Tuesday, April 28, 2015

May Events



These events. They just keep coming.

What: North Bowl presents 'The Secret Double' First Friday featuring works by Andre Rucker & Dewey Saunders!
When: May 1
Where: North Bowl
Cost: Free, 21+

What: EAL:P Field Trip: Fringe Arts Scratch Night
When: May 4
Where: Fringearts
Cost: Free

What: Lady Birds Beer Club
When: May 6
Where: Yards Brewery
Cost: Free

What: Bike to Work Day 2015
When: May 15
Where: Stations throughout the city!
Cost: Free

What: The Order of Things Opening Party
When: May 15
Where: The Barnes Foundation
Cost: Members free, $25

What: Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Arts Festival
When: May 16
Where: Kensington, Trenton Avenue
Cost: Free

What: VOTE
When: May 19
Where: Philadelphia
Cost: Free

What: Ride of Silence
When: May 20
Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Cost: Free

What: Future Sensations
When: May 30
Where: The Oval
Cost: Free

Monday, April 6, 2015

April things to do!

Edit: Hey, I see this post is getting a lot of traffic! For new visitors, please note that I update this listing as the month goes on. It might be wise to bookmark the page...just sayin'.



There wasn't much happening in March. Don't worry, April's gonna make up for it! First, though, a shameless plug: MY event  (yes, MINE!) is in April! April 9! Please come to the Panel Discussion at Vox Populi on the state of arts writing Philadelphia. I'll be representing PaperClips215 in conversation with some amazing folks fro the Philadelphia Inquirer, Title Magazine, UArts, and Vox Populi.

Alright, here's all the fun upcoming things:

What: Conversation with Jerry Saltz
Where: The Barnes Foundation
When: April 7, 6 pm
Cost: $25 non-members, Members free

What: Panel Discussion: The Cursed Blessing of the Philadelphia Arts Writer Presented by the
           Nicola St.Claire and The Art Blog
Where: Vox Populi AUX Performance Space
When: April 9, 6 pm
Cost: Free

What: cineSPEAK + SPOKE Magazine present "Tour de Film"
Where: The Glass Factory
When: April 10, 6:30 pm
Cost: $8 in advance, $10 at the door

What: Nice and Fresh April: Pop Up Performances of New Theater, Dance, and Circus Arts
Where: Cliveden
When: April 10 and 11, evening, times vary
Cost: $7

What: What's Next Wednesday with the Emerging Arts Leaders of Philadelphia
Where: National Mechanics
When: April 15, 6 pm
Cost: Free

What: Chris Hafield: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything
Where: The Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Branch
When: April 19, 4 pm
Cost: Free

What: PECO Green Roof Tour
Where: PECO Building
When: April 21, 5 pm
Cost: $10 non-Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) Members, $5 PHS members

What: Mayoral Candidate Forum
Where: The Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Branch
When: April 22, 5:45 pm
Cost: Free, Registration required

What: Philadelphia Art Books Festival
Where: The Annex on Filbert
When: April 24 & 25
Cost: Free

What: Bauhaus Curved-Crease Sculpture Workshop
Where: Little Berlin
When: April 25, 7 pm
Cost: Free

What: Roxy Paine in Conversation with Tom Eccles
Where: Van Pelt Auditorium, Philadelphia Museum of Art
When: April 27, 5 pm
Cost: Free for Association of Public Art Members, $25 non-members

Sunday, February 1, 2015

February Events




What: Inliquid Young Professionals Night
When: Friday, February 6, 6 - 9:30 pm
Where: Crane Arts
Cost: $5 in advance; $10 at the door

What: Women Bike PHL Coffee Club
When: Every Wednesday at 8 am
Where: W/N W/N on Feb 11, Joe Coffee on Feb 18Cafe Cret on Feb 25
Cost: Free

What: Free for All hosted by Lord Whimsy
When: Wednesday, February 11, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Where: Institute of Contemporary Art
Cost: Free
Notes: Free Terrarium making workshop!

What: Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention
When: Friday, February 13 - Sunday, February 15
Where: Philadelphia Convention Center
Cost: $22 day / $43 three-day pass
Notes: Check out Sharon Lynn with Biagio's Tattoo Gallery!

