New York’s Unique & Unexpected Places
I love the places and things you find when you venture off-the-beaten path in NYC, so I was excited to learn about a new book: New York’s Unique and Unexpected Places
I attended the book launch party at Idlewild Books – which happens to make the book! Idlewild is a great bookstore for any travel lover, and they organize their books by region so that you can find guides, biographies, literature, and even cook books side-by-side. They also have an incredible number of book readings and launch parties, so you should check out their event listings if you are ever in NYC.
I was also happy to see two more of my favorite neighborhood haunts on the list: The High Line (which I’ve previously written about) and the Rubin Museum of Art. I love the Rubin Museum because it has a great collection of Himalayan art, including special exhibits like “Mandala: The Perfect Circle” and “The Red Book of C.G. Jung: Creation of a New Cosmology”. I’m especially drawn to this museum and their collections because of my love for the Himalayan region and also because I create mandalas myself (read more about Wanderlust Mandalas).
What the book doesn’t explain, however, is that the RMA has a great gift store and café, which I love to go to during the day to focus on writing and at night for some cocktails with friends. They also offer a varied series of events – from Friday night movies and jazz concerts to lunchtime discussions and storytelling programs. They also have an amazing list of guest speakers. Those participating in the C.G. Jung series alone have included Tibet scholar Robert Thurman, novelist Alice Walker, comedienne Sarah Silverman, screenwritier/director Charlie Kaufman, musician Billy Corgan, and even Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Some of the places featured in the book that I have yet to explore but am very much looking forward to include:
- Bowne & Company Stationers – a vintage print shop located in the Seaport
- The Map Room of the New York Public Library – I love maps!
- The Grolier Club – a distinguished club for bibliophiles
- Tender Buttons – a tiny shop with a vast collection of unique buttons
- The Noguchi Museum – a space dedicated to the simple sculptures of Isamu Noguchi
Do you know of any gems in NYC that you’d like to share with others? And discover some more with New York’s Unique and Unexpected Places
Kandinsky at the Guggenheim
I was first inspired by the artist Vasily Kandinsky during a junior high school trip to the Guggenheim in New York City – and it was love at first site. Maybe it was the colorful geometric patterns of his later works on paper that spoke to me. After all, it was the 80’s and geometric patterns were everywhere – from the patterns on our sweater dresses to the shapes of our dangling earrings and even our hair (remember the crimper?). But that is belittling Kandinsky’s work.
There is just something about his colors and shapes that speak to me and I’ve found that I love to use similar geometric patterns (if not a bit more simple) in the works I create, from mandalas to logos. Even he was inspired by the color & composition of Monet’s work, not necessarily the subject matter. So it’s no surprise that Kandinsky’s work even inspired the creation of the Guggenheim building itself.
So it was great to return to the Guggenheim during its 50th Anniversary celebration, in which the museum is filled with the canvases that encouraged its inception.
Together with the Centre Pompidou and Städtische Galerie, the Guggenheim has assembled one of the greatest collections of Kandinsky work in one place. If you are not familiar with the artist, you can read more about the Kandinsky exhibit on the Guggenheim site, but I also highly recommend you visit the museum itself. The exhibit runs through January 13, 2010.
The High Line – NYC
I mostly work from home, which I know is everyone’s dream, but it can also be a very lonely existence – especially when most others I work with are in the digital realm. So when I need a break from the computer and looking for inspiration, I head over to the High Line in my neighborhood.
The High Line runs along the west side of NYC from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street (currently open to 20th Street). It was built in the 1930’s and originally served as an elevated rail line that delivered livestock to the meatpacking plants in the area. It was abandoned in 1980 and set for demolition until a group of resident advocates set out to preserve it and have it reutilized as public space.
Thankfully the advocates won out, because today it is a beautiful park space and oasis amongst the brownstones and brick buildings surrounding it. Along the walk way are still remnants of the train tracks, covered with beautiful wild flowers – similar to the flowers that grew there when it was abandoned. And the park benches and double-wide loungers make for great resting spots, where you can enjoy views of the Hudson River, read a book, or catch up with friends. You can also grab a bite to eat from one of the outside concessions, or grab a picnic lunch from one of the many vendors in Chelsea Market right below it.
They have also implemented some very creative public art space.
The inaugural artwork on the High Line, by artist Spencer Finch, is The River That Flows Both Ways. Its title comes from the original Native American word for the Hudson River, Muhheakantuck. This work is located on the High Line in the semi-enclosed former loading dock between 15th and 16th Streets, where the High Line passes through the Chelsea Market building. Finch transforms the site’s existing casement windows with 700 individually crafted panes of glass representing the water conditions on the Hudson River over a single day. To create the project, Finch photographed the Hudson River 700 times from the deck of a boat and then carefully matched each unique image to a pane of glass.
I love the fact that since the park is elevated approximately four stories, it gives you a great perspective of the city that you wouldn’t see from ground level. Looking down at the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District takes me back in time and lets me imagine NYC in a different era.
Whether you live in NYC or come for a visit, take the time to visit the High Line and enjoy this great neighborhood project. Hopefully you will find some inspiration there as well.
Reflecting On Those Who Inspired Me on 9-11
How does one find inspiration in a tragedy such as 9/11?
I found it in the hearts of my fellow Salvation Army volunteers, many who traveled across the country, as we served food to rescue workers at a temporary morgue. I found it in the generosity of the police officers who drove me home after working those 12 hour shifts. I found it in the gentle spirit of Buddhist Monks during a work encounter. And I found it in the tears of the many rescue workers who just finished shifts at Ground Zero, as I bought beers for them at my favorite pub.
