An Abundant Life - Holiday Cheer

This past week on December 12 was the anniversary of the day that I was born again in 2005.  It's been nineteen years and while I can say that the time has gone by quickly, there has also been so much that has happened in these many years that's it's hard to grasp and think back to who I was before and all the many changes and adventures, joys, heartaches, moments filled with wonder and times when I have wondered. On the day of the anniversary I posted a video walk through of YES Gallery with the Christmas decorations that I had just been putting up, and when I posted it Instagram tagged my post and said it looked like a sponsored partnership post. It made me laugh because it was just me doing my thing at YES Gallery and I have no sponsored partnerships there. But then when I thought about it as I began to write this blog post, I realized that Jesus is the best sponsored partnership there is, so in a way I could have tagged Him and thinking about that made me laugh again.

There is so much joy and beauty in life when we follow God's path. There are hard times too, and sometimes bewildering ones, and there is pain and there are challenges, but then when we ask for help in the storm, when we cry out and say I don't know what to do or ask for guidance and peace, the calm arrives, our spirit is renewed and we are able to look around us and breathe and take in the fact that although we may be going through something difficult, we are not going through it alone and this difficult time will pass as we are brought through it with grace.

As I walked around YES Gallery listening to a Beethoven Violin Concerto and looking at the Christmas ornaments and lights, it was with so much gratitude for all that I have been blessed with there. So many beautiful people have walked through the doors, bringing art and gifts and sharing their beauty and blessings with me. I have found so many lovely things to bring there, and have had so many beautiful events with beautiful Artists and Performers, Chefs and Artisans and community friends and neighbors. Nineteen years ago I went through a dark night of the soul, the darkest time I had known. As God brought me into the light I had no idea where my life would be heading. Finding myself at YES Gallery is a dream come true that I didn't even know was possible, and I say thank you to God for the many beautiful gifts I have received as I look forward to more beautiful days to come.

Admiring Christmas Decorations

While Listening To Beethoven

And Feeling So Grateful

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Family Heritage

A few years ago when I was looking up something I found information about an uncle of mine, one of my Father's brothers. His name was Garwood Rowan Wolff, and he had been my Father's favorite brother. I may have met him once, and I think it's possible that I did when I was very young because there is a vague memory that I have of him visiting the house where we lived and where I grew up. He lived in New York City and when I was a young teenager I remember coming home from after school one day to hear that my Father needed to go to New York because Garwood had died. Over the years I heard little bits of information about him, but there was nothing really outstanding that I was told. At one point when I was working in the McGraw Hill building my Mother said that he had worked in the publishing business at McGraw Hill, at another time when I lived in the West Village she told me that he'd had an apartment there with a rent of $7 that he'd stopped paying and that he'd lost the apartment. It always seemed when people spoke about Garwood that his life had not been extraordinary in any way and that he had in some ways not done anything of merit at all. But my Father had loved him dearly, and it made me wonder more about him and who this uncle of mine really was.

When I found the information about him a few yeas ago, it was in reference to a text book that he'd written on sustainability and conservation of natural resources during a time when no one was really talking about those things. To me because of the things that I am passionate about, that seemed like something of note and of merit that I was surprised that no one had ever mentioned to me. I started to think about this uncle more, and about my own life, and I began to think that maybe he and I had more in common than might be seen at first glance, and that if he were still alive we would have gotten along and enjoyed each other's company and inspiration.

Recently when I was at YES Gallery, thinking about a project for an art, design and sustainability educational center that is near and dear to my heart that I am in the process of developing, I felt as if there was a presence in the gallery. It was just a moment of a shadow in the glass of a framed piece, but I had the unmistakable feeling that someone from my family was there and wanted me to know something. I've had experiences like that before, and usually I know right away who it is, but this time I was unsure and at first I thought it might be my Grandfather, my Father's Father. But then it came into my consciousness that it was Garwood and I couldn't understand what he would want to share with me, so when I went home I started to research him more again.