What: What's Next Wednesdays with the Emerging Arts Leaders of Philadelpha
When: Wednesday, February 19, 7 pm
Where: The Garage
Cost: Free

What: Women Bike PHL Happy Hour
When: Thursday, February 19, 5 PM
Where: Tattooed Mom's
Cost: Free

What: Bello da vedere, buono da mangiare
When: Thursday, February 19, 6 - 7 pm
Where: America-Italy Society
Cost: Free

What: Territory of Abstraction - Group Exhibition
When: Saturday, February 21, 4 - 6:30 pm
Where: Pentimenti Gallery
Cost: Free


What: Interventionist Book Party
When: Tuesday, February 24, 6 - 9 pm
Where: Slought Foundation
Cost: Free

What: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Open House
When: February 26, 5 - 7 pm
Where: 1500 Walnut St Ste 1107
Cost: Free

What: Winter's Warmers: A Chili Cookoff & Homebrew Competition
When: February 28, 1 - 5 pm
Where: Philadelphia Fire Fighter's and Paramedic's Union
Cost: $30 - includes all the chili you can eat, event glass, and access to sample free homebrew

Friday, January 2, 2015

January Stuff to do



These posts are resuming! December was very hectic for me with grad school applications. January will be a bit more low-key. This post will be updated as I learn of new events. Hope to see you all there!

What: January 2015 Philly Full Moon ride: The Wolf Moon!
When: Sunday, January 4, 8 - 11 pm
Where: Meet at Philadelphia Museum Steps
Cost: Free

What: Women Bike PHL Clinic with Performance Bicycle
When: Wednesday, January 7, 7:30 - 8:30 pm
Where: Performance Bicycle
Cost: Free

What: Fishtown 2 Friday FREE Women's Self Defense Class
When: Friday, January 9, 6- 7 or 7 -8 pm
Where: Philly Self Defense
Cost: Free

What: SLV + Daniel De Jesus
When: Friday, January 9, 7:30 PM
Where: A Seed on Diamond Gallery
Cost: $10

What: The True History of Chocolate: An Evening with Professor Michael D. Coe
When: Tuesday, January 13, 7 - 8 pm
Where: The Academy of Natural Sciences
Cost: Free

What: Coffee Hour at the Humane League
When: Tuesday, January 20, 5 - 7 pm
Where: The Humane League
Cost: Free

What: 4 Weeks in January
When: Friday, January 21, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Where: 1fiftyone gallery
Cost: Pay what you can

What: Groundswell Presents: A Community Engagement Forum
When: Thursday, January 22, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Where: Christ Church Neighborhood House
Cost: Free

What: Young Friends Calligraphy Workshop
When: Thursday, January 22 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Where: Historical Society of Philadelphia
Cost: $25

What: 2nd Annual Green Party and Philly Nexus Bash
When: Friday, January 23, 6:30 - 10 PM
Where: Philly CoHo
Cost: Free

What: Women Bike PHL Coffee Club
When: Wednesday, January 28, 8 - 9 AM
Where: Rosa Blanca at Dillworth Park
Cost: Free

What: Young Professionals Across America
When: Wednesday, January 28, 6:30 - 8:45 pm
Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Cost: Pay what you wish

What: Bello da vedere, bello da mangiare (Norman Rusin's lecture on culture behind Italian food)
When: Thursday, January 29, 6 - 7 pm
Where: America-Italy Society of Philadelphia
Cost: Free, RSVP at 215.735.3250

What: University Night with the Museum Council of Philadelphia
When: Friday, January 30, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Where: Fleisher Art Memorial
Cost: $5 Museum Council members, $10 non-members

What: Young Professionals: Vintage Vaudeville
When: Friday, January 30, 7 - 10 pm
Where: The Barnes Foundation
Cost: $30; $15 for members

What: SPOKE magazine launch party
When: Friday, January 30, 6:30 - 10 pm
Where: American Sardine Bar
Cost: $12

What: Chalk Paint Lettering with Kelly P. Franklin
When: Saturday, January 31, 12 pm, 2 pm, or 4 pm
Where: Paradigm Art Gallery
Cost: Free

What: Philly Bike Party Tropical Paradise Ride
When: Saturday, January 31, 7 - 10 pm
Where: Meet at Art Museum Steps, ride to Tattooed Moms
Cost: Free

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Cruella de Vil Halloween




I was very excited when I found out about the Philly Bike Party's Halloween ride, and that they encouraged you and your bike to dress up. I already knew I was going as Cruella de Vil. Of course, I had to do some research first. I came across some amazing preliminary sketches.

Some Marc Davis preliminary sketches for the character. I love the one where' she just bundled up in her fur with eyes poking out.

Illustration of Cruella de Vil by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone, twin sister illustrators for the original book.


Using these as my inspiration, I created a cape and tutu. I draped my bike in fabric so it could be a dalmatian with me. I used a black styrofoam ball for the nose, and I backed the "ears " with pink felt. I used pink felt for a tongue. I grabbed a paper towel tube and cut it down the middle, then rolled it into a cone and glued my fabric to it for a tail. Of course I got long red gloves and a cigarette holder to complete the look!