I’m reminded of those people as I look through my journal. And I’m thankful that I did keep a journal during that time, as I never want the memories and emotions of that period to fade as they usually do with time. Here are some excerpts from my journal:
Right now I should be in Hong Kong at the beginning of my three-month trip through SE Asia and Nepal. Instead, I am sitting in Union Square at the site of a shrine for the victims of one of the most unspeakable acts in history.
I was awakened on the morning of the 11th – my departure day – by the phone ringing off the hook. It was my mom to say that all area airports had been closed and two planes had just crashed into the Twin Towers. In disbelief and shock, we ran down to the water to see the tops blazing with smoke. It was only a matter of minutes before both towers collapsed.
The crowd just stood stunned in complete and utter disbelief. It was surreal – it was a movie of the week – it didn’t really happen. The rest of the day was spent glued to the TV set. A similar attack was made on the Pentagon and another plane went down in Pennsylvania – apparently heading to the White House. That plane, eerily, was hijacked out of Newark heading to San Francisco – the route I was to take later that day. For the most part of the day I was trying to reassure my friends and family that I was safe. No easy task considering phone service was poor.
I’ve now been at a loss the past few days, trying to figure out what I should do and where I should go. I’m currently homeless and jobless and my trip is up in the air. I was planning on carrying on with it, but even though the airports are closed, I know that I need to be here.
Though I left my job in production for my travels, I was able to work on a freelance basis a few times.
I was up at 4am for work as EPG was hosting a press tour for a Buddhist Monk from Vietnam (Thich Nhat Hanh). He was promoting his book on “Anger” and how to embrace it – very appropriate for the time. With him were 24 monks and nuns who would meditate while he was conducting his interviews. I could relate to so much of what he had to say about embracing ones anger and recognizing it so as not to use it to cause more harm. And so much of the views of Buddhism are based on common sense. It’s just so sad that people are too ignorant to recognize these basic principles.
When I wasn’t freelancing, I was volunteering with the Salvation Army.
I worked the noon to midnight shift at the canteen on First Ave. and 30th Street in NYC. The location is one of the morgues where they bring bodies, or more likely, parts for identification. I spent the day working the grill, serving food, and monitoring the generators. Everyone was so nice – the Salvation Army staff, caterers, and especially the rescue workers, police, and state troopers. I even got a ride home from some Nassau County cops.
We had to first drop off & pick up someone at Ground Zero. It was indescribable – very spooky. We had about 15 checkpoints as we drove by residents raising “thank you” signs. It was like a war zone – a lot happening everywhere and the mouth of the destruction before us. It was past midnight, so the lights were reflecting off the smoke, water and destruction. It has to be so traumatic to be working down there constantly, not to mention exhausting.
I had the opportunity to meet some of those who volunteered at Ground Zero at my favorite mid-town pub.
Boy was I ready for the Irish Pub. I had been in a couple of weeks ago, about one week after the tragedy. I befriended some structural engineers who were in town as part of the rescue/recovery effort. They were from Florida and Pennsylvania and I let them pick tunes out on the jukebox. They just needed someone to take their minds off of the situation for a little bit.
I’ve been finding that’s the case most of the time. I’ve been meeting a lot of rescue workers and firemen, and I seem to be a sounding board for them. I really don’t mind, I just wish I had more to say. And I’ve never seen so many men break down crying.
When I went back (to the Irish Pub) this past Friday with the EPG crew, I was left a t-shirt and a very sweet note from one of them: “I want to thank you for your act of kindness asking me to select music at the juke box. This may seem small & trivial but made a big difference in my emotional well being.”
If only he knew how much he inspired me.
A month after 9/11 I found myself finally on my way to SE Asia.
The events of the past month have been insane, tragic, and nerve-ridden for everyone. And if something like this had to happen, I am grateful I was home with my family & friends. To have been so far away at a time like this would have been upsetting & heartbreaking for me.
During this time I met so many wonderful police officers, rescue workers, medical examiners and volunteers working at the canteen. And I was able to witness how wealthy and generous of a country we have. And despite everything that has happened, we are all so lucky and should be so grateful for where we live and all those we have in our lives, not to mention the opportunities and freedoms open to us.
But it is time for all of us to slowly move on. And for me that means on with my travels.
On this Anniversary of 9/11, I can’t help but think about all of these people that I encountered during that time. I can only hope that they have been able to carry on with their lives and are healthy & happy, especially those that volunteered at Ground Zero. I believe that I am where I am in my life today because of them.
California Mandala
I’ve been to California many times over the years, but there is nothing like that first experience of driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. For me it was July of 1995. My friend Holly and I had just returned from six months of backpacking in Australia & New Zealand and were wrapping up our trip with five days in Fiji followed by two weeks in California.
It was a beautiful ride as we meandered our way up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco, with every turn offering an amazing view. And the further north we got, with the sharp cliffs and pounding seas, the more we were reminded of the Great Ocean Road in Australia – but even better. Ending with a camping trip in Yosemite, those two weeks were the highlight of our trip.
I loved being with Michael the first time he was going to experience driving down the PCH. It was 2006 and we were heading from San Francisco to Los Angeles. With stops in Monterey and Big Sur along the way, the views seemed better than I remembered. And it was from a photo on this trip that inspired this California Mandala.
What please me the most about this mandala was that is was the first one I’ve known of that really spoke to someone. I was showing it at a local art fair in New Jersey and noticed a woman observing it for a period of time. When I introduced myself she expressed how much it drew her in and she had no idea why. Talking further, we figured out that the photo it originated from was taken from the same area in Big Sur that she grew up.
The magic of the mandala – nothing pleased me more.
