Sunday, August 27, 2006

Buffalo Old Home Week Brunch





The wrap up of Buffalo Old Home Week, the brunch, was this morning. Another well organized (good food, too) and well attended event. Again, I have to give props to the tireless public face of the week (including Chris Smith and Amy Maxwell).
The dining portion was enhanced by the incredible view of Hoyt Lake from the Marcy Casino. After eating and socializing, we were off to check out the vendors. I thought all of the artists were showing at the Elmwood fest this weekend! There were plenty of drawings and photographs of our fine city as well as other vendors with Buffalo-themed merchandise. Above is a photo of Mark and Jill Wisz from Where to Roam Clothing with their unique archetectural t's.
All the news stations jumped on the bandwagon, with 7 and 4 leaving as we arrived. Channel 2 was interviewing Chris for their "Brain Drain" series.
There were many Buffalo bloggers in attendance - above I captured Alan (Buffalo Pundit) and Kevin, my hubby and Buffaloroots writer. We were eating earlier with Jennifer and her sweetie Mark in shifts, as they were volunteering at the Faces of Buffalo table.
Yes, a good time was has by all....

Quick Moment,,,,

We're about to head to th Old Home Days brunch, and, while waiting to Kevin to get moving, I got a chance to glance at the News- more good words about Buffalo Old Home Week's successes . Well, off to brunch....

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Elmwood Art Festival, Saturday






The Elmwood Art Festival. A good time every year. Because it was rather crowded, my pictures (especially of the art) were limited, but there were subjects that were patient with me.
The pups are brought from the Buffalo Animal Shelter , assuming that people have not made it down to see who can be adopted. The Treehouse toy store at Elmwood and Auburn hosts the shelter for the event. Buffalo, being a dog town (there are cats as well), really flocks to this booth. Since I'm a sucker for a cute pup, Rocky (the dark one) charmed the crap out of me, and out came the camera. A sibling of his is one of the pups in the other picture. The shelter has the whole litter up for adoption.
The landmark posters by Michael Gelen ( the designer of this year's festival poster) were one of the many examples of Buffalo artwork available. I've written this before, but this festival is so uniquely Buffalo. It's so good to see local artists (I mean you, Mike Mulley, Devora Primack, Joe Cascio, Ann Peterson and others) as the center of attention at this kind of event. And I think that the swelling pride in being a Buffalonian is showing in a lot of the work, in photography, painting, drawing and elsewhere.
The family aspect is also strong. There is an entire area with activities for the kids - even a stroller parking lot. The area is guarded by the asparagus. I spied it walking around earlier in the day. I swear.
Even the police were friendly, some patrolling on horseback. I know the one I photographed looked mellow, but he was enjoying the music from the nearby stage.
Speaking of music, if the weather holds out for tomorrow, we'll be heading there after the Old Home Days brunch...

Friday, August 25, 2006

Buffalo Old Home Week, pt. 1

First, let me welcome everyone from out of town home. You missed us....come on....
Went to the Career Fair this morning. It was really impressive. There was an incredible ammount of people, and tons of employers selling US JOBS. I didn't catch anyone begging for the few jobs that people assume we have here; no, employers were trying to fill jobs. Get it? Big Buffalo stereotype, smacked down! Big congrats to all that worked on Buffalo Old Home Days - you guys represent all that is great about this town; this especially means you, Chris/Buffalo Geek (you looked cute in your tuxedo outfit). Can't wait to see you all at the brunch Sunday...
You have tickets, right? Well, you'd better get some - this event is getting a life of its own!

Friday, August 18, 2006

August Night on Elmwood

"New Buffalo" by Michael Morgulis

Went down to the block party on Elmwood between Auburn and Lafayette. The street was just crawling with people, a girl drumming near the corner, shops had tables out in front. Went to the Insite Gallery first. The Midsummer show opened tonight, with snacks and wine along with work from several different artists (see last post) using a wide variety of mediums. It was well curated - the work flowed nicely. After some conversation, we went back out to the night, then up to Michael Morgulis' Local Color Gallery. He was having an end-of-summer (sniff, sniff) t-shirt sale. Being most comfortable in T's, I was thrilled to pick up a Morgulis long sleeve shirt for $10. Don't worry if you missed it - Michael said he would be running the t-shirt sale next weekend during the Elmwood Art Festival. For those coming in for the Old Home Days event, and , for that matter, anyone else who likes a quality Buffalo art shirt or print, stop by the Local Color Gallery at the Neighborhood Collective (810 Elmwood).
Then next door to Delish, the pastry shop/cooking school for a dessert. A dangerous stop. I got this insane roasted strawberry cheesecake, which was simply amazing. Kevin got the Mocha whoopie pie. Now, I've seen him plow through a lot of food, but this got the better of him - this one will take a couple of sittings.
It almost seemed like this nice event was just a preview of the Elmwood Festival. IMHO, this is now the summer outdoor art fest to be at. These days, I spend the 2nd weekend in June at Music is Art.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Drive Through Parkside