I even won best costume for the bike ride! The ride was an absolute blast, and included a dance party in Rittenhouse Square. Spooky music accompanied us through Center City and all the way up to Penn Treaty Park.  All the work culminated in something!

Also, I was once a dalmatian on a previous Halloween. My four year old self would probably not be amused by my costume choice.







Thursday, October 23, 2014

Bike drawing and Portfolio

So I recently drew my bike. It's my first drawing on my iPad. Enjoy!


I also made a portfolio for work. I don't think I shared this here. Bookmaking has not been abandoned. And now I look damn good in meetings. 





Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Biking and stopping. And riding. And stopping.

Me riding on the D&R Canal Trial

If you're a friend of mine, you know I've recently been really into biking. It's consistently all I want to do. And now that the weather is finally turning, it's not so easy to keep going on my long 10 mile nightly rides. I know I will miss being outside. It felt so wonderful all this summer to just go somewhere, watch the sun set, be on my own (relatively, I still am in a city) and push myself to do the longest rides I could. As long as it was daylight, I was riding.

The view over Falls Bridge in Philadelphia, off of the Schuylkill River Trail


Monitoring my health has become very important to me recently (this may have something to do with the advent of health insurance). I thought cycling would be an easy way to keep myself in balance. I'm not a very fast cyclist. I never have been. I'm a petite woman, so my bike - and more importantly, its wheels - are much smaller than average. I am regularly passed as if I were never on the road by those who are much taller than me. This coupled with the fact that my bike is a single speed means I often go a bit slower than riders, as it takes a lot more effort for me to get up to higher speeds.

Bridge over the Manayunk Towpath at sunset


I don't mind going slow. I don't mind meandering down the Manayunk towpath at sunset while a few other daredevils speed by me. I occasionally am overwhelmed at how beautiful stretches of the Schuylkill trail look and I have to stop and admire them. I have to take a break from biking on my seat that I still haven't upgraded. I have to rest mostly to enjoy the beauty around me. The pictures that accompany this post are about just that.

Biking in Washington Crossing State Park, NJ

I am in favor of stopping. Of slowing down. Of looking at art slowly. But most of all, I am in favor of biking slowly when you have the luxury to do so. I am in favor of stopping and walking your bike whenever you like. I am in favor of looking, seeing, drinking in the views that surround you, and not feeling some invisible force pushing you to pedal on, skip this for now/forever, because your journey is just as important as your destination.

A stop along the Schuylkill River

That is really what I enjoy most about cycling. It is so easy to just hop off and start going again. Switching between being a vehicle and a pedestrian with such ease is the biggest benefit to cycling. It is also perhaps our Achilles heel: many cyclists navigate between vehicle/pedestrian spaces without paying heed to the rules that govern them both, and consequently it is the number one reason cyclists are faced with such animosity. I am mindful of which role I occupy at all times and follow rules as such. However, I've noticed that although I am very careful with being a law-abiding citizen, many around me don't seem to view it that way.

The Mural Arts Program created this wonderful piece visible from the Manayunk Towpath. Title: Waters of Change by artist Paul Santoleri

If I am walking my bike on the sidewalk, I am met with sideways glances. A man literally attacked me once, yelling that my bike belonged on the street and I was taking up "his" sidewalk. If I pull over off the road and stop and walk for a bit, I see motorists shake their heads. Are they jealous of this middle-space that bikers occupy? Do they wish they had the power to just pull over and walk when they felt like it, and have their vehicle tow along behind them?

Biking up to Belmont Plateau offers spectacular views of the Philadelphia skyline while secluding the viewer in nature

I often walk up steep hills. I don't mind it. It's a welcome break. If the break in my journey is long, I might even listen to a podcast. Inevitably, this is where I am most often met with rebukes from other pedestrians. "Why do you have that thing if you're not going to ride it?" When I'm on a trail, other cyclists seem to shake their heads, as if me walking my bike diminishes their existential experience as speed demons.

Biking on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

This post is in favor of stopping and taking your time while cycling. Once your workout is done, why not pursue cycling as a leisure sport. I fully believe in the right of cyclists to hop on and off while following the rules of the road. And I fully believe that more of us should. Walking can easily be fatiguing and is too slow. Cycling allows for destinations to be reached with time to spare. Cycling is therefore one of the best means of seeing and appreciating all in the city precisely because it enables citizens to transition between vehicle and pedestrian status. Slow down and see your city. Stop and hop off your bike when you're interested. After all, it's how I got all these great shots.