Snek Fren on Farm
May 25, 2023
farm, nature black racer snake, black snake, rat snake, red shed, shenandoah river, snakes, Virginia Leave a comment
Three different days. Three different snakes. This eastern black snake was on the trail by the river.
This long black racer lives under the red shed. We see him pretty often.
This rat snake was also on the trail by the river.
It’s funny how non-poisonous snakes act all dangerous and really dangerous snakes just disappear.
The Ulluh: Digital Psychedelic Art Opening
June 3, 2022
art art, barns of rose hill, berryville, BORH, digital art, digital psychedelic art, eli mcgraw, original art, reception, the ulluh, ulluh, upper gallery, Virginia 2 Comments
A beautiful space filled with an appreciative crowd on a gorgeous summer evening in Virginia featuring art by the ulluh. What’s not to love?
The Barns of Rose Hill Upper Gallery, Berryville, VA
A virtual walkthrough
Watching the builds.
Appreciating the medium.
The artist himself, relaxing into the groove with Laura Kitselman.
The show runs through July 2nd. Well worth a visit.
And then a small reception.
Fabulous. Magical. The ulluh makes a mark.
Ulluh Hangs a Show
June 3, 2022
art art, art installation, barns of rose hill, berryville, BORH, digital art, digital psychedelic art, eli mcgraw, original art, photography, the ulluh, ulluh, video, Virginia 1 Comment
In the end it is a sight to behold. That is, the transformation from a workaday, poorly conceived upper gallery blank slate into a thoughtful exhibition of great beauty and striking talent. Feast your eyes on this…
The (almost) final instantiation of digital psychedelic art by ulluh
This is the first formal showing of ulluh’s art on planet earth, and it is an incredible testament to the power of digital art and artistic vision.
Here’s how the show went up.
Stands for the digital displays (seven of them in the show, all told), five on these rolling stands.
This window required covering, and the space could use some chopping up and conceptual clarity.
That’s more like it. The blue leaks into the great hall like the glow of an old school TV. All intentional design.
Screens booting up. Each of these displays show three pieces in a six minute cycle. They are synchronized. The art gets an opportunity to speak for itself.
Romey’s couch and a 10.5 by 8 feet divider create a space for more intentional viewing. This is where the absolutely stunning builds are shown in an 18 minute loop. Watching the artist’s creative process is both informative and captivating. Wow. Once again, the blue light brings the space an altered reality.
Shadow box frames hover off the wall.
The rest of the space creates a natural eddy, flowing around the room, drawing the viewer in.
The prints go up, each its own reflection of a digital display.
A build caught in early action.
This art is the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking and thoughtful work. Each piece has a deep story to tell. Lean more here.
The show runs at the Barns of Rose Hill through July 2nd.
Moon Hooch at the Bright Box
January 29, 2020
music band, bright box, live music, moon hooch, saxophone, Virginia, winchester Leave a comment
The kids they danced and shook their bones. There is no way to see Moon Hooch without dancing. And sweating. Through your clothes. YES.
The best part about seeing Moon Hooch perform at the Bright Box is the sheer intimacy of being 2 feet from the performance. Invigorating. Life affirming. Danceable. Fun.
We’re sad that James Muschler has moved on, but Moon Hooch still rocks the house.
Garden Gleaning on the First of October
October 1, 2017
animals, farm, flowers, horse beets, carrots, cayene, garden, gleaning, habañero, jalapeño, Norway, pumpkins, sweet peppers, Virginia, watermelon, wood Leave a comment
The best way to garden in the Fall is apparently to go to Norway. Then when you come back, it is actually Fall and time to move wood and gather in the last of the garden.
Farm Truck
First Load of Wood
The garden is quite the disaster.
But hiding behind all of those brown corn and sunflower stalks is a bunch of good stuff: pumpkins, sweet peppers, cayene, jalapeño, habañero, carrots, beets, and watermelon. More to come too!
Mini pumpkins hide under the grass and weeds.
An entire basket of peppers with more to come.
Hotey admires the flowers while eating corn.
Fin.
Fall bounty.
Manor House by Karen Rosasco
April 4, 2016
art art, bitter liberals, civil war show, karen rosasco, manor house, painting, staunton, va, Virginia Leave a comment
On an art-filled weekend, we travelled down to Union, WV to play the Civil War show. A stop off on the way back home in Staunton led us to an artist coop where we found the Manor House painting.
Manor House by Karen Rosasco
Karen Rosasco taught art for years in an upstate NY high school. She now resides in Staunton, VA.
Karen explains how the piece was implemented
It always amazes me how artists handle their own work
This work has a glaze treatment by knife first, followed by acrylic. One of Karen’s tricks is to put the very darkest spot in the painting right next to the very lightest part to capture your visual attention. I like how the focal point is enhanced with the oval in the middle of the painting which seems to me like a photographic artifact.
In context of other work by Karen.
More modern work by Karen
The gallery also had a student space. One student paid attention to shadows with their work, which was very cool indeed.
coffee filters
VA: Horse Day While the Eagle Watches
October 11, 2015
farm, horse, nature eagle, fields, horses, nature, paloma, photography, tack, Virginia, willie Leave a comment
Step 0: Get out the tack
Step 1: tack em up
Step 3: Tacked up
Step 4: View from Willie
Step 5: Into the fields
Virginia in October
Meanwhile overhead, an eagle watches.
Bird’s eye view
Step 6: Put away tack
Step 7: Remove helmets
Yay! You’re home.
A Saturday in Virginia
September 27, 2015
farm, guns, music 22, 243, beethoven, belgian waffles, clean the guns, emperor concerto, glock 9, shotguns, skeet, Virginia Leave a comment
So you start with Belgian waffles and bacon, but between the waffles you put puree of paw paw picked a few days before on the farm. Besides butter, you also need some Hickory syrup made nearby.
Then comes some shooting on a pretty Fall afternoon. Shotguns (12 and 16 gauge; no shells for the 20 gauge) for skeet. Then some plinking with 22’s and a glock 9. We decided to shoot a couple of osage oranges with the 243. Blooey. Much fun was had.
Followed by a quick dinner and shower before going to see a world class Dublin-based pianist play Beethoven’s Emperor concerto (so weird about the between movement key change). Gorgeous night and fantastic concert.
Today I had to clean the guns.
Shenandoah River Run
June 3, 2014
nature, river development, river, shenandoah, shenandoah river, Virginia, West Virginia, WV Leave a comment
Maybe three years have gone by since we last did the run from Locke’s Landing back home on the river. We’ve been heading downstream into West Virginia instead. It’s absolutely striking how much more development there is on the river in Virginia than West Virginia. Wild and Wonderful indeed! Fewer motorcycles, cars, roads, campers, motor boats, and people. More eagles, cows,and trees. Looks like the WV run from now on.
The Shenandoah River between Watermellon Park and Route 7
