i ♥ ny

On Wednesday, I leave New York City, my home of almost seventeen years. It's still difficult to believe, even a day away. When I moved here for school in 1995, I swore I would never live anywhere else. As amazing as New York is, and is it ever amazing, it can take its toll. Over the past few years I've found myself yearning for a quieter and simpler life. The craziest part of this scenario is not my move, it’s that I don’t yet know where I’m moving to. I’ll be staying with family and friends for the next month or two while I search for a new place to call home.

This week as I marked my last visit to the market, and my last walk through Central Park (to leave my apple), I shed quite a few tears as I thought about what I’ll miss most. Here are a few big ones...

* The subway & subway musicians – most especially guitarist Desmond Ivey who plays Columbus Circle Uptown 1 platform quite a bit. He makes me cry every time I hear him.

* Salaam Café on 13^th Street. Coziest and most welcoming little tucked away place with my favorite dolmades & vegetable ouzi.

* Walking through Washington Square Park in the evening - esp in the rain or snow.

* Friday meditation with Raven.

* Metropolitan Opera House – regardless of whether I’m inside or outside.

* The endless and inspiring energy.

* Knowing that whenever my heart desires, I can hop on the train or walk across town and be standing in front of some of the greatest works of art in the world.

* Sunday Greenflea at 77th & Columbus. Vintage city treasures and the best pickles and jalapeno stuffed olives.

* Lastly and mostly, I’ll miss the people. Friends - new and old, teachers, acquaintances, fellow yogis, the receptionists at my gym, fruit sellers on my corner… I could write this list forever. Despite our reputation, New Yorkers are pretty awesome. My sister and niece top that list and leaving them will be the hardest of all.

Every once in a while I have a flash of panic and think that I’m making a terrible mistake and then my intuition seeps in, I see the life I want ahead of me, and that life is somewhere else. So, I’m following my intuition and trusting in myself. On to the next chapter. Thank you so much, New York! I really do love you.

life, real and imagined

Figures and Construction with Blue Border c. 1941 : Bill Traylor

Man with a Plow c.1939-42: Bill Traylor

I visited the American Folk Art Museum today for the first time. They’re celebrating their 50^th year and a new location. It’s a beautiful little museum, only three galleries, on Columbus Ave & 66^th St in Manhattan. Seems a fitting size to intimately view the deeply personal art displayed. The museum honors artists who were and are creating outside of the traditional art school or accepted mainstream art world. The current exhibit is Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. 

My favorite works were by Bill Traylor. He was born into slavery in 1852 and spent most of his life on a plantation in Benton, Alabama, where he remained even after emancipation. At the age of eighty-four he moved to Montgomery and started creating drawings with found materials. In the course of three years he produced almost 1,500 works reflecting his life experiences.