You Never Know What You'll Find at the Library

Created by Malcolm Cochran

It's been quite a while since I've been in the Cleveland Public library downtown and was really surprised to see this big bronze piggy bank.  I had to take a picture.  Then googled it to see why they had it.  Here is what I found:

Big Pig Bank, 1997 Bronze, electric clock 36" x 73" x 34" Malcolm Cochran created a bronze piggy bank located at the Cleveland Public Library, Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium. Originally, the piggy bank was placed in a window facing the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Cochran stated "he was inspired by the piggy bank as a symbol of fiscal responsibility."

Oscar the Grouch

 I also checked out the puppet exhibit that is there.  It was very impressive with all sorts of puppets and marionettes from Punch & Judy to really tall ones and from other countries.  They even Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street in the trash can talking to people.  That was really funny! 

There was also a video running on puppetry techniques and a puppet theater set up with hand puppets available for people to play with.  When I was there during my lunch hour, I enjoyed watching a father and daughter having some fun putting on a little puppet show.  One guy actually sat down on the benches in front to watch them and two security guards were entertained by them as well. 

Libraries are a great place to go and they are free!  When was the last time you visited a library.  We usually go once a week.

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Art by Amber Kempthorn & Dana Oldfather -- Guess the Prices!

The paintings below are displayed in the lobby at Key Tower.  Some I like, some I don't, but they are all out of my price range.  I thought we could play a little game called guess the price! 

The first four are combinations of different processes done by Amber Kempthorn. 

#1 "Cuyahoga":  I kind of like this one.  I especially like the little lightening bugs.  My photo really does not do it justice.

#1--Cuyahoga (spray paint, pastel, charcoal & college, 44x30")

#2  "Lost, I Said":  I kind of like this one because of all the different things in it, especially the beaver and cat on the rocker!  I really don't get the pile up of cars though. 

#2--Lost, I Said (acrylic, charcoal, gouache & graphite on paper, 30x22")

#3 "Close to the Edge":  I like the butterflies in this one, but don't get why the scissors are at the bottom or why there seem to be two moons.  I like the colors in this though.

#3--Close to the Edge (acrylic, gouache, ink on paper 28 1/4x22")

#4 "Our Reach":  I don't get what they are reaching for in this, do you?  Anyone care to explain what this is to me?

#4--Our Reach (pastel, charcoal, gouache, collage, forgot to write the size of this one, but was about same as #1)

Do you have your price guesses in mind?  I'll give you little hint--they are all over $2,000!

Prices:  1--$3500; 2--$2600; 3--$2600; 4--$2900

Now for round 2:  The four paintings below were done by Dana Oldfather.  According to the artist's statement, these mirror a rushing world distorted by apprehension.  These paintings attest to inherent emotional conflict of parenting young children, and the fragility of comfort and happiness in America.

I certainly wouldn't buy any of these for even $5.00!  I think anyone could make any of these or similar to them very easily.  I just don't understand this type of art at all and really am surprised anyone would spend thousands of dollars for any of these.  What do you think of these?
 

#5-- Pinch Me (oil, acrylics on panel, 24x24")

#6--Clearing Primrose (oil, acrylic, ink, spray paint on linen, 48x60")

#7--Breaking Through (oil, ink, spray paint on linen, 30x30")

#8--Budding (oil, ink, spray paint on linen, 30x30")

In round two, one of these is priced at $7,000!  Can you guess which one?

The prices for Round 2 are:  5--$2400; 6--$7000; 7--$2500; 8--$2500

Paintings by these artists are displayed in the Bon Foey Gallery at 1710 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio.  You can also visit their website at www.bonfoey.com 

Although these paintings are way out of my budget I do enjoy looking at different artwork.  I hope you enjoyed this post and would love to hear if you guessed any of the prices correctly or which paintings you prefer or do not care for in the comments.

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9 Friday Fragments ( Art, food, TV, hockey, prayer)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Art

Yes, the public does get to go inside the reading nest!

Remember last Friday I posted this funny looking thing that I saw in the library garden and wondered what it was? Daisy was closest--it's a reading nest! A few days later, I saw there was a sign about it.

All In The Family

Actress Jean Stapleton, three time Emmy award winner for her role as wife of Archie Bunker in the TV show, "All In The Family" died last Friday of natural causes at the age of 90! I remember our whole family enjoyed watching this show together which provided us with lots of laughter. Source: L.A. Times The show ran from 1971 to April, 1979--you can actually view entire episodes on YouTube! Here is the link to the theme song.

One Tough Guy

Hoping They Win Again!

