Play Pretend

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, February 25 is Open Studios at the Creative Alliance & the Opening of our 1st Resident Group Show entitled "Subterfuge"

2012-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

The Creative Alliance is located right off the southeast corner of Pattrson Park:

3134 Eastern Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21224

Be sure to stop by my studio (#6) for some of my new work and champagne!

"Personal Space": Alessandra's Solo Exhibition at Interlochen Center for the Arts

2011-12-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011 - FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2012

Have a look around the gallery using Interlochen's Live WebCam:

http://www.interlochen.org/visual-arts-gallery-webcam

THANK YOU MINDY FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN!

THE BELOVED TRUCK THAT TRANSPORTED MY ART & I

FROM BALTIMORE TO MICHIGAN:

"EXPOSED" Review & Images of "Personal Space, Experiment #1"

2011-07-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

"EXPOSED" was reviewed by the delightful Doreen Bolger:

http://charmcitycurrent.com/bolger/2011/07/22/exposed/

And here are some images of my newest performance, entitled "Personal Space, Experiment #1", that took place at the opening:

AND HERE'S SOME VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPmgXy4DdIM&feature=player_embedded

"EXPOSED" JULY 14-30, 2011 at THE CREATIVE ALLIANCE in BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

2011-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Come see my new work entitled "Personal Space, Experiment #1" being performed ONLY AT THE OPENING this Saturday July 16 from 6-8pm in the upstairs gallery at The Creative Alliance!!!

The Patterson Residency at The Creative Alliance!!!

2011-06-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to have been selected as one of eight artists-in-residence at The Patterson Residency at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore Maryland! I've already picked up my keys, signed the lease, built a new floor in the loft, (with lots of help from Don Antonio & Dylan Koehler), and have begun moving in.

Please stay tuned for an invitation to my upcoming Rollerskating Housewarming Party!!!

Here are some pre-new-floor photos:

MICA'S sending me to China!

2011-02-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

I leave Sunday, March 6th for a two-week international recruitment trip to China! I'll attend IDP College Fairs in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. And there is a side-trip scheduled to see the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. There will be a huge celebration and possibly a tea ceremony upon my return on March 22nd.

Profesora Alessandra Torres

2010-08-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been invited to teach not 1, not 2, but 3!!! courses at the Maryland Institute College of Art this coming Fall 2010. They include an Intro to Sculpture Course and two sections of Junior Seminar.

The Prague Summer Theatre Program

2010-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

June 13 – July 4, 2010

Last summer I was accepted into The Prague Summer Theater School, a three-week theater program, directed by Alexander Komlosi, and hosted by DAMU and AMU in Prague, Czech Republic. I participated in both sections of the program: Enlivening the Performer and Presenting Performance. Each section was composed of three courses:

Enlivening the Performer : (Inter)acting with the Inner Partner (Instructors: Ivan Vyskocil, Alexander Komlosi and Howard Lotker), Contact Improvisation (Instructor: Monika Rebcova), and Non-Verbal Performance (Instructor: Nina Hlava).

Presenting Perfomance: Puppet and Object Theater (taught by Marek Becka), Solo Authorial Presentations (Instructor: Alexander Komlosi) Outside the Box (Instructor: Howard Lotker)

I chose to participate in the Prague Summer Theater School because of the performative nature of my artwork, and because I am in the process of creating a large-scale theatrical production that would weave my jointed figures, sculptures, installations, and performances into a larger story - one that I envision taking place on a stage. I had been craving the opportunity to further experiment with movement, storytelling, object manipulation, and audience participation and The Prague Summer Theatre School presented the perfect opportunity for me to enter into the world of puppetry and theatre, continue to develop my production, and make connections with others in the field. All in the birthplace of Puppetry and Stop Motion Animation!

The PSTS exceeded all of my expectations. I was one of only about 13 amazing students from all over the world, and we are all still close friends! I loved all of the instructors, each gave us their all. They shared a wealth of knowledge, gave us full access to the facilities and made us all feel very comfortable. I really feel it was essential to take both sections of the program, as putting together an original production requires an understanding of all of these areas.