This time I found out that he had lived in Sutton Place, somewhere that I have alway had a deep feeling of connection to, and I found the building where he had lived. It is one that I often used to walk by on lunch breaks when I was working midtown and wanted to explore the neighborhood. I found a mention that he had indeed worked at McGraw Hill for many years, but he had also started his own publishing company, and that he had been one of the publishers of an architecture and design magazine that was one of the forerunners of the art and design magazines that are preeminent today. 

As I read about my Uncle Garwood, I realized that everything that I do and everything that I am passionate about stems directly from work that he did and loved. I realized that the project that I am developing that is so deeply rooted in my being is one that is part of my own family heritage. As I continue to plan this project and envision the future of it, it is Garwood and his legacy that will be part of what I am celebrating there. Far from being forgotten and unmerited, his extraordinary life and vision will live on through me and mine. What I create in the community will honor his heritage and the dreams he began when my own were just beginning to awaken.

Garwood Rowan Wolff

A Cherished Uncle

With A Vision

For Creating A More Beautiful And Sustainable World

jannie_wolff Art And Life - I’ve Been Thinking About My Uncle Garwood Quite A Bit This Past Week. I Think About Him Often, But He Felt Very Near To Me Somehow And I Remembered This Photograph. He Was Awarded Bronze And Silver Stars, Admirable In The Navy, But What I Remember Most Is That He Was My Father’s Favorite Brother, And He And I, Though Many Years And Lifetimes Apart, Share So Many Echoes. He Had His Own Publishing Company And Wrote Books About Sustainability, And He Was A Co-Publisher Of A Design And Architecture Magazine. I Realized In Thinking About Him That So Many Of My Influences Are In A Direct Line To Him. There Are Other Veterans In My Family, But Today I Wanted To Honor Him Especially, As Give Gratitude To All Who Serve

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

     

An Abundant Life - The Eyes Of Gratitude

It was Thanksgiving last week and I found myself feeling so grateful for the time of this very long holiday weekend. There has been so much going on for so many months now and some of the holidays have been so busy sometimes that in a way they haven't felt like times of relaxation.  I'm used to going every day for long hours and working over the weekends too, but sometimes we need time to just be and just enjoy peace and quiet, long walks, doing something different or doing something just for fun. Sometimes we need time for ourselves without feeling like we have to do something else right now.

This past week when the holiday arrived, a few things happened that gave me a chance to just enjoy the days and to feel gratitude for the time that I had. As I began to look with the eyes of gratitude and to remember that Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful for the provision of God, I could feel myself relaxing into the enjoyment of life in a way that I wish I could do every day. It's something that is available to us, but so often the world crowds out that feeling, with people and things calling for our attention and telling us that their schedule is more important than anything else. Over this past Thanksgiving weekend I've been so grateful to feel the presence of God in my life and to know that God's timing is always best and that though I may not understand how or when or what is going on from moment to moment, when I can surrender and allow God to be God everything works out in a way that I could not have understood how to arrange myself, because God knows the end from the beginning and has orchestrated everything perfectly.

A number of years ago I wrote a blog post about how God brings everything around to be more than fine and over these past few days I've allowed God to speak that to my heart and keep me calm as I walk through this time. It was time for a holiday makeover for YES Gallery, and just before I began to put up the ornaments and rearrange things to create some glowing vignettes, I took a walk through the gallery to create a video while I was playing Chuck Mangione's "Chase The Clouds Away" on my vintage stereo. It had been a while since I'd recorded the experience of the gallery in this way and it seemed so beautifully perfect as a way to usher in the new season and give gratitude to God for the beautiful place and space and peace surrounding me. There was a feeling of joy as there always is in the gallery, and along with some very special visitors and conversations about future projects this time of relaxation and reflection filled me with renewed hope for the beautiful days to come.

A Walk Through The Gallery

With Thanksgiving And Gratitude

Listening To Chuck Mangione's

"Chase The Clouds Away"

YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Living Art

A few months ago I met the Artists Robert Yucikas and Darcy Spitz at an opening for a Woodward Gallery show at the Downtown Association in lower Manhattan. I had been wanting to follow up with them but my schedule has been so busy that I didn't have a chance to and when I saw them again at a more recent opening I made sure to ask them to keep in touch and to help me find a date to visit with them at their studio.

