Art Drop-off Today, June 18

Well, the title tells you a lot, but not all of it. I went out on the Pennypack Trail this morning, in a very warm and getting warmer fast kind of morning, humid and sunny. Just perfect summer weather.

I parked the car at Moredon Road with the idea of doing 4 miles at a good fast walk (it takes me about an hour or a minute or so over), and this way, I could stop at the car for a quick drink if I were thirsty (which I was, so it turned out well).

All the previous tiles I’d left had been taken up. Fantastic! Today, I left this tile in a train control box.

Here’s a full-view shot, and look at the lush vegetation all around. Green is the color of the day all right.

Here is a photo of the trail in the direction I was walking. Now, it is important that these art scatterings happen so that I can remain anonymous. That means keeping an eye out for other people when I decide to set something down. I’m usually successful but a few times I have had to pretend to tie my shoe or that I needed to look at my phone, in order to throw people off the scent.

Not today. The warm sticky weather mean the trail was quiet. Good! I did my work and went on my way.

Advertisements

Art Drop-Off Update – June 8 and 9, 2018

Let me get right to it. On Friday, June 8, I walked on the Pennypack Trail, Welsh Road to the 0.0 marker and back – 5 miles. I left two tiles along the way. This first one is near the Moredon Road parking lot and I set it on this fallen tree remnant. You see it to the right of the trail in the second photo.

The other one, on a bench.

I like to read the dedications on the benches along the trail and say a little thank you to everyone who is remembered in the plaques and to those who cared enough to have a mention put up.

The trail was quite busy. I saw several familiar faces. Shout out to Stu and Norm, two guys I have known for several years from trail walks, and to Alan, who wasn’t there, but Stu said he said to tell me hello next time Stu saw me, so – I’m saying hello back to Alan right here.

On Saturday, June 9, my husband and I walked in the Norristown Farm Park. We approached the bridge that leads to the state hospital – it’s blocked off to vehicles but those using feet for transport can go right along:

 

I set a tile on the log barrier.

Here is what the tile is looking at, the direction we just came from – this nice leafy tunnel of trees:

I set another tile on a bench.

Once again I read the inscription.

Here is the view the tile is looking at:

Now, we’ve been wondering. The fields this year have looked untouched. You see it in the above picture. Was the park planning to move from being a crop-growing farm? A ranger came by in his truck and we flagged him down. He said – no, they have just planted the seeds. It’s a little later than usual. Weather and so on. But corn and soy are coming just like always.

I was glad to hear it. This location has been a farm for 130+ years – you may remember that it started out as the farm for the adjacent state mental hospital and patients, if able, worked the land. This site, which also included a fish hatchery (still in action as part of an anglers’ club today) and formerly had dairy cows and fowls, supported not only this hospital but a couple of others, the ranger said. I am glad it will be growing things this season.

Until next time.

Art Drop-Off Update – May 30 and June 6, 2018

Both art drop-off  days I was walking on the Pennypack rail trail, but on different ends of it.

Let me give a quick info session. Here is the Montgomery County PA page describing it, and they do a great job if you want a quick little bio of the trail.

And here is the map you can find on that site. Excuse the smallish size, I’m not great at getting things to go where I want them at the size I want them. Anyway, I generally park at the letter “C”, Welsh Road trailhead, because it’s the middle of the route and I can choose to go either way – but I don’t always. Just saying.

The section of C to letter A is the older part of the trail. The upper section, C to E, was opened a few years later. The entire length is about 5.4 miles. I generally try to do some combination of 4 or 5 miles. The scenery is somewhat different on each half of the trail and the structure of it makes for a lot of choice as to routes.

OK. On May 30 I started at Moredon Road, letter B, heading to Rockledge, letter A (toward Philadelphia, if you are interested to know), with the idea of circling my start point to get my miles in. I left this tile in a train control box along the way.

I left this tile at the base of a bridge over a creek.

On June 6, different day, different route. I started at Welsh Road (C) and walked the other direction to the end of the trail at letter E, Byberry Road, then came back.

I had left some items along the way the last time I took this route –

Today they were gone.

This morning I left these two little clay things on top of a train control box on my way out.

On my way back I noticed the one on the right was already gone. Hey, that’s nice.

I left this tile at the parking lot at Byberry Road, my turnaround spot, next to the bike comfort station:

I did five miles this morning, and I am proud to say that my time going out was only two seconds faster than my time going back in. Keeping up a nice pace is important to me, I don’t like to dawdle when I walk, and I got a laugh out of how neatly the whole thing split.

OK! Until next time.

Art Drop-Off Update – May 23, 24, and 29, 2018

Well, after the buildup of the post’s title, you know what you are going to get! The story of more art set out into the world, that’s what.

Part of the fun of art-drop-off-doing is seeing if it got picked up by anyone. Well, since I put the pieces in places I go to pretty often, I get the satisfaction of seeing them go away, too. Let’s find out.

Last week, May 23, I left three tiles along the “new” section of the Pennypack Trail (above Welsh Road). This is a shady section of this rail trail that runs very close to the Pennypack Creek all the way along its length.

(If you are interested in knowing more about these tiles, meaning how I made them, etc. – look here).

