An Abundant Life - Gratefulness

A few weeks ago a lovely woman named Caren Lissner stopped by YES Gallery one afternoon and asked me if she could take photographs. I invited her in and as we spoke she told me that she is a staff writer for New Jersey Patch, and that she wanted to write about the gallery. Experiences like this, when people just happen to walk by and feel welcomed and are interested in the art and environment in the space are so encouraging to me. It's a place that is not like any other and to hear that people enjoy seeing it and being there is such a wonderful confirmation that what has been created in this place is inviting, beautiful and inspiring.

When I began planning the event for the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour, I sent information to Caren, and she responded that she had been busy with other local news during the election season, but that she would have more time again after that. The Studio Tour was a little over a week after Election Day, and when I sent out the invitations the the event at YES Gallery, I sent one to Caren and heard back that she was just then in the process of writing about the Studio Tour.

With everything that was happening around that event and that day as well as some other projects that have been keeping me very busy I didn't have a chance to follow up about the article. Caren was kind enough to take the time to attend the evening event at the gallery, but it was such a busy day and a full evening and I didn't ask her about the article that night. There's a part of me that doesn't ever want to bother anyone, especially when they're doing something kind for me, and so I felt it better to wait until we both had more time to talk. She posts beautiful photographs and fun posts on her own Instagram page, and I had been enjoying seeing them and commenting, and then one evening I thought to just look up the article to see if I could find it and I did immediately. It had been posted on November 9, and it was so beautifully written and photographed that I was filled with gratitude for this wonderful writer and photographer who had taken the time to write about YES Gallery and me when her time and schedule were so busy.

Over Thanksgiving I was finding that a practice of Gratitude that I'd begun around 18 years ago was coming into my mind again as a way of reflecting during the holiday. There is so much to be grateful for, and the beautiful people who walk in the door to YES Gallery and share their time and inspiration and encouragement is a joyful experience. When someone takes the time to write about the gallery, it's truly a gift. I know from my own experience over the years that writing takes time and effort and to have that time and effort taken for YES Gallery is a very special gift. With so much gratitude I share the article Caren Lissner wrote, and I give thanks for the beautiful gift she shared with me.

A Beautiful Article

About The Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour

Written By Karen Lissner

In New Jersey Patch

Including Photographs And Information

From Her Visit To YES Gallery

https://patch.com/new-jersey/hoboken-art-tours-give-visitors-rare-look

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Performing Art

Last week I wrote that on Sunday there was a celebration at YES Gallery during the Fall Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour and because the date of the celebration was the date when I was posting for the week, I wanted to follow up today with some of the videos from that gorgeous day. The marvelous Visionary Module had put together a wonderful line-up of musicians and performers, and all afternoon and into the evening there were wonderful people and Artists and performers visiting and making music and enjoying the art and the music and the beautiful golden Autumn afternoon and cozy evening. There were so many illustrious guests in the space, including the marvelous Anthony Haden-Guest and the marvelous Linus Coraggio as well as the gorgeous Nancy August who brought them with her to see the gallery and their work that is on display. It's so exciting and such an honor to have Artists like these visit and enjoy YES Gallery, and to have such wonderful music and visitors for a gallery celebration. The videos I was able to create caught a glimpse of the beauty of that very special blessing of a day and evening.

Visionary Module Performing

At YES Gallery

Followed By Dale

With Anthony Haden-Guest and Linus Coraggio

Photograph By Nancy August

Tapalaga Performing At YES Gallery

Followed By Rose Image

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - Fall Festivity

There is just something about fall that makes me feel so happy. I love all the changing seasons and have very special memories and times within each of them, but for some reason fall just seems to be a time that always gives me a deep feeling of excitement and contentment rolled all into one. YES Gallery is so full of blooming plants still, and there are more that have arrived to grace the front steps. With the nights getting cooler I sometimes bring them inside earlier, but as long as possible I keep the door open to let the scent of the fall breeze fill the space.

Today is the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour and I planned a celebration that would begin in the afternoon and go into the evening. The Studio Tour is always such a beautiful time to celebrate art and community, and as the days become more golden in their light and the air is filled with the sounds of whispering falling leaves, the celebration is also part of my own way to welcome the fall into the place itself.

The marvelous musician Visionary Module decided to curate a lineup of performers and bands for the YES Gallery celebration, and there was a familiar face who arrived at the gallery door a little over a week ago to say that he was going to be performing there. Rose Image had his first YES Gallery performance on the weekend of the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour last year, and as I wrote about at the time he had also inspired me to find a vintage turntable for the gallery by lending me his portable turntable to play over the weekend when he wasn't performing. He had been such a wonderful addition to so many of the events I'd had monthly, and then his schedule changed and he hadn't been there in a while. It was so good to see him and to hear that he was going to be back again to share his wonderful creative spirit and inspiration!

I'll be posting more from this beautiful day, but for now here are a few of the images that have been created to celebrate the celebration of art and life that is filling the world of Hoboken and the world of YES Gallery.