Today, I drove over to Wyatt Design on Parkside to proofread my entry in this year's Artists and Gallery Guide, created by the Artists in Buffalo group. This year's guide was designed by Crowley-Webb: got to see the color proof, and it is really good looking! This grassroots project has developed into a really professional piece. I'm not sure when it will be out, but keep your eyes open - it will be hard to miss. And the website will be updated to include the new listings as well.
After proofreading, I drove around the neighborhood - I like to keep up with the progress on the Darwin Martin house. As I drove around on a weekday afternoon, I saw all kinds of work being done on houses in the surrounding neighborhood. Major construction projects. I think that is a big clue about the power of a cultural project (especially the size of the Darwin Martin Complex) has on the pride of the city. Next, The Richardson Towers? Imagine the West Side if a project like that gets off the ground! And the money is out there. What's the hangup?

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Elmwood Art Opening and Block Party

The Insite Gallery at 810 Elmwood Avenue will show "Midsummer: A Group Exhibition" through September 13th. Artists include: Kathy Sherin, Jackie Felix, Dianne Baker, Joan Fitzgerald, Ani Hoover, Nathan Naettzker, Norine Spurling, Chris Stangler and Catherine Linder Spencer. The opening will coincide with a block party on that stretch of Elmwood on Friday, August 18th , 6-9 pm. Stores and spaces on this block will be open.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Coincidences in the Blogesphere...

Kevin (my husband) and I went to dinner at the River Grill this evening. Great seafood, on (of course) the river. Go before the end of the summer..... Anyway, we were driving down Niagara (at that point, trying to figure out where we were going for ice cream), and we saw the new sign, painted on the International Railroad Bridge, for the Squaw Island Park. I have never been there, and quite recently was in a conversation about bird-watching, and was told Squaw Island was a good place, so I suggested we stop. We spent some time there; I took note of some photos I have to go back for, we walked off some dinner, and went to Anderson's. I come home and walk the pup, then settle in to do some surfing. Lo and behold, Buffalo Rising has uploaded a story and picture of that very sign. I just thought that was cool....

Bandwagon

Looks like the Buffalo News has got the story on HGTV/Artspace relationship. The ball's arollin".....

Thursday, August 10, 2006

HGTV invests in Buffalo's art community

HGTV has a grant program called Restore America Community Revitalization. One of the 11 grants given this year was to Buffalo's Artspace project. They are impressed with Artspace Inc's reuse of the historic Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company building for 60 affordable live/work spaces for artists and have awarded $50,000. Just one of the many ways art is putting Bflo on the map. I only wish that this was being done when I was looking for a place to live and work (the younger days)....

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Artspace groundbreaking

I'm looking forward to checking this out. As Buffalo waits for a "silver bullet" (ie- Bass Pro, The Casino, a good new Sabres logo), the Buffalo art community actually has said bullet. An outside developer, Artspace Projects Inc., has found Buffalo a great place to invest in work/living lofts for artists. Already, the neighboring street, Coe Place (which has been covered widely, from Buffalo Rising and Fix Buffalo) has already been seeing a lot of attention for redeveloping. Seems that this project will be spinning off interest in some east side development.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Elmwood Arts Festival

Hopefully, this cooler weather can hold out for The Elmwood Avenue Arts Festival, Aug 26th & 27th. I think the big difference between that and the Allentown Art Fest is the "Buffaloness" of it. I did the outdoor art show thing for a few years in the late '90s. I ended up meeting people from all over the country, but not many from the town I was actually in. At the Elmwood fest, that's not the case. Not only are most of the artists from this general area, but there is Cultural Row, which features everything from Buffalo art organizations, to charities. It is very well run, but homey at the same time.
It is a perfect weekend for Buffalo Old Home Week. I think that the festival (as well as the MANY other planned activities) is a great way to let ex-pats know that this is a great town to live in.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Here we go...

Well, I need to get back in writing/linking phase as the summer winds down (I hate that thought- not the writing, but the winding). With the exhibition season fast approaching, I am working on plans to keep this site updated with news of openings, links to Buffalo art sites, and different ways to market my own art . Stay tuned for my re-emergence on the creative scene...