random thoughts – Day 2,288 (Saturday) – art and solstice

It was a lovely day for a drive, and the drive was already planned, which means it happened. I’m much better at executing firm plans than with a spontaneous seat-of-the-pants approach (shocker!).

Today’s plan was to attend the reception for the Lowellscapes exhibit at The Brush Art Gallery and Studios. The invitational show features photography of scenes in Lowell by nine artists (including me). It was the perfect kick in the butt to get me off the couch and engaged in something I love.

One photographer talking,
another one filming.

The show looks great and the reception was well attended. It was fun being back in the art world and seeing a former colleague, former fellow board members, and patrons in the arts community again after a strange and busy year away from it. There were refreshments and beverages, and three of the photographers took turns talking about their process and photos.

After the reception, I headed back home to change from indoor art reception clothes (black ankle pants, white tee shirt, pink floral patterned bomber jacket with black trim) to outside solstice fire ensemble (camo patterned pants, black shirt, white and black hoodie) and drove to my friends house in the woods of a nearby town.

Fire for the solstice.

We spent the night before the longest day of the year with a fire in their big yard. We roasted marshmallows and ate s’mores, told stories and laughed. I burned my mouth removing a toasted marshmallow from the metal skewer which is a very different experience from when the marshmallow is toasted on a stick. Trust me when I say it hurts (in four places!). Zero stars, I do not recommend.

A few fireflies twinkled in the woods. The neighbor’s cats passed through the yard a few times, and once, one of them had a chipmunk in its mouth. After dark, the clear sky shone full of stars. We wrote wishes for the coming season and tossed them into the fire. It was a perfect night after a great day.