YES Gallery Celebration

During The Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Beautiful Visuals Created By

The Marvelous Hoboken Cultural Affairs

The Invitation I Created With The Wonderful Visual

From The Marvelous Hoboken Cultural Affairs

A Wonderful Flyer Created By

The Marvelous Visionary Module

For The Band and Performance Line-Up He Curated

A Beautiful Post Created By 

The Marvelous Hoboken Business Alliance

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Little Precious Jewel

I had been hearing from the marvelous Chef Seadon Shouse that he and the team of Halifax in Hoboken were planning a new small restaurant and bar with light bites on 14th Street, and I knew it would be wonderful so I kept watching to see when it was opening so I could go for a visit. When I heard from Chef Shouse that if I was available on a Wednesday night I could stop in, I enthusiastically said yes. It was such a wonderful invitation to receive, and because I know how wonderful everything is that Chef Shouse and the team at Halifax does I was so excited to go to this newest place they'd created.

Chef Shouse had told me where it was and described that it was on the corner of 14th and Shipyard, but I hadn't been by yet so I didn't know anything about it. When I first arrived at the door I felt immediately that I'd found something so wonderful, and as I walked in through the deep blue violet drapes the world outside seemed to be far away as I entered a very special and beautiful space. Everything inside was lovely, with an elegance and comfort and every attention to gorgeous detail creating an immersion of lovely and special hospitality where even the names of offerings on the menu bring a smile of delight, with history and local culture and lore updated in beautiful serveware and glasses.

I'm a lover of the waterfront and of sailing, and in some ways I felt as if I was on board a very beautiful ship, or perhaps in the private dining room or lounge of an ocean-front or seaside hideaway. Memories of lovely places I'd been in Europe and in my favorite seafaring coastal places kept rising up and being added to by the wonderful experience I was having in this very new and uniquely special place that has its own very special vision.  

To say that I could have ordered everything on the menu is a testament to the excellent curating of flavors by the marvelous Chef Shouse and the marvelous team at Halifax Hoboken who have created a place that is a lovely combination of charming, elegant, comfortable, welcoming, inviting and somehow both inclusive and exclusive. Anyone who knows me knows that those qualities are what I strive for at YES Gallery, and when I discovered them when I first met Chef Shouse a few years ago at Halifax, those qualities along with his marvelous culinary art made it a favorite destination. At Little Bar I took his advice and instead of ordering everything I chose a smaller selection of the delightful choices, knowing I can visit this very special jewel box of a place again and again.

I began with the selection of Serrano ham, salami and duck rillettes from the cures section on the boards menu and tried a marvelous "Did The New York Yacht Club Serve Grog?" that not only has a wonderfully and creatively fun name rooted in its seafaring history that was shared with me, but was also so lovely and enjoyable as a crafted Mixologist's dream creation could be. That was followed by a selection of artisan made salted anchovies, squid in ink, cockles in brine and eggplant caponata served with sesame thyme lavash crackers and house made hot sauce which hit every lovely layered flavor filled note, and the "I Think Tom Collins Lives On 14th Street" that was as refreshing as its name is joyfully fun.

As I finished the evening's selections with a chocolate pot du creme with ganache and a topping of chocolatey espresso cookie crumble that was honestly one of the most delicious desserts I have had anywhere, I was so grateful to have had this opportunity to visit this very wonderful oasis of culinary delight. The Mixologist's selection I chose to accompany it appeared with a cacao fish stenciled on top, such an inventive, fun and lovely touch in a creation that was as flavorful as it was beautiful. This is the place to be! It's such a dream of a space, and so beautiful to visit, and the food, service, and everything about it are wonderful and excellent in every way. The two small and simple words in the name Little Bar mean a very, very big success.

Little Bar

1401 Hudson Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.littlebar.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - History With A Heart

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was "The Trumpet Of The Swan" by E.B. White. For anyone who knows that book, there's a wonderful description of the Swan, Louis, who is hired to play his trumpet by the people who operate the Swan Boats in the Boston Public Garden and to swim in front of the boats while he plays. Part of his payment is that he is able to stay in the Ritz Carlton Hotel where he sleeps in the bathtub and orders in room service of tea sandwiches with watercress, both with and without butter, to see which one he likes the best. Because of that book, my Mother and I discovered the joys of going to the Ritz Carlton for tea, and the Ritz Carlton has always had a very special place in my heart.

Recently I had reason to go to Boston for a very quick trip, and when I began trying to decide where to stay, I felt like the Ritz Carlton was where I should go. The hotel is not in the same building that it was before and the design and amenities have been very much modernized, but the feeling of being there is just as special as I always remembered it. Every moment from the moment I first walked in gave me the feeling of being so well taken care of that it defined the idea of what hospitality is. Each person was so friendly and helpful, and each place where I went and thing that I saw or did while I was there was something so enjoyable that I knew from the start that I'd want to be visiting again.

