The Art Dock Hosts “From Norway to the North Shore”-- Paintings by Sue Pavlatos.

Sea Smoke at the Aerial Lift Bridge--
Canal Park, by Sue Pavlatos

Last week I wrote about the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace 40th Anniversary Celebration taking place the first weekend in May. Here's a follow-up announcement about events taking place at the Art Dock.

Sue Pavlatos will be the highlighted artist. Her show “From Norway to the North Shore” will open on Monday, April 29 featuring a collection of new paintings done with watercolor, pen, collage and acrylic paint. Sue is inspired by the moment and colors.

Pavlatos says “Painting is a way to capture the moment.  I enjoy connecting my life to the landscape before me. My paintings reflect nature‘s impact on my life.”  

Sue traveled to Norway in May 2024 to capture its beauty. The trip involved US cousins visiting Norwegian cousins and traveling the country. “I wanted to paint the beautiful vistas, and importantly, capture the moment with family," she said. "It was a pleasure to visit and revisit the farms, forest and rocky coast of Norway.  The connection to family on both sides of the ocean was poignant. Our four grandmothers, and their letters over the years, have connected us. Our love of nature's beauty keeps us connected. An added bonus was the similarity to our beautiful North Shore, and a show was born."  

From 1:00 to 3:00 on Saturday, May 3rd Sue will be giving a painting demonstration followed by an Artist Reception from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Art Dock. Her show will be on display through Sunday, May 18th.

There's a lot planned for DeWitt Seitz Marketplace 40th Anniversary Celebration. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place May 2 at 5:00 pm. Throughout the day on May 3 the 10 retail shops and restaurants will present special demonstrations/events, food specials and tasting, bagful sale, music, store drawings, and a grand prize drawing worth $500.00.

The Art Dock is located on the first floor of the historic DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace, 

in Canal Park, Duluth, MN and is open daily.            

Susie's Tree Spirit Masks on Display at Wussow's for the Month of March

This coming Thursday, March 6, Susie will be having an opening reception at Wussow's, 324 No. Central Avenue, for her show titled "We Wear the Mask." Susie began making masks back in the days when she did pottery. Though we no longer have a kiln, the mask theme has evolved and her work is quite remarkable. Here are a few examples, plus a bit of. backstory on the show.

* * * 

1. What prompted you to create your series of Tree Spirit masks?

 

Susie: I have lived in the country most of my life.  I have been making various kinds of masks for many years. The Tree Spirits came about more recently as an expression of my enjoyment of nature and a way to use various things I find outside in our woods and my garden such as moss, pinecones, seed pods, gourd pieces, and more.

2. You have made a variety of masks over the years. When did you start and What do you enjoy most about making masks?
 

Susie: Making masks as an artistic expression particularly resonates with me. I first began making ceramic masks almost 20 years ago. Around that time a widowed woman I knew died unexpectedly leaving her five children orphaned. I had been mentoring the youngest, a 6 year old girl, and I was shocked and heartbroken.

 

Faces can both hide or express many emotions. I began to include teardrops in one eye on my masks to express the universal sadness in life but I also include a small star in the opposite eye as an indication of hope.

 

I find enjoyment in the whole process, but giving them a name at the end is particularly fun.

 

3. Your masks are truly original. Where do you get your ideas from?

 

Susie: I don't necessarily start out with a specific idea. I begin making a face and it develops a life of its own as I go along. Sometimes I look at books of African or South American masks for ideas. Some masks may express my horror at world events, or personal angst. Others express joy that the earth and sunshine offer.

 

Wussow's is located next to Zenith Bookstore on Central Avenue, across the street from The West Theatre.

We Wear the Mask

A poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872-1906,

whose parents had been enslaved, has always been

a very compelling source of inspiration to me.

 

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

 

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

 

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask

History and Myth in the Sunshine State: Boca Raton Museum of Art Celebrates History of Florida

In the land of pink flamingos and pink sunsets.

