An Abundant Life - Making Life More Beautiful

I've known Richard Skipper for more than ten years, and in all the time I've known him I have learned and grown and been encouraged and seen him encourage so many people and changed so many lives for the better that it's astounding. He knows everyone, and everyone who has ever worked with him can only have the highest of praise because his work ethic and the way he lives his life is so positive and uplifting that he brings a sense of excitement, energy and vitality when he walks into a room. I've written about him in these pages before, and when I heard about the new show he is planning for his 40th Anniversary of moving to New York City, I asked him if I could write a blog post to let people know more about this wonderful news. I spoke with him recently about the new show, and though I have worked with him on and off for a long time and been a part of some of the more recent developments in his life, there will be some new news and surprises for me in the information he shares through conversation and music that night. I moved to Manhattan what seems like many years ago now, but Richard arrived there in a time before I did and his experiences of the City were different not only because of the difference in years, but also because he moved to New York from a small town in South Carolina having never had an experience of the City as a home before. My own family was from New York originally, and though I was born and raised in a small town in New England after they had moved, we still had relatives and friends that we visited on a regular occasion. Though I'd had those experiences, New York City was still intimidating in my early years, and I can only imagine what it must have been like when Richard moved there and what his feelings might have been when he touched down in the city of his dreams that was to be his new home.

The Manhattan of 40 years ago was a very gritty one, but it held the promise of the dreams of this young man who had told his parents one evening that he would be moving to New York City on August 5 of 1979. He had been reading a book where the writer had said to focus on a goal and keep focusing on it, and when he told his family what he was planning to do, they didn't take him seriously. No one from his home town of Conway would have believed it because it's just something that seemed too outside of what anyone usually did. New York City was far away in both distance and way of life, so far that it could have been the distance from Dorothy's Kansas to the Emerald City. But for Richard Skipper, the dream that "there's no place like home" was in reverse to Dorothy's - New York City was the home he was dreaming about and so on August 5, 1979 he got on a plane with a one way ticket and went there. The stories of the years from that day to this are what will make up his upcoming show, "An Evening With Richard Skipper: From Conway to Broadway," and they are stories that will touch your heart and give you encouragement to keep going and dreaming and moving toward your own lifelong heartfelt goals.

There have been many changes for Richard over the years, shifts in his career path, people he's met, memorable places he's performed and places where he's traveled. He's worked all over the world with so many of all of our favorite stars, and has made friends with people the boy from Conway had always dreamed about. To some from the outside looking in it would seem as if he's had a charmed life, but there were many struggles and challenges along the way. But Richard has a way and an outlook on life that is ever positive - the teenager who said he was moving to New York City when he turned 18 grew into a man filled with joy and love and hope for an always better and brighter tomorrow. It's with that hope and joy and love that he'll share his experiences from these past 40 years, and though I can't guarantee there won't be any tears for those of us listening, we'll be filled with his exuberant life and a revitalized energy to bring us to a new level of inspiration.

As I write this on Sunday, June 9, 2019, I am thinking back to the boy that Richard Skipper was, and the young man who bought a plane ticket to New York on June 10, 1979. And I'm remembering the first time I met Richard after speaking with him on the phone in conversations that helped bring back my joy and creativity after a time of difficulty and upheaval, and to the songs I have heard him sing, the stories I've heard him tell, and the conversations we've had together over the years that I've known him. When we spoke the other day, he spoke about one of my favorite songs, "A Quiet Thing" by John Kander and Fred Ebb, a song that I learned about for the first time with Richard. One of the most lovely songs, there is a lyric that goes, "It's a quiet thing, when you hold the world in your trembling hand. You'd think you'd hear a choir sing, it's a quiet thing . . . Happiness comes in on tip-toe, well what d'ya know. It's a quiet thing, a very - quiet - thing." In the years since I've met Richard, one of the most beautiful things I've learned is that we can have happiness and hold the world of our dreams in our hands.