After a few emails and a few weeks with other engagements that we all had, we set a date and I went to visit them this past week. I'll be writing more about each of them soon in future posts, but for now I wanted to share a few photographs that I took during the visit and say for the record what a beautiful blessing my afternoon and evening visit with them was! The hours flew by, and they are such gracious hosts with such a beautiful space and beautiful work and a beautiful, inspiring history in their lives and the New York City art world. Having a chance to share time with them made my day so much brighter and I'm so grateful for the introduction to them and the opportunity to experience a glimpse into their lives and art.

At The Studio

With Robert Yucikas and Darcy Spitz

New York City

Drawings And Paintings

Robert Yucikas 

Paintings

Darcy Spitz

Paintings And Drawings

Darcy Spitz

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Design Abundance

This past week was the Boutique Design New York fair, which is also known as BDNY. I've been blessed to go for several years now and it is always one of my favorite experiences. I love to go to different design showrooms and celebrations and fairs, but there is something very special about BDNY because so many of the people there are smaller business owners and designers and crafts people. I always find something new and wonderful and beautiful and inspiring while seeing some of the people who I have met before, and each time I go I have so much fun meeting new people and saying hello to the designers and businesses I already know.

Visiting with the different designers and companies is always so inspiring, and the event itself is always so joyful! I always find new people and places to connect with and ideas and designs to bring back to my gallery and also to recommend for other projects. There is so much to see and do that it feels like being in a playground of sorts, one that is filled with and abundance of design, ideas, inspiration and beauty.

A Visit To BDNY

At The Javits Center

New York City

https://bdny.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

   

An Abundant Life - Artful Music

I wrote a little bit last week about the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour that was on Sunday, November 3, and this week I wanted to follow up with some of the music that was played in the afternoon and evening of that beautiful day's celebration. Visionary Module who has performed at the gallery before was there in the evening to create his always wonderful music with some covers and some original pieces, and there was another band that played in the afternoon by the name of Plunk, Steven Dworkin on accordion and cello, David Gould on percussion, and Kevin Kemper on guitar and electronics, who play experimental music and described themselves to me as "a free improvisation music trio that combines acoustic and electronic, melodic and textural sounds into a unique experience." They were all that and more, and the combination of their wonderful music with the changing afternoon light in the gallery made for a gorgeous sound installation and immersive experience. Both Plunk and Visionary Module invited a wonderful group of friends and the gallery had such a lovely feeling to it throughout the day and evening.

Because of my own schedule, I had arrived early that day to set up and was waiting until I had everything moved around and completed before changing into the dress I was planning to wear. It was a pink sequined gown that I'd found just recently at the Hoboken Thrift Store, a wonderful place that I've written about in these pages before. It was very comfortable, but it had a little bit of a train, so I didn't want to be dragging it around and risk tripping on it or damaging it while I was moving everything into the places where they needed to be for the event. Fred Watson who arrived in the afternoon took the most wonderful photograph of me in it, and I'm so grateful to him as always for his support of the gallery and of me and his good hearted celebratory spirit. When I first put the dress on it was still very sunny outside, and with the light shining in the windows the sequins on the dress danced on the walls like stars. A visitor took a video of me that I haven't yet seen, but the memory of it still reminds me of how beautiful and special that day was because of all the wonderful people who were part of it.

The Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

By Fred Watson

Dress From The Hoboken Thrift Store

Plunk

Steven Dworkin - Accordion And Cello

David Gould - Percussion

Kevin Kemper - Guitar And Electronics

Live At YES Gallery

Visionary Module

Performing A Cover

Live At YES Gallery

Visionary Module

Performing An Original Creation

Live At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Celebrating Art

I've written about the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour in these pages before, and in the past two years since I opened YES Gallery I've written about the joyous experience of celebrating the Artists' Studio Tour as a gallery that is participating in the event. This year it is today, November 3, and I had the wonderful opportunity to welcome some musicians to the space who are new to me by the name of Plunk, a trio who perform experimental music. Though they are new to me, they are not new to Hoboken as they have been living in Hoboken and making their wonderful music together in the area for some time now.

