Filed under: Vintage Photo Album | Tags: 1970, godmother, lost family photos, mummy, vivyan photography
In 1970, a man from Vivyan Photography walked into the lobby of the Pittsburgh Hilton and noticed two pretty girls working at the front desk. One was a blond with dark blue eyes, short, bobbed hair and pale skin, and the other had big green cat-like eyes, her hair framing her face like a jet black curtain. He liked their contrast of dark and light, so he asked them to model. The blond is my mother and the raven-haired beauty her best friend, my godmother. They were 19 in these pictures.
Out of all the jobs my mum had over the years, working at the Hilton was her favorite. She was right out of high school, sharing an apartment with 4 other women, wearing mini skirts up to her bottom, taking weekend trips to Virginia Beach via stand-by flights. I remember as a kid all the trinkets she had saved from those trips before she met my father: a TWA mini-purse that I used as a pencil case; a towel that said ‘Virginia is for Lovers,’ the o in lovers a heart; the endless pictures of her and her friends, windswept and sunburned in gingham bikinis. When I look through her photos, I swear I still smell the amber perfume that permeated my godmother’s house, hear the chime of my mother’s gypsy hoops as she talks about needing a long over-due vacation.
Mummy and Maggie, 1970
folded into fours, then found again
Filed under: Art Gallery, Pennsylvania | Tags: 1920s house, hartwood acres, hartwood mansion, house tours
One of my guilty pleasures is touring old mansions. Creepy is a bonus, but any old house will do. I love the voyeuristic aspect of walking through someone else’s home, reading the titles of the books they possibly read, the toilets they occupied, the kitchen in which they cooked (or rather, where the hired help cooked), the windows they stood gazing out on the vast expanse of lawn.
This is what I wanted to do for my birthday this past summer, and Dan was in town from Boston to indulge me (the air conditioning died, so it was pretty stuffy behind those castle-like walls; only your good friend does this for you). This obsession of mine could stem from the fact that I’ve never lived in a house. My mum, sister and I always lived in different apartments. But it also fills my need to always ‘know,’ snooping into others’ lives, past and present, until I find their stories.
mid-July afternoon
lost in the forest
Jeff thinks this dining room is straight out of Hammer House
a plea from the past
guestroom
powder room camera break
stairwell
a moment away from the group
a view like this
Filed under: Art Gallery | Tags: art rock, guitar making, jeff schreckengost, music guide 2010, pittsburgh city paper, pittsburgh debris
So excited to see that Jeff’s guitar work is featured in this week’s Pittsburgh City Paper Music Guide. Read the article here. Here are some outtakes from the photo shoot in our tiny dining room:
Jeff with his guitar babies
guitar face
More beautiful guitars here.
Filed under: Pennsylvania | Tags: butler county, circus town, Pennsylvania, roadside america, route 8
What was Circus Town? A coworker of Jeff’s said this abandoned theme park once housed a petting zoo and carnival rides. I didn’t realize until later that the photos I had taken this past Saturday in Butler County were all circus-related: Humpty Dumpty towering over the Country Kitchen on Route 8; a closed hot dog shop in Butler; and even the Book Nook sign is like a striped circus tent. The 4 o’clock sun cast long shadows across the Circus Town road entrance like fun house mirror images. My photo narrative is becoming more intuitive.
entrance to Circus Town
Humpty Dumpty watching over Route 8
Book Nook
The Hot Dog Shop
4:00 shadow
house skeleton on the Circus Town property
no longer served
final act
Filed under: Art Gallery, Vintage Photo Album | Tags: blondie, debbie harry, morning people, women who inspire
In honor of Women’s History Month, I give you Debbie Harry.
I was obsessed with her when I was a kid. I loved her t shirt dresses and heels, her white-blond hair fluffed around her head like a halo. And I can remember Saturday mornings with my mother playing Auto American on the stereo at top volume, the living room shaking because my sister and I were trying to keep up with her bouncing around the room. I’m sure our neighbors didn’t appreciate their hangovers being interrupted by Debbie’s high notes, but it was a great way to wake up in the morning.
I love these photos of her.
dh
confidence
queen debbie
i love the color in this one
blondie
photo from i am le petite oiseau
