Coney Island.

I got the chance to go to New York City for the first time the weekend before last. My friend, and co-worker, Katalina and I were attending the National Stationery Show. We packed the two days we had before and after the show with sight seeing, walking, good food, and reference shopping. The first thing we decided to do after we checked into the hotel was to hop on the Metro and head on down to Coney Island. Best decision we made all weekend. I can't get over how magical that place is. I was so inspired by the colors and signage I couldn't stop taking pictures. 

Poppies.

I'm overdue in posting something about the trip I took to New York City last weekend but I haven't particularly felt like sitting down and sorting through the pictures. 

We spent a good portion of Saturday destroying the concrete walkway leading up to our front door, planting a birch tree, and starting to disassemble the existing "flower beds" in the front of our house that have been growing weeds for months. And then yesterday we couldn't get our garage door open so any yard work we had planned for the rest of the long weekend came to a screeching halt. 

Oh well. 

So here's 1/10 of our new landscaping so far. A small pot of poppies. Hopefully to be planted in the ground before too long. 

Howard Finster.

It's been a while.

A couple of weekends ago I saw an exhibit of Reverend Howard Finster's folk art/visionary art at the Akron Art Museum. 

Finster was a self-taught artist who believed that he had heard a message from God telling him to create sacred art that would spread the gospel. He set a goal of 5,000 paintings, but when he died he had created over 46,000. He knew that every piece he was sending out into the world was telling someone about God. 

I feel like I have a lot of things to say about the way his work affected me, but I'm not really sure how to put it into words. In fact I've re-written this post multiple times. In short, it left me evaluating the focus I have on my creative process and my faith. It was much needed.

Vacation: Part Three.

On the third day we had a good portion of the day to spend in Cozumel. If I could do it over again I would have better prepared us for the amount of time we spent there. A guidebook would have been helpful. We were dissuaded from the excursion that we had originally planned on taking after we found out that half the time was spent traveling to the mainland. As it played out, we spent our time in Cozumel walking around, seeking out air conditioning, shopping, and eating. Not a bad time at all, but I feel like we missed out on a lot.

One of the first things we noticed about Cozumel was the number of Volkswagens that were there. We took a taxi into town and Andrew asked our driver about it. "They're cheap, easy to fix, and it's easy to find parts for them." 

The color in Cozumel was like heaven to me. I couldn't get enough of the super saturated buildings and goods. There were so many unexpected combinations of color and pattern. One of my favorite moments from the whole day was this welcome mat in the entrance to a church. 

It was hot. Definitely not breezy like it had been in Key West and on the boat. Luckily I had packed a water bottle and we rested in the shade for a while. 

I left Cozumel inspired, stomach full of delicious food, completely exhausted,  and my love of old beetles rekindled tenfold. I snapped this picture of the sun setting from our cabin window that night before we went to indulge in a little dessert in the dining room. Three words: molten chocolate cake. 

We spent the following day traveling at sea and returned to the port of Miami the next morning. It's nice to be back in Cleveland now, although I miss the warm weather. I'm feeling motivated to get back to work on the house. I have a lot of ideas for new drawings. I know that my wanderlust has only been temporarily quenched. Much of the drive home was spent thinking about where we might go on our next adventure.

Vacation: Part Two.

When we woke on the first morning of the cruise we were in port at Key West. I wasn't expecting to enjoy Key West as much as I did. In my mind it was just sort of a "spring break" party area where everyone wanders from bar to bar drinking. Instead I was happy to find that it was a gorgeous city full of history, amazing plant life, vibrant colors, and chickens. 

We decided to head out on foot to the southernmost point in the continental U.S.A. and do some sight seeing along the way. We saw some shipwreck treasure, the Audubon House, a kapok tree, and Ernest Hemingway's home (from outside the gate). I snapped a lot of pictures. 

I bought a few pieces of artwork from this man on the sidewalk outside of Hemingway's house. He had some fantastic images, but the one on the left is my favorite. It looks like a bearded cat man. 

After reaching the southernmost point we pulled out an iPhone to determine if it actually was the absolute southernmost point in the continental U.S.A. It didn't seem to be. 

Our last stop before getting on the boat was the Kino factory which was tucked in this little area off of the main road. I bought a pair of fantastic sandals that I unfortunately can't wear now that we're back in the cooler Cleveland weather. 

I would have loved to spend more time in Key West. It seems like the ideal place to take your time and travel around on a bicycle to see the sights. Maybe grab a slice of key lime pie. Or two. Unfortunately we only had a few hours before we had to get back on the ship and make our way to Cozumel. 

More pictures on my Flickr page: here.