My Road Trip, In Pictures

May 17, 2016: Today Al and I took a road trip. If you recall, a few blog posts back, I mentioned the presentation I did at Lesley College. My paintings have been there as part of the 3+Artists Show featuring myself (@Kimsmercurygirl), @VitoBonannoArt, and @autti34 (Stefanie Sacks). Today was the day I set the GPS for a return trip to pick up the paintings that didn’t sell.

Here is a picture from our arrival in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Excuse the blurriness of the photo. It was taken from the car window; while the car was moving slowly through traffic. Al says the wiper on my side is leaving dirty streaks on the windshield and will have to be replaced!

These two pictures were also taken from the car window-a random building. Next to it is a tree with little balls hanging from it. It must be very pretty at night because these balls are strung with lights, which you can’t see from the photo. 

When we arrived in the parking lot, I texted Elizabeth Stringer-Keefe (@ProfKeefe) to tell her we’d arrived. Then Al and I took the elevator upstairs and caught her (and some hugs from her) at her office. She had my unsold paintings on a cart and the paintings above are the ones that did not come home with me, because they sold! Except for the bottom one, the woman on the rock. That one I donated. Al and I remarked that we were going home with considerable less stock than we left for the show. Elizabeth invited me back for a very special presentation/book reading/art show next year. I signed some paintings, signed a copy of my book Under The Banana Moon for Elizabeth, and out we went out to the van. I had a present there for Elizabeth, some Morning Glories for her to plant in her yard. I hadn’t known they were her absolute favorite. I signed her book:

“A gift of Morning Glories seems terribly inadequate a gift, in relation to all you have done for me- Love, Kimberly Gerry-Tucker”

This is me and Elizabeth. I am on the left.

Al and I decided to eat at Harvard Pizza. Having lost so much weight, this was a splurge for me. The food was Greek style; very good.

How about this? Walking back to the car, I saw this cute store; titled after a Prince song? This random Elvis (Shelvis?) was spotted in the front window of a record shop. In addition to records they were selling this Elvis bust and also shelves. How random!

Stylized photos and slightly filtered… A contemplative Me at the Harvard Pizza Place, 

and Al and I back at the car. Why did I look so contemplative? I saw a variety of people walking by. I saw a man wearing black leather pants, with his face fully painted with makeup, and sporting a soft puff of purple shoulder length hair; (a “look” quite becoming)-he was riding a messenger bike. I watched a woman walk by; carrying a fairly large shiny brass elephant. I saw homeless people pushing carts; as usual in big cities- a sharp contrast between suited coiffed shiny people, and abject poverty.
More photos taken from the car as we left cambridge. A view of water. Random people walking… I was actually trying to get a picture of the water, but these fellows on bikes walked into the frame. He is looking at me as if to say “Why are you taking my picture?”

.As I took this photo, I said to Al, “That train is following us. It’s very close to your side of the road!”

Not five minutes later I saw this-on my side of the road:

Wow, somehow the train was now on my side of the road. when had it crossed? And it was very close indeed to the van.

As we pulled into New Haven, I couldn’t resist taking this picture:

 

A few hours later and we were pulling into the driveway. Home at last. The weather was beautiful. The day was pleasant overall. And what was that in my mailbox? It was a prose, poetry, art journal I’d forgotten I was a part of. My free contributor’s copy, along with a generous stipend had arrived. My painting “Lone Dervish” (which I think reproduced very nicely in the zine) appears on page 35 of ( #spiritzine ), SPIRIT, Issue 1.

Is anything really coincidental? Elizabeth suggested I leave a few paintings behind at Lesley College, because she feels they will sell. One of the ones I left behind today happens to be the above “Lone Dervish.” And so our day went full circle!

I am planning my next blog post around my colleague/peer/friend Carl Sutton. He has told me something about his Selective Mutism awareness movement which has moved me, disturbed me, and even had me shaking my head in disbelief. I hope you enjoyed my pictorial share. Be well!