I had made a reservation for a Suite in the Club Level, and when I arrived and discovered that not only was the hotel a delightful place to be, the reservation I had made gave me access to a wonderful extra level of personalized service and experiences in the Club Lounge. Before arriving I had made a reservation for dinner because I knew that I would want to enjoy a lovely and relaxing dinner at a restaurant on site, and my next morning was so early that I had been thinking that I would order room service, but then I discovered that I could enjoy breakfast in the Club Lounge as well as some light refreshment throughout the day. The room itself was so comfortable, and I wished that I could have stayed for much, much longer. It was truly such a beautiful time and filled with so many new lovely memories. I kept wondering how Louis the Swan would feel in this new environment, and I had a feeling that he'd be feeling just as wonderful as I did.

A Visit To The Ritz Carlton Hotel

10 Avery Street

Boston, Massachusetts

Wonderful Boston Clam Chowder

At Artisan Cafe

And A Wonderful Lobster Roll

A Grand And Beautiful Lobby

A Lovely Dessert

In The Club Lounge

Arriving Back To A Room

Prepared With Hospitality In Mind

An Early Breakfast

In The Club Lounge

Blessings,

Jannie Susan 

An Abundant Life - Creating Place

On Saturday night there was an opening celebration for a new show at YES Gallery. It's been such a busy time for me with several other projects, and these days I'm doing all the recruiting and hanging myself which is a very enjoyable creative process but also very tiring and physically demanding. As I wrote a few months ago, in the past I always had difficulty climbing ladders. I found it frightening and stressful, especially if I had to do something like carry something up there and bang nails into the walls. But ever since the last show I've had a very different experience. I still need to be careful, and think about what I'm doing, but the stress and fear have gone away very miraculously with the help of prayer and trusting in God to help me do what I need to do.

Another thing that has changed is that I've started to really enjoy the process as a fully creative one, like playing when I was young. I used to love to rearrange the furniture in my room, and to be creative in a variety of ways, and being at YES Gallery has opened up all of those avenues of my creativity so that I'm finding interesting ways of curating, and having so much fun and joy in the process. There are some places where I have hung or displayed things that have made it so unique and so different from any other space, and there are ideas that are solely my own that I had wanted to try and when I did they worked in ways that I love to see.

Earlier last week a mother and her young son visited the gallery, and the boy spoke with me about the Artists and their work, and art and design and architecture. He really thought everything was so beautiful and it was a lovely experience visiting with them. A few days later his mother stopped by to tell me that they were definitely coming to the opening, and that he'd said after their visit that the gallery was a "10 out of 10" and that it was "better than MoMA." Hearing that made my day and made me so happy! To know that a young art enthusiast had that kind of experience in my gallery lets me know that my own playful instincts and taste in art and design are hitting a beautiful chord.

Breathe Through The Space

The Fifth New Show

Opening Celebration

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Breathe Through The Space

When I first opened YES Gallery on August 23, 2022, I was careful not to have any breakable or damageable items in places where they could be easily touched or broken. The artwork of course is damageable, but everything was hanging unless it wasn't framed, and if that was the case I put it under glass or in a case or somewhere out of hands reach. The sculptures in the space at that time were all welded iron, steel and metal, and they also were arranged carefully so that people couldn't knock them over or bump into them and damage them or anything else around them.

The one thing I didn't think put away was a small vintage china plate that was in the washroom, and I didn't imagine that anyone would knock it over or break it. Of course there's always something unexpected that happens and I heard a loud crash at one point towards the end of the evening, and one of the visitors had broken it. It would have been a not so pleasant thing to happen on its own, but the plate does not belong to me. It belongs to the woman who has had a vintage store in the space for many years, and the next day when I went online to look it up to see if I could replace it I couldn't find the pattern at all. She understood that it was an accident and was very gracious about it, but I felt awful, and I kept the pieces hoping that maybe I'd be able to find it or repair it.

As the one year anniversary approached, I thought to look for the plate again, and when I still couldn't locate the pattern, I tried to put it back together. When I had finished, there were some very small pieces that were missing, and a poem began to take form in my head. I wrote it down, and used some recycled paper to add it to the places where the cracks were fixed but still obviously there, and left some areas unadorned where the spaces were. The finished piece I gave to the original owner as an anniversary gift, and though it's not in the gallery, a line from the poem is the title of the upcoming new show.

We Try

We all have broken places we try to put together

Sometimes broken by someone else's carelessness

Sometimes our own

Trying to fit the pieces together

We see empty spaces

Places where we feel something missing

Where something should be

But may in those places that seem empty

We are filled

Maybe we have the answer already

Waiting for us to notice

To take it in

Breathe through the space

And be healed

Jannie Wolff August 2023

We Try

A Mixed Media Collage Piece

Created At YES Gallery

August 2023

By Jannie Wolff

Blessings,

Jannie Susan