Update 9-30-03


Hi,

Re: Rock 'n' Roll, from Barbara Blitfield Pech: I could be wrong, but if I recall, the Belmonts (without Dion) were scheduled to appear at a junior high (8th or 9th grade) "hop," and they were a no-show. Of course, as a long time South Florida resident and a neighbor of Dion, I will ask him the next time we pass each other over the broccoli rabbe in the local Publix supermarket. For anyone else still hoping to see him and Jay Black (of Jay and the Americans), they are appearing somewhere towards the end of October-early November in the South Florida area. I'll be more than glad to check dates if anyone is interested. By the way, just to add insult to injury, my spellcheck is suggesting that "Dion" should be "Deon," thank you, Celine!

Not about Rock, from Mark Perlman: My wife and I went on a road trip yesterday to see the fall color changes in Colorado. Most autumns, we go to Buena Vista, and towards Leadville or south towards Salida. This time, we thought that we would aim north towards Breckenridge. We made our regular stop at Wilkerson Pass (altitude 9600 feet) and looked over a vista that poems are written about. Not too much snow on the Collegiate Peaks (all rising above 14,000 feet) yet this year. The view from Puma Point, looking out over South Park County (yes, that South Park) includes Eleven Mile Reservoir, sparkling in the sun, an area that Indians hunted bison in. I look out and imagine that I can see Kiowas and Utes trailing the vast herds. Then, on to Fairplay (this is where the creators of the show South Park grew up) and north. The altitude of most of the places we stopped to take pictures was well over 10,000 feet, and rough on my asthmatic lungs, but the aspens were in their full glory. Golds, reds, yellows, and oranges. The scrub brush were shades of purple and red. In my opinion, the vistas are what puts the Colorado fall ahead of New England and the celebrated maples (which, I must admit, are, in their own right, beautiful). When I look out and see thousands of acres of evergreens shot with oranges, yellows, and golds, looking like an artist's pallet of colors, I know that life is worth living, if, for no other reason, just to see the magnificence that nature has provided for us.

From Bernie Scheidt: I am no longer employed by Louis Glick, so please change my contact information. My new e-mail address is: 1. bssteddy@hotmail.com
On a brighter side, my older son Jonathan got engaged last Memorial Day to Kathleen McHugh, and they will be married on July 31, 2004

From Robert Fiveson: Christ, Rich, what's up with the math problems? Are you insane or just a demento? I saw that thing and immediately went into a seizure. Is the answer, "Mary, at 3 PM?"
Also, Barnet, did you ever really take acid, or is that a flashback, too?

