Saturday, December 30, 2017

MEMORIES of 2017 - Film Festival

My film with Montreal artist Philippe Van Eetvelt hits the big screen!  What an honor to participate in the Lake Champlain International Film Festival for the fourth year in a row.  The film, from my "Spotlight" arts series, focused on the innovative artist who sometimes paints with doctors syringes and devised a machine to help him paint with a piano.  The short film premiered at the festival this year, and I am excited to share it with a wider audience in 2018.  Another highlight for  "Spotlight":  nursing students at Pace University in Manhattan this past semester were shown the interview I conducted with author Roger Noyes, who wrote the biography of his great-great aunt, the notable nurse Clara Noyes, who helped advance the career of nursing in the early 20th century. 

Friday, December 29, 2017

MEMORIES of 2017 - Opera at last!

I fulfilled a long-time dream of mine to see an opera at the world famous Opera Garnier (home of the phantom) in Paris.  La Cenerentola by Rossini tells the story of Cinderella minus the magic, but the evening was no less magical.  Also in Paris, I had lunch at Le Train Bleu, a restaurant I've longed to dine in since 1988.  I amde some great friends in Paris (and thank you for the wonderful photos)! Italian opera, French dining and Britsh pop sensation Robbie Williams.  Paris est parfait!




Thursday, December 28, 2017

MEMORIES of 2017 - The Most Kissed Girl in the World

It's what you do in the medieval city of Göttingen, you kiss the Goose Girl.  I made a pilgrimage side trip to see her, during my stay in Germany.  The fountain is based on a Grimm fairy tale, and local doctorates kiss her when they graduate...tourists too.  I also met the Pied Piper himself in Hamelin.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

MEMORIES of 2017 - Nostaliga on the silver screen

In Portland, Oregon, The Kronos Quartet played the 1999 score to Dracula (1931) with its composer Philip Glass, a show I'd seen a few times before when the composition was new.  I also enjoyed the classics The Graduate, Suspiria (restored print), The Warriors (in Paris), Psycho II and Saturday Night Fever, all looking fantastic on the big screen.  New films I loved this year included La La Land and Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast.  My favorite new movie of 2017:  The Disaster Artist.

 

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

MEMORIES of 2017 - Door-to-door for Halloween

My nephew took me trick-or-treating during my autumn visit.  I'm grateful to have visited my family during a beautiful time of year. 

Friday, December 1, 2017

SIZABLE SCULPTURES


Sculptor Patrick Dougherty creates large pieces the public may admire, touch and even wander through, and a new cluster of them have grown at the Montreal Botanical Garden. 




I had the pleasure of exploring the sculptures myself, and of speaking with the artist about his choice of material, the help he gets from volunteers, and the temporary nature of grand art made entirely out of sticks. The three new works in Montreal are among the more than two hundred-seventy-five pieces the North Carolina artist has made all over the world, in places including Japan, France and all over the United States. 

Enjoy the video profile here.





This “Spotlight” segment premiered on the program Mountain Lake Journal. “Spotlight” is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park. “Spotlight” is also supported by the chamber music organization Hill and Hollow Music.