This and That by JL

I remember it well.  Our first ArtsBash in our brand new, old historic building in 1999.  I thought of this today as preparations got underway for this year’s ArtsBash tomorrow night.  We purchased the building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains in 1998.  It had been empty for five years. Our next door neighbor was [...]

When people ask where I’m from, I most often say, “I’m just a kid from the Rockaway’s.” This used to evoke a querulous “Where?” But no longer. Unfortunately, the Rockaway’s are recently famous, but not for the charm and fun I knew riding my bike on the boardwalk on a brisk winter’s day from Beach [...]

Sound is an all encompassing art form. “You only need those two holes in the sides of your head to participate,” says Bruce Odland, a sound artist, whose Hudson River work Hearing Space is now being shown at ArtsWestchester’s Gallery 9 in White Plains. “Hearing is a connective sense, with your ears always connected to the environment,” [...]

The secret is out.  In a former life, I raced sailboats…reluctantly of course. It was a rite of passage that came with marriage. Racing a Snipe-class boat (13 ft.)  in the Atlantic Ocean seemed the least I could do for a future husband who loved to sail.  Weaker hearts might have remained single.  As it [...]

More than 20 years ago, at the urging of my kids,  I rented a safe deposit box for safe keeping of some treasured items. I can’t remember what’s in the box, haven’t been there in 20 years, nor can I find the key.  The bank advised me that at my expense, they could break into [...]

What do former Vice President and Governor Nelson Rockefeller, opera singer Roberta Peters, and jazz musician Dennis Bell all have in common? Can’t think of anything? Well, I can. They’ve all won an Arts Award! This is ArtsWestchester’s annual award that recognizes a plethora of artistic talent, supportive patrons of the arts, and community do-gooders [...]

Years ago, when I was a kid, I received a gift of a handmade silk handkerchief case with my name hand stitched on it.  At the time, I was disappointed that it wasn’t something store bought. But, truth be told, I remember that gift more vividly than any other I ever received.  Funny the way [...]

Photographs store memories, and we can’t get enough of those. There’s something so sweet about pouring over family albums, rediscovering the past and sharing stories of “remember when?” That was my feeling wandering the current exhibition, Celebrities: We Remember Them Well, at ArtsWestchester. Seeing Lyndon Baines Johnson on horseback…he appears somewhat regal and audacious. This [...]