       

Richard Skipper

In New York City
http://www.richardskipper.com/

Photographs Courtesy Of Richard Skipper

An Evening With Richard Skipper
From Conway to Broadway
Directed By Jay Rogers
Joined By Bryon Sommers On Piano
Produced By Russ Woolley
Monday, August 5, 2019
8:00pm
St. Lukes Theatre
308 West Forty Sixth Street
New York City
Image Designed By Glen Charlow

The Broadway Of Richard Skipper's Early Years in New York City

Richard Skipper With His Sister

And As A Child
With His Father and Grandfather

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Feeling Of Place

The first time I met Cheryl Sylivant, I had a feeling that I'd known her before. We were at an opening at 107 Bowers Gallery in Jersey City Heights, and I was listening to a song that was playing and remembering back to a time in my life when I'd heard that song for the first time. I don't remember now what song it was, but it was something that brought me back instant memories of the time when I'd first heard it, and though the night was warm and everyone had walked outside, I stayed inside to listen to the song and remember. At some point or other Cheryl asked me a question about what I was feeling as I looked at the art, and I told her that though I was enjoying looking at the art, it was the song that was giving me the strongest emotion. We talked for a bit and she explained that she was an Intuitive Artist, and that she could feel emotions of a place or space very clearly at times. I could tell during our conversation that there was a great deal of depth in this beautiful woman, and when she shared with me that her own paintings would be in a solo show at one of the Condominium buildings in Jersey City, I put it in my calendar to try to be there during JCAST, the Jersey City Artist Studio Tour.

When I went recently to meet with Cheryl in her studio, I shared that when I stopped by during JCAST, though I had thought her work was very beautiful and vibrant, I hadn't gotten the same sense of its power as I did when I visited her studio and saw it there. Within the walls of her studio space, though not as open as the Condominium Lobby, there was a feeling of the breath of life that runs through all of her pieces and that brings them to life and touches the heart and soul in a way that is measured beyond words. We took some time that afternoon to talk, as the rain turned to occasional sunshine and then back to rain again, and though I had another appointment to go to, I decided to stay and talk because the feeling of talking with Cheryl is a powerful one. She has had many life experiences and has traveled all over the world, painting canvases both large and small that reflect the feeling that she gets from the places where she is painting. I've done a fair amount of traveling myself, and as I spoke with Cheryl I began to remember years gone by and trips I had taken, people I had met and places where I had discovered something so personal and unique that the memories have stayed a part of me forever. As I sat in the slowly darkening glow of an afternoon light, the paintings in the space all around me seemed as if they were sharing some secrets, just waiting for the proper moment to touch that place where they could tell their stories and help heal and renew.

Cheryl Sylivant works intuitively, painting from living things, and she is a healer whose work reaches into the deepest places of herself as she allows the places where she is painting to speak their volumes to her and then in turn speak to the viewer of a story all their own that they can share quietly or shout from the rooftops because of a language that speaks to the heart. After studying Painting and Art History at the University of Pennsylvania, she went on to The Art Students League of New York, studied Filmmaking and Design at New York University, and obtained a degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina. On her website, she uses the descriptions "Metaphors of Living Energy" and "Art That Engages Your Brain" to describe her work, and it is true - when you look at her paintings, they draw you in and take you on a journey. In her Artist Statement she writes, "See what you see, they are non-linear maps about energy, humor, overcoming, and love of life amidst the vulnerable chaos," and her paintings are so full of life and energy, so engaging and powerfully and vibrantly full of color, that they seem to radiate a sense of wonder of place and space and add a feeling of the joy of just simply being wherever it is you find yourself. There is also an amazingly delightful sense that comes over the viewer that the place that has been painted could be a place from memory or dream, a place entirely your own though it was depicted from the hands and mind and heart of the Artist. It is that sense that draws a connection between the viewer and the Artist, that feeling that the paintings are not a foreign ground but one that is familiar. It is a feeling that draws the eye happily from place to place, from color to color, and from image to image. A visit with Cheryl Sylivant is a meeting of minds - of her very intricate and exuberant vision that calls upon your very own personal memories and opens new pathways for them to travel.

