And That’s Just Three Places!

I had heard that Clinton, NY boasted many fun, quirky places to shop.  It is quite true.  Cheryl, Penny and I hit a few of them on our day of adventures last Saturday.

We started at Adirondack Cheese Store.  They had a lot more good things to eat than cheese — fancy mustards, chutney and all kinds of candy.  Additionally, they carry many fun, gifty items.  Penny was especially interested in the jigsaw puzzles, but she also pointed out a pot holder that read, “You are what you drink.”

“Just call me Char,” I said.

“You can call me Pinot,” she answered.

Cheryl said we could call her water (party pooper!).  I said we could make it H (you know, H2O?).

From the cheese store, we went to Dawn Marie’s Treasures, a boutiquey consignment store with all kinds of fun things.  As we walked by a row of neck ties near the entrance I regretted that Steven doesn’t have a job that requires he wear one.  I do so love a man in a tie.  We admired all kinds of jewelry and clothing, but I did not see anything I just had to have.

Our final stop in Clinton was Artisans’ Corner.  I was immediately taken by some bird houses with license plates for roofs on display outside.  I love art that recycles!  Inside there was art, clothing, jewelry and more.  We admired photography and paintings by several artists.  I was tempted by a display of hats.  Another section featured soup and bread mixes, some in distinctive containers.

We spent a long time wandering around Artisans’ Corner.  I picked up a lot of business cards, thinking I could highlight the individual artists.  I may do that in future posts.  Today I hope a brief overview will suffice.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that this was my first visit to Clinton.  It certainly will not be my last.  In fact, I have to wonder what took me so long.

 

I Shop Small

One of my favorite destinations in Little Falls, NY is the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts (MVCA).  I knew the Selective Eye, the MVCA gift shop, would be a good stop on my Shop Small Spree the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Side Note:  Shop Small Spree is my name for my day last Saturday.  I don’t know if the official name was Shop Small Saturday or Small Business Saturday or even Shop Local Saturday.  I suppose I would look these things up if I was a responsible journalist, but oh well, here we come to the ugly truth about me.

And I just remembered, I can’t write about this before Christmas!  What if I bought a present there for somebody who reads my blog? I’m not saying I did.  Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.  In fact, already I’ve said too much.

Nevertheless, I need a blog post today and I’ve already typed in this many words.  I can mention one thing we saw at MVCA.  We went into the gallery, where they were setting up their next exhibit, a Student Art Show,which is to open on Saturday, Dec. 5 and runs to Dec. 24.  The show was open to any students who had taken a class at MVCA in the past year.  Just imagine!  If I would have taken a class, I could have submitted a work!  Definitely something to think about for the future.

There will be an opening reception for the show Saturday, Dec. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m.  I have attended openings there before and enjoyed them.  I’ve talked to other art lovers, and sometimes the artist speaks about his or her work.  However, to really appreciate the works I prefer to go when the gallery is less crowded.   I hope to do that sometime before the 24th.  For another reason, I can shop some more at the Selective Eye.

While looking at MVCA’s Facebook page to confirm the dates of the exhibit, I noticed an event called “Bedazzled” will take place Saturday, Dec 19 from noon to 4 p.m.  It is a sale of gently used jewelry, purses, scarves and other items.  Sounds good to me!

Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts and the Selective Eye are located at 401 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY, phone number 315-823-0808.  For more information you can visit their website at www.mohawkvalleyarts.org.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

Further note:  I did just a little kind of, sort of research… OK, I typed stuff into the search bar in Facebook and learned that many communities held events Saturday with any number of titles utilizing some of all of the words Shop, Small, Local, Business, and Saturday.  Whatever you call it, it’s a good thing to do.  You can have a lot of fun, and you can buy some good stuff.

 

Saturday Adventures

I had an afternoon of Mohawk Valley adventures on Saturday with my sister Cheryl.

We drove to Little Falls for an an exhibit opening at Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts. I always feel artsy when I say I’m going to an exhibit opening.  We had parked at the Shops at 25 West, since we also intended to visit there and at the Little Falls Antique Center.

I’ll write more about the exhibit in a later post.  For now I’ll just say. these openings are very popular. At times the crowd made it difficult to really appreciate the art.  We enjoyed what we did see, then looked at The Selective Eye gift shop which Cheryl had not seen before. We spotted a couple of good Christmas presents, but I mustn’t say what in case… that person happens to read this post. I even saw a few things Steven might like to purchase for me.

I plan to return to MVCA when I can take my time and enjoy the exhibit. It’s all very well to feel artsy, but I also like to look at the art.

Next we walked across the street to Little Falls Antique Center at Stone Mill.  We spent some time browsing there at at The Shops at 25 West.  Cheryl was particularly interested in looking at old lanterns. We saw a few but not exactly what she had in mind. I took a particular interest in looking out the windows at the canal. A lot of the winders there have beautiful wide window sills.

“If I had windows like that in my house,” I said, “I”d put cushions on them and sit there with a book.” I suppose I’ll have to move into a converted factory if I want to implement that interior design inspiration.

I was also interested in some of the items available from the Alpaca place. Cheryl knows where they are located. Perhaps we can make a trip there one day soon, for future blogging purposes.

After we left Little Falls we were feeling peckish so we stopped at Crazy Otto’s Empire diner in Herkimer. Cheryl had never eaten there before, so I was happy to introduce her to one of Steven’s a my favorite spots. When she ordered her grilled cheese sandwich the waiter asked if she wanted fries.

“It comes with the best homemade chips,” I told her. She agreed they were good, and she nicely shared them with me. I had conservatively ordered an English muffin, in case my stomach was still bothering me (I know2, the chips were probably not the best thing on a bad stomach; let’s see YOU resist Crazy Otto’s homemade chips!).

We had a really fun afternoon.  It’s always fun to go adventuring with a sister.

 

A Quick Stop at the Art Gallery

I have been meaning for some time to make it to Cogar Gallery at Herkimer County Community College. They are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when the college is open. Therefore, the best thing for me to do is go straight there after work. So I did.

The exhibit I saw was an alumni show, McCann and Ingerick, Photographer and Painter. Debbie Ruane Sullivan Ingerick graduated in 1979, Carolynn McCann Dufft in 1981. I had meant to go to the opening reception on Oct. 4, but alas, did not make it. However, sometimes it is easier to appreciate the art when one walks around the gallery alone.

The show features a variety of works from realistic to more abstract. As I have said before, I don’t know from art styles and I’m nobody’s art critic. I just like to look at pictures. I spent a while walking around and looking at the pictures before I perused the list of works. Then I went back to look again at some of the works whose titles that caught my eye.

My favorite was “We Are The Light in the Storms of Life” by Ingerick. It showed a lighthouse on a hill surrounded by water. I also enjoyed a series of six photographs by McCann called “Bette’s Bench.”

I may go back and look at the exhibit again. It is on display through Nov. 4. And I’ll watch for future exhibits to go see. I wonder if the college offers a course on art appreciation, so I can write more impressively about these things. I’ll have to go to www.herkimer.edu and see.