March at The Mouse House

Linda, LoraDell,Susan, Wanda, and Erica at Liberty Island, 1965 (digital photograph of a slide, see post below). Click to enlarge.


The head mouse, Susan, is spending the whole month of March at The Studios of Key West as one of their artist-in-residence. Today she is teaching her famously "Hot" class to 12 eager students (a class that had 8-10 people on a waiting list). She is spending this month creating faux stain glass fiber pieces and more InBox pieces for an upcoming show in Fredericksburg, VA in June. Needless to say she is having a great time away from me and the business. I will join her on March 29 and we will return on April 2.

One of my duties ( it is actually my pleasure and honor) in her absence is to record and document the hundreds of photographic slides that Susan's grandfather, Connell Baker, created during the years from 1954-1971. I never had the pleasure to meet him because of his untimely death in 1978. The slides contain photographs of his trips (with the love of his life, LoraDell, still alive and kicking at 93) all over the United States and Europe, family photos of his children, grandchildren, immediate family members and friends, and everything else in between. He even took slides of President Lyndon Johnson's Inauguration in 1965. There are no fewer than 95 boxes of slides with 36 slides per box. Every slide was named and dated, and each one was enclosed in a metal case. The metal slides were placed in a Airequipt automatic slide magazine and viewed using a Argus 300 Slide Projector. This was cutting edge technology before the invention of the Carousel projector that most people of my generation would remember.

The vast majority of the slides are in incredibly good shape with crisp colors and clarity. Many have not been seen in 50 years or more, and many of them have never been seen by Susan's family. Before Susan left for Florida, she set up a tripod with my digital camera and movie screen borrowed from her sister, Sonya, in our living room upstairs. We set up the Argus Projector, and I began taking digital photos of each slide as projected on the movie screen. Each container and slide is named using Connell's descriptions and stored on the computer. Although the quality is not as good as the slide itself, one can get a reasonable idea of which ones may need to be scanned for better reproduction (and believe me, there are many that warrant this!). I have finished the first suitcase of 45 boxes and will begin work on the next 50 later today. I plan on finishing the shooting of the slides before Susan returns from Florida.

Below are a couple of photographic reproductions of slides from the Baker Slide Collection.



Ohio State vs Illinois, halftime, October 14, 1961 with The Ohio State Marching Band and
Block O around the 20 yard line. The score was 21-0 (final score was 44-0). These seats were far better than the Block O section that Susan and I fondly remember!



View of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, September, 1961.

Chocolate Mice

Although this blog is really "Steve's blog" ... sometimes I have to post on it because some of the pictures I've taken just belong here! Such is this post.

We received two chocolate mice this Christmas. They were made by one of my youngest sister Sonya's talented friends. Steve really, really wanted to eat these Hershey kisses/chocolate-dipped-cherry mice. I saved them from this intended fate. I knew I wanted to find some special, permanent space for them at Mouse House. Today, I took them all over the shop for photo ops ... and to determine exactly where they should stay on display.



Although they look really, really cute on the Mouse House sign on the porch. I decided they'd probably get eaten by some of the homeless people who sometimes stumble through the neighborhood.



I considered gluing them to the sign on the door ... since I already had to glue the almond slivers back onto their heads ... which assures that Steve isn't going to eat them.



They looked really cute in the container of business cards ... but it might make it difficult for clients to get the cards ... or they could get further damaged in the process.



They could bring attention to my matted and shrink-wrapped artwork ... but they'd probably get knocked off when people browse through the images.



I'm sure they would have liked staying with Mickey and helping with the credit card machine ... but there's too much motion in this area ... another source of possible danger.



I know these chocolate mice would gladly assist in showing off some of my other art in the "gallery" ... but they also just might upstage it.



They seemed perfectly happy beside the computer mouse ... but too few people would see them there.



Steve's work room for assembling custom picture framing was out of the question. Steve might be tempted to eat them (glued ears and all) or they might accidentally get hammered.



The mice could help show off moulding samples or sell mirrors ... but, again, a precarious situation.



They'd melt with the heat from the VacuSeal.



Although I'm sure they'd add a touch of joy for the people whose framing bills are stored in the files, this didn't seem to be a good place either.



My new "home studio" was interesting ... and obviously as dangerous as Steve's room ... please note another hammer!



They almost sat on the top of one of my "In Box" series pieces ... but one fell off and now has a crushed ear.



So, in the end, they've found a home on the mantel in the "sales room" where everyone can see them ... along with the photos of Mathias and Alex. I think they look just like Steve and me ... the two Mouse House mice!
Susan
Guest blogger!

Changes in 2012

2011 is coming to an end. It has been an interesting year at The Mouse House. We have not missed our move out at Terrace Oaks Mall. We have been surprisingly profitable in 2011 and I hope this trend continues in 2012. Susan and I are in the process of converting the back room into her new 3-D artist studio. We will officially launch this new addition during Open Studios in April, 2012, but the studio will be finished way before then. We are continuing a downsizing of our antique print collection to make room for more of Susan's artwork. We have great deals on existing framed antique images and loose prints, and we continue to have a great selection of framed beveled and non-beveled mirrors. Our next big trip is to NYC to visit with Mathias and LJ on January 5-8. Alex still occasionally comes around but still is afraid to call his mom! Hopefully their relationship will improve next year (I'm the eternal optimist!). He can really work if he wants to.