The Art Of Cheryl Sylivant

http://www.cherylsylivant.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Joyful Inspiration

I've written about Eileen Kaminsky, the Founder of The Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation which is also known as ESKFF, in these pages before, and since the time that I met her I continue to discover new and wonderful things about Eileen and ESKFF that continue to inspire me. If you go to the website for ESKFF, you'll find under the Mission Statement a description of the Residency Programs that uses the words, "ESKFF embraces the individual artistic journey by providing enhancement programs that align, elevate, and bridge artists to the larger arts community" and goes on to say that "The Foundation was established to encourage collaboration and dialogue between artists, art administrators, collectors and institutions." In my experience of knowing Eileen and visiting with ESKFF, I have seen that the words in this Mission Statement and on the website are true, and over the past month I had the opportunity to watch the experiences of an Artist who is a part of the current Residency Program. From the first day that he entered the studio at Mana I started to see a change in his work - it was as if the very walls around him were breathing a new sense of creativity and life into his canvases. I also had the opportunity to ask other Artists to donate work that was created on 8"x 8" canvases that were provided by ESKFF for the upcoming fundraiser, and it is so beautiful to see how even this is a way to encourage Artists to breathe and grow and explore.

The pieces created by the Artists I asked, and every piece I have seen that has been submitted, are beautiful, joyful, and so full of individual vision and life that each one is a unique masterpiece. Titled "No Rules", the fundraiser will be held in June, with a Collectors' Dinner on June 8 and a Public Opening on June 9. The tickets for the Collectors' Dinner and First Viewing are $50, and for an additional $200 attendees can bring home one of the donated works of art. I was speaking with Eileen about how the title makes me think of when I was the Director of an After School Program on Manhattan's Lower East Side and how when I first arrived there, the environment was chaotic because the former Directors had thought that children and youth needed to have a place where "anything goes," but that over time as I encouraged the youth and youth leaders to explore different creative outlets while maintaining a safe environment, the chaos was brought into a more comfortable and warmer feeling where creativity and inspiration and exploration could occur without rules that confined but with structure that gave support. This is what Eileen has created so beautifully with ESKFF, and why as I continue to see the work that is created by Artists who I know and Artists who I am meeting there I am inspired and made happier in my own daily walk of life.

The EKSFF Residency Program provides three month residencies to 32 regional, national, and international Artists each year that include studio space, stipend for material, and exposure through Professional Career Enhancement to visiting Critics, Curators, and Art Experts. In addition, during the summer months five weeks are devoted to international Artists and three weeks to the Sol Studio Program, which provides Teachers and College Mentors for 20-30 inner city Jersey City High School
Students. Students in the Sol Program and all Residents continue to be a part of the ESKFF community after the programs end, being encouraged to maintain relationships that were developed that are supportive of further artistic growth.

It might seem that all of this beautifully joyful and inspiring work must have a large staff and unlimited time and funding to make all of these creative dreams realities, but in truth it is a very small group consisting of Eileen Kaminsky and Gina Maffei, the Director of ESKFF, with a few trusted Advisors. The upcoming fundraiser is a way to share knowledge about the organization while also building a sustainable fund base that can help to provide ESKFF's support to Artists for years to come. For more information about the fundraiser, and to find out more about ways to support the work of ESKFF, see the website https://www.eskff.com/ or send an email to info@eskff.com. An investment in the work of ESKFF is a gift that keeps on giving and is returned a hundred fold as it is a way of nurturing and inspiring, and encouraging and supporting the work of Artists for generations to come.