We studied the body compositionally in space; movement of body in space; how to convey meaning/feelings/emotions with the body & movement; how to build a story and engage the audience; and how to Interact with our Inner Partner. (A class that turned out to be one of the hardest, most fun and possibly my favorite)

When I was not in class, I spent lots of time drinking champagne & cappuccinos, and eating chocolate cake at Café Louvre and pastries at Jan Paukert bakery. And I went to lots of shows! My favorite was “Yesterday” by Jasmin Vardimon Company at the Karlin Theater (across the street from my apartment) as part of “Tanec Praha 2010.” I also really enjoyed performances at The Ponec Theater by Dora Hostova, Tore; Company Decalage, Appel; Jarek Cemerek, Void Amongst Humans; La Macana. And I loved the Mucha Museum.

Please feel free to contact me if you are considering applying to the PSTS, I would be happy to share more information about my experience there.

Regarding the 2010 Whitney Biennial...

2010-03-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

BEST IN SHOW: LESLIE VANCE!!! 4 unassuming little abstract paintings that made me cry, on the Fourth Floor of the Whitney Biennial..

Damien Hoax

2010-03-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Damien Hirst is a Hoax.

Making Madness

2010-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by conversations with Leslie Shellow and Marsha Lynn. (And Sangria)

The connection between madness/manic depression/obsessive compulsive disorder and art is undeniable and fascinating. But just as much as madness creates art, I believe art creates madness.

Madness can develop as a result of the artistic process. The pattern of art-making can be extremely damaging; It begins with obsessive thinking, rolling an idea around and around in order to solve a problem, followed by moments of sublime manic inspiration and the struggle of creation, and the hours and hours spent alone in the studio. The rush of installation and exhibitions and fanfare and the deep, dark pits of rejection and feelings of hopelessness and despair. This whole cycle of ups and downs repeats with the development of each new body of work and is very similar to the waves of manic-depression and schizophrenia.

When you choose to become an artist you open up your senses in a way that can't be undone. You take in everything seeking inspiration. But this can make very ordinary errands unbearable: a trip to the mall or the supermarket can be sensory overload, movie theaters become a torturous cacophany of coughing and popcorn-crunching. New York City requires lots of mental preparation in order to be able to handle the herds of people, the noise, and the fast pace. I believe that this hyper-sensitivity to surroundings is very similar to milder forms of autism. This occurred to me after reading, and identifying with, Temple Grandin's masterpiece "Thinking In Pictures" (HBO has just made a movie about her which, I've heard, is AMAZING and I look forward to watching it.)

Artists possess an enormous energy that needs to be directed carefully or the intensity of that power can make a person crazy. If not directed towards creation, all of that intensity and energy gets misplaced and an artist can drown in thought, or obsess excessively about other aspects of their life.

You never know what will cause a rush of inspiration; lectures, long car drives, movies cause my brain to speed up with the rhythm of the passing landscape or the lecturers' voice and I thrash around in my purse for a scrap of paper to scribble down my new grand idea or solution to a problem. I've gotten really good at writing in the dark. But God forbid you pull the car over or leave the lecture because the thoughts will vanish.

So as a result of these new findings, I'd like to add to the annals of psychology a new mental illness:

Artism = a type of madness caused by the artistic process. Similar to autism, where one's hyper-sensitive experience of the external world causes overwhelming shifts in one's internal state of being. In some extreme cases, the very demanding and extreme cycle of the artistic process can develop into manic depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and/or schizophrenia. The only way to keep this madness from taking over seems to be the continuation of art-making.

Move Over Bruce Nauman!

2010-02-10T16:12:00.001-08:00

Self Portrait as The Statue of Liberty.

Performed, of course, in New York City.

Trends in Contemporary Art

2010-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Inspired by conversations with Lisi Stoessel.

I'm struck that in both the Gabriel Orozco and Roni Horn Exhibitions I saw last month in NYC, and the 2009 Venice Biennial this summer, it seems the focus of the art has shifted more towards an experience, and process, more so than on a finished piece or a specific statement/concept.

