An Abundant Life - Garden Walk

This past week I was invited to an event at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, and on a break I took a walk through the lilacs. The event I was attending was on the topic of coffee culture and I love coffee, and I am also interested in its cultural significance on a large scale and also personal level, so I was very excited when I received the information about the event and saw that I had time in my schedule for the trip there.

The Botanical Garden often has wonderful events and conferences and conversations like this, times where people can come together and share information. The fact that they are in such a beautiful place makes it a double blessing, and for me the trip itself is like an adventure. Arriving there and attending the event is a seemingly wondrous thing to me, and when I have time to be able to take a walk in the garden itself, it's truly miraculous.

When I thought about the timing of the event, I remembered that last year just around this time I had been able to attend another event of a different kind but one that was equally interesting and beautiful, and on my way from one place to another during the day I had seen that the lilacs were in bloom. On this trip I decided to see if the timing had worked out again and it had, and so I found myself taking a walk through the fragrant lilac filled walk and enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day there.

On my way to and from the Botanical Garden, I took a train ride from Grand Central Station which is something I've loved since childhood. The entire day was filled with beauty and beautiful memories, of long ago times in the garden I loved as a child up through all the years I've traveled to the Botanical Garden to visit for so many wonderful events. Taking a garden walk is always a joy to me, and this beautiful day in the Botanical Garden is one that I was so blessed by and so grateful for, filled as it was with moments to cherish that bring so much joy. 

A Garden Walk

Through The Lilacs

At The New York Botanical Garden

Bronx, New York

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Art Celebration

This weekend was the celebration of Garden State Art Weekend, an annual event that began last year. When I first was told about it a year ago, an Artist who has work in YES Gallery had sent me information about how to sign up to be listed, but it arrived after the time for signing up and I wasn't able to officially be a part of it. This year, a few people kept in touch with me to make sure that I was included, and even though my schedule has been so busy, because of all the well wishing people who kept helping me be a part of it, I found myself setting up events for the celebration. 

A few weeks before the Garden State Art Weekend was to begin, Kevin Kemper who had performed with his trio Plunk at YES Gallery last fall during the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour stopped by, and when I told him about Garden State Art Weekend and invited him to perform again with Plunk, he agreed and also asked if he could perform a solo set. I was more than delighted to have him perform solo and with Plunk, and even more delighted when I heard him perform solo on Saturday. This weekend is such a full one, and I won't write much now, but here's a little listen to the gorgeousness we were treated to with Kevin playing solo as we celebrated art of all kinds at YES Gallery.

 

The Marvelous Kevin Kemper

Performs A Solo Set

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Lovely Meetings

When I was on my way to meet with the marvelous Artist Jason Brian Fox when he had his booth at the New York Art Expo, a gorgeous experience and blessing that I wrote about last week, I saw someone I hadn't seen in quite a while on one of the days when I was walking through my old neighborhood in SoHo. The marvelous Artist and Photographer Benjamin Oliver lives right around the corner from where I lived for a number of years, but I didn't meet him when I was living there. I met him after I'd moved away, one evening when I attended an opening launch of a design space in SoHo during an evening celebration that was filled with all kinds of glamorous and exciting creative people, and Benjamin was one of the most captivating in the room. We got to talking in a room that was overflowing with people and music and design and art of all kinds, and he invited me to join him at a party he was planning as the beginning of a series called "Love Will Save The Day". 

Benjamin is one of those wonderful New York Artists who knows everyone and who has photographed some of the most iconic people and places and events, and he himself looks like a rock star. He's a great deal of fun, too, and I've written about him and the parties I attended when I first me him because they were experiences so full of inspiration and good cheer that they made me feel like the New York I had always loved was back again in full swing.

On the day that I saw him in SoHo while I was walking through on my way to Art Expo New York, he was talking with a friend of his and I interrupted because it had been so long since I'd seen him and it was so wonderful to see him there. He invited me to a party he was having that coming Sunday week as he would say in his English way, and he sent me an invitation right then and there. When I opened his message I saw that it was his birthday party, and I was so excited to be invited to be a part of it that I fairly skipped all my way over to the Pier where the Art Expo is held.

The day of Benjamin's party was Palm Sunday, always a favorite day for me that holds a special feeling of joy and celebration, and when I arrived the streets of SoHo were filled with so many people enjoying the beautiful weather that we've begun to have after what has seemed like a very long winter. Making my way up the stairs to his loft, I remembered the excitement of the first times I'd been there, and when I walked in the door the fun began immediately because that's the kind of person Benjamin is. He and all of his friends are so wonderful and fun, joyful and creative, and they love to laugh and also to talk about really important things, so the conversation and ideas and jokes kept flowing along with good food and cheer and a lovely cup of very British tea that I was offered when I arrived and that started the afternoon tea party in a truly lovely way.