During the hockey playoffs this week, Gregory Campbell, a player on the Bruins was hit so hard by the puck that it broke his leg, but he stayed on the ice for 50 seconds to help keep the Penguins from scoring! The Bruins won the game in double overtime. The guy actually skated off with a broken leg! We wish him a speedy recovery!

National Doughnut Day

In honor of this being National Doughnut Day, Giant Eagle has a good deal on them today--I think it was $3.99 per dozen while supply lasts.

Raisins

My hubby thought raisins were a healthy snack until he saw how much sugar is in a 1/4 cup serving: 29 grams! I learned raisins were high in sugar when I had a personal trainer at Fitworks and wrote down everything I ate.

New Food

Ever heard of dim sum? I didn't until I read about it over at The Kuantan blog.

New Cereal

My husband discovered two new cereals this week that he likes: Bare Naked-chocolate delight and True Love-carrot cake, yum yum!

Grumpy Cat

Thanks to YouTube and all her fans, Grumpy Cat has a movie deal! This cat always looks grumpy, even though she is actually sweet and playful. I discovered this big news when playing "Free Kibble" this morning.

Answered Prayer

Yesterday God answered my prayer to provide me lunch in an unusual way! Will share details in my Sunday Sharing post this week. (I had my yogurt, nuts, pudding and sardines but forgot my bread!)

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8 Things We Learned in Week 5 of 2011 (charity, soccer, art, Wordpress, books)

Comments

We received a total of 281 comments on our three blogs in January! That was way more than I expected but will stay true to my word and donate $281 to The Last Hope Cat Kingdom. Our charity for February is The National Children's Cancer Society but are revising the amount to 50 cents per comment.

Soccer

I found out soccer is harder than I thought when I spent 15 minutes to learn a few basics at our Childrens Workers Breakfast at church. This video shows me demonstrating how to pass in soccer with the assistance of my cats--enjoy!

Personal News Network (PNN)

Somehow, the owners of PNN found a way to keep it going after all. It's mostly a community for women to discuss topics. It's very easy to use and does have a nice way of featuring new posts. You may want to take a look into it at www.pnn.com.

Pet Portraits

Connie Bowen paints custom pet portraits. I discovered her website this week through in interview at The Conscious Cat. I think this would be SO much fun!

Sad News and Good News

The sad news is that I just learned this week that Sheri, one of my friends, has breast cancer (stage 2) that has spread to her lymph nodes. She will have chemo for four months, then surgery and then radiation. I was very sad to hear about this but trust God will bring her through it. I was so fortunate that I didn't need chemo and really had no pain. You are in my prayers--it's a long journey but doable. Hang in there!

The good news is that the groundhog did not see his shadow yesterday so we should have an early spring--hurray!

From Blogger to Wordpress

I am not planning to switch, but thought others may be interested to know that there is a way to switch from Blogger to Wordpress Without Losing Valuable SEO and Links outlined at Tentblogger. Who knows, maybe some day I will want to do this.

Book Giveaways

Today at Freekibble they are giving away 3 signed copies of Garth Stein's best-selling fiction book, The Art Of Racing In The Rain about a dog, Enzo, and his owner, a race car driver. Both Gerard and I read this one and liked it very much!

If you would like to get a free copy of "My Funny Dad, Harry" (the book I wrote), stop by at Red Pine Mountain and leave a comment on my guest post to enter her Feb. 5 giveaway!

 

Breaking Night

I never heard this term before I read Breaking Night: A Memoir Of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey From Homeless To Harvard by Liz Murray. It means staying up all night. I also learned that the safest place for a homeless person to sleep is on a top landing in a stairwell if they don't have friends they can stay with. This is an amazing true story that I just read. I saw the movie years ago. Click on the link to see our reviews of it.

Find more Friday Fragments.

What Is This?

It's nice to have a garden in the midst of all the tall office buildings in downtown Cleveland. I really enjoy going to the library garden on my lunch hour and reading. I love the peacefulness there, the comfortable chairs, the trees that provide just enough shade and the gurgling water. Sometimes I even doze off and get a short cat nap in.

On break one day when I walked over to the garden I saw people painting five oblong pyramids that had shingles on two sides and wood on the other. What puzzles me is why these roof shaped things were put in there. There are five of them spread around the garden, each a different color. At first I thought they were going to be storage areas for something but there are no doors. I suppose people could sit on top of them, but they do not look comfortable to sit on.

I see no purpose for these so I assume it is meant to be art. Personally, I prefer the open space. To me, these look out of place and give the garden a cluttered appearance.

What do you think of modern art? Do you think these look good in the garden? Am I missing something here?

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