An Abundant Life - Community Space

A few weeks ago I met the Council Member at Large in Hoboken at the Hoboken Art and Music Festival. There was a work of art in YES Gallery by the Marvelous Artist Joel Liscio who I have written about in these pages before. He creates collage pieces of different sizes, and he happened to have brought one to YES Gallery when I first opened that had a variety of current affairs photographs from the cover of Time Magazine circa 2019 included in it, and that particular magazine had a group of the Democratic Leadership in the United States. Shortly after that, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ran together and were subsequently elected, but at the time that he made the piece we didn't yet know who Joe Biden's running mate would be, so Joel titled it "Who Knew?" when he brought it to the gallery in 2022. 

There are some topics I stay away from in the gallery, religion, politics, anything too risqué or anything violent, because I want people to feel comfortable in the gallery and not have to feel as if they are being asked to take sides or make statements or agree or disagree with anything they see. I want visitors of every age and every background to feel welcomed. When Joel brought that piece along with the others in his collection, he didn't know if I would take it because of the political images, but I thought it was a wonderful piece and so very well made and aesthetically pleasing that I gladly included it, knowing that if anyone asked me if it was meant to be a statement, I could explain the story behind it. 

When Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic candidate for President, I started seeing all kinds of Artists creating pieces especially for this historic time, and the Hoboken Dems were a group that I became aware of that were having events and that had at least one Artist's work as part of a promotion. I wanted to get in touch with them in some way and when I went to the Hoboken Art and Music Festival I saw someone at a table there for the Hoboken Dems, and it turned out to be the Council Member at Large. He was very busy that day speaking with people, so I waited my turn and quickly explained why I was there, he gave me his number and I gave him my card, and the following week he visited the gallery to talk about having an event there.

This past Thursday night was the night that we chose, and it was such a beautiful evening. The group of people who attended were all so wonderful, and Joel who is also a Sommelier chose the wines with his always wonderful palate. The marvelous Cosmo Gallaro and marvelous Jack Mork who have played at the gallery before provided music from some experimental pieces they've been working on recently, and the refreshment selections curated by one of the members of the Hoboken Dems were so special and lovely. When the Artist OnlyTheArts heard about the event he sent me a message saying that he was planning to make me some Kamala Harris T-shirts. He had been making them and was nearly out, so he did a special screen printed run of what he has titled "Mamala" shirts. He brought me a framed version too along with the shirts on the night of the event, so now YES Gallery has a little bit more of politics than before, but in this historic time it feels right.

The Hoboken Dems are such a supportive community grass roots organization that the focus of they work that they do is so much about all of the things that are important to me and have been for my whole life, from the time that as a young child I learned from my own family about the community issues that affect us all. In my adult life everything that I do and believe in has community and youth development based aspects, and that is why YES Gallery is what it is. I felt on the night of the event that my parents were smiling over everything that was happening there, and the community space that has been created seemed to grow even brighter.

An Evening With Hoboken Dems

At YES Gallery

With Featured Artwork And Sommelier Selections

By Joel Liscio

Experimental Music

By Cosmo Gallaro and Jack Mork

Mamala T-Shirts By OnlyTheArts

And Wonderful Refreshments Curated By

A Member Of Hoboken Dems

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Gift Of Art

There was a lovely woman who walked by YES Gallery one day and was standing outside looking in. When I said hello and invited her in, she hesitated at first but when I continued to speak with her she walked up the stairs and inside to continue the conversation. She told me that she had been walking by for some time and had been admiring the art through the windows and open door, and that one painting in particular caught her eye. She was looking for a gift for a very special young woman she knows and she thought the colors of the piece would go with things the young woman had in her home. It was also very bright and cheerful, and so she thought that the feeling it gave her would be something nice to share as a gift.

The painting she had been drawn to is by Jason Brian Fox who I've written about in these pages before. There are several of his pieces in the gallery, and the particular one that she was looking at is framed and matted, and because of the size and quality of the framing it is more expensive than some of his other work. She had told me she was on a budget and when I explained the reason it was priced the way it is, I offered to contact the Artist and see if there was a way he could make a piece for her that used similar colors and style, but that would be within the amount range she could feel more comfortable with.

When I contacted Jason and explained the conversation, he said he would try his best and when he finished the piece and brought it to me at the gallery he really had created something, that though different because it was on canvas and not on paper and matted and framed, was very much along the lines of the other.

A little over a week ago the woman stopped by to pick it up and bring it to the young woman she knew as a gift. She had seen a photograph of it and then had seen the painting itself, and when the day came for her to take it, I wrapped it for her, showing her how to do it in the careful way I had been taught by another Artist in case she needed to unwrap or rewrap it for any reason. 

After delivering her gift she stopped by to tell me that the young woman loved it, and it was one of those moments that make me so happy. It's a joy to help someone find a beautiful work of art that means something to them, and a joy to help connect an Artist with the person who in some way their work was made for. Jason named it "Struggle Becomes Salvation" as a reminder that sometimes in life we will face struggles and difficulties, but that through that we will draw closer to God. Having the opportunity to share that with this lovely woman as well led us to speaking more about our own experiences and faith, and that was a beautiful gift as well.

"Struggle Becomes Salvation"

A Commission For A Very Special Gift

By Jason Brian Fox

Shown Near The Original Piece

That Caught The Imagination Of A Visitor

At YES Gallery

408 Sixth Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Trip Across The Pond

A number of years ago I met some wonderful people from London who were living in New York. They had lots of friends and lots of fun and they invited me to join them for parties and visits to some very wonderful places. One thing they always said when they spoke about the Atlantic Ocean was to call it the pond. I'm not sure why this is something that is said, but I always thought it was an interesting and somehow funny way to think about a large and mighty ocean.

