Gloucester There’s always something new to discover From FOB Meg Lee

Meg writes-

Hi Joey,
Shame on me for not posting on my visit last month. Hopefully my visit this past weekend will make up for it.

I think my husband is becoming a fan of Rocky Neck and Main Street. We came back to the hood on Sunday.

We stopped by Khan Studio/GMG Gallery to see EJ, as she is doing a mat size reduction for a Wendy Demuth print my husband purchased last month. By the way, guest artist Deb Schradieck’s work is incredible. As EJ and I were chatting, my husband Paul and son Freddo went next door to Wendy’s gallery. There they met and chatted with Charlie Carroll and enjoyed looking at his work. We visited the Aquatro Gallery where we met Gigi Mederos and saw some of her amazing work – hand painted silk scarves and beautiful abstract paintings. We had a nice chat with Gigi and I want to thank her for reminding me about the Artists Way. She encouraged me to read it again and to take it seriously this time!

I don’t know why I never noticed before, but some stained glass pieces in another gallery caught my eye and I had to go in. I was turned on the Fantasia Glass Art studio and the amazing work of Susie Byrd. I mentioned Joey C and the GMG blog and she said she was in some past postings. Now I remember – there were some posts a few years ago about Susie. I’m a big fan of dichroic glass and it’s not the type of art that’s frequently seen around. Susie’s stained glass work is also pretty impressive. I’m happy to have a new pair of Susie’s earrings in my jewelry collection.

On the way back to the parking lot, we stopped at the Imagine Gallery as we always like to do, and Freddo purchased a scarf from Thailand. I think he wears it well.

Paul stopped in his tracks when we were walking by the Rocky Neck artist in residence studio – something caught his eye in the window. We walked over and though the gallery was not officially opened, artist in residence Lisa Rosenstein greeted us and invited us in. We had a really nice chat with Lisa. She is so passionate about her work and we got to see some very unique pieces.

On to Main Street…
We enjoyed lunch at Supreme Roast Beef and afterward walked up Main Street on a mission to Mystery Train Records. Of course we window browsed all the way down, and when we got to Bodin Historic Photo the cod tee-shirts caught my eye. We went in and met Fred Bodin for the first time. Nice to finally meet you Fred! I always enjoy your intriguing "back in time" posts to the GMG blog. I was happy to add to my wardrobe a new "In Cod We Trust" tee-shirt.

Mystery Train Records is always a fun place to visit. We are steadily adding to our CD collection. Where can you find an eclectic collection such as this at one store? You can’t, unless you go on Amazon.com and maybe you’ll find it there. It’s more fun combing thru the CDs at Mystery Train and challenging your eye sight. It’s like going on a treasure hunt.

Our last stop was Elizabeth Gauthier’s studio – the window display was quite an eye catcher so curiosity had us check it out. Elizabeth’s paintings are very classic, but her tee-shirts are amazing. I imagine these will be popular sellers, and the really cool thing is that each one is totally unique because they are all hand painted and not reproduced. Support the Arts! were her words to us as we walked out the door.
We always do.

Best,
Meg Lee

Out My Work Window Series- FOB Meg Lee’s Marine Industrial Park in South Boston

Send in your out your work window pic and description and we will post it here!

FOB Meg Lee writes-

Hi Joey,

It never occurred to me to share what’s outside my window at work. I’ve been working at a company for about 2.5 years now that is situated in Marine Industrial Park in South Boston. The building I’m in was the so-called Army Base back in the day. I’m fortunate enough to have a "window seat." My desk is right next to a window that I peer out of often. Though my view is not of the Cape Ann scenery I so love, it’s not too bad. My direct view is Black Falcon Terminal, now considered officially Massport Terminal. I see cruise ships pull in every week during the cruise season. I see small lobster boats departing from the small fishing pier on the other side of the terminal and returning with their catch. There’s been a lull in the activity there, as I believe the fishing season ended temporarily at the end of December. Looking southeast about a mile away is Castle Island. Further out on the horizon you can see Spectacle and Thompson Islands. Did I mention the killer sunrises? I’m an early bird; I get in between 5 and 5:30a.m. so depending on what time of the year it is I’ll be viewing the moon and stars.

Yesterday afternoon, a small navy ship pulled in to the terminal. It’s right in my direct view, literally a stone’s throw away from my window. It’s called Desron 2, and you can see a pic and find out more about it here:

http://www.cds2.navy.mil/

This morning when I got into work and came over to my desk, it was of course still completely dark out. However, I was surprised and delighted to see a string of green lights from bow to stern on the ship. Maybe the sailors are getting ready to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day?