November 13, 2018 through March 24, 2019

Because my parents wintered in Florida, and after my father's passing my mother continued, I've had an opportunity to see a lot of art there over the years. The City of Tampa has a wonderful museum where we saw a Norman Rockwell exhibition in 2015. The adjacent St. Petersburg is home to the incomparable Dali Museum. In fact, the nearby Warehouse District is awash with public art and galleries. Another favorite art space on the Western coast of Florida is the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. It's part of the campus that includes the Ringling Bros. Circus Museum and Ca' d'Zan, the majestic home Mable built for her husband John, youngest of the five Ringling brothers.

In less than two weeks the Boca Raton Museum of Art will be hosting a massive exhibition called:

IMAGINING FLORIDA:

HISTORY AND MYTH

IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

With art spanning three centuries, Boca Raton Museum of Art aims to present the untold story of Florida through the eyes of Florida artists. It's billed as the most comprehensive and all-embracing Florida themed show of its kind, with more than 200 works of art that celebrate how the Sunshine State has inspired artists across three centuries.

In Spanish boca means mouth, and raton means mouse, so you might think it funny to name a city in that way. The name comes from the words' navigational origins in which "boca" was used to describe an inlet. Raton pertained to the sharp rocks which ship captains had to steer clear of. Today, Boca Raton is associated with wealth and beauty, and their beautiful art museum reflect this.

The exhibition features paintings, drawings and photography.

This anthology of art made in and inspired by Florida and its people, places, flora, and fauna was three years in the making, guest-curated by Dr. Jennifer Hardin and Mr. Gary Monroe. The show features not only Forida artists but renowned painters who visited Florida and were enticed by its beauty. From natural landscapes to frontier outposts to burgeoning towns, the scenes featured in Imagining Florida portray many different aspects of the state, including its deep-rooted Seminole and Miccosukee heritage, its historic African American communities, and its identity as a tourist destination.

According to the Boca Raton Museum website:
Many of their selections have rarely been seen and are from some of the leading museums and collections throughout the United States. Artists and photographers include: Milton Avery, Martin Johnson Heade, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Laura Woodward, Purvis Young, Henri Cartier- Bresson, Bunny Yeager, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Doris Lee, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, John James Audubon, Frederic Remington, William Bartram, Sally Michel, Thomas Moran, George Catlin, Frederick Frieseke, and George de Forest Brush. Imagining Florida is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue.

Here are some additional images from Imagining Florida, the first being a famous bridge to St. Petersburg that I have crossed many times:

The Hunt

Betty Page, with the Prey.

John Singer Sargent was here.

Getting a little yard work done before we play, Florida style.

One more shout out: https://www.bocamuseum.org

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Local Arts Scene Intersects With Dylan Fest To Produce Rewarding Event @ Zeitgeist

Daniel Botkn's Self-Portrait
in a Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat

The highlight of the evening for me came when John Bushey, host of the KUMD radio program Highway 61 Revisited, came over to me and asked, "Who are all these people? I've never seen so many of them before." "These people" were our local artists and the many Twin Ports fans of the visual arts who came out to enjoy this Dylan-themed art show in the Atrium at Zeitgeist. It was gratifying to feel the vibe generated.

We were entertained by "The Group That's Not A Group" -- Tom O'Keefe & Friends -- with Scott Junkert on keyboards, Tom Franczyk on guitar and harmonica, and Daryl Yankee, percussion, Dylan-themed art all around.

The artists represented included Kristi Abbott (Australia), Moira Villiard, Daniel Botkin (Chicago), Mary Rauschenfels, Adam Swanson, Tim Beaulier, Becky Perfetti and myself. The work will be up all week, so if you were unable to attend last night there's plenty of time to slide by if you're downtown or you work downtown and wish to check it out while grabbing a bite at the Zeitgeist Cafe (recommended).

Patty Hallbeck and Zane Bail manned the souvenir table.
Dylan Fest pins, T-shirts and art will be available for purchase
at select Duluth Dylan Fest events. 

Tom O'Keefe & Friends provided ambiance.

* * * * 

Local news stations WDIO and Fox21 visited last night and covered the event.

Art Show Pays Tribue to Bob Dylan

* * * *

Tonight, Duluth Dylan Fest continues with music at Sir Ben's. Will you join us? Meet friends and make new ones while enjoying an evening of music and making memories. 

Find the full schedule of events  for the week at BobDylanWay.com

See you on the scene.