Eileen S. Kaminsky

Founder Of ESKFF

In The Artist Residency Studio Space

At Mana Contemporary

888 Newark Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey

https://www.eskff.com/

With Current Resident Artist Anthony E. Boone

And Former Resident Artist James Gortner

With James Gortner's Two Sons

A New Generation Of Inspired Artists

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

   

An Abundant Life - Life Skills

A few weeks ago I was visiting the studio of the wonderful Artist Jean Antoine Norbert during the Mana Contemporary Open House. I have written about Jean Antoine in these pages before because not only is he a wonderful Artist, but he is a wonderful person too, who knows wonderful people from all different backgrounds and connects them with each other whenever he has an event or gathering. On this occasion I started talking to a young man who told me he had started his own company teaching Chess to children and teenagers in schools throughout Manhattan, and also to corporate groups, and because of my own background in youth and community development I wanted to learn more and asked him if we could meet for a blog post. He followed up with me and suggested a few different places where I could see him at work in different school settings, and so one afternoon I found myself in a classroom on Manhattan's Upper West Side that was full of first graders and one kindergartner, all who were avidly learning about the game of Chess from a Master.

Evan Rabin, the CEO of Premier Chess, is a National Chess Master, and he has been teaching chess since he was twelve years old. I have a personal love of Chess, though I haven't played in years, because as I have written about in these pages before when I was writing about the marvelous Father and Chef Paul Gerard who has been teaching his own son Chess, my father taught me how to play when I was very young, and helped me learn the strategies of it from the view and insights of the high level Electronic Engineer he was. The thing that amazes me about Chess is that not only is it a game of strategy, but it is a game that can transfer its insights into real life and how to think about a strategic approach to dealing with many different situations. Teaching young people about Chess helps them think in an analytical way, and though I have not done reasearch on it, it seems it must also help activate the part of the brain that learns to be patient and thoughful while analyzing the possible moves and motives of the person you're playing with. In these days of mindfulness and all sorts of philosophies that are meant to help people to take a careful step by step approach to their daily lives and decision making, to take time without rushing ahead and to sometimes take a step back to view the overall situation, it seems that Chess by its very nature can be a calming force that can help train the mind to deal with complex ideas and sort out a strategy of how to move ahead and be successful in an orderly, planned and careful fashion. Learning the strategies of Chess can improve confidence and focus, and the game is also known for the well mannered and respectful behavior of the opponents, so that although the desired outcome is to win, the game is played in a way that both parties are encouraged to show respect for each other, even to the point of shaking hands at the end of the match.

When I went to watch Evan in the classroom, I knew that it would be interesting, but I wasn't prepared for the type of thoughtful teacher he is. As I've mentioned before, I only write about people who do things with excellence. Whether they be Entrepreneurs, Artists, Designers, Writers, Humanitarians, Chefs or any other type of business owner, my effort in this blog is focused on people who are working toward their highest level in their craft and in their interactions with others. I want to celebrate and encourage those people who are using their skills in the highest way possible so that in turn others are given the light of their knowledge and creative passion. Evan Rabin is one of those rare people who not only is excellent in his knowledge of Chess, but he is able to teach in a way that is empowering, engaging, encouraging and transforming.

I've worked with children on and off for many years, and it's not an easy task to keep a room of young people engaged, never mind trying to teach them something as intricate and thoughtful as a game of Chess. The children who were in the class I watched Evan teach were thoroughly engaged, and when they sat down to play, their skills were at the highest levels. Of course there was some goofing around, some behavior that was very child-like in a healthy and natural way, and each time Evan respectfully brought them back to focusing on the task at hand, whether it be a game or a puzzle he'd put before them. I'd never seen anything quite like it - many times teachers just either give up or give in or get annoyed, but Evan kept his positive and even tempered joyful and conversational tone, while continuing to encourage the children to focus and complete the game or puzzle and answer questions he asked about game strategies.

After the class as we walked together to the bus stop where Evan would take a bus to the next private lesson he was teaching, I told him that the work he was doing was not only extraordinary, but incredibly important, because no matter how good parents may be or what type of background children have, having a positive role model who is also teaching them life skills can change the course of any child's life. I thought back to my own childhood and not only the Chess lessons my father gave me, but the many mentors and teachers I've had over the years who changed my view of life for the better and helped form who I am and the way I think about my life today. If not for those wonderful people who did their jobs with excellence, I might have ended up in a very different way. A teacher like Evan Rabin is rare to find, and he uses his knowledge and skills through his company Premier Chess to teach and train other teachers. It seems he's creating a strong army, in a way that reflects the pieces on a chess board, one that will go forward thoughtfully and carefully, empowering lives, building confidence, and gaining ground with the youth and children of today to help them move toward a much brighter tomorrow.