Along with Plunk I also had the wonderful opportunity to welcome back Visionary Module and in a lovely way to see these different musicians interacting with each other as one of the members of Plunk had heard from a friend that I sometimes had experimental music at the gallery and Visionary Module was one of the people who has brought his experimental music to the space. When I told him about Plunk, and that I had met them because they had heard about his performances at the gallery, he decided not only to play but to stop by and listen to their set. It's so beautiful when Artists can meet and see and listen and be inspired by each other.

I'll be writing more next week as the day itself is so busy that I won't have time for more than just this little blurb for now. It's such a joy to experience the Artists in the space and also to be able to welcome the community for wonderful celebrations like this. When we celebrate Art together in welcoming community settings and celebrations, every moment brings another beautiful memory and inspiration abounds.

Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour 2024

Celebrating Art and Music

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

  

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

An Abundant Life - Beautiful Launch

I've written about the restaurant Halifax in Hoboken in these pages before, and also the wonderful Chef Seadon Shouse who is the Executive Chef. Every time I visit is such a beautiful experience, and everything and everyone there is always so excellent, kind, warm, friendly and all of the things that make a true hospitality experience a special one.

When there are special events at Halifax, I always like to try to go, and when I heard about the launch of Kingfisher Vol. II, I knew it would be a wonderful evening. I had gone to the launch of the first Kingfisher, a collaboration with Maker's Mark, and the evening was truly memorable. The first Kingfisher launch was later in the year and it was a bit cooler than it is now, and so this time in a way seemed like a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of autumn with the promise of the cooler weather to come while still having warmer weather to enjoy.

As always, the event was truly beautiful and everything was a delight. They had a special bottle engraver and also hand made cigar rolling along with the wonderful food and specialty cocktails. Each hors d'oeuvres was so special and they all wove together to make such a flavor filled extravagant experience that I am still dreaming about it. The promotional team from Maker's Mark had some very fun and really special gift giveaways, and I was lucky enough to have one of the team members take my photograph so I could post the memory of that really beautiful blessing of an evening.

It's with so much gratitude that I write this blog post, for the team from Maker's Mark and the team at Halifax and all the staff there who always make me feel so welcome. The Artist I had invited to join me that evening said that it was exquisite and I agree with him completely. There is an art to hospitality as there is to culinary art, and Chef Shouse and all the staff at Halifax are truly wonderful Artists in all they do to make every moment so beautiful and so special.

Kingfisher Vol. II Private Selection Event

A Collaboration With Maker's Mark

At Halifax

  225 River Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.halifaxhoboken.com

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Leona

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Better Days

Someone visited YES Gallery the other day who told me when he walked in that he had walked by and gotten to the corner and then he felt like he had to turn around and walk in the door because he wanted to know what that place was. We talked for a while and he said that he couldn't put it into words but being in the gallery made him feel really good, and then he said, "Like being on a mountaintop with the sunrise, like better days are coming." 

Words like that mean so much to me, because I want people to feel good when they are in YES Gallery. The mission of the gallery is to provide an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to be welcomed and have the experience of a gallery, and when I hear how much people enjoy their time there it makes me feel really happy. 

I say "thanks to God for anything good that I do" all the time when people compliment me on something, and YES Gallery was created and keeps evolving and growing with God's divine help. Visitors always say they feel something special inside and even walking by, and they tell me how beautiful it is and that they like it and feel comfortable. During the time since I first opened the doors I've had so many memorable guests and events, and it's really so beautiful to have all these beautiful memories of people who have shared their lives and words and art and time with me there. 

When this recent visitor described how he felt, I took in his words as the words of a prophet. Mountaintops and sunrises speak volumes about coming out of the valley and out of darkness, and his words "like better days are coming" is something that I think we all need to hear from time to time, even when things are ok. When there is uncertainty in our world as there is now and challenges for every day life, hearing that better days are coming is a reminder that though we may not know exactly how or when or where we're actually headed, it will be a change for the better from where we are now, wherever it is and however we get there.