Photos and a Note from Glasgow as Dylan's Never Ending Tour Leaves Fans Warmed in the British Isles

Bob and his band at the Clyde in Glasgow.

This week I read that 81% of all statistics are made up, so last night I wrote an article tentatively titled An Alphabet Soup of Made Up Statistics. Not sure when I'll share it, but for now it's something I'll keep in my back pocket, Betty Davis style.

This is a Dylan-themed post because we're one week out from Duluth's 2017 Dylan Fest celebration. Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot have both notified us that they will be unable to attend, sending their condolences in a letter that we may or may not read during the Singer/Songwriter Contest on Friday evening, May 26 at the Clyde Iron Works here in Duluth.

How interesting that Dylan himself just last week played at the Clyde... in Glasgow.  The Clyde Auditorium that is. You can read the reviews here at Bill Pagel's Boblinks site.

The Clyde... Nicknamed the Armadillo by locals.

In April Bob Dylan and His Band kicked off yet another European tour, which they completed this week in Dublin. The first stop was Stockholm where he answered the question "will he or won't he?" He did and it was done, what he needed to do and received his Nobel Prize. From there the tour skipped about through Scandinavia, then down to the Continent, making a series of stops throughout Northern Europe -- Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium before hopping over to the British Isles.

Here are some stats from this spring fling across Europe: 22% of the those who attended have seen Dylan ten times or more. 13% of these have seen Dylan 100 times or more. 19% of those have seen Dylan 300 times or more. And a few of these have been here to the Northland for Duluth Dylan Fest.

The photos here are from the Glasgow concert, shared by Bill Macfarlane and Barbara Calder, who visited us here in 2015 during DDF. They wrote:

Bill M in his Bob Dylan Way T-Shirt by the NET Tour Bus.

We have been a huge fan of Bob for many years and in fact met Bill Pagel in Duluth in 2015 at the Dylan Fest. It was an awesome trip. My first concert was in around 1985 in London. I have seen Bob 24 times, twice in the USA, Spain, Prague, Austria and throughout Britain. The Glasgow Concert, I have to say, we thoroughly enjoyed all of it but the Highway 61 arrangement was especially good. My favourite Bob song is Sylvio and I am particularly enjoying the Triplicate album at the moment.

The venue is the first time we have attended a concert in that particular building and, yes, the acoustics were very good and the size was intimate. Glasgow has a few good venues that host many big stars of today. We live only a few miles from Glasgow city centre.,which took us only 30 minutes compared to November 2016 we flew to Clearwater, Florida and saw Bob's gig in the Ruth Eckert Hall. We also have a few of Bob's artworks from his Drawn Blank series, Brazil series and the newly released Beaten Path, so yes you could say we are huge fans.

This email from Scotland underscores why we include an art show in our Dylan Fest. The opening reception will be Monday, May 22 at the Zeitgeist Atrium. There will be some refreshments, and some new work by Daniel Botkin, along with pieces by several other artists including Kristi Abbott, a fave artist from Down Under whose Dylan design will be featured on crew-neck T-shirts available for sale next week. (Be sure to bring cash.)

Earlier this week I finalized the Trivia Contest which will be held again at Carmody's, Sunday night heading into the week. I'd worked on it over the winter and must have done it while feeling mean-spirited because it was just a little too difficult for the average passer-by, which would not have been a disaster since everyone participating would surely learn something new, as in minutia that might have little relevance to anyone's quality of life. In fact, I didn't even know some of the answers myself, and I've read about 25 books about Dylan. At the urging of friends I revised the questions so nearly anyone can play and not feel ashamed. And, as always, there will likely be some lovely parting gifts.

Looks like Robby and Bob are trading CDs. 

The official kick-off event is the concert at Karpeles Saturday, May 20: Robby Vee and His Rock 'N Roll Caravan, an Armory Arts & Music Center Benefit Concert. The acoustics are fabulous anywhere in the house. I considered buying two tickets so I could sit up front and sit in the balcony. Those balcony seats are stellar for sound. Purchase tickets here at Eventbrite.

Of Robby's dad, whom young Robert Z performed with as Elston Gunnn, Dylan once said, "Vee had an edgy tone to his voice as musical as a silver bell."

