Sunday, August 7, 2016

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2004. We were in Boston and on Peter's parents deck, they set up a kiddie pool for Mattie. Peter literally put a chair into the pool and introduced Mattie to the water. I don't have many photos of the three of us together, but this was definitely one for our books.


Quote of the day: The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else. ~ Mark Twain

We experienced SoWa today. SoWa which stands for South of Washington (street) and it is located in Boston. 

Previously known as a rundown warehouse district, SoWa Boston has since experienced a dramatic renaissance, blossoming into a world-renowned retail & artistic community, and drawing the interest of developers, restaurateurs, and cutting-edge businesses.

It doesn't take long to realize that SoWa Boston is not your typical big city retail destination. There are no mega-malls packed with name brands; no big corporate sponsors; and no cookie-cutter department stores. Instead it is a community of artisans, makers and entrepreneurs that believe in crafting quality, one-of-a-kind products and letting their creativity shine.

It was fun to interact with the artists who hand made their own jewelry and pottery and for the most part these individuals did not know how reasonably priced their items were!

In the afternoon we visited Revere Beach. Though I LOVE this photo, it MOST definitely doesn't look this way today. 

Revere Beach is located six miles north of downtown Boston. The beach is a natural mudflat with a wide sandy knoll along its three-mile length. From 1906 to 1975, Revere Beach contained a popular amusement park, that was considered by many to be Boston's Coney Island. During its hey-day in the 1920's, it was not unusual for 100,000 people to visit Revere Beach to swim, ride an amusement, or go to one of the famous dance halls that operated there for many years.

Each summer, the beach features the International Sand Sculpturing Festival.

The artists adhere to strict rules during the contest. Each sculptor is given 10 tons of sand and are assigned an 18’ x 18’ square exhibit area. Work by the artists is limited to 24 hours in total length, which is spread out over several days. Forms for molding components are allowed and must be removed prior to the artworks being rated by the judges. The sand sculptures are evaluated using four categories: (1) degree of difficulty, (2) originality and creativity, (3) quality of sculpting, and (4) overall visual impact. Thousands of dollars in prize money are offered each year, which garners some of the best artists in the nation to the festival.

Though I remember some of the titles of each piece, there are a few that I just can't recall. But this wonderful elephant and giraffe caught my attention! 

This piece was entitled, "Color's in my mind." It was one of my favorites because it required imagination and to understand what the artist was conveying! To indicate the colors on the palette, the sculptor carved out objects that represented the colors in his mind. So the apple symbolized red, the frog symbolized green, the police officer - blue, grapes - purple, etc.  

 This piece was entitled, "The Little Owl."

This was another favorite of mine. It is entitled, "Slice of Memory." What I love about it is the sculptor gives us actual slices through this person's brain. When you look inside these slices there are sand objects, which to me symbolize this person's memory. We all have visual pictures trapped inside our minds that provide us with memory. This sculptor was able to bring to life this complex human ability of memory and visually depict it for us in sand.

This piece is entitled, "Go with the flow." I love the woman in her bathing suit on the left leaning into the wave. It is simply a sculpture that seems to capture movement and the agility of the human body.

I do not remember what this piece was entitled, but I happen to love the bond it depicts between a girl and her horse. 

This last piece won second place and was entitled, "Together." Though you may not be able to see it, there is a caption above the astronaut on the right which reads..... we are alone. Which is how it must feel in space...... you are together with your fellow astronauts but totally alone and separated from earth.