Could we finally be embracing the idea that art, like all other natural processes, is always in flux. And that we are spotlighting the process of creating and the artist's thought process instead of a finished masterpiece.

The world is in an extremely trasitional place right now. Its all unstable and art is helping all of us come to terms with that. We feel lost and confused right now and don't know exactly why. We dont have a big message we need to scream out in our work. We are not rebelling or fighting, we are just trying to survive. Art offers an escape. Art offers an opportunity to connect with something. Art offers us the opportunity to have control over something. The process of making art is enough right now, it is an opportunity to meditate, or to forget, or to get lost in the creation of something that restores the sensation of control.

I'm curious to see if the upcoming Whitney Biennial presents a similar shift in focus...

Self-Portrait

2009-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Inside a Snowglobe

2009-12-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party!

2009-12-15T07:32:00.001-08:00

Digital Stone Project

2009-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

Thank you Katie Zazenski!

General Porcelain

2009-12-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas Tree

2009-12-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

My first fresh-cut-down Christmas Tree

Home.

2009-11-28T10:04:00.001-08:00

(Photographed by Robin Zwizanski)

On The Road AGAIN...

2009-11-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Every year I say this will be my last year traveling and recruiting for MICA... But I simply love it too much. So, behold, tales from my sixth season on the road.

This is my longest trip EVER: from October 4th to November 15th. I've already covered Houston, Dallas, Austin, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Syracuse. I still have Rochester, Miami, West Palm Beach and New York City to go. Oh, and maybe Huntington.

I spent Halloween 2009 in Los Angeles with Patrick, Celena, Hilton and his possy. I had my head in the clouds and Patrick had his feet on the ground, a perfect pair. And best of all my costume was totally portable and free to make (thanks very much to Celena)

Celena went as the Chinese Lucky Cat and Hilton as a big little teddy bear.

Pictures of My New Leather Purse!!!

2009-10-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

After a year of searching, and finding only $350 purses that appealed to me, I decided to make my own. And thanks to U-Betcha, and The Oregon Leather Company, I had beautiful leather to work with.

Behold:

Three mock-ups and a week later:

The Plan.

2009-09-26T17:58:00.001-07:00

So, the plan is to have land, a dog named "Rooster" and a goose named "Duck, Duck." I'd also love to have some horses, mine might be named "Lickety-Split" or "Jalopy". A lake would be great and a big beautiful old renovated house/barn with interior courtyards and lots and lots of art and trap doors and secret passages and hidden treasure and big windows and musical instruments. And candles. There would be a wood shop and a steel shop and ceramics and a foundry. And a garden full of tomatoes and berries and peaches and apples and cherries and herbs and watermelons. And pumpkins. It would be a magical place full of creativity and joy and treats.

But, I know I have to keep my options open. I've also been looking at warehouse spaces in Philadelphia.

I'm designing my new leather purse!

2009-09-25T09:17:00.002-07:00

So, I was on this interminably long quest for a new purse. I fell in love with one at Shine in Hampden, deep burgundy made from an old leather jacket so it had all this great stitchwork and pockets. But it kinda smelled like an old leather jacket and it was about 300 dollars. "No way!", I said, "I could make that!" And that's when it occurred to me that I COULD make it. Hell, I didn't go to art school for nothing. And what better to spend my time making but my very own purse, which will accompany me everywhere. It's my one belonging that I look at more than anything else and a perfect use for all the incredible leather I purchased in Portland.

So, it's inspired by my favorite patchwork bag from Lucky that has withstood about 2-3 years of hard use. Except this one will be all neutral leather, with red accent, and fewer patches, just 4 on the front swooping down creating an elegant teardrop shaped bag. The patches on the front will all be pockets for stashing my phone, gum, treats, business cards, my cap gun... and the inside will be just large enough to hold my journal, planner, wallet, more treats, and makeup.

I've made 3 mock-ups in canvas and muslin. Small, medium and large. It's amazing how designs shrink when they become dimensional. I think I've finally got it with this last design. The size feels right, I just need to figure out the shoulder straps...

