amazing photos of an early film star.

           
                             http://interiorator.com/gloria-swanson-home-new-york-1972/

have always felt more at home around nature and city life can wear you out a bit. my preference is the beach although i grew up exploring the woods. was driving by the street of my childhood home when i saw a sign advertising property. drove up the steep hill to find an area that had previously been wooded all cleared. there was a path that led down to the area behind my old house and from this point you could see the hudson river glistening in the distance. something in that moment was very restorative and reassuring that while things may indeed change, there is always a part of home you can return to.

fall is undenialibly here and i've been spending some time up in the country. it's such an exhiliarating feeling to be surrounded by all the foliage and the brilliant colors, and a great time to breathe in the crisp air.

this time of year there are a few annual events i like to participate in. first is going to the cider mill, in the woods behind the croton dam, then there is the halloween window painting contest, where i get to design a portrait to paint on glass, and next is the art show at green hill invitational space , which is at a high elevation up in an old greek revival style white house with views of the countryside for miles in all directions. so happy to live in a world that has and celebrates octobers!

have been working a "paying" gig for a few years that i don't really "like" yet has it's own benefits, and is within the realm of what i hope to do careerwise in the future. yesterday after working one of those jobs i got inspired for a project i've been working on for many years and tried to make some moves in that direction. drove my car down to the west village after spending the day in long island city and did some wandering around. the subject of my work is a woman who lived in the village years ago and ran a popular radical salon during the early 1900's.

was looking for a particular restaurant in the area that had a caricature of her painted on one of their walls, and was also making my way towards two boots, a "spicy" pizza place that i used to frequent for a bite when i lived down there in that area. found a spot nearby, ironically right in front of the place in question, the waverly inn. made my way into the cozy historic joint, and was guided towards the mural, happily discovering she was front and center as you entered the room.

so it's the jewish new year (l'shana tova!) and i was made aware of this by walking through a throng of temple goers. so starting out on a bittersweet note, for it used to be when my family gathered all together for challah and apples dipped in honey, those days are now long gone, but managing to find many other things to be happy and grateful for.

 have been taking walks down to the hudson river, enjoying sunsets, yoga classes on the pier, and sometimes a glass of wine and entree at the cafe that looks out on the water. the park itself is divided up into different landscaped gardens and you feel like you're walking through a variety of worlds and climates. there is a modern swing inside a colorful sculpture that i love, and there are also lounge chairs where you can relax, take in the view and the sound of the water lapping against the shore. thinking of investing in a bicycle, a pair of running shoes, and taking advantage of the tennis courts and free kayaking. i love central park which is nearby as well but i much prefer the modern, open space by the water.

so i've spoken before about how nice it was to grow up in an area where there were many art and craft stores and a lot of mom and pop shops. 

another favorite of mine that still exists is this gallery/bookroom listed above, where you can find all sorts of vintage memorbilia, old photographs, postcards and ephemera. stopped in not long ago and found this amazing fan of peacock feathers.

 thought it looked like something from gloria swanson's estate, which was in an area called longue vue farms in an old stone french-normandy mansion, spanning 4,466 square feet, and was built in 1925. it was located at a high elevation in croton and had a fabulous view down the river of the skyline of new york city. here she could easily commute to the film studio out in astoria, queens.

there was a strange 2,000 square-foot castle-like structure that served as her guesthouse/garage, and was reportedly built as an addition, by her lover, joseph p. kennedy. here he stored his bottles of liquor during prohibition, using it as a speakeasy that also included a wine cellar. she was living there with her husband, an empoverished marquis that was once a nobleman and often drunk, but was still kennedy's mistress. the marquis would spend large amounts of time sitting in a chair on the front lawn and would offer local kids $20 to run into town for their mail.

her parties were legendary, and here she also entertained the likes of neighbor isadora duncan, who would dance and perform on the terrace of the guesthouse.

beware of artists

random find- my art school girls,

miami nights.

roney plaza hotel

was stressed out and decided the best thing would be to get back to the sea. water therapy is what works for me, and the sound of the waves along with the hot tropical heat helps me return to a state of calm. 

surfed on the websites, which led to my friend finding me an apartment by the ocean in south beach, miami. it was located in a very historic area i had been doing some research on, and on the site itself once stood one of the first luxury hotels to be built down there complete with european architecture and and a white florentine bell tower atop the L- shaped pink structure. there were tropical gardens with flamingos, fine dining inside and by the promenade, and celebrity instructors for sports and water activities.

next to it were the roman casinos with two giant pools and a large windmill circulating sea water. there were all sorts of shows featured on the platform that divided them both, fashion and otherwise.

 a block of art deco hotels stood across from the pools lining the street, and a famous jewish deli, founded by a miami beach legend named wolfie cohen, had an amazing flashing neon sign and a cafeteria-style like restaurant that attracted big names and drew large crowds for their fare. happy times.

kept thinking during my ocean swims, which were best early morning when the sea was reflecting the pink sky and also under a full moon at night, what it must have been like to be in the water and look back to what was there originally- it was probably magnificent.

the source

so sometimes i seek out the meanings of "street" language on the web. have been to this site a few times, it helps you find the answers whether that's a good thing or not. always slightly absurd, and a bit baffled by this one, but it keeps the reader entertained. Urban Dictionary: Croton-on-Hudson, NY

i, however, prefer to think of the town i grew up in in terms of it's fabulous history, and its being the site of new beginnings and influential people and movements in american culture. 

and then there are also the cute little touches, like this tea house/ speakeasy, nikko inn, that was built by a japanese proprietor along the cliffs of the croton river, where the first tarzan movies were filmed, where early film pioneers douglas fairbanks and mary pickford used to rendezvous before they got married and established an empire. next door was a playhouse made of stone by colonel harmon, one of the first real estate developers in croton, originally for his mistress the opera star lillian nordica. she died overseas and later it became a theatre that hosted the likes of gloria swanson, katherine hepburn and cary grant. i discovered most of this when i worked on the first westchester film festival, lots of info. about the history of film and it's early origins here in this county.

the interior of the playhouse had been converted and restored by an architect who also had a place in nyc near me in the dakota building. he made the master bathroom into this space-age area, with a capsule-like structure for a shower and a heating system that extended to a sci-fi bench cover under a modern heat lamp, along with a sauna and a jacuzzi. had visited it a few types and captured some digital footage of the interior. later a fire that was uncontained in the kitchen destroyed most of the house but it was restored, though with new additions so not the same as the original. the stage was located in the middle of the front of the house behind the floor-to-ceiling glass planes.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/heres-why-female-driven-films-are-important-right-now?utm_source=iwDaily_newsletter&utm_medium=sailthru_newsletter

fear and desire

one of my first 16mm films

got away from the bitter nyc cold and stayed for a spell in fort lauderdale, florida. spent over an hour the night before my flight digging my car out of the snow. it took some time but eventually relaxed, it helped of course that i was staying on the beach and swimming and soaking up the sun. caught up with a good gal friend and had some of my fave meals from down there.

which leads me to my next subject: the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe. Her portraits of landscapes and flowers are amazing but some people like to apply a way of thinking about it that was not intended. 

her response? "when people read erotic symbols into my painting, they are really thinking about their own affairs." 

people projecting and the target internalizing. it can leave you in quite a confused and agitated state, like an emotional time bomb. others pick up on this and if they are mean-spirited they will try to trigger you, sometimes in very inappropriate places. the best thing to do is learn self-defense, practice self-awareness and stop things before they escalate. be firm with your boundaries, don't take things personally and respect yourself enough to know when to fight and when to walk away. sometimes it's best not to go down to their level. but if they keep bothering you- don't hold back.