When I woke up this morning early, I saw the sunrise reflecting in a mirror I have on my windowsill. It's a special mirror that an Artisan made, and I put it in the window because I wanted the sun to reflect on it when it rose. The room where it has a window that faces east, and at different times of the year because of the angle of the window the sun changes slightly in the way it shines through. Seeing the reflection this morning reminded me of the beautiful day when I found the mirror and met the Artisans who created it, and it reminded me that with just a little change in the weather and time a beautiful mirror can take on a special glow, and if I wait and trust and keep on doing the things I feel I must, the things I am hoping for and working towards will begin to glow with a new light as well.

Morning Light

In An Artisans' Mirror

Evening Glow

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - YES Blessings

A few weeks ago someone I know stopped by YES Gallery and said that he'd been wanting one of the paintings by Danilo Peguero that he had seen when I first opened in August 2022. He has been telling me for a while that he thinks I have some really wonderful work in the gallery, and when he stopped by he told me that the painting by Danilo had a very special meaning for him.

I love the stories that people share with me that I can share with the Artists about what their work means to someone else. It's really a beautiful thing to be able to share how their work has touched someone else in a powerful way, and it's lovely to be a part of sharing that story when it's someone they have never met and who has never seen their work before walking into YES Gallery. Art has a way of connecting people and bringing people together, in conversation, in emotion, in feeling and experiences of times and places. Each time someone walks into YES Gallery the stories that the Artists tell and the story that I tell through the gallery installation reach new people and begin to create more branches of the stories as they move and grow through new eyes, new experiences, and new responses.

Danilo Peguero is one of the Artists who I've written about in these pages before, and his work was the first focus when I opened the gallery. He painted a portrait of me live at the gallery, an experience that was truly a wonderful blessing, and I've regularly kept two more of his paintings in the gallery since that first grand opening show. People always respond so well to his work because it is so beautiful and so well done. His technique is of the highest excellence, and his intention is to make every painting one that will have lasting impact as work of museum quality. The piece that the Collector of his work chose is one that always has many admirers, and right around the same time that we began discussions about it, someone else arrived in the gallery who was looking for pieces for another Collector and she pointed out that same piece. As the timing worked out, it was the first person who was able to secure it, and the way it happened was such a beautiful experience for me that made it even more of a meaningful and lovely story to share with the Artist.

The painting is a beautiful one and I will miss seeing it, but knowing that it is going to a very happy new home where it will be cherished and loved and admired by even more new eyes who visit and see it is a blessing. This experience was a truly beautiful one, that brought people together in a very deeply meaningful way. It's a blessing that brought so many blessings to me, and also to so many, and helped remind me of how beautiful the world and people can be.

"Hair Coloring Beauty Parlor"

By Danilo Peguero

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Another Time

I had been thinking of writing about something else for this week, but then when I was on my way home on Friday night, I saw the Tribute Of Light in the night sky over Manhattan and I realized that with everything else that had been going on in my life, not only were we in September but we were coming up to September 11 and though I had definitely thought about it along with everything else, I hadn't really taken the time to reflect on that time and what had happened in 2001.

Tribute In Light is something that is so important as a reminder. It's been more than twenty years since the view of the skyline was forever changed and along with that view so many people were lost or deeply affected by what had happened. I was living in a neighborhood near the site at that time, and experienced the events of that day on the rooftop of my building, living through the days afterward in a city that was in shock and mourning. They key word that I thought about on Friday night when I walked up the hill and saw the Tribute In Light was life. I was living through the days afterward and I am living now, and even when life seems difficult or even frighteningly filled with worries and cares, I am alive and have my health, and that is a blessing that I need to always be thankful for.

In the twenty-three years that have passed, so many things have changed in the world and in my own life. There have been wonderful times and difficult times, celebrations, loss, renewal, uncertainty, joy, pain and growth, but the reminder of September 11 for me is that though I was nearby I was safe, and to remember that day in all its horror is to remember that being alive is a gift.

