The Wooden Shoe bookstore in Philadelphia,PA
It was with great anticipation that I greeted this weekend at last. I had been working on animations of my collage work for the Predictions book for a steady month and a half. It had consumed all of my private time and even spilled over into some extra mental overtime. The project was ripe.
My sister (who took these pics for us...thanks sis!) was an astute observer to catch this wooden shoe on the shelf
It was a lousy night for traffic that night, with it being both Good Friday night, and also a most beautiful sunny and warm day for this time of the year. Lots of people were in town for the Easter holiday and the weather brought the populace out in droves.
I was nervous--of course--and the fact that we got stuck on the highway behind 2 accidents helped feed my mental anxiety. There was no need for stress, however, since the performance ended up starting at 8:00. We had plenty of time to set up.
Yours truly, glancing backwards...with (L-R) Jason and David Zuzga working the DVD player
I didn't think that the venue would be this informal. I was ready for anything, tho, and the first thing to be tackled was the hardware. There were some initial issues with the DVD player/projector combo. I felt sorry for David Zuzga, as his black and white illustrations were to be viewed in psychedelic purple! These technicalities did not deter from the performance. The show must go on.
It was funny to meet fellow NYer Cara Benson down in Philly! Finally, after a couple of years of correspondence and collaboration we had a chance to talk in person.
Vivacious, powerful, driven, focused, intelligent, inspiring...it was good to meet Cara at last!
The performance began with a reading and my animations were sprinkled in like little commercials between the readings. I apologize for not getting the names of the 2 individuals who read along with Cara--me bad blogger! This was an animated reading and I liked the drama of having 3 people reading the work. A subject as serious as our future environment was treated with respect by creative visionaries...I was glad to be involved.
Cara making her point!
Jason Zuzga, a PhD student and prolific writer/book contributor, shared various books that contained the common theme of life built around water, such as The Water Babies. I loved this segment, since I am studying childrens' lit privately. Now I have some new selections to consider.
David Zuzga, genetecist and also a book contributor, gave a most interesting talk about his gill hypothesis. I really enjoyed his speech and found myself feeling proud to be in company with such knowledgeable folks.
I was also lucky to have both my sister and father accompany me to the event. My sis came all the way from Boston and drove down with me...and my father lives in North Wales, outside of Philly, so he was on board, too. My only stress in this event involved the fact that the event took place in an anarchist bookstore, and my father is a staunch Catholic! I was worried he would cop an attitude or be offended, but instead he was supportive and attentive. I appreciate that so much!
All in all, it was quite the event! I was happy to be a part of it.
My supportive dad, Otto Ziemann, in attendance at the performance
1 comment:
Sounds like it was a great time Julie. Thanks for sharing!
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