Starkville, I'll be seeing you soon!

fun fact 2: I came to Philadelphia without knowing anyone. On Friday I ran into someone I know from work while out on the town. It was such a small thing, but it was really awesome to have met enough people this summer that I can run into one on the street.

fun fact 3: Philadelphia's cannoli beat Boston's cannoli hands down.

I finished my internship on Friday and decided to commemorate the experience by going to First Friday with a fellow intern. Philadelphia's First Friday is an event on 2nd and 3rd St between Market and Arch (roughly). All of the art galleries and shops are open for the public to enjoy after hours. There are also street musicians and local artists and craftspeople selling their work on the sidewalk. It's a really interesting mix of people (ranging from serious art collectors and student artists to activists and random hippie group who is obviously on something to young people looking for free wine and cheese) and work (ranging from thousands of dollars oil paintings in the galleries to sketchbook drawings and handmade jewelry and screenprinted textiles on the sidewalk).

The second half of the night was spent at a real Italian BYO. The room was small and the kitchen was noisy, but the food was amazing and the experience was priceless! They have four guys serving and every one of them waited on us. The guy that told us about the specials put on quite a show. Think Emeril Lagasse without the BAHMM!

I'm halfway through my last weekend in Philly. I'm trying to decide how to spend tomorrow. Monday will be spent packing and repacking until everything fits nicely in the corolla. I can't believe I'll be back in Mississippi in a matter of days.

Beginnings Are Scary and Endings Are Sad

lesson 50: Here it is the big 5-0: Most of the people I have met over the past two months have told me that, not only have they never been to Mississippi, they have never met anyone from Mississippi. So, there it is. There's a small group of people in Philadelphia whose only tie to Mississippi is meeting me. Hmmm, wait a minute...

I only have two days left of my internship. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I'm finishing up my big design project and hope to have a finished product by the end of the day on Friday. All in all, it has been an amazing experience! I'm still not sure what my plans are for getting home, but I'll be glad to see everyone when I get there.

lesson 47: Despite the lightning flashing and the thunder crashing, people still have to get their pictures running up the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Note to self: should watch Rocky to see what all of the fuss is about. I wasn't pausing for the photo-op.

lesson 48: Lincoln Dr. closes when the water rises. Also, huge pot holes appear in random places, including I-76.

lesson 49: Getting your car (which is parked nose down a hill) out of a parallel parking spot when the back tire is in a pothole and the front end is six inches from the Volvo in front of you is pretty close to impossible.

lesson 49.5: (not important enough for the big 5-0) Getting an 18 oz tub of Trader Joe's Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies to sit next to my computer probably wasn't the best idea.

New York, New York

lesson 44: Until yesterday, I had only been to NYC when the weather was absolutely beautiful. Rain or shine, I still love that city.

lesson 45: Meeting new people is fun.

lesson 46: It feels really good when someone other than your family recognizes your artwork and shows a desire to have it in their living/working space.

I only have one more full week of work left, and I'm starting to feel sad about leaving all of the new people I've met and the new places I've seen. Starkville is going to feel very anticlimactic after nine weeks of executive lunches, store tours, museum visits, photo shoots, and my employee discount!

The Barnes Foundation

This morning we took a trip to The Barnes Foundation in Merion, PA. I could give you a quick synopsis of what The Barnes is but I thought it would be easier and more accurate to copy from their website:

"The Barnes Foundation houses one of the finest collections of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modern paintings in the world, including an extraordinary number of masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (181), Paul Cézanne (69), and Henri Matisse (59). The collection also includes important works by Pablo Picasso (46), Chaim Soutine (21), Henri Rousseau (18), Amedeo Modigliani (16), Edgar Degas (11), Vincent van Gogh (7), Georges Seurat (6), Edouard Manet (4), and Claude Monet (4).

Although renowned for its late 19th- and early 20th-century European paintings, the Foundation's collection also includes important examples of American paintings and works on paper, including works by Charles Demuth, William Glackens, and Maurice and Charles Prendergast; African sculpture; Native American ceramics, jewelry, and textiles; Asian paintings, prints, and sculptures; Medieval manuscripts and sculptures; Old Master paintings, including works by El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, and Titian; ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art; and American and European decorative arts and metalwork." (http://www.barnesfoundation.org/c_main.html)

Dr. Barnes hung the paintings in a salon style based on style, color, subject, etc. rather than by artist or time period. Therefore, you have masterpieces that would never be hung in the same room of a museum hanging next to each other or one below the other. For example, there was a painting by the school of El Greco hanging across from a Renoir with two Van Goghs hung in between. We split up into groups of six and had a docent led tour through the museum. Our docent was so great! She is a retired art history teacher and had a way of spinning the information and anecdotes together to make a very enjoyable experience.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see all of the collection because HBO was shooting a documentary and their film crews and sets were occupying some of the rooms. The director of the documentary came down and gave us a quick talk about the foundation and ended with a stern "request" not to make any noise while they were shooting. Such sacrifice for the sake of entertainment...

Weekend in South Philly

I spent the weekend in South Philly pet/house sitting. I finally got a chance to walk down to Italian Market and up South Street to Headhouse Market.

The fist picture is stepping it back a day to Friday after work and the rest are from Saturday.

This is typical South Philly.

Some might say "trashy." I say "resourceful." REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Most of the garbage inhabiting the Daily Newspaper kiosk is recyclable and the kiosk itself is being repurposed. Who knew Philadelphia was so "green?"

Gotta love the Mexican food vendors.

A really misleading shot of Philadelphia's skyline.

A fabulous cheese store on 9th. They had barrels of olives and antipasto.

A guy watching soap operas in the middle of the market.

A friend from home came to visit Saturday night. We went to dinner at Dmitri's which is a BYOB Mediterranean seafood place. We got a six pack of locally brewed beer from the restaurant/bar across the street. (Yes, the bar across the street. They do things a little differently around here.) We had the best hummus I've ever eaten. It was very light and fluffy, in both texture and flavor. You could taste the chick peas in it which was a nice change from the over flavored hummus that you get in the grocery store. I also tried my first octopus. I don't really recommend it. It had the consistency of chewy, over cooked chicken. I was expecting it to be more like oversized calamari and less like frog legs. For dinner we had the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth scallops. It was a fun experience. I'm glad I got to go to a BYO before leaving Philly. They seem to be known for them.

Small Sample of Philadelphia's Mural Project

Philly has a large variety of wall art around the city. Here are a few of my favorites from Saturday.

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens is the work of artist Isaiah Zagar. The mosaics are featured all over the city, but predominantly on and around South Street. South Street is an area of Philly that reminds me of Bourbon St. The mosaics are pretty amazing and extensive.