Gallery Walk

It is the first Saturday of the month.
That is when Oshkosh holds Gallery Walk.
This was our first time ever attending Gallery Walk. It's spring, and I'm just dying to do something - anything out of the ordinary now that the snow has melted and I no longer want to hibernate!

I received an E-mail the other day from Crescent Moon saying they were planning to participate in the Gallery Walk as well. That in itself is pretty damned cool. You see, Crescent Moon is a salvage resale company in down town Oshkosh. I just love stopping in there when we get the chance. J and Julia have some very awesome ideas to offer when it comes to making use of reclaimed salvage items. And well, somehow during one of our visits, we got to talking about White Chicken Chili, and I promised Julia that I'd drop off my recipe for her one day. I kept my promise, and it happened to have my E-mail address on it, so now I'm on their mailing list as well. And I'm cool with that. They have some groovy stuff. In fact, she's going to call me with a price on a 1940's Oshkosh City Directory. I collect those and don't have one quite so old, so I hope it will be a good price.

Gallery Walk was quite fun. Many of the participating businesses had big signs outside their shops so that people would come in and browse the art they were featuring this evening. Some of the art is actually quite good. Some of it.... well.... perhaps you really have to like that sort of stuff...

I managed an Art Gallery for 7 years. I got used to saying "Oh, yes! You wonderful taste!" When I was actually just trying to make a sale. I will never really understand most abstract art. Nor will I understand why those who create abstract art think it needs to be on a gigantic canvas. I secretly believe that most artists who create abstract art probably lack the ability to do realism in any form.

Another exciting part about attending Gallery Walk is that you are able to go into many stores that are never open to the general public, or simply are never open at all. And now it makes sense to me. Some of those stores are rented by artists and they use them as their art studio. They paint and paint and paint until the first Saturday of each month, and then they slap an obscene price tag on their work and open their doors. Can you tell I wasn't impressed?

And speaking of obscene, silly me, we wander into one gallery, and I suppose I ought to have expected it, but I was so busy trying to make out what the artist had painted when suddenly The Child yells out "Boobies!!!" and I look at the wall opposite to the one I'm looking at and it's all S&M art. I had to quickly usher The Child out of the gallery, eyes shielded, hoping he didn't take in too much of the scene before his exclamation.

On the whole, I'm glad that we went. It was fun. Oshkosh does have a few very promising artists. And Down Town has some very nice store owners. And we got some fresh air and exercise. So it was worth it!

Support Your Local Museums!

I just read about an upcoming exhibit at the Paine that I can't wait to see!

We are a family of Museum Dwellers. It's what we do when we want to do something as a family
that is fun and educational. And we always make sure we visit when the Art Fair and annual Plant Sale is being held at the Paine, as well as any other summer tourist attraction they may hold.

Because the city's museum usually has more Family-Friendly exhibits, we usually end up spending our money there rather than tootling kitty- corner to the Paine and spending the cash on their entrance fee. We just can't afford to visit both on a given Sunday.

However, the Paine will be holding an exhibit starting June 6 that I will make sure we see.
The Collection of the George Eastman House of Rochester, N.Y. will be on display. This is a collection of over 100 photographs spanning from the past 150 years of American life.
They promise to have photos of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O, as well as works of Ansel Adams.

Photo by Danny Lyon

I am hoping these will all be larger than life and even more captivating than the small prints and poster art I have discovered through the years.

I can't help myself. Photography has long been my favourite art form.
When we visit the museum, The Boy and The Hubby love looking at the exhibits. I enjoy them as well, but what I'm always most looking forward to is the basement where there are always awesome old photographs to enjoy and admire.

How can one not love old photos? They transport you back to the era in which they were taken.
They fill my mind with questions, and also answer many ponderings I have had while reading the old novels I so adore.


When I was a child, I wanted to be an artist. I have the talent and the creativity. And along with that, I also have that slanted vision of the world that your average person has never really experienced (I often need to remind myself that others may not find many of the things I get all excited about as even mildly interesting). It's a feeling. A personality quirk. But also a very fun and beautiful way to appreciate this world. But somewhere along the way, I got sucked in to the hustle and bustle of the general population and ended up reserving my artistic talents for home improvement challenges and Functional Furniture Art. If I really put my mind to it, I probably could jump in and do what I love for a living. But I lack the marketing skills that it takes in order to command a strong commission for what I do. Therefore, I would starve. My family would starve. The Child would really miss eating Gourmet Noodles. So I guess I ought to stick with my true talent - helping people. And that in itself is pretty darned righteous!

Come June, look for my review of our visit to the Paine! I can't wait!