Evan Rabin, CEO

Premier Chess

http://premierchess.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Finding The Words

A few months ago I was at an art and fashion and design event in Manhattan that was produced by Pim Shih who I have written about in these pages before, who is the Founder of Pim Comedy and The SetNYC. Pim always has a wonderful group of Artists of all kinds at his events, both in the audience and showing their work, and on this particular day I met a young man named Christopher M. Struck who told me that he had just completed a novel that would be released from the publisher BHC Press in the next few months. My biggest first love in the arts was reading which was closely followed by writing - I was reading so much before I began elementary school that the teachers told my parents they had to stop teaching me, and I wrote my first plays and my first stories when I was too young to even remember how young I was. Of course those early years of childhood joys were very small fry compared to what was to come later, and I cut my teeth listening to my mother reading Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, To Kill A Mockingbird and Pride And Prejudice. In high school when everyone else was struggling with Shakespeare class and reading Charles Dickens, I'd already read and seen the movies and the plays and novels and was helping coach everyone else through their agony. I loved reading, and read everything I could get my hands on, and the only thing that has stopped or slowed me a bit is that sometimes the things that are newer just don't excite me the way the books of yesteryear could do, and I just don't have the luxury of time any more that I once did. But there was something about Christopher that made me think it was important to keep in touch with him - it's hard to tell why, but there was just something about him that led me to give him my card and tell him about my blog and say I'd be interested in hearing more when the novel was published. It might be because he also told me he writes for Cabaret Scenes Magazine, a publication that I've had a history of my own with because of the people I've known who are in the Cabaret and Broadway community, or perhaps it was his presence, something very quiet and gentle yet also full of life, with a smile hiding behind an otherwise serious and even tempered, thoughtful demeanor. He spoke well, and that is something that I always notice - I'm an actress and I hear the sounds and qualities of people's voices that either make me want to find out more or walk away, and with Christopher I continued the conversation.

Fast forward with a jump cut to a few weeks ago when I received an email from him that his novel was available in a PDF format and would be released in hard copy shortly. I'm one of those people who love books in book form, but I thought I would at least give it a try and see if it was something I wanted to continue. The first night I sat down to read it I didn't want to stop. It's so beautifully written and such an interesting story that it was a pleasure to read in a way I haven't felt about many of the newer novels I've read over the years. I was feeling a bit of Fitzgerald, who is my all time favorite novelist, but there was something else as well, something that can only be described as the style of the novelist Christopher M. Struck. I read for as long as I could that first night and had to stop because of needing sleep for a long next few days, but as soon as I could I was back into the novel, and enjoying the reading of it in the all consuming way I hadn't read in many, many years.

Titled Kennig and Gold, Christopher's novel was inspired in part by the life of Nils Hanson, a World War II Marine Veteran and author of Lillian Lorraine: The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva, and it takes you into a world of history, a time when writing letters was a regular thing that people did and when telephone calls of any kind were few and far between. It was refreshing to read this story in a way that is very hard to describe unless like me you're a fan of old movies, old novels, and the stars who populated the big screens and smaller pages. I felt like I was coming home again or that somehow I'd found myself back in the past while living my life of today with the new friends I was making in Christopher's world populating the pages of my own history and memory.