An announcement just arrived about Mary Sipp Green's latest exhibition of her paintings, this time in New York City. The opening night reception, with Mary, is Thursday, October 9th, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and the R.S.V.P. number is: 212-925-1313. The exhibition continues through October 27th at Multiple Impressions, 128 Spring Street, New York 10012. For those unable to get to the exhibit, several dozen of Mary's recent paintings can also be seen on the gallery's website. That's: http://www.multipleimpressions.com/ And for those unable to reach that, here's what Mary has to say there:
"I grew up on Long Island in a creative family with parents who were interested in the arts. My father was an artist who ran a graphic design studio in New York City. My mother was, and still is, a dressmaker. Painting was a natural path for me to follow and creating has always been an important part of my life.
As a young painter, I learned my craft in the studio, painting still-lifes and portraits, as well as landscapes drawn directly from nature. Over time, I became increasingly engaged with the more abstract and spirited aspects of the landscape form and I began to pursue a less representational, more expressive style. When I first approach the canvas, I will usually have some sense of color scheme and overall composition in mind -- an almost architectural strategy for how I will proceed to build the painting. I work with preliminary sketches and color notes recorded on site, yet the painting itself takes shape in my studio after a meditative interval of temporal and spatial distance, allowing memory and emotion to guide the process. There are two main approaches to painting: direct and indirect. Direct painting is a wet on wet paint technique also called alla prima which is usually done all at one time. I am an indirect painter. It's a more complex process which involves setting up cumulative layers of alternating, opaque colors. Paint is applied wet onto a dried surface, bringing with it the possibility of depth of color, illuminosity and feeling. It takes much more time to paint this way - as an artist builds form, color and depth over a period of time. Most of my favorite painters are indirect: Ryder, Rothko, Innes, Monet, Matisse, Rembrandt, Grunewald, Turner, it's a long list. The Berkshire painter and teacher, Leo Garel, who has greatly influenced my work is also an indirect painter. I love the risk-takers, those artists whose work is informed with a sense of abandon, simplicity and spontaneity. I used to paint portraits and still life but for many years I've painted landscape almost exclusively. Nature has broad themes and provides natural outlet for emotional expression. The experience of landscape also carries an inwardness which appeals to me.
I don't paint directly from nature but my inspiration begins there. I use memory, color notes, preliminary sketches and imagination as the starting point, then the process seems to take on a life of its own. I strive to get a balance between spontaneity and control, abstraction and recognizable form. There is a measure of reality but the color is expressive rather than imitative.
Expression and not the likeness is most important. I try to use colors to give visual form to mood and atmosphere, instead of reproducing exactly what I see. My goal is the essence rather than the details. I prefer landscapes that are not referential - where there is always a gesture to exceed referential boundaries in color and atmosphere. Rothko is a good example. His work is geometric but it opens up to other possibilities: air, sea, clouds, etc.
My work combines elements of Romanticism in concept - the capturing of the fleeting moment with the emotional effects of expressionism - which reaches inward at the self and distorts reality. What really lies beyond the landscape and trying to express it has held my interest for years: the refiguring, sublime moment expresses something inexpressible in words. The paint is my communicator of an experience deeply felt.
For the past twenty years, I have been working as a landscape painter in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. While my preferred medium has always been oil on linen, my methods, techniques and aesthetic aims have all undergone significant transformations since I first began.
I use many layers of paint, veils of color, allowing each to dry before the next is applied. In this way, the colors come to resonate with one another and produce an overall depth of hue. This very deliberate technique is only one part of the creative process, however, a sort of skeleton key to the final product, in which the operations of chance and accident frequently come to govern the direction of the painting. Along the way, the surface of the paint is often refigured in unpredictable ways. There is much that has to be scraped, sanded, destroyed and reapplied before the essence of the place -- its mood and atmosphere -- finally emerges onto the canvas.
This is indeed, a process in every sense of the word. Even when I am not painting, I still experience life as an artist: thinking about the work, observing my natural surroundings, learning from other artists and searching for new expressive possibilities."

Two more websites to visit, these involving no math, Robert:
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: Somebody did some real wizardry of programming to coordinate this! Try clicking on the horses from left to right, then right to left, then just one or two at a time. It's fun, a good stress reliever, and a short time passer. http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.swf
From Donald Faber: Just what we need, a little more nostalgia. But this is on a slightly higher level (or, at least, it was to those who dipped into this once-reputable magazine, circa 1965. http://www.esquire.com/covergallery/coversbyyear.html?y=1965&x=13&y=18

A reminder, from Emily Kleinman Schreiber: Our upcoming 60th Birthday Bash will be at the Oceanside Knights of Columbus, Saturday, October 18th, 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Everyone's welcome, and if any of your sisters and brothers were in the Class of '61, please encourage them to attend. For more information, contact me at: cre8em@aol.com

Social notes (well, my social notes): I had lunch with Vince Tampio last week. He's in good shape for a man his age, which he's beginning to admit to, though certainly not in print. He is having problems with his knees though, which didn't stop him from ordering a great deal of dim sum, much of which I had to finish. No problem: I'm trying to keep my weight up. If you want to write Vince, you have to do it the old way, as he has a DVD player, cable, and a big screen TV -- the better to watch football -- but no computer. Just ask me for his address.
And I had dinner this week with Steve Spector, being dutiful and visiting his mom in L.A, where's she's in for a month-or-so from humid Florida. Steve and I went to a Japanese restaurant with hot edamame and good shrimp rolls.
Also, Linda Cohen Greenseid mentioned that she'll be in L.A. for most of November, as her daughter-in-law Natasha is about to give birth to her first child. I'm hoping to get Linda to a Thai restaurant, though I know, considering the attraction of a new baby, that I'm a long way down her priority list.
Any other visitors? I know a good Armenian restaurant.

The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a


Rich