Tag Archives: Philadelphia

A New Collaboration Begins!

In my last episode of The Enchant Me Podcast (which has on a bit of a hiatus), I told the story of attending my friend, T. Reilly’s, book signing. Now, he’s become a collaborator on a new, yet-to-be-named podcast.

After realizing how similar not only our love for books, music, and film were – really creativity of all kinds – we also realized that our days of growing up during the 80s and 90s were also similar. Growing up in the South Jersey area, spending time in similar areas like Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore, and discovering a curiosity for independent artists were also throughlines for both of us.

Now, we’ve decided to explore those creative beginnings in a new podcast. While we are still in the beginning phases of development – we still don’t have a name! – we’ve decided to share one episode while we work on recording others and getting our act together to get it published and out into the podcast world.

In Episode 1, we explore a fabled and storied place. A place you could spend hours and get lost in its racks and aisles. A place that sadly, no longer exists. Have you made your guess? If you’ve guessed the video store, you’ve guessed correctly.

You can listen here below or you can check it out on his site.

Ep. 105: Open House

Revisiting the past can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Reminiscing about the good old days is something we all do, but what if your “good old days” weren’t so good? Are our memories an accurate representation of what really happened, or do they, over time, become the stories that we’ve told ourselves so many times that they’ve become our reality.

That’s the answer I was after when I decided to attend a realtor Open House at the house where I spent my teen years. Decades later, I categorize that time as the most challenging time of my life, so why would I want to go back? What would I find? What could I possibly find that could be considered inspiring?

As it turns out, maybe our memories are a bit faulty.

Stories, the ones we tell each other and the ones we tell ourselves are powerful. Can they be reshaped with a little distance and a little wisdom? Take a listen below to find out.

Open House Collage

Luckily, somewhere between 13 and 16, I must have started to turn it around.

Learn more about Steven Pressfield here.

View the Zillow Listing here. (I can’t guarantee how long this link will stay active).

A transcript of the episode can be found here.

Ep. 102: Going Slow at The Barnes Foundation

One of the unexpected benefits of this little adventure into podcasting has been happening since I have started chronicling my artist dates. Being a bit of a planner, it’s been interesting to see how many cool things there are to do in just a couple of hours and that was definitely the case with this episode.

I’m no stranger to Philadelphia’s The Barnes Foundation, but I was a stranger to Slow Art Day, which as it turns out, is a real thing. It seems we now have a “day” for everything: National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27), National Postage Stamp Day (July 1), even the appropriately-time National Doorbell Day (October 31).

But Slow Art Day was new to me. According to the Slow Art Day website, their mission is simple: to help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art. The rules are also simple: sing up at a local museum or gallery, attend and look at four pieces of art slowly, discuss your experience with the host.

Turns out, going slow has some real advantages, when looking at art, and when doing other things too. The Barnes Foundation has a wonderful collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist artworks. A trick to making the most of its many rooms and numerous sights to see: go slow…

From the top left to right, the four works viewed during International Slow Art Day: Edouard Manet’s Laundry, Jules Pascin’s Cuban Hospitality, Henri Rousseau’s Scouts Attacked by a Tiger and Henri Matisse’s Dishes and Melon.  Details of each of the four paintings, and a portrait of Dr. Albert C. Barnes by Giorgio de Chirico. All paintings are oil on canvas.

Read the ARTnews article about the beginning of International Slow Art Day.

A transcript of Episode 102: Going Slow at The Barnes Foundation can be downloaded here.