I found six cents in Skaneateles, New York! A penny and a nickel in two different locations on the ground/sidewalk.
I’m now up to $2.08 in found money for 2025.
Monthly Archives: September 2025
Movie Star
I can cross another thing off my “bucket” list because yesterday I was in a movie.
I will get an IMDb credit for my performance in a film by Joe Cunningham, tentatively titled “The Sentinel”.
The scenes took place in the VFW down the street from my house. We were told to wear black – it was supposed to be a wake for a hero who died saving a teenager during a school shooting.
We were filmed forming a queue on the sidewalk. This took about an hour of walking to the shopping plaza and back. After lunch, they did the scene with the receiving line. I stood by the food with the cafeteria ladies who had an important role. Rolling…and…action and then – it’s a wrap!
I met some amazing people including the saved teenager and her real mother who played her mother in the movie, as well as others who were in other scenes in this film and people who have been extras in many of the American High productions.
It was so fun!
Joe Cunningham said he’s been working on this project since 2021 and I believe this was one of the final scenes. Not sure of a release date. Stay tuned.
Currents & ReCurrents
Last night I attended the latest art reception at Gandee Gallery. So fun!
The gallery is divided into three sections: the front room houses the gallery’s contributing artists, the middle room is home to the current exhibition, ReCurrents, and the back room is the art/ceramics studio.
Ceramics are the main attraction but the gallery also sells paintings, notecards, and jewelry.
(from the website)
ReCurrents: Contemporary Ceramics
This past summer, the Gandee Gallery curated Currents in Contemporary Ceramic Art at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha’s Vineyard. We are excited to now showcase a select number of ceramic works from this exhibition at the gallery in Central New York. ReCurrents features artists at various career stages, from emerging talents to established artists. Gandee’s curatorial vision brings together artists as diverse as their identities and narratives, creating a rich tapestry of contemporary ceramic expression. . It will be on view through Oct. 12th.
The Gandee Gallery is located at 7846 Main Street, Fabius, New York 13063. They are open 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM Thursday-Saturday and 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Sundays. Call (315) 416-6339 for more information.
(From the website)
Found Money In & Out
A penny in the park and a penny in the grocery store. I am now up to $2.02 in found money for 2025!
Picking Up the Pieces
Maria Park: Field Diagram is the latest CNY Artist Initiative exhibit to grace the walls of the Members’ Council art gallery at the Everson Museum Of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, NY 13202).
These pieces do not photograph well – they are made to look like resin but they are acrylic paintings on panel with a plexiglass face, cut into amorphous shapes that resemble diamonds and other fine minerals. There is a femininity to them and a sort of fragility as well, as if they could shatter and then we’d all drown in our own tears.
I thought my life would end like that after I received unsettling news on Monday morning. We all have some mental drama/anguish that seems to subside via the creation of art. In Maria Park’s case, her partner and collaborator, Brandon Hookway, passed away. This heart-wrenching trauma resulted in time away from their joint studio.
Six months later, Maria Park began to pick up the pieces and this show is evidence that art can be a form of therapy. What was once a partnership in life becomes a fusion of art and love.
This emotional backstory certainly resonates with many and I think, if you visit the museum to see the show in person, you will understand its gravitas.
(P.S. In my case, nobody died).
Maria Park: Field Diagram remains on view through October 26, 2025.
Ethereal Beauty
If you haven’t yet travelled to Munson (310 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13502) to see Celestial Bodies, then I will say you’re welcome in advance because, well, it is that magnificent. I trust you will love it too.
New Yorker Karen LaMonte graduated from RISD then began a journey that took her from a glass blowing workshop in New Jersey to Prague to international fame as a sculptor. She has won numerous awards and fellowships for this impressive body of work.
She works in glass, stone, bronze – working with experts as a team to produce life-sized female forms. The headless sculptures are exquisitely draped gowns. Although they resemble Greek caryatids, they are incredibly modern in design – ruched halter tops, asymmetrical sleeves, the appearance of stitched seams and floral embroidery – OMG, they are spectacular.
In addition to the life-sized items, there are quarter-sized miniatures. They are so beautifully feminine. As I viewed the show, I imagined myself wearing these gowns because each one was a perfect #ootd. And because they were missing someone else’s head and arms and were clearly my size, it was an effortless phenomenological vision that induced movement, dance, joy and above all, elegance. A girl can dream….
Karen LaMonte is my new favorite artist.
Munson is open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday noon – 5:00 PM. Call (315) 797-0000 for more information.
Celestial Bodies: Sculpture by Karen LaMonte will be on view through December 31, 2025.