Robby sent word that, "We will be celebrating the earliest roots of Elston Gunnn aka Bob Dylan and my father's career, along with our good ol' foot stompin' style of rock n roll."

For what it's worth, I hope we see you there.

Special thanks to Bill and Barbara for the photos from Glasgow, and Robby Vee for the unposed snapshot at the end.

3 Twin Ports Art Events to Place on Your Calendars for October 21

Blue Van Gogh

Last night I was reading an interesting book called Art Cities of the Future, a Phaidon art book subtitled 21st Century Avant-Gardes. It has more than 500 photos by artists from all over the world offering an overview of the thriving arts scene and unfolding developments around the globe. Cities in this volume include Beirut, Bogota, San Juan, Singapore, Seoul and Vancouver among others. It's impressive and stimulating.

What's happening here in Duluth is likewise impressive and inspiring. In fact, I have had a number of people over the years comment to me that "New York has nothing on you." Meaning, the Twin Ports arts scene is producing work equally exciting as one would find out East in what is supposedly the capitol of the art world.

All this to say that it's not beyond the realm of belief to expect Duluth to be featured one day in a book of this kind. One sees plenty of evidence to support the notion of a maturing taking place here in the music, arts and theater scene.

* * * *

Calendars are useful for many things. One of them is to help serve up reminders so we don't double book our activities, whether meetings, parties or events. There are three arts events that I'd like to draw your attention to for OCTOBER 21. Mark your calendars.

1) Art on the Plaza is having a closing celebration Friday afternoon from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at their Belknap Plaza location. This Superior gallery will be moving to new digs as of November 1 -- 1413 Tower Avenue, next to Wine Beginnings in the former Dunbar Building. There will be music by Similar Dogs and, schedule permitting, I'll be dropping by to join with my blues harp for a few licks at some point, just because.

2) The 2016 Goin' Postal Fall Art Show will be hoppin' and a-boppin' from 6:00-9:00 p.m. with an afterparty at the newly renovated Cedar Lounge. This show has always been fun, with community friends, artists and musicians sharing their gifts and their energy. Goin' Postal has been my "home gallery" and I have produced a number of new pieces for this year's event. Other artists, familiar and new, include Andy and Becky Perfetti, John Dromeshauser, Glenn Blaszkiewicz, Carla Hamilton, Kerry Gauthier, Tom Hultquist, John Heino, Chelsey Miller, Tal Lindblad, Richard Rosvall, Dusty Keliin, Ash Marnich, Ashley King, Marcie Crain, Pearl LaFave and Tara Stone.

Both of these events above will have works that you can begin to collect or items to begin stashing for Christmas giving.

3) Make Your Mark DAI Fundraiser
It's a Fund Raising time of year for the Duluth Art Institute (DAI). Funding is what makes the world go round, especially when it comes to the arts. Communities are enriched when they support the arts. The DAI not only hosts exhibitions for the public, it offers numerous educational experiences as well. It's surprising how much they accomplish with such a small staff.

Make Your Mark is a two part event. The first takes places Next TUESDAY, October 11. The DAI is hosting an open house art making party at their Lincoln Building between 5 and 9pm. Artists are invited to come for some or all of the event. The DAI will provide materials (paper, pens, ink, pencils, crayons, pastels, watercolor, etc) though if you have materials you like working with, that’s fine too. You can also let Anne Dugan know if you have special materials requests (she will be shopping on Monday the 10th for materials. ) The aim of this art party is to create work that can be sold on the evening of the 21st. You’ll be allowed to say whether you want the drawings you make priced at $25/$50/$100 or put on the silent auction table. Oh, and since this will coincide with most folks' dinnertime, there will be pizza, beer and non-alcoholic libations to see you through.

Artists signed up for Tuesday's event include Adam Swanson, Moira Villiard, Ann Klefstad, Eric Dubnicka, Elizabeth Kuth, Shawna Gilmore, Susanna Gaunt, Jeff Kahlstrom and myself.
Please feel free to invite other artists/students to this party! Students are welcome to attend!