This past week I went to Long Island City in Queens, and though the trip was under the East River and by subway is a very short trip, when I started writing this blog I thought about the expression the people from London I knew used to say and for some reason it seemed just right. The journey I took that day may have been a quick one from the standpoint of one subway stop to another, but from the way I felt before I went to the way I felt after, it was as if I had been on a much longer adventure.

The reason for the trip was to meet with Dena McCoy who I know through Instagram and our mutual friend Ivonne Camacho who I have written about in these pages before. Dena had written a book titled Greed & Grace which I will be writing more about in the coming weeks, and I had been very interested to hear more about it, but it was for another reason that I first reached out to her. She had been posting music and performances by her daughter, Ava, and the posts and music and performances were so beautiful that I felt as if I needed to send her a message and offer to write about Ava and also Dena in my blog. They are both so talented that I thought they might not be interested in meeting with me because they most likely had lots of people contacting them and very busy lives, but I was honored to have Dena respond with kindness accepting my offer. We made an appointment to meet in person, and that is why I found myself traveling to Queens. I'll be writing more about Dena and Ava and their beautiful creativity soon, but today I'll write a bit about Cafe Henri and the walk I took with Dena to the waterfront after our lovely brunch.

Cafe Henri is right across the street from the Number 7 Subway stop, the first stop in Queens after leaving Grand Central. I was there so quickly that I didn't have time to send Dena a text to say I was on my way as I had planned. The restaurant is lovely and it is described on its website as a little taste of Paris in LIC which it really is. The menu had everything that I love on it, and I chose an old favorite, Steak and Eggs, that I first had years ago on a trip with my Mother from college when we stopped at a truck stop diner along the highway. Ever since that day I've felt like Steak and Eggs was somehow something very special, and I don't often have it. Cafe Henri made a wonderful one, with hollandaise sauce on the egg that was cooked just right the way I like it and steak that was cooked to my preference as well. Hollandaise sauce was something that I learned about the first time when I was visiting with a boyfriend in Hawaii when I was in college. He said he wanted Eggs Benedict and I told him if he had a cookbook I could make it because I can make anything with a cookbook. I hadn't known that it would have all the steps that it did, but it came out perfectly and he was very impressed with me. After that glowing experience I had it again on a trip to New York when a dear old friend took me to the old Four Seasons and they made it right at my table for my asparagus. Having Steak and Eggs and Hollandaise sauce made this brunch not only lovely on that day but brought back so many beautiful memories. It came with home fries and a salad which were lovely too and along with the wonderful conversation and beautiful kind Dena across the table from me, the beautiful surroundings and the wonderful staff I felt like I was truly in another world.

After brunch we walked to the waterfront, a quick few blocks away. The view from Hunter's Point South Park is a very beautiful and special one, with all of the architectural wonder of the Manhattan skyline in full and very close view. As I walked along the walkway and took photographs, for the last one I aimed my camera and hoped for the best. The sunshine was so bright it was difficult to see in my lens, but the views were so stunning and the sky so blue with the most beautiful clouds that I knew something good would appear. I was blessed with a radiant ray of light that shone directly from the sky to the water, a beautiful symbol of that beautiful day, meeting with the beautiful Dena and talking about life and art.

A Meeting With Dena McCoy

At Cafe Henri

1010 50th Avenue

Long Island City, New York

https://cafehenrilic.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - Art Month

Yesterday was the anniversary of the day that I was baptized after I was born again. When I woke up in the morning it was early and the sunlight was so beautiful I had to take a photograph of it. As I've written in these pages before, it's a funny thing for me to look at my life now, in comparison to what it was, and it's been eighteen years filled with so many changes and so many things happening that I feel as if sometimes not only am I a different person, but that I've lived several lives. In a way my life has become completely new, but in another way I've been going through such a deep healing process that I'm being reminded of who I was and who I was always meant to be.

Twenty-one years ago I had the idea that I would start an art and community center, and I went into partnership with someone to do that. As I've written before at different times, the other person was not the right person to do that with in any way and two years after that time I went through a dark night of the soul and God reached into my life and I was born again. That's a big story that I've written about before, and I may write more about it again, but today I want to write about the fact that in 2022 I opened an Art Gallery and community space called YES Gallery and that is where I spent my afternoon on the beautiful day of the anniversary of when I was baptized. 

It's art month in Hoboken, and I took a photograph of the outside of the gallery to post and share with people and to recognize the people who help put this beautiful time of art and celebration together. The Hoboken Department of Cultural Affairs, the Hoboken Business Alliance and Main Street Pops do so much for the community, and by putting this month of celebration together with so many people and businesses and Artists it's creating a feeling of art and creativity throughout the city. There will be more to come with news of events and later this month there's a very special group that has asked to have a very special gathering at the gallery. If you had told me in October of 2004 that I'd be writing this now in October of 2024, it wouldn't have seemed possible. But that's why it's so amazing to share this, because the vision was there all those years ago and even though I was stumbling around I'm the darkness and didn't see my way clearly, God brought it to pass, step by step and inch by inch, row by row as the lovely Pete Seeger song tells us, the garden grows.

YES Gallery

Celebrating Hoboken Art Month

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan