West Virginia's bold experiment

Magnet #528 - Tamarack, West Virginia

Since the day we moved to North Carolina, we've been burning up the roads with road trips back to Chicago. But in all that time, we've never dropped by Tamarack, which was built in the early 90s and is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia.

What started out as a WV economic development project, quickly became a self-sustaining collective of folks from every corner of WV, helping boost the state's economy by selling their locally-made products. The Crafts Report called it "West Virginia's bold experiment."

I love that that's all they sell - stuff produced in West Virginia! They have art and blown glass and quilts and clothes and jewelry and woodwork and bronze and foodstuffs and a cafe and, and, and...it's crazy packed with the best that WV has to give. It's true, apparently, there's a stringent quality and/or selection process in order to get your stuff on their shelves.

The building is pretty cool as well - even though we only went in through the back side, judging from this magnet. It was designed, built and named by local firms. They designed the building to look like a starburst quilt pattern from the sky - I bet aerial shots of it are amazing in the summer. It's certainly pretty neat from the road. They also selected the name Tamarack for the tree, a symbol for its strength, beauty and versatility. Perfect, for what this building stands for, and for what it houses.

Oh! And they have magnets, as well. I'm cheating, because this one was given to me by a friend before I went for myself. Truthfully, when she gave it to me, I had to look up what Tamarack was - I didn't have a clue. And even after I looked it up, I was still kinda hazy, and slightly skeptical.

I was like, hmm, a whooooole building for just West Virginia products? Really? It's duly noted now, what Tamarack is, and if ever you're riding around WV, definitely stop by. I love my purchases, and I'm only sad we didn't stay a little longer.

Modern isn't boring

Magnet #527 - Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884

Yay, I finally got to visit the Art Institute of Chicago!!

I loved every minute of it - even when we got lost and had to pass the same little elephant statue in the Asian art gallery four times. There was entirely too much to see in one day, let alone half a day. Though, detours and funny layouts made for a heck of a lot of walking around!

After reading so much about Renzo Piano's new Modern Wing, I was happy for the chance to check it out myself - yes, there's a separate magnet for that.

Dudes - most of what we saw today, I haven't seen in person - from Hockey's Collectors and Ruscha's City to Motley's Nightlife to architectural drawings by Louis H. Sullivan and Louis I. Kahn and Mies van der Rohe, and remants of reliefs and doors and windows saved or scavenged from various buildings around town. Good gravy, I could spend days there.

The AIC had a few Monet magnets that I've blogged on - the Artist's house at Argenteuil, and of course, different versions of his haystacks, and his Japanese footbridge at Giverny. But, they also had an extraordinary number of his paintings that I've never seen - ever. Which is just fantastic, if you've scoured the eastern hemisphere for all the magnets Monets you can possibly see.

The AIC collection also includes the final Sunday on La Grande Jatte that was submitted for the 1886 Impressionists Exhibition. I actually bought this magnet in NYC, because I've been visiting the piece at the Met for years. Of course, now I have to go read the back of the magnet, or pop on by the Met to verify, but, from what I can tell, the Met has one of the 50 studies he did for that final piece. Who knew?

Honestly, while I'm glad to have seen it here in town, I'm slightly annoyed that what we have at the Met is a study. (But then again, I also have issues with all the various Monet haystacks and lillies running around this giant Earth.)

Anyway, I've uploaded the unedited, somewhat haphazard (for now) FB album for the AIC and the supercool Millennium Park, sans any real captions yet.

Enjoy. Then, get your bums to the AIC and have a looksee for yourself. You won't be sorry.

"Note: We are now in the domain of virtuosity, romance & symbolism."*

Magnet #526 - Frank Lloyd Wright's Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers

Picked this one up at BEA, again from the Pomegranate folks, and using this one for today, since we had a pretty good Frank Lloyd Wright day in Oak Park.

We spent the morning at the new Modern Wing, and then we booked it through an hour traffic to finally arrive at FLW's house and studio by 3:35pm...only to make our way toward the back of the gift shop to see the sign above their heads say, "Next Tour: Tomorrow" and hear the cashier explain to several people that they were sorry, but there were no more spots available.

You have to hand it to the guy - he was incredibly patient with the huffy visitors there - to the folks ahead of me, and to at least half a dozen more people asking for the tour while I was browsing the gift shop. I mean, telling people who traveled from states and countries all over that they couldn't see the one thing they had come for can't be an easy thing.

So, we didn't get to take the tour. And that's fine, that'll give me something to look forward to on my next trip out.

I did get to visit the little shop - though it was supertiny, they did carry the Gug and Fallingwater lego sets. And, shocker! I did walk out without them. The Gug is priced out at something like $45 - which would normally be ok for something like that, but the darn thing is seriously not taller than my hand! Crazy. And, the Fallingwater is also pretty cool, but priced at $100 and not all that much bigger than the Gug, I just couldn't justify the cost.

In the end, I picked up even more Pomegranate magnets, and an Oak Park area map that plotted the houses of FLW and his ilk, plus other important houses, and created our own drive-by tour.

*A handwritten note from a Louis H. Sullivan ornamental drawing, which really has nothing to do with this FLW magnet, or day, other than I just liked the lyricism and thought behind the turn of phrase.

The Memory Mile

Magnet #525 - Chicago

I just realized that today is DC sister's birthday, and we spent all day reminiscing about days before she was born. Whoops.

Still, happy birthday!

After being rudely awakened at 3:45 this morning, we finally made it to Chicago, and it's been a total trip down memory lane - from seeing the building where I was almost kidnapped, to seeing where I was baptized, to seeing our first apartment and my mom's hospital.

It's been a great day, as I rediscovered memories of the Lions Club selling their candy on the street side and finding the Mold-A-Rama at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

More on everything soon...

Oh! Today's supercool magnet is another one of my @KristinaMyers magnets from her her Etsy store! Love these map ones - totally my fave!

Land of Cotton to Land of Lincoln

Magnet #524 - Illinois

Destination: Illinois.

In about 5 hours, we'll be packin' up to get ourselves to Chicago, my parents and DC sis.

Several things are wrong with this picture.

First, Save the World sis isn't here. She should be, but she had to work. What's a family roadtrip without the baby sister to make fun of?

Second, we're leaving in 5 hours. I don't understand this - we always used to leave in the dead of night, before the rest of the Western Hemisphere was even thinking about getting up.

Third, we're packing the car in the morning. Dude. What? How is that car not already packed and fully stocked already?

Fourth, we're not really packing anything! No cooler or food basket! Well, cooler, but nothing in it yet. No drinks. No ice. No paper plates or plastic utensils. Where's the junk food? Apparently! We're eating along the way! What? What?

Fifth, we're all going to bed at a decent time, and wearing our jammies. We used to go to bed with our travel clothes already on, so that we're ready to travel when we steal away in the dead of night.

Sixth and seventh, we have no set itinerary, and we're apparently going to be stopping along the way. Stopping! Hopefully, it's gonna lean more toward roadside attractions than rest areas.

Oh, I could go on. But, let's see how the day progresses...just know that I'll be thinking with each passing mile, in our rented car, who are these people, and what have they done with our parents?

eta:
Oh! About this magnet. You know how they have these magnets for every state in the Union? Yeah, I don't have them all. I'm not really trying to have them all, mainly because I'm afraid that once I start to buy them, I'll find some novelty store that has all the state magnets, and then I'll feel compelled to buy them all to have a complete set. So, I try not to buy them...unless I see them in the store. Hahaha.

Third boxcar, midnight train

Magnet #523 - I <3 the RR

No joke. Otherwise, I never would have taken a 13-hour train ride to NC, only to turn around and make an 18-hour roadtrip to Chicago, only to turn around and make the 13-hour train ride back to NY.

In another lifetime, I bet I was a hobo with a bandanna satchel hanging off a stick, riding the rails wherever I could to far-off destinations in the lower 48. Had to have been, no other explanation.

Well, unless you count the numerous times I heard Roger Miller's King of the Road in my parents' van growing up.

But, there's a sense of peace that comes from isolating yourself from the world, staring at nothing, while the world whizzes by. Or, rather, there's peace when you remember to bring your headphones. Heh.

Today, with my mind clouded with so many crappy things about this week, I was really grateful for the respite. Mind you, the trip also taught me how dependent I am on that damn Blackberry. I don't think I let go of it for a minute today - both for work and for play.

Anyway, I'm glad it's before midnight, as I sit here waiting for DC sister's plane to arrive at GSO (yay, free Boingo wifi), toward the end, I was getting antsy that I hadn't put up a magnet yet.

Still, the train ride was a lovely part of my day, thanks to the wonderful Amtrak attendant we had in business class - she was lovely. Nicest bunch of people ever, those Amtrak folks. Thanks for a great day.

"What is possible for me is possible for you."*

Magnet #522 - Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895

Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Frederic Douglass was the son of a slave woman and, presumably, her white master. He learned how to read and write, which, if you think about it was nothing short of a miracle, particularly after enduring years of slavery, and being shuttled from one household to another.

He escaped when he was 20, and ended up in Connecticut, with his new wife and a new surname, one that he took from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake.

It was in Connecticut and Massachusetts that he was able to begin telling his story to those who would listen, attending abolitionist meetings and anti-slavery conventions, and eventually becoming a world-renown public speaker, and writer. He eventually became editor of some of the most influential Negro newspapers, such as the North Star and the Douglass Monthly. On top of that, he also became trusted adviser to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and held a couple of different posts thereafter.

As if that wasn't enough, he also became a friend and defender for women's rights - that's why I really love this statue in Rochester of he and Susan B. Anthony having tea in the park. Hee. There's something funny about the two luminaries sitting down for tea - whether they actually did take tea together is something I probably would have learned, had we actually been able to drop by the Susan B. Anthony house. But we didn't. But, it's on the list for next time I visit Rochester.

A friend of mine gave me this magnet, I think just to see if I'd actually do the research and blog on Mr. Douglass. Heh, well of course, I would. But, I figured today was a good day - if the records are to be believed, today in 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified, establishing citizenship of African Americans.

Mind you, this minimagnetbio is as bare bones as you can possibly be, given Douglass' stature of one of the most influential Americans ever. So, definitely check out a few of those sites to learn more.

*Frederick Douglass, to a class of African American students in Maryland