Oh – by the way – I guess I should also share what’s currently in the drydock terminal on the other side of the building, on Drydock Ave. It’s a navy hospital ship, called the Comfort. It pulled in about 2 weeks ago. It must be here for maintenance.

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/usnscomfort/Pages/default.aspx

Best regards,

Meg Lee

G-town Journal, Colombus Day Weekend From FOB Meg Lee

Hi Joey,

Had a fabulous weekend in G-town. Here’s my log:

Sat. 10/8/11

Picked up my bf Lorene at 6:30am and headed up to G-town for some fishing. My homegirl caught the fishing bug this summer, and she’d asked me last week if I’d be interested in going. I had only gone fishing one other time in my life and that was over 20 years ago, so I was up for it. We arrived at the Yankee Fleet behind LAT 43 around 7:15am, got our tickets and boarded the Yankee Freedom for a half day of fishing. There were about 2 dozen going out. The weather was stellar and we were pretty anxious to catch some fish. At our first spot someone caught the first fish within minutes – a dogfish. My friend disappointingly assured me that we would not catch any fish in that spot. We moved to another spot, and same thing. At the third spot, I was like, who let the dogs out? I thought of the movie The Perfect Storm and Billy Tyne saying "I always find the fish!" So each time we moved to a new spot I kept saying "tell us where the fish are Billy Tyne!" I caught a dog at the 4th spot. At the fifth spot, I waited, ans sure enough someone caught another dog. I didn’t bother dropping my line after that. On the way back to shore I told my friend I was a little disappointed but it was a great boat ride and a beautiful day out in the harbor. Captain Tom apologized to us for the unproductive run. I guess it’s just one of those things. Back in St. Peter Square parking lot I shouted out, "Does anybody want a bag of ice?" I told my friend we should go back to the store, return our ice and get our money back. We both laughed. I had previously told my friend about the GMG blog and told her if she was up for it after fishing we should go to Capt Joe and Sons so she could meet Joey C and get a bumper sticker.

So, we put our empty coolers in the back of the car and trekked on over to 95 East Main St. Great to see and chat with you again Joey, and thanks for the new bumper sticker. We drove down to Rocky Neck, as Lorene had never been there before. I took her down to the Khan Studio/GMG Gallery to meet E.J. We had a nice visit and Lorene scored one of EJ’s prints of a lighthouse scene. We went back to the Rocky Neck parking lot, had a tail gate snack and hung out for a while. My friend really liked it there. We called it a day and headed back to Everettaround 3:30pm.

Sun. 10/9/11

The kids and I headed out around 10:30am for a trek to G-town to take in the Cape Ann Artisans Tour. I knew we wouldn’t be able to make all the stops, including stopping at the Arts and Craft festival in Annisquam that E.J. had recommended. Marty Morgan’s place was hopping with visitors, and we briefly chatted with Marty’s colleague who was busy at the potter’s wheel. Next on to Judy Wright’s studio. My personal opinion is that Judy has the most killer spot of the tour. My daughter Melee commented that it’s like being on the edge of the world. Gorgeous. We walked up and found Judy sitting outside with her colleague Jan Weinshanker of Apple Bay Designs. We all went into the studio and as usual Judy had some outstanding mosaic work, as well as some new paintings, jewelry and pastel work. I love Judy’s pastel paintings. She uses a very unusual technique of layering colors that produces a fabulous end result. Nice seeing you again Judy, and meeting you Jan. On to Marge Rack’s place, where we were delighted to see that Marge had her seven year old grand daughter Sophie in tow. Marge had some 3d wire abstract designs that were very detailed, and some walnut ink prints that were quite nice. Nice to see you again Marge, and meeting and chatting with Sophie. Let us know how that kiln project for your colleague unfolds. It would be great to attend that event. From there we headed back downtown to Beth Williams studio, and I did pass on your hello to her, Joey. She was delighted to receive the message. Beth does amazing things with glass. I love it that her jewelry is so outside of the mainstream. Plus, everywhere you turn in her studio there are bursts of color everywhere – she has it laid out so that you’re constantly wowed by the different pieces on display. Nice seeing you again Beth and thanks for chatting with us. No time to lose so we were off to Rocky Neck to visit the Khan Studio/GMG Gallery. I wanted to purchase a Finest Kind Calendar before the gallery closed down for the season. Melee was able to purchase 2 of E.J.’s prints, a floral and a silhouette of a rafter in Jamaica. Until next year, E.J., and hope you have a productive, creative winter in Annisquam. We stopped at Gallery 5 per E.J.’s recommendation, and met Jeff Cluett for the second time. We first met Jeff at Sidewalk Days in August, and we were happy to see him displaying his work on Madfish Wharf. Jeff does something really cool – his business cards are hand made, so that every one is unique. Novel idea Jeff! While Melee and I had been chatting with E.J., Freddo snuck out and went into Diana’s Gallery and came back to us and reported that a lady in one of the galleries was from Everett. So, at his suggestion we went in and met Diana Pasquariello. Small world for sure. Our families never knew each other but we had a common bond of being from one of those small close knit communities from back in the day, the city of Everett. Diana had some amazing watercolor pieces in her gallery; she does fabulous work. Nice meeting someone from back in the hood, Diana! It was 3:30pm and I wanted to get to Bart Stuyf’s before the tour ended, so I didn’t think we’d have time to stop at the Imagine Gallery. Making haste back up Rocky Neck Ave., we saw Brenda sitting outside having a late lunch. We decided to make a quick stop, as she was having a blow out end of the season sale. Melee got a bracelet so it was worth the stop. Plus, it’s always nice to connect with good vibes Brenda. We headed back to the parking lot and back down East Main St. to Stacey Blvd. and 127 into Magnolia. Bart Stuyf is also in a great secluded location with killer harbor views. Bart is one of our favorites on the tour, and we have a kindred connection with his wife Amy and daughters Sarah and Kate. Bart has done some amazing new work. He had some pieces with sea horses swimming in the sea grass – copper sea horses and brass sea grass. Visually stimulating and very relaxing to look at at the same time. He was actively constructing an octopus during our visit. Keep up the great work Bart. We love your creations and are very fond of your family!