There were so many memorable moments and people I met there, and so many wonderful and inspiring conversations along with many wonderful joyful laughs. It felt so good to be there and as if I'd been given a gift myself to be invited to this wonderful birthday celebration and to meet so many lovely people who all know the wonderful Benjamin Oliver who I was blessed to meet a few years ago and to meet again on a wonderful recent afternoon walk through SoHo. From the beginning of the time when I first met him and attended his "Love Will Save The Day" series of parties, to meeting him again as I walked through SoHo on my way to Art Expo, I find myself so full of gratitude for the times he's invited me into his wonderful world. The joy filled honor and blessing of being invited to the celebration of his birthday on Palm Sunday, a time of new beginnings, joy, hope and love, took me through this week filled with all the wonderful feelings of infinite possibilities, leading up to the beautiful celebration of Easter. 

A Beautiful Afternoon

And A Beautiful Blessing

Celebrating Benjamin Oliver's Birthday

At His Loft In SoHo

With So Much Gratitude

To Benjamin For The Invitation

And To All Of His Wonderful Friends

For Such A Lovely And Inspiring Experience!

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Marvelous Chris Horsfield

With The Marvelous Benjamin Oliver

And The Marvelous Chris Horsfield

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Stacy Benjamin

Wishing The Marvelous Benjamin Oliver

A Very Happy Birthday!

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A World Of Art

A few weeks ago the Artist Jason Brian Fox, one of the Artists who has work at YES Gallery who I have written about in these pages before, sent me a message that he had been accepted by Art Expo New York to show his work in a solo booth. He invited me to join him there, and because I always love to celebrate the Artists I know I was happy to be there with him during the Expo as much as possible. My schedule has been so busy with several projects, but I told him I'd try my best to make the time to be there for at least a part of each day.

I always enjoy the Art festivals and Expos in New York City, but usually I go for the VIP openings when I'm invited, or to one of the regular days if my schedule is too full for the opening. It's always so wonderful to be at these inspiring events, with so many old and new friends and so many different types of  art to explore and discover.

This time around, being at Art Expo New York with Jason was a different experience for me because I was there for so many days and so much time that I had a chance to really get to see so many people I know who attended and to meet so many new people who stopped by the booth or who were in the VIP Lounge when I was there. The VIP opening night was of course an adventure all of its own because of the glitter that surrounds nights like that, but each day brought its own surprises and wonderful experiences.

When I was first at Jason's booth for the opening night, I saw someone in the booth across the aisle who I was thinking I might have met before. I was pretty sure it was Eddy Bogaert who I've written about in these pages before, and though I'd seen him at different events in the past that I'd written about, including one very memorable one in Chelsea that was an art party he had curated that was absolutely packed with wonderful art and wonderful people and remains one of the highlights of art parties I've experienced, I hadn't seen him in some time. I have a very strong memory for people I've met and had memorable experiences with, but as it had been some time I wasn't a hundred percent sure, and so I kept looking at him and wondering if he might recognize me but he was so busy with friends and art collectors and exciting people who were stopping by that it took some time until we finally had the chance to say hello.

As the evening continued, and friends stopped by to say hello to me, I heard a few people say hello to him and say the name Eddy, and one of them who knew us both said to me, "You know Eddy, right?" and I knew then that he was the Eddy I had been thinking he was. When we were finally introduced, I said that we had met before, and he said he'd kept looking across the aisle and thinking he knew me too. I reminded him about the art party I'd attended and the blog post I'd written about him after we'd met, and about one of the gallery openings where I'd seen him afterward and photographed him for another post. It was so wonderful to be reconnected, and he introduced me to Maryam Zadeh who he was sharing a booth with as part of a group of Artists who had different booths from Mazlish Gallery along the aisle we were on. Each day Eddy made its own adventure, and having him and Maryam across the aisle was like having the best neighbors, bringing their joy and life to make every moment a glittering party.

Art Art Expo New York

With So Much Gratitude To Jason Brian Fox

For The VIP Invitation To Join Him

And To Eddy Bogaert And Maryam Zadeh

For Making Every Moment A Joyful Glittering Party

Jason Brian Fox

Shares About His Work

With A Collector, Artist And Visitor

To His Booth 

John Mazlish

Adding His Art Of Music

To The Art From His Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Beautiful Surprise And Blessing

A few years ago I was introduced to one of the Founders of SoHo Muse, and he invited me to join. It was an honor at the time, and being a part of that wonderful group of Creative people continues to be an honor whenever I meet or hear about a member and the wonderful things they are doing.

One of the lovely things that SoHo Muse does is that the concierge will choose different Creatives to celebrate in the newsletter and online in social media, and I always enjoy seeing the really beautiful Art and Design and hearing about the incredibly talented people who are being highlighted.

This past week, when I opened up my newsletter, I saw a photograph of me. It was one of those moments that I can't really describe, when you feel like Cinderella who has been invited to the ball and then been given all of the beautiful things to wear that her heart has ever desired.

The photograph they chose was one that was taken by a photographer, Erika Kuciw, who was working on a project titled "Beautiful, Confident, Vulnerable Women" and she was part of a group I belonged to at the time that was started by a wonderful creative woman I know. She had sent out a description of her project and invited women to contact her, and I did, and one day she came to the apartment where I was living in Inwood and took a series of photographs that she shared with me.