The fruit of this art party is to be served up at the Make Your Mark event at the Duluth Timber Company at 1400 Railroad Street. NOTE: Not the Depot or DAI Lincoln Building.
Friday, October 21 from 6:00-9:00 p.m.  The $50 cover charge includes food by Lake Avenue Cafe and music by the Silk Sheiks. Dress code is Timber Chic. (You'll have to research that via Siri or Google, DeepMind or Watson.) The event is indoors but not heated.

The fundraiser will include three “Rounds” of live drawing as well as some artists with easels set up painting throughout the event. All proceeds go directly to support the exhibits, education and public programs of the DAI.

Below is the list of participating artists.  

Artists working throughout:
Matt Kania, Robert Pokorny, Michelle Wegler, Fiber Guild, Henna Station

Round 1 (6-7pm)
Frank Saunder, Liz James (on the wheel), Adam McCauley, Kris Nelson, Dave Gilsvik, Ed Newman, Aaron Kloss, Susanna Gaunt, Karin Kraemer

Round 2 (7-8pm)
David Moreira, Karen Savage-Blue, Naomi Christianson, Moira Villard, David Short, Ann Klefstad

Round 3 (8-9pm)
Eric Dubnicka, Jeff Kahlstrom, Jessica Lisweski

* * * *
There are plenty of other activities taking place this month, like the numerous Shakespeare First Folio events at the Tweed and the Library, so you need to plan accordingly. Mark your calendars, as noted, and enjoy the shows.

Meantime... art goes on all around you. Dig it. 

Throwback Thursday: Themes

When I began this blog in 2007 I decided that one way to set it apart would be to combine my writing with art that I created. As time when on the illustrations and paintings I'd been creating led one of my readers to suggest having an art show featuring the art. I'd not had an art show since college and since a space was offered I took him up on it. I titled the show First Hand Experiences. As it turns out I hung more that 120 pieces in that show, and even sold a few. Here is the blog post I wrote in July 2009 regarding the artwork displayed that month in Duluth's West End.

"A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing." ~William Dobell

A lot of people have asked me if my show has a theme, or what kind of art I do. It was always hard to answer that since my work goes in a lot of directions. Eventually, I came to answer that my paintings and drawings were "in the modernist style." It is not classical, baroque or art nouveau, nor is it realism, landscape or still life. I can't call it abstract because much of it is representational to some extent. Certainly the portraits of Lincoln and Sitting Bull are straight up portraits.

As for themes, we have a friend who does gnomes. And some people do flowers. In American art, the major themes might include scenes from everyday life, historical subjects, abstract art, landscapes. Jackson Pollock did the large splatter paintings which brought him fame and fortune in the modern art world. Warhol did screen printing with images from pop culture, creating iconic reproductions of Marilyn Monroe, electric chairs and soup cans.

Although the styles in this show vary, one can't help but notice upon deeper reflection that certain themes emerge. One of these is the theme of suffering. We live in a broken world. Pieces like Scars Remain and Chase Ends In Suicide show the chaos of our culture, and paintings like Grief and Sad Clown likewise show the personal impact this brokenness has.

Another theme, which may or may not be immediately recognized, is the underlying sense of the comic. I like making funny pictures, and also enjoy toying with people a little. My found art piece Tribute to DuChamp was intended to bring a wry smile to art connoisseurs, though I have now learned that the average person no longer knows who DuChamp was. Nearly everyone gets a kick out of The Great Escape, a small brush and ink drawing of a man crawling on hands and knees, a guilty expression on his face.

The most important thing to me is that people who visit the show take time to engage each piece, which might be an impossibility in light of the quantity. Someone once said that "the holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it." I can relate to that. I'm honored when people get drawn in, engage, interact. Too much of life is lived on the surface, and so it is that once in a while we need to get jarred, to be made to pause, to reflect... not only on the piece, but on that which is occurring within our selves.

Maybe I'm just trying to share a little about what I like to do when I get away from it all while others go fishing. Some people might just call it glorified doodling. For me, making art satisfies a need. Sharing what I've created, and seeing other people enjoy it, satisfies a second.

Have a great day! Hopefully the rain will have stopped when you walk from your cars to the show tonight.

