Our Visit to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ

Eolith

My dear friend Colleen and I were due for an adventure.

We'd both heard such good things about 

Grounds for Sculpture, 

but neither of us had yet visited.

So, we set our sights, and the GPS, on Hamilton, New Jersey.

A fun fact: this location had once been the site of the New Jersey State Fair.

It was a sunny, brisk autumn day, perfect for an outside activity like this.

First, though, we enjoyed a delectable lunch at Rat's Restaurant, on premises.

A bit pricey, but the decor was exquisite; a perfect spot for a special day out.

We meandered along winding pathways that cover 42 acres.

Interspersed among gorgeous trees and landscaping were over 270 sculptures.

We observed the works of art, many of which were ultra-contemporary,

 with open minds and attitudes to fully appreciate the artists' creativity.

Although we strolled at a relaxing pace to take it all in, 

we just couldn't see everything.

Reason to return!

Please put Grounds for Sculpture on your list of places to see!

La Promenade, and several other sculptures like it,

are by Grounds for Sculpture founder Seward Johnson.

Space, Conquer or Die - Swiatowid

Urchin

Sagg Portal

Dorion and its lovely reflection.

Tower

Worth a closer look... the sun shining through the glass was brilliant!

Arch II, Set II

Garden State

The Chamber of Internal Dialogue by Seward Johnson,

inspired by The Scream by Edvard Munch, 1893.

More info here:

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Rat's Restaurant

Margaret Morrison Paints Yummy Candy & Sweets

Got a sweet tooth? Then you'll love this post!

Margaret Morrison's realistic paintings are perfectly detailed

and ready to satisfy every confectionery craving!

Check out my past post, How is Candy Corn Made?

Everybody loves PEZ!

Check out the post from my visit to Connecticut's PEZ Visitor Center here.

More of Margaret's work can be seen here:

Woodward Gallery

Remembering Vintage Beistle Halloween Diecuts

I grew up with Halloween decorations just like these

in our house throughout the month of October.

I didn't know them to be so at the time, 

but I now recognize them as vintage Beistle diecuts.

The Beistle Company began in 1900 in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 

basement of Martin Beistle. The decorating of American homes for Halloween

became popular largely due to his die cut paper decorations.

Decades later, with many folks attracted to the vintage trend,

The Beistle Company, including some Beistle family members,brought back 

many of the old favorites to sell under the name Vintage Beistle.

Take a look to see if any of these are familiar to you!

Some were jointed like this black cat,

this skeleton,

 

or the big goblin that we hung on our kitchen door.

You can find out more about Beistle,

and even purchase items like the ones below,

at Vintage Beistle.

Have a happy, vintage Halloween!

 

Gail Myerscough's Fabulous Mid-Century Patterns

I love patterns and the illustrators who create them!

Came across Gail Myerscough on Twitter.

She's a talented UK surface pattern designer,

who has a modern, mid-century flair!

  

More of Gail's work here:

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Eerie Antique Halloween Photographs

These antique photographs from decades back

show creepy Halloween costumes of the time.

There's something unnerving about them, isn't there?

Kind of makes your skin crawl.

Particularly unsettling in black and white or sepia