On the morning drive between home in Pleasant Gap and the Bellefonte YMCA, I zigzag on three 90-degree turns on roller coaster country roads. At the top of every crest, I momentarily soak in the stunning views of snow-covered ridges. Or, I can just look at an original oil painting in my home.
When I moved back to Centre County, my goal each weekend was to find a fun activity for mom and me. One of our favorites was the Fall Colors Tour sponsored by the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania.
Back in 2014, my mom and I were charmed by a young artist named Sean Bodley. We visited his Mount Nittany Studio in one of the last houses in Lemont before you get to the hiking trails. Sean and his wife (a Penn State grad student, as I recall) lived there. He set up his easel in the front yard to paint scenes of the mountain.
Sean had at least one one-man show of trees and other landscapes—large, bold canvases—in Café Lemont where our paths often crossed in search of a hazelnut latte for my mom and coffee for me. (The Art Alliance studios are within walking distance of Café Lemont.) We became Café friends and soon I was on Sean’s email list.
In one email, he announced a Capturing the Light of Central Pennsylvania Kickstarter. He promised to do 10 new oil paintings a month for a year and sent out postcards each month. Patrons could get more than postcards—an actual oil painting. Thrilled, I sent a check for a modest amount which promised a painting about the size of a license plate. Sean responded saying “my” oil painting would be created by Jan. 15, 2015, and delivered by February.
What a thrill when it arrived. The magic of the frosted mountains.
Kickstarting may be a relatively new label, but the concept has been around for generations. Years ago, I remember my father sponsoring artist Bob Doney from his hometown of Pen Argyl. My father, and others, sent him money to travel to Italy. When Doney returned, he gave my father a watercolor he painted of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. For years it hung in our family home; now, it’s above my mantle.
A few years ago, Sean and wife moved to Los Angeles. I get occasional updates from him. The most recent was an email saying that in 2021 he started working at Green Portal Productions as a background designer for “Rick and Morty” and “Solar Opposites”. (I had to Google to find out those are two popular animated series.) But, he still gets outside for the LA Warrior Painters’ plein air painting challenge.
Sean also has been working on a climate change art series—at least 100 paintings, including a concept sketch of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, transformed into urban farmland. If you would like to check out his recent work, here is the link to his portfolio website, https://seanbodley.com/portfolio
Put a little art in your life. Laurie Lynch
Limoncello Memories: My friend Pam said my last blog brought back memories. “We were on the Amalfi coast in October, 2019. Storekeepers walked past us with trays of peeled lemons. Limoncello everywhere.” I might add that Pam and her husband bought their own Meyer lemon tree last fall. I’m expecting great things.
And, my brother-in-law Tim recalled that when he and my sister Lee Ann were in Venice they sat at the Piazzo San Marco. He ordered a Limoncello. When my sister saw that it cost 40 euro, she said, “We’ll share it.”
Writes Tim: “If memory serves, ‘twas a tall, fluted glass of 1 liter strong Limoncello liquor beverage with a fancy twisted straw and flower, as I ordered the closest thing to a whiskey sour on the menu. It also had a scoop of lemon sorbet. The waiter had a starched bib with black buttons, and a black bowtie, flowing sleeves and black onyx cufflinks. He served the beverage on a tray with a linen napkin, held over his shoulder with his fingertips, as all Venetian service came with an Italian flourish! Given the hot summer weather and live quartet, we nursed it slowly!”
(Can you tell Tim is the family’s Irish poet?)
Bring Venice Home: Alibi by Joseph Kanon takes place in Venice and is a suspenseful thriller for long winter nights. A perfect pairing with a glass of Limoncello on a February night.
Botanical Namesake: Getting ready for retirement, I joined a Centre County refugee resettlement group. It’s a whole new Zoom world with a few familiar faces and lots of new ones. One woman I’ve been working with drew my instant attention. Her name is Samara, like the maple helicopter seed.
Zoom into the Garden: Penn State Master Gardeners of Centre County are holding a Home Gardening School via Zoom Feb. 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. It’s called Forward Focus: A Gardener’s Guide to Change. Presentations on companion gardening, gardening with the family, and how climate change is affecting pollinators. $10 fee. Link to sign up: www.extension.psu.edu/forward-focus-a-gardeners-guide-to-change
Blast from the Waaay Past: Over the weekend I got an email from a retirement community in Doylestown:
“I saw your name listed in a Philly Inquirer article and am reaching out to see if you are still ‘renting’ chicks come spring. I’m am the Life Enrichment Director at a nursing home and my residents have expressed an interest in raising chicks or ducklings in the spring. I have 3 staff members and a locked activities room, so we would be able to provide quality care for the chicks.”
I suggested she call Penn State Extension in her county to check with the 4-H Coordinator to see if they have a youth poultry club. Chicks for All Ages!
Fleur-de-Blog 