When I wrote to Christopher to tell him how much I was enjoying his writing, he responded that he put a great deal of effort into the art form and it shows, though not in the way that sometimes is the case with writers whose writing seems full of effort. The effort Christopher takes with the craft and art of writing show in the fact that the very words are knit together in a way seems effortless. There is a beautiful flow and feel to the words and story that bring us from moment to moment, emotion to emotion, without ever feeling forced or jarring. And the writing, though reminiscent of some of my favorite works, is wholly Christopher's own. In every moment I felt that I was in a new world, one that only he had created. My hat is off to this talented and hard working young man who prior to writing his debut novel had already received 6 degrees, traveled to 19 countries, taught at 3 universities, and studied 2 foreign languages. May he go far and touch the lives of many with his beautiful words.

Christopher M. Struck

New York  City
https://www.struckchris.com/
Author Photograph And Novel Cover Art
Courtesy Of Christopher M. Struck
Publisher BHC Press
https://www.bhcpress.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Beautiful Views

I've written about the wonderful restaurant Halifax at the W Hotel and the amazing Executive Chef Seadon Shouse in these pages before, and though I go back as often as I can, it has been a while since I've written about it. When I happened to stop by two weeks ago during an Art Opening and Sip and Meet at the studio and showroom of Ricardo Roig who is the Artist in Residence at the W Hotel, I saw Carlos Arteaga who is the General Manager of Halifax, and he told me that in addition to the wine tastings on Thursdays and whiskey tastings on Wednesdays that they are hosting at the bar and lounge area just outside of the restaurant, there were new cocktail offerings he and the wonderful staff have been creating. I stopped by on an afternoon to find out more, and just happened to arrive at the time when the lovely Floral Designer Christina Andersen was putting the finishing touches on her new week's designs, one of which was a grouping of cherry blossoms that I discovered was also being used as a garnish for one of the new specialty cocktails. I had the "Cherry Blossom" that day, and was so delighted that I took several photographs of that cocktail alone, and made an appointment with Carlos to come back to try some others. A week later, at the end of a very long day helping to install an art event at another space in Hoboken, I found myself sitting down to an incredible gift of an outdoor seated spring afternoon cocktail tasting along with some new menu items that made all my tiredness melt into the air around me. Halifax was perfection the first time I went there, and every time after, and it just keeps getting better and better.

The creativity of the Mixology is matched and enhanced by the beautiful design and decor of the space, and Executive Chef Seadon Shouse continues to delight the palate and the eye with his lovely and inventively delicious flavorfilled masterpieces. Each dish and glass that arrives at the table wafts aromas that promise and deliver a heavenly combination of tastes, and though I would like to say that I am ladylike enough to share with others, I was so very happy that day that my busy schedule made for a time to enjoy those luscious flavors and sensations on my own. I've gone to Halifax for their amazing weekend brunch with friends on several occasions and on those days I'm happy to share because I know that whatever I like I can order more of - with all you can eat small plates and bubbles that just keep on pouring, it's the happiest combination of deliciousness and flavor that keeps me feeling generous because there is more than enough to go around. Halifax is one of those places where the view and the dining experience are always sure to more than please, and the fact that the food on the menu and the cocktails in your glass are created with such loving care shines a very special light through each moment in time.

Halifax

At The W Hotel
225 River Street
Hoboken, New Jersey

http://www.halifaxhoboken.com/

Seasonal Floral Designs

By The Lovely Christina Andersen

https://www.christinaandersenfloraldesign.com/

Reflected In The Perfection

Of A "Cherry Blossom"

A Very Special Taste Of The Season

On A Very Lovely Outdoor Spring Afternoon

Where Even The Sparkling Water

Is Something Just As Special

As The Fresh Flowers And Herbs

Used For Garnish

A Perfectly Lovely

Poached Egg And Spring Asparagus Tart

With Cabot Cheddar And Leek Fondue

And The Beautiful Touches

That Make Tastes and Views More Special 

A Salad Of Strawberries

Fresh Snap Peas And Smoked Humbolt Fog

With The Addition Of Almond Crumble, Balsamic Vinegar

And Urbana Greens

That Uplift And Refine

A Smoked Salmon Flatbread

Made With The Most Delicately Delicious In-House Smoked Salmon

Creme Fraiche, Arugula, Capers And Pickled Onion

Blessings,

Jannie Susan