Local Art Seen: Esther Piszczek's "Illusion" at Pizza Luce

Thursday evening was the opening reception for Esther Piszczek's largest show to date, to be on display at Pizza Luce for the month of August. A relative newcomer to the Twin Ports art scene, Esther has from the start been quite active in getting her work out into the public beginning with her first show at Amazing Grace in September 2013. Her Zentangle (R)-inspired designs have been applied to nearly every kind of surface imaginable, including her current piano project which is a work in progress. (You can see the current iteration this coming Friday at Pierce & Piszczek Pianos during the Art Crawl.)

This current show includes a relatively new collaboration combining her designs with the calligraphy of Brenna Jordan of Master Framing Gallery. Esther's designs on mirrors are an interesting addition to her repertoire, and may have contributed to the title of this show, "Illusion." Certainly mirrors have long fascinated us as people, and her layering of designs adds complexity to the visual effects she creates.

Pizza Luce is a premium location to showcase one's work because of the central downtown location and the amount of traffic it receives. On the other hand, because it is a busy restaurant it is difficult to get up close to most of the pieces because of the patrons enjoying their pizza and other delights in the booths between viewer and wall.

The show features 35 works, but the designs have also been used to decorate note cards and playing cards. Let's see what happens next.

Friendly service from the Luce staff is always a plus.

A friend's birthday added to the occasion. (Esther in center of photo)

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Celebrate it.

Local Art Scene: Things To See, Places To Be

A couple visual arts events are slated for tonight in the Twin Ports. On the Duluth side of the bridge you may enjoy stopping in at Studio 15 to see Emily Hayes' closing reception, which begins at 6:00 p.m. Hayes is a young traveling artist whose work has been on display there these past couple months. The paintings she has on display were created between Montana and Minnesota.

I would be there, except I have to be here:

Goin' Postal 2015 Summer Art Show

The Goin' Postal art shows have become an annual mainstay over in Superior. Usually held spring and fall, scheduling conflicts pushed this one back a couple months. More time for the artists to produce new work, and new work a-plenty will be on display tonight. Andy Perfetti pushes his contributors to bring in their latest. He's not interested in getting bored with the same old same old.

More than 20 artists are participating in tonight's show, some for the first time, though there are also plenty of the usual suspects such as John Heino, Dusty Keliin, Becky Buchanan, and Jeredt Runions. I will also have some new work on the walls.

There's also music and an always lively, lovely afterparty.

The 2015 Summer Art Show also starts at 6:00 p.m. You can find it adjacent to the tracks at 816 Tower Avenue. Hoping to see you there.

Don't forget Wanda's Excellent Plant Sale.  I shared a few photos Wednesday. For best results park out front and walk to the back.

Last night was the opening reception for the MN Comics show in the Morrison Gallery at the Duluth Art Institute. What an impressive array of talent we have here in Minnesota, many right in our back yard. I'm referring to comic books, not stand up comics, though we have those, too. If you get a chance visit the DAI sometime soon. There will also be a pair of gallery talks, the first of August 4 at 5:30 with Kate Vo Thi. The second will be at noon August 21, by David Beard and Tim Broman.

Meantime, art goes on all around you.  Come out tonight and enjoy it.

A Love-Themed Show In the Hudson River Valley

Friday evening I attended, among other things, the Superior Public Library's Fifth Annual Love Your Local Artist and it was bigger and more bustling than ever. Special thanks to Nora Fie and the Friends of the Library for this rewarding event.

I'm sure it wasn't the only Love-themed art show this weekend. In point of fact, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art opened a showed appropriately titled Love: The First of the 7 Virtues featuring works by artists from all over the world. The opening reception was held Saturday from 5 - 7 p.m.

The HVCCA is located in Peekskill, a city in Westchester County, New York. It's a modestly small (about 5 square miles) city hugging a bay along the east side of the Hudson River. My guess is that it's a gorgeous getaway from the Big Apple when you need that.

I learned about the event through a former college friend, Nick Kuvach, whose son Keegan is also an artist. Nick earned the Best of Show honors in our senior art show at Ohio Univeristy with a striking minimalist piece. We both shared an appreciation for classical music, but it was he and his circle of friends who introduced me to jazz, for which I remain grateful.

Since most of us were in other parts of the country this weekend, here's a smattering of what we missed.

"All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."