So, my studio is currently an explosion of fabric, patterns and leather. It's so nice to be back in the studio making.

Portland's Time Based Art Festival and The Philadelphia Fringe Festival

2009-09-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to anounce that The Philly Fringe Festival ended my long run of bad art!

This is not to say that Portland's 2009 Time Based Art Festival was bad, it was just a bit disappointing. And it is very hard for me to say that. I AM ALL ABOUT GIVING ART THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT! And maybe I just wasn't going to the right shows, maybe I was missing something...

All of the time-based installations and video work were located in the amazing old Washington High School which they dubbed "The Works". Nothing really held my attention... Nothing really challenged the idea of time based art, there were interactive pieces and sound pieces and a whole floor of projected videos. The standout piece, declared by Patrick David Melroy Hawkins, being "The Walls Of My Hall" by Johanna Ketola in collaboration with Jan Wolski. A humorous and thought-provoking piece exploring the human body at rest and in calculated motion with all the the surroundings they inhabit and the furniture they sit upon removed and replaced with black, empty spaces.

("The Walls Of My Hall")

I also enjoyed Danielle Goldman's Lecture entitled Close Encounters: Contemporary Dance and Theories of Intimacy and I look forward to reading the book she referenced "Intimacy" by Lauren Berlant. Although her lecture did not inspire me to see any of the performances that she referenced.

I lost all remaining interest in the Festival and just about all hope for contemporary art during Hitoshi Toyoda's excrutiangly boring 90 minute slide show outdoors in the cold. He successfully numbed both my toes and my mind.

That was it for me. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't risk what little was left of my sanity on another show. I needed inspiration, so we spent my remaining days in the Northwest at the beach on Sauvie's Island and an entire day roaming the aisles of the Oregon Leather Company.

I returned to the East Coast in the middle of the night on Wednesday and by Friday I was on my way to Philadelphia for the 2009 Philly Fringe Festival. I stayed with Lisi Stoessel, scenic designer and artist extraordinaire and her husband, the fabulous and incredibly talented, Jack Higgins. And I mean TALENTED. He fixes time machines. Yeah, time machines. He's an expert. Now that's power.

So, Lisi and Jack are Philadelphia's new power couple. Together they can do anything. They are almost single-handedly responsible for the huge success of this year's Fringe. Lisi designed the sets of 3 original productions, 2 of which I was fortunate enough to see: Annihilation (on Friday night) and Purr, Pull, Reign (by Johnny Showcase and the Lefty Lucy Cabaret) on Saturday night. Both were outstanding. I laughed my pants off. Such talented young actors and actresses. And not only can they act, they can also sing and dance and make me almost pee my pants from laughing so hard. I plan to see the cast of Annihilation Point perform another of their original productions in New York on November 14th.

(Some Scenes from Annihilation Point)

And I am now, officially, Johnny Showcase's BIGGEST FAN. I love him. Look him up on YouTube if you're curious. I would travel anywhere to see him perform again. Move over Sacha Baron Cohen, it's David Sweeny's turn.

(Johny Showcase and The Lefty Lucy Cabaret)

Saturday afternoon I watched the Australian group "Chunky Move" perform a piece entitled "Mortal Engine" Definitely YouTube them. You won't believe your eyes. They combine dance with interactive projections to result in a new exploration of gesture and movement as drawing. I sure wish I could get my hands on that technology.

(Chunky Move)

Sunday to New Hope to introduce Katie Zazenski to Robin Zwizanski. Now, that's alot of zzz's. I may have laughed hard at the Fringe, but that was just a warm up for dinner with these two. They already had me hyperventalating when Robin started talking about her experience getting a bikini wax.

I love New Hope. It's still untouched, with a cute little downtown area, lots of barns and the Ringing Rocks! One of the best interactive art installations I've ever seen, by mother nature herself. It's a whole field of boulders that, when you hit them with a hammer, ring! It's fantastic. We're planning a performance to take place there.

Alessandra's Review of The Great Northwest!