Tribute In Light

Viewed From

The Top Of One Hundred Steps

Jersey City Heights, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

     

An Abundant Life - Storehouse Blessings

Last week two people I know, Aima and Jean Pierre, set a time to come by YES Gallery and bring me dinner. It wasn't just any dinner, it was a homemade Ecuardorian specialty called Seco de Pollo that was made by a Chef who grew up in Ecuador. When they arrived at the gallery with the dinner, I saw them walking down the sidewalk with a suitcase and several bags, and I couldn't figure out what they were bringing or where they were going afterward with all those things until they arrived and said that everything they had carried with them was for me. The suitcase and bags were filled with food, pounds of rice and flour, potatoes, apples, bananas, pasta, a loaf of rye bread and cans of tomato paste, and there was more food too, chicken and kielbasa and ground Italian sausage that they kept in their apartment refrigerator and dropped off the next day when I could bring it home more quickly. 

It was such a beautiful surprise and blessing to have all this food arrive, and the dinner the Chef made and that we shared together was so wonderful. I'd never had that dish before, and he shared about the history of it and also the secret ingredient, something called naranjilla that I hadn't known about or heard of. It took me a few days to bring all the food home, and I had leftovers of the wonderful meal he made too. It's times like that when I am so grateful for the wonderful people who walk into my life and for the care and support and love they share.

As I've written before, there has been so much going on that sometimes it's difficult to schedule my regular events, and this past week was so filled with some very challenging logistical things that having this wonderful dinner brought to me and being surprised by all of this wonderful food and beautiful blessings made me feel like there was a space being made for me to just enjoy and relax and take in the goodness in life. It's wonderful when people surprise us with kindness, and to be blessed in this way is a miracle all of its own. As I look around my own kitchen now and see the jars and shelves filled with provision and my refrigerator and freezer filled to nearly overflowing, with the meals I am making nourishing my body, mind and spirit I feel like I am surrounded with caring love. When our storehouse is blessed we feel taken care of, and I am so grateful for that feeling and blessing that was shared by these beautiful friends.

A Wonderful Seco de Pollo

Made By The Marvelous Jean Pierre

And Served With Love

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Two Years And Growing!

This past Friday was the two year anniversary of YES Gallery. August 23 is also the day when I moved to New York City a number of years ago, and I chose that date for the Grand Opening of YES Gallery when I opened the gallery in 2022.

As I wrote recently, there has been so much going on that it's been difficult to schedule events or even to know when I'm going to be able to have a celebration at the gallery, but I saw a window of time around the opening date and I decided that I had to celebrate it because it's a beautiful blessing in my life to have the gallery, and it's in many ways a miracle that it opened at all and that it's still open. There have been so many wonderful things that have happened since the Grand Opening day, and wonderful things that began even before that day, and having a celebration was not only something that would bring some fun and joy, but it also is a reminder of how much I have to be grateful for.

I was able to set the date and make the invitation, and I had wonderful plans to do something special that night, but I wasn't quite sure what would actually happen until the day before when I sent the invitation to Jack who performs at the gallery sometimes with one of his bands and sometimes solo under the name of Visionary Module. He and I had spoken about some ideas he had for the date, but nothing had been decided, and I wasn't sure if he was available or not because I hadn't had a chance to follow up with him and make a plan. When he received the invitation he asked if I'd like him to play solo that evening, and I enthusiastically said YES! It's always such a pleasure to have him perform and the friends who join him to watch and listen and be a part of the celebration are always wonderful people.   

A few days before the anniversary, a rainbow appeared in the sky outside the gallery. When I first opened in 2022, something similar happened, and it felt so much like a beautiful reminder of the promises of God that encouraged me when I opened and encouraged me now. The day of the event was so beautiful, with temperatures and sunshine and light summer breezes that made me remember how lovely August days can be. As I created a video while Jack played, Jeremy Roche who has work in the gallery appeared to say hello. It's always such a blessing to see him and to have him arrive as I was creating the video of Jack and the gallery felt like perfect timing. One of the visitors had parked their turquoise bicycle right near the YES Gallery sign, and that seemed a perfectly lovely and fun touch too. There is so much joy at YES Gallery, and these wonderful people bring so many blessings that make the joy overflow.

A Beautiful Two Year Anniversary

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

With Live Music By The Marvelous

Visionary Module

And Wonderful Guests

Including Jeremy Roche

And A Wonderful Turquoise Bike

Blessings,

Jannie Susan