100!

I'm proud to say that this blog is my one hundredth blog for my website! I used to run my site through a different platform (pff--Apple), which was discontinued, and now I'm happy to present my 'fancy' discoveries and adventures through Wix.com.

I haven't really mentioned it, but I am modestly proud of my explorations and recordings of the past couples of years present here on my blog. It's been great to be able to share my experiences with my husband, friends, family, and with you (whoever reads this). And there will be plenty more fancy things to come. I'm getting ready for a couple of trips, I will be writing about some interesting films about art and artists, and many more happenings and places about Portland and Oregon. 

Please stay tuned! Thank you!

So Long, 2014

2014 has been an outstanding year. I am so lucky to have shared it with many old friends, new friends, family and my wonderful husband John. I'd like to highlight a couple personal and fancy things that made this year really special:

Fancy Things:
-A fresh new look on my website (check it out!)
-New Facebook features, like #FancyFridays--art-related videos that I post every Friday on my page
-111 Facebook likes! Over 100! Whoo!
-188 Instagram followers
-1,094 Instagram photos

Personal Things:
-John's parents, Roger and Ann, came out to visit
-John's brother, Michael, visited us as well
-Met my friend Angela in Las Vegas in February
-Met my dad and his three sisters in Las Vegas in July
-I went back to New York City to celebrate my birthday with Angela and visited Ladurée's newest location in SoHo

It's been a great year and I'm looking forward to the next. So many things to be thankful for and so many fancy things to appreciate!

 

Oregon State Capital Building

Several weeks ago when John and I went to the Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum in Eugene, OR and we stopped through Salem (state capital of Oregon) on our way home. We only stopped into Salem to check-out the interesting state capital building. Hopefully we can make it back to sometime to check-out more of the city and actually take a tour inside the state capital. The primary feature of the capital building is a chopped-off column with a gold figure on top. The white marble facade also displays scenes of the pioneers from the Oregon Trail flanking both sides of the building.

Silver Falls State Park

Silver Falls State Park is a situated about an hour and a half away from Portland. Last week John and I were lucky to take a short trip to see the spectacular waterfall inside the state park. The park contains several waterfalls, which we hope to explore someday when it's warmer. The main attraction and largest waterfall, South Falls, marks an extensive trail that loops around in a circle. South Falls was pretty easy to maneuver around and to view, yet the trails were slippery and somewhat icy. The best part about South Falls was being able to walk around and under the waterfall! Pictures do not do justice to the immense sensation of the water flowing over us. We had a spectacular time and next week I will be posting photos of the interesting forest-scape that surrounded the waterfall.

 

Ryo Toyonaga

Last week I wrote about the Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum in Eugene, OR. Their current special exhibition featured contemporary artist Ryo Toyonaga.  Toyonaga's art not only complimented the Schnitzer's permanent Asian collections, but also demonstrated his particular artistic expression through a variety of mediums of visual interpretation (painting, ceramic, mixed media, etc.). His aesthetic is of a dystopian monster-like landscape with Tim Burtonesque formations and creatures. He is offering a strong commentary about cities, nature, and the conflicts between those two entities. Toyongaga is successful in using many types of materials and mediums to introduce viewers to his specific alien world of turbulent waves, tentacles, and unsettling organisms.

Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum

John and I have been wanting to travel down to Eugene, OR for a while and we finally got a chance to visit a couple of weeks ago. The main attraction we wanted to see was the Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum, which is located in the middle of the campus of the University of Oregon (home of the ducks). The museum featured several Asian collections, some select but great contemporary art, and a really fascinating special exhibition. The museum also featured an exposed interior courtyard, which reminded me of the courtyard featured at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. 
 

Buddist head comprised of Sotheby's auction catalogs

I love this Kusama pumpkin print!

Unusual but inventive display using river stones

19th century Japanese prints; precursors to modern Japanese comics

 

One of many things John liked

Walton Ford - one of my favorite contemporary artists

A rare Basquiat sculpture