2009-09-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

How to determine if you have truly lived in a place:
-you've met the neighbors
-gone grocery shopping multiple times
-you've taken the trash out
-you're sleeping in a real bed
-you've had a garage sale

So, having met all the criteria I can officially say that I have lived in both Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

I feel this gives me the authority to attempt to describe the Northwest:

There is something fundamentally different about the Northwest. A different energy, a different mindset, a slower pace. Everyone owns a camping trailer. There's always a big, wild outdoor world to explore. It's always green, photoshop green. I've never seen so many different shades of green. Everyone has a garden. There are flowers blooming everywhere and always pear and apple and peach and fig and cherry trees in the backyard. And berry bushes and tomatoes! (The BEST tomatoes I have EVER had.) That's just the way it is.

Things get done in due time and stuff gets fixed. Not discarded. People know how stuff runs out here and will spend the time making it run faster, better, longer, smoother. A lot of people own trucks. This helps get stuff done.

You can get real good Mexican food out here. Dishes I've never heard of before: corn cake (sweet corn mash), tortas and sopapillas. And good guacamole. Reliable good guacamole. No sour cream added. And no restaurant worth its stars serves anything that's not in season. Hats off to Bunk's Sandwiches for not serving tomatoes in January.

There are great old cars everywhere and architecture from the 50's, 60's and 70's that simply doesnt' exist on the East Coast. And incredible neon signs.

Honesty and history are well respected. But people aren't bogged down by generations of history. People get by with less money. There are real cowboys out here and real lumberjacks and moutainmen. I mean, the real descendents of Paul Bunyan.

As a sculptor, I am inspired most by the raw material out here. Patrick David Melroy Hawkins, my most generous host, has systematically taken me to all of his favorite supply haunts. From the incredible Oregon Leather Supply, to the countless lumber yards and hardware stores. Including the infamous Wink's. I purchased everything that I thought I could get on the plane with. I even contemplated checking a big huge slab of cedar... People travel with surfboards afterall.

The only problem I can find with the Northwest is that it is easy to fall in love with it. And, unfortunately for me, it's on the other side of the huge continental United States of America.

Robert Storr is God

2009-09-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

The 2007 Venice Biennale kicks The 2009 Venice Biennale's Ass.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend both the 2007 and 2009 Venice Biennales. Both trips to Venice were made Alessandra style: insane all day art extravaganzas guaranteed to result in major art hangovers the next day. (PLEASE NOTE: I DO NOT RECOMMEND TRYING TO SEE THE ENTIRE BIENNALE IN ONE DAY.)

Because of the time restraint, most of my focus was on the exhibitions in the Arsenale and the Italian pavillions. I was very excited about the potential in the theme of the main exhibition: "Making Worlds". However, I did not feel that a new world was created at all, or that the issue was addressed of what role the artist played in the creation of that new world. It didn't seem like the curator had much of a voice or a hand in any aspect of the exhibition. Many of the installations were in desperate need of editing and a purpose. And there seemed to be little to no dialogue between pieces or between pieces and the surrounding space/architecture/Venice. Many of the pieces felt irritatingly familiar and predictable, and the show felt like an extremely narrow representation of the art world. There were a handful of pieces that stood out:

My favorite being: Chun Yun's piece entitled Constellation no. 3. A constellation created by the little glowing lights of all the appliances and gizmos and gadgets plugged in in a darkened room.

(photo taken with flash to reveal applicances)

Visiting this most recent exhibition made me realize, and truly appreciate, the genius curating of Robert Storr in the 2007 Venice Biennale entitled "Feel With The Mind, Think With The Senses". It was a curatorial masterpiece. An incredibly subtle, quiet exhibition with a huge long-lasting and deeply-moving impact. Storr took on the big issues, the major problems people are facing all over the world. It was not an exhibition about war, it was not a protest, it did not preach. The work instead instilled in the viewer a sense of vulnerability. The exhibition challenged us to look closer, to question what we were looking at, surprising us with a very different revelation from what was expected. The work dealt with the effects of war. And most inspirationally of all, the way that art can exist in the midst of and in despite of war. The work was from all over the world, created by people on all sides of war, with different experiences of conflict/restriction. But it so elegantly created a strong, uniform and optimistic voice. The exhibition was EXPERIENCE, created by all of the artwork in it and activated by my presence as a viewer within it.

