I ran through the snow piles and icy path as nature surprised me again. It wasn’t too cold as I headed down to the lake. Just last week the waves lapped onto the shore, not today as clumps of ice stopped the waves right in their tracks. Too early for the ice to appear? Not necessarily, it’s January 2014 after all. My mind wandered in what I accomplished or didn’t – volunteering is what I did mostly and reignite a weekly blog on art shows I attended. Nothing earth shattering, just living a modest life and doing interesting things around Cleveland.
Nothing to do? Well, I disagree.
Senior Games
I had a joyous time volunteering for the Senior Games this past July and August. I was a score keeper for horseshoes where I learned quickly that it’s a challenging event. There are two competitors that throw several rounds of horseshoes up and down the field. I started scoring around 10 a.m. and I wasn’t even done by 12:30 p.m. What was so thrilling about the games was how appreciative the contenders were. Every shift I participated in, I got a kind “thank you” for my time.
One of my favorite events was the Women’s hammer throw. If you want to see real athletes, just watch these women throw these hammers. It is a shot put at the end of a wire handle. My job was to retrieve the hammers to the contenders. They were heavy; I can’t image trying to throw it at a decent distance. One women, however, said, “I hope to see you throwing the hammer at the next Senior Games.” What a nice compliment! These athletes were class A in my book.
The other thing I did was ride my bike to as many volunteer shifts that I could. I biked along Euclid Avenue to Case Western Reserve for “horseshoes;” I biked downtown, took the shuttle bus to Baldwin Wallace University and walked to the Berea Fairgrounds for the “hammer throw”; biked to the new Convention Center for the athlete check-in. In total, I biked four times out of five for my shifts. That is my 2014 New Year’s resolution - biking more and using my car less.
I look forward to the 2014 Gay Games this August – I plan on biking there as well.
www.gg9cle.com
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| New Promotion for CIFF - courtesy of CIFF |
Cleveland International Film Festival : March 19 - 30, 2014
http://www.clevelandfilm.org
It seems so long ago that the festival was at Tower City. I say the same thing every year – maybe I will skip my volunteer stint this year. In actuality, I volunteered for more shifts this last year than previous years. I want to warn you; once you start going down to the festival, you will be wanting to see more and more films. This year I stood in more lines and was not able to see films that were on standby. That is, in actuality, a good problem to have – too many people wanting to see International Films that most likely you will not see anywhere else. No brainer there.
I do commend the festival’s staff in accommodating as many people as they did. They staggered the times as well as possible to eliminate a “crowd jam.” For example, the “Anita” film featuring Anita Hill, who was in attendance was sheer chaos. It was in two theaters and nobody was listening to directions on which theater to enter. As a volunteer, I try to take shifts that are more crowd crazy so when I decide to see a film, I won’t be struggling to find a seat.
The two films that I loved were, “ Pieta” (South Korea) and “Laurence Anyways”(Canada); they stuck with me well after they were over.
The Cleveland Museum of Art: MIX and Summer Solstice events
http://www.clevelandart.org
The problem I have when I volunteer is I can’t say “No!” I am the type of person who genuinely likes to help. I need “x amount” of people to help at this event – I’m there. I favor the museum parties for the people I see that I haven’t seen or I see Cleveland residents that I probably will never see. The MIX event is attracting more young professionals and families that are interested in art and the social fabric of our city. Kudos! We are privileged to have a world renowned museum that is “free.” During some of my volunteer shifts, the “out-of-towners are amazed that it’s “free.” I have a few friends that have yet to see the new atrium or visit the museum after its eight year long expansion. If you haven’t been to the museum in a while, you are in for a treat.
My favorite volunteer shift was “gift wrapping.” For the holiday season, this year the museum offered free gift wrapping for anyone who bought a gift from the museum store. I was in heaven. Again, I met a few Greek people and old friends that were just happy to have a gift wrapped by an enthusiastic volunteer. I hate to pat myself on the back but my gift wrapping was better than most. I was brought up to do your best when giving something to others; furthermore, as a graphic professional, presentation is everything.
I highly recommend the always anticipated Summer Solstice event on the fourth Saturday in June. It always sells out so get your tickets in advance.
The Transformer Station - West 29th Street - Hank Willis Thomas thru March 9, 2014
http://transformerstation.org
I had the privilege to be one of the first volunteers for the first opening of a west side contemporary gallery – the Transformer Station on February 1, 2013. A reconverted space into a cutting-edge photo gallery with such exhibits as Todd Hido and the Fred and Laura Bidwell Collection of contemporary photography; currently they are exhibiting the Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art. I met so many interesting people that attended during my shift – Kent State, Oberlin College, Director of the Akron Museum, writer from the New York Times, Jim Rokakis, etc., etc., etc.
My favorite event at the Transformer Station was the Ohio City Stages concerts - five concerts on five Wednesdays in July. If you do anything this summer, I would highly recommend you pencil this event into your calendar and/or smart phone. They took this giant stage, parked it on Church and W 29th street and played diverse, contemporary music. After the concert, they projected contemporary films behind the gallery on an outdoor screen. I hate to say it, less crowded and better than Wade Oval Wednesdays. My understanding is they are going to extend the concerts to other areas of the city as a Community Outreach initiative.
As a summer person, my most active month was June when I attended the Garden Walk, the Waterloo Arts Festival on the last Saturday in June and the CMA’s Summer Solstice Party.
Drawings
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| Pastel Drawing by Toni - copyright 2013 |
After twelve years in my basement, I finally put together my drawing table. I illustrated my sister’s house, elephants, tomatoes, grapes and wild flowers that I gave as gifts; I didn’t do as many as I first envisioned but five drawings are five more than I’ve done all these years. I hope to do a few more in 2014.
In closing, I didn’t have a lot of income during 2013 but I volunteered my time and energy by helping many individuals find their way at museums; my computer lab work at the Homeless Shelter and seeing the beauty in Cleveland as I rode my bike mile after mile. Get out of your comfort zone and do something positive for 2014. Forget about those ridiculous resolutions that you will never keep and do something that you are passionate about.
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