The apartment where I was living at the time was fairly new to me, and if I remember rightly I had just moved in not long before. I had started attending a church, and it was a few months after I had gone through a dark night of the soul and been born again, a story that I've shared in these pages and in others before in different ways and at different times over the years. At the time the photograph was taken, I had been reading a book given to me by the Pastor of the church I had begun to attend, a book of testimonials he had compiled that he thought I'd enjoy after he and I met and I'd shared my story with him. In the photograph the book is in my hand, and it is such a beautiful thing to me that for this feature in SoHo Muse that they chose that photograph.

God has a way of reminding us of the love and grace that is poured out on us, of encouraging us in every way that we need, and in ways that mean so much to us personally. As I've been walking through this current time in my life, there have been some experiences that have been growing my faith in ways that I could have never imagined, and at times it has seemed as if I was on a path that I had no idea where it was leading. Seeing this photograph again and having this beautiful surprise and beautiful blessing of this feature and post brought to mind so many things that have happened over the years and how God has continued to guide and help and hold and bless me through it all. I may not know where the path is leading sometimes, or even what the step is after the next one I take, but if I hold on fast and keep my focus on God, I will find myself walking into something beautiful and blessed.

A Surprise and Blessing

Appearing As A Featured Artist

Selected By The Marvelous Concierge

In The Marvelous SoHo Muse

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Erika Kuciw

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Boston View

I've been traveling back and forth to Massachusetts for meetings over this past almost year and a half or more, since October of 2023 and on occasion before that, and as I've written in these pages before, I decided on one of my visits in October 2023 that I"d stay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel because I have a long history of loving that hotel and going there with my Mother for tea because of the wonderful book, "The Trumpet Of The Swan" by E.B. White and the swan in that book who stays at the Ritz and sleeps in the bathtub. 

The old Ritz-Carlton is now a different hotel, and the new one that I've been staying at is very different in many ways, but the feeling of care and well being that the staff provide in every moment are the same. As I've traveled back and forth over these now many months, I've come to look forward to certain things when I go there, and each time I go there is something new to enjoy and be delighted by.

On this most recent trip just this past week I was given a corner room, with a lovely view of the old John Hancock Building. The view was wonderful during the day, but at night it became even more special when I noticed that the blue light on the old John Hancock Building was blinking in a very beautiful way. I took a video of it, not knowing at the time that it has a very special meaning, and when I returned home and looked up the building to make sure I knew which one I'd been viewing, I found out that it is the old John Hancock building and that it is officially known as the Berkeley Building, and that what I'd been seeing is the weather beacon on top that changes colors and flashes according to the forecast. I also found this sweet rhyme:

"Steady Blue, Clear View. Flashing Blue, Clouds Due. Steady Red, Rain Ahead. Flashing Red, Snow Instead"

After all the years I'd lived in Massachusetts and all the history I have in Boston, I'd never known about this wonderful light and its story. It seems that the more I visit and stay at the Ritz-Carlton, my memories are becoming clearer as new ones are made. The view this past week was cloudy, and so the blue light was flashing and it caught my eye, giving me a new perspective and a new way to look at the skyline in a city I am learning to love even more as I return to it again.

The Old John Hancock Building

Shining Its Weather Beacon

Viewed From The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

10 Avery Street

Boston, Massachusetts

https://www.ritzcarlton.com/the-ritz-carlton-boston

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - New York Art

This past week the gorgeous Artist Alberte Bernier gave me the treat of a visit to the Museum of Modern Art. MoMA as it's known to those of us who have been going there or hearing about it for years is one of those New York places that is always a joy to experience. After our visit to this gorgeous museum, we had lunch at Gallagher's Steakhouse, another wonderful New York place that I've written about in these pages before and that I will again in a future post, but for now I want to focus on MoMA and the beautiful experience there that day.

As we began our visit, I told Alberte that on my way to meet her I had been remembering that my Mother had always loved MoMA. She loved New York, and had lived there for so many years before I was born, and we would take trips there as a family and sometimes just the two of us to do special things and see special friends, and when I moved there after college she often visited me and we'd make plans to do some of the things she loved to do that I loved also.

MoMA was one of the things that I grew up knowing about, and visiting there feels in many ways like being home. Although I grew up in a New England farmhouse built in 1720, the art and design that filled that house were an eclectic mix that included antiques as well as refurbished and reupholstered vintage pieces and inspiration from places like MoMA. When I spoke about this with Alberte while we were visiting there together, she said that was just like YES Gallery, and I laughed and said it was and it is, and that it was so much of what I learned from and experienced with my Mother that is reflected in the way I design and create installations in spaces today.

As I begin to move into the next chapter of developing a very wonderful and special project, visiting MoMA and being reminded of my Mother and our shared history together was so wonderfully right and special. Bringing the best of modern art and design and the feeling of both old New York and the Manhattan of present day into this new project will make it a very special one, capturing the experiences of my own history as well as the history of the places and spaces where my family and my deepest memories rest and can come to life as they are renewed.

A Visit To MoMA

With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Artist

Alberte Bernier

Blessings,

Jannie Susan