Unfortunately, I am not inspired by the 2009 Venice Biennale, but it has renewed in me my passion to create the quality of work I wish to exist in the art world.

GET READY FOR MY WEBSITE RELAUNCH PARTY!!!

2009-07-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Building, I mean Rebuilding, a Website is such an enormous pain in the ass that it is going to require a huge relaunch party in order to celebrate having done it all over again.
Stay tuned for more details.
GUEST OF HONOR: HEATHER KEATING, DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE

My Favorite Birthday Present EVER.

2009-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have just received the most belated and EXTRAORDINARY Birthday Present of all time. Patrick David Melroy Hawkins aka "U-Betcha" just presented me with three beautiful leather tool belt pouches. Tool pouches are an impossible item to try and pick out for someone else, too many options: leather or canvas, 8 pockets or 10, metal hooks??? They are extremely personal decisions. In those final frantic moments of art show installation it all comes down to how quickly you can find the tape measure, the hammer, the correct size screw... and that perfect organization is dependent on the right tool pouch. It's alot of pressure. The future success of my entire art career could depend on it. It's a huge decision for someone to make for me. But Patrick took on the challenge and chose pouches more exquisite than I would have been able to choose myself. He choose the exquisite Graber-made 10 pocket supreme leather work pouch constructed of Soft Diamond Tanned Leather, a very multi-functional perfect-size Canvas and Leather Bolt Bag and a most curious shaped and beautiful leather welding rod pouch. It's humbling to have someone put so much thought and consideration into my birthday gift. I'm truly flattered.

U-Betcha's 34th Birthday!!!

2009-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Portland, Oregon

July 14, 2009

I flew out to Portland to celebrate the 34th Annual Patrick David Melroy Hawkins Day. It's actually a week long affair involving nude beaches, berry-picking, rose gardens, driving on the sand at sunset, lots of hamburgers, pinatas, and chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.

July Updates...

2009-07-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

I shared a spectacular Fourth of July with friends and family in NYC.
The most impressive fireworks show yet.

I'm currently in Portland, Oregon celebrating the 34th Annual Patrick Melroy Day.

Flying to Maryland on Sunday for 2 days of Portfolio Reviews at The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

The plan for the rest of the summer is to attend the Venice Biennale, the Time Based Arts Festival in Portland, Oregon and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival specifically to see Chunky Move perform. Hopefully that will still allow me some time in the studio.

Better Than The Original!

2009-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Marsha and Greg's Wedding!!!

2009-06-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

June 20, 2009

Weyer's Cave, Virginia

29th Annual Alessandra Day!

2009-06-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 7th was the 29th Annual Alessandra Day!

Hosted by The Marlboro Man and Ive at Bird Haven
Soundtrack provided by Smokey, the ducks and the Magothy River
(with special appearances by The Ambassador from Costa Rica and
the former US Senator of Michigan)

A ride on the Vanir
commanded by Captain Antonio Carlos Torres

Vermont Studio Center March & April 2009

2009-04-28T13:26:00.001-07:00

I survived two months at The Vermont Studio Center!!!

My Studio

My Bedroom in March

My Bedroom in April

These are some of the projects I worked on during my stay:

"Bodyscape"

"Shadow Drawing in the Snow"
(Work in Progress)

With no phone reception I had to revert to older methods of communication, Behold:
My Can Telephones:

"Whisper"

"Long Distance Relationship"

(the second can was mailed to Portland, Oregon)

March and April is an action-packed time in Vermont. It's Maple Syrup Season and I visited all the Sugar Shacks in the area. I prefer Grade A Medium Syrup.

Rob and Deb's Sugar Shack

It was also sheep shearing season during my stay and I fell in love with wool! I learned how to knit and spin yarn! I spin yarn with a drop spindle and hope to one day work my way up to the wheel.