Filed under: Pennsylvania | Tags: april showers, lazy sundays, thunderstorms
I allowed myself a day of pure laziness – reading Nancy Drew and watching Spanish horror films while eating Suzy Qs. I almost felt guilty for being inside while it was sunny most of the day until the storm hit. And as quickly as I could get out my camera to record the windy madness, it was gone.
afternoon storm
view from the back porch
through a glass door
I thought this Riccio’s sign looked familiar – if you look really closely, you can see the former Winky’s sign beneath the white letters. I remember loving the Winky’s logo as a kid, but being mildly afraid to eat there (my mother was very choosy about our fast-food choices, mostly based on what she wanted to eat). The Moon Township Winky’s was in a funky hexagonal building and had a black and red disco-looking sign. Now it’s an adult book store.
Ellwood City, PA - behind Brighton Hot Dogs
Here’s a nostalgic commercial tour on youtube and an insider’s account of a woman who worked there. Any other information is appreciated!
Filed under: Art Gallery | Tags: chicken taxidermy, cuckoo clock, evening coming through my window, raccoon taxidermy, tax day
I’m almost finished with my article – so close, just have to revise a sidebar, check some Spanish spellings – but I became distracted with the evening light coming through our living room windows. It so warm, casting long orange shadows across the rose walls and I couldn’t resist. I have been avoiding the whole 365 visual diary because I want to take a break from projects, but I might reconsider it so I can track the daily light.
6:30 pm
raccoon and chicken
the distraction
Filed under: Art Gallery | Tags: elevators, hotel, pittsburgh at night, redhead, suit and tie, weddings, west mifflin
I’ve been working on an article for Table Magazine these past few weeks. Once I get in writing mode, it’s hard for me to concentrate on much else. I turn the words over in my brain, carry a notebook at all times for new ideas. I’ve been known to stare off into space as Jeff talks to me as again, I rewrite paragraphs in my head. I pretty much drive everyone around me crazy.
hotel parking lot. notice the tiny airplane coming out of his head.
I remind myself that life goes on – there is my full time job, family to visit, husband to love. I pull myself out of the trance by watching movies (Dead Snow = awesome; Zombieland, blech.), taking photos, reading and interacting with the outside world.
hallway
ghostly husband
Yesterday, Jeff and I went to my cousin Tony’s wedding. He’s in the military and leaving for Afghanistan soon. He and his new wife put together the affair in about a month and did a beautiful job. And now that I’m married, I get all mushy when I see two people making this commitment, knowing the important journey they are about to take together.
to the first floor
dusk
night traffic
route 837
east carson street on a saturday night
view from the birmingham bridge
city lights
Filed under: Art Gallery, Vintage Photo Album | Tags: found photos, photobooth, photos of twins, portraits with two people, square format, tintype, victorian period through 1980s, vintage snapshots
I keep my vintage photos stacked neatly in a small black trunk that was the money box at our Halloween wedding. I am going through the process of arranging them in some kind of order. I shuffled through and made connections to see what I have been drawn to in saving and collecting: portraits, mainly women; clothing, because I’m obsessed with vintage; black and white candids, because it’s so strange to see how photography evolved from the studio out into the world.
The following are portraits I’ve found at flea markets, antique stores, yard sales and our own family archives.
a girl and her best friend, 1950s
my grandmother (1) and great aunt anne, 1930s
victorian sisters
edwardian twins
one eye, two eyes, three eyes by jeff schreckengost
victorian brothers
tintype sisters
daughter and mother? niece and aunt? sisters? 1920s
norwegian couple in north dakota
found in the pages of a scrapbook
bathing beauties, 1920s
jeff and sue in the g.c. murphy's photobooth, 1980s
Filed under: Art Gallery | Tags: gagi festival, penn avenue unblurred, sarah wojdylak, terrariums
Each month Jeff and I feature the artwork of a local artist in our studio windows. This month Sarah Wojdylak is showing her terrarium installation for the Unblurred event, in conjunction with this year’s GA/GI Festival.
morning
I’ve been obsessed all week, taking pictures of the jars suspended from the ceiling of the window front. I love how the light hits them at different times of the day, the way they look as if they are floating in space. Some of them have tiny lights in the centers, so when it grows dark, they look like fireflies caught under glass.
afternoon
Sarah spent months collecting jars, crocheting shaggy yarn to look like moss, and rolling pocket lint into tiny balls to make ‘dirt.’ She even made the tiny chairs inside of the jars by hand. They contain real moss and seeds, save for one. Stop by Unblurred on April 2 and see if you can find it.
evening
night