Best wishes to all for a safe and healthy 2012. Please come by and visit!

Pictures of Dover and Rochester, UK

Greetings to all. Susan and I just returned from Arizona where she had her art show at Vision Gallery in Chandler. I have posted a link to my pictures and videos that I took during the week of October 3, 2011 when I went to the UK to watch Mathias and his girlfriend, Laura-Jane (LJ) dance in several ballets with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Click here to watch. I'll be posting some pictures of our trip to Arizona shortly.

Ravenel Bridge Bike Trip

Self-portrait of yours truly at the top of the Ravenel Bridge across the Cooper River in Charleston, SC.



View of the Ravenel Bridge from the docks adjacent to the SC Aquarium. You can purchase tickets to Fort Sumter here, as well as take a water taxi to Patriots Point. I thought of taking the water taxi back from Patriots Point, but I rode back!!

Yesterday I went to Charleston, SC to attend the wedding of Lauren Slocki and Captain Matthew Verdin. As I posted on Friday, Lauren is the older sister of Mathias's roommate and best friend Philip at The Kirov Academy of Ballet. Since the wedding was at 5PM, I spent the morning and early afternoon on my bike and rode to Mount Pleasant from the SC Aquarium over the Cooper River Bridge (now named the Ravenel Bridge) to Mt. Pleasant. Needless to say it was a blast and not as strenuous as I thought (maybe I am in better shape that I thought). I was smart, however, to start in Charleston and ride to Mt. Pleasant and back instead of the reverse. The uphill climb toward Mt. Pleasant to the top of the bridge is longer, and since I just started my bike run, I was pretty well rested. Once I crossed over the bridge I rode around Patriots Point and Mt. Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. I rode out on the fishing pier that lies below the bridge and went into the visitor's center. I have posted some pictures from my journey. Click on any to enlarge.



Here is the sign that greets bike riders and pedestrians before they cross the bridge. Note how wide the path is so that both walkers and bikers have their own paths. For the most part pedestrians stayed on their path, although one idiot almost stepped into my lane!



One of the many cruise ships that frequent Charleston Harbor. Their dock is just down the block from the Aquarium. This photograph was taken from the top of the bridge.



A view of Mt. Pleasant from the top of the bridge. The Battleship Yorktown is in the distance.



Another view of the Yorktown from the bridge.



This is a nice view of the bike path on the bridge looking toward Mt. Pleasant. The public fishing pier lies to the left of the bridge support pilings.



This is the view of the public fishing pier at Mt.Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. There were a few people fishing, but in general, it was not too busy. The fishing piers extends about 1/4 mile out into the Cooper River.

I have also posted two short videos taken from the top of the bridge. I especially like the second one, although you cannot really appreciate the scale unless you are standing where I filmed.

Off to Charleston

Susan is still in Hot Springs National Park as their Artist-in-Residence for the month of August. I will fly out on a one-way ticket on the 31ST, and we will drive back over the Labor Day holiday. Saturday, August 20TH, I have the pleasure of attending a wedding in Charleston at St. Philip's Church. Lauren Slocki, who is the sister of Philip, Mathias's roommate and best friend at The Kirov Academy of Ballet, is getting married at 5PM with the reception at The Old Exchange Building. I will be leaving bright and early Saturday morning. Since Susan took the car, my mode of transportation has been our moped. Although it would be quite an adventure to take the moped to Charleston, sane minds prevail and I will be renting a car for the trip.

One of the things I've always wanted to do is to ride my bike across the Cooper Bridge Bridge. Thanks to a very generous upgrade from Enterprise, I will be able to take my bike in the Ford Explorer they rented to me for $19.99/day! I plan on driving to Patriot's Point and ride to my heart's content or until heat stroke sets in. I am hoping that I can take pictures from the top of the bridge. I will also take pictures at the wedding. If I survive my trip I'll post some next week.

Changes on the horizon

Max, King of Park Street, posing as a dead cat at The Mouse House (click to enlarge)

On August 4, Susan leaves for Hot Springs Arkansas and a one month residency at Hot Springs National Park. From August 4-September 4, there will be limited framing services available at The Mouse House. The gallery will remain open for sales of Susan's artwork, mirrors, and framed prints. All framed artwork will be 20% off the entire month. During this time I will be doing many things around the Mouse House which will include exterior painting, lap siding repair on the workshop with my buddy and Susan's art mentor Stephen Chesley, and other assorted chores. My hours may vary, but I can always accommodate anyone wanting to come over and shop.

Last Wednesday afternoon at the spur of the moment, we decided to reduce our stock of antiquarian prints. We have collected hundreds of prints over the years which we successfully sold as framed items, predominately at Terrace Oaks Mall. Since we are no longer there, we decided to free up some space in the gallery by consigning some of our collection to Quinn's Auction House in Falls Church, VA. We took a trip to DC on Friday and brought 16 boxes of prints and some assorted plate books to the auction house. We hardly made a dent in our collection! I also have some much needed floor space in order to better show our mirrors and Susan's artwork.

Here is Max in all his glory. Enjoy!