Back onto 127 south headed for home.

Thus ends another adventure in G-town. See you next time.

FOB, Meg Lee

Meg Lee Has Some Nice Things To Say After A Visit To G-Town

Well, the month of July escaped me so I was long overdue for a visit. I decided that not only was I going to make it up to the Gloucester Sidewalk Days, but I was going to take a vacation day from work to do it. My kids, Melee and Freddo made the trek up with me.
The excitement always hits me when I make that turn onto Stacey Blvd. It’s always like seeing it for the first time. What a view – the flags flapping along the boulevard, the Fisherman’s Wives memorial, the Man at the Wheel and the gorgeous view of the harbor.The weather was perfect for that casual stroll up and down Main Street, visiting all the booths and chatting with the merchants. We stepped into Dogtown Bookstore, at Freddo’s request, since he enjoyed it last time we visited. We made a stop in Mystery Train Records, at Melee’s request, which was a first time visit for all of us. I expressed that we could literally spend hours there – what a time machine that place is! At one booth that supported our troops, I was happy to score an official Red Shirt Fridays teeshirt. I have personally been wearing a red shirt every Friday since 2006. I was thrilled to actually be able to purchase an "official" red shirt, which I will now wear proudly every Friday until our troops return home. Further up Main St., Melee scored a colorful abstract print from a booth manned by two young men selling their art to fund their college tuition.
A G-town visit is never complete unless you swing by Rocky Neck. I wanted Melee to visit the GMG/Kahn Studio Gallery, to take in some fantastic art and photography, and to meet kindred spirit E.J. Lefavour. We  had a great visit and wonderful chat with E.J. We were also given a special treat by E.J.. She showed us two paintings of hers and recited the poems that told the story of each painting. It was an honor to receive such personal attention from her. Before leaving I was happy to score a Caroline Stella print – a photo of the iconic face of Man at the Wheel. Great to see you again, E.J., and hope to be back for a visit before summer ends.
As always, time flies when you’re having fun, and I’m always a little bit sad when we turn onto 128 South.
Until next time, G-town…..

Meg Lee

P.S. to the blog or “Part 2” of Meg Lee Pimps G-Town

Read Part I Here

Hi Joey,

My co-worker from China, Amphy, sent me the photo we took at Man at the Wheel. Though she didn’t have the GMG sticker to represent, I can vouch that she did indeed come to visit from China, based on the post from November, "Margaret Lee Representing! from Shenzhen, Guangdong, China." I’ve attached our co-workers group photo, and Amphy Chen is second from right.

So, you’ve got "there and back again" a full 360 degrees from 2 co-workers — or would it be 720 degrees??

China Folk Up In The Hizzy!-

Amphy_Gloucester

Satcon_China-visit11-2010