, a sprawling restaurant on the river, on the way home. We drank a bottle of wine and watched the sunset. Every few minutes it changed wildly. We wandered on home after it had set at about 9:30pm -- a full hour later than it sets at home in RI.



Walt Jones' Woodshop



Grandpa, Walt Jones, will be 90 in August and here he is in his wood-shop. He spends many afternoons here, in the basement of his house. Since Grandma passed last year it is an especially therapeutic place for him. He is currently working on a project making wooden bowls (of his own design) for all of his grandkids. Something in the neighborhood of 15. If he included great and great-great grandkids he'd be working forever. Mom made him this apron while I was there.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

family

    
Miss Maisy Scary-face

Mr. Sebastian Give-me-your-camera



 Gina, Joe, Maisy, Sebastian, Roxy. So nice to spend time with all of you!

Monday, July 9, 2012

gardening/plumbing

I got to KY and was quickly involved in some gardening and plumbing projects at my Mom's rental property. Grandpa is going to be 90 in August. Good thing, because if he was any younger I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

PGH, beyond library

I wish this was an art performance but they were just perfectly dressed, perfectly placed tourists.


Celine!

Library statue meets Natural History statue.

Carnegie Library, PGH

I photographed the Squirrel Hill branch library for my library project but couldn't resist going to the main branch to look around. It pretty much blew my mind. I think I saw a sign saying they had something like 380,000 books. The library is attached to a natural history museum and a fine art museum as well. It's really something. Also, as you will see below, quirky, as all good libraries are.

Ceiling in entryway.

Music room busts.

The most card catalogs ever!

What else would you expect to be in a library vending machine?

Glass block floors.

Bamboo garden, reading area.

Soooo much more, but that was a taste.

Squirrel Hill Locksmith

Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. I love everything about this locksmith's logo.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Pittsburgh

Stopped in Pittsburgh on the way to Louisville. I never would have guessed what a cool town it was. Very different architecture than I am used to, houses upon houses up and down hills. An amazing downtown, fabulous parks and city views. I had the very best kind of tour guide -- someone who has actually lived in Pittsburgh a long time. Thanks Jim!

Is it creepy to make a self-portrait in someone else's house? I loved the morning light.