Here we go.

I’ve set items in this little rock shelf before.

How about this bench overlooking the creek?

This tile is set on another rock shelf. And if you climb up that little trail, you’ll get a nice view of the creek from the top.

Today, May 29, my husband and I traveled over the same ground and set out new items while also looking for the previous ones. We left a colorful tile lady at the info kiosk in the parking lot. (I featured the whole group of these tiles on my art blog here.)

It was a nice feeling to come along and see this empty space where a tile had been last week.

The single rock by the trail was empty too, so we filled it again.

On the in trip (as opposed to the out) I left a tile lady at the base of one of the bridges crossing the creek. You can see that this was the original rail bridge with a higher barrier put up when the trail was developed.

Guess what? We also saw a snapping turtle beside the trail – she (we believe she is a she) has just come up from the creek below to lay eggs, that is our guess. We did not approach her. A snapping turtle can bite right through your finger. And this lady is really a large strong turtle, the biggest I have seen along the trail.

That is the status of art along the Pennypack Trail.

*******

On May 24, I was at Montgomery County Community College for Poetry Marathon. I left a couple of tiny face tiles there in the library, before I went home. I’ll check this week and see if they are gone.

OK, that’s where we are with art out in the world.

More Art Scattered

My husband and I took a walk on the Pennypack Trail this morning. We dropped off a few more items.

First, this tiny clay tile lady took up a place in one of the former train control boxes.

I put these tiles at the info kiosk at the Moredon Road crossing.

Update on recent dropoffs – remember these?

Well, they are gone now!

Happy Art.

Scattered Update

All right, how about some news of art making its way out in the world?

On May 14 I took a short walk at the Pennypack Trail in the afternoon. In the parking lot, I checked the kiosk. Lady in the corner – she has left.

I walked on down the trail. Remember, it’s a former rail line. Here is an example of some scenes along it.

That green has become ultra-green in the last few days!

I set a small clay tile lady in one of the former control boxes. This one has been painted silver – most of the others have been left rusty, and this one is trying to return to that state – and when they were in use would have had doors that were locked. Now they are each a set of nice display shelves.

Further down the trail, I left two tiles on a bench. I’ve often run or walked by this particular seat and I always like reading the dedication.

I probably won’t be back here until next week. Then I’ll see what has happened in my absence.

Management Says

I went to a meeting in an office building recently and stopped in the bathroom. There I learned some things. From this notice.

 

Let me just get you some background. I am one, along with many other ladies, who just doesn’t care about my fellow human beings, loud and proud inconsiderate every single day, and I don’t care who knows it.  That’s the first  “we”. Us bad ones. And Management has noticed and come down from the Management Office to help us along.

Now, read it again, just to stay current.

I noted  the “we” taking on another level of meaning, merging into another “we”. The “We” of Management joining itself with us little people. There is just something about a being who refers to itself in the third person that ratchets up my attention, absolutely you bet.

Now I was scolded all right and yet I also felt the hurt that Management feels at my unfairness to whoever it is that is actually following the rules (since I thought “we” all were offending, and now I learn there are those who are not? I am getting so confused).

So, I glanced around the room to make sure I had not offended. That I could move into a higher category. That I could be a good person again.

I felt the glow of Management’s approval of my cooperation and yet, my mind was still at work. I dared to wonder – maybe Management could have just said: Flush. Pick up paper. Keep things nice. Please.

I guess not.

OK, I think I’m done here.  (I scuttle out of the room).

Tiles and Letting Them Go

How about a couple of art-drop offs to look at?

On May 10 I left this tile face at Montgomery County Community College library. The green arrow points to the location in the bigger scheme of things.

On May 10 my husband and I went to a play at Allens Lane Art Center and…I left these two tiles behind when we left.

I’ve got a box full of tiles and clay odds and ends to leave around the world. I am just getting started!

Lady Goes to Pennypack Trail

On May 8 I was at the Welsh Road trailhead of the Pennypack Trail. Over the past few years I have walked or run over every inch of the trail ( and lots of times, too). Every so often I do the whole round trip – a little over 10 miles. So I know this place very well.

I decided to leave a lady I had painted on a broken picket from a fence. Her story is – I painted her some time ago and she’s been on my porch. We recently got a new front door, I “redecorated” the porch, and now I decided to bring her here.

I set her at the info kiosk in the parking lot.

The Pennypack trail runs along a former rail line. This kiosk tells the history of this section of the line. I enjoy looking at it every so often and figuring out where the landmarks of the past are located.

It’s especially interesting to me how many stations were on such a short stretch – one about every mile or two. Today’s rail lines (we have quite a few in the five-county area with Philadelphia as the hub) feature stations further apart. I am sure that this change relates to the fact that in the past, people walked to their transport and also, that the line was used for local travel a few stops down the line – now most people ride for a good distance before getting off.

Anyway, I left her in place, and next time I am here, I’ll see if she has moved on or not. For more info about the trail, look here.

Stick Ladies Go to College

I set down a stick lady at Montgomery County Community College last week and she was gone when I was just there, May 3. I left this lady next to a tree in the quadrangle. I’ll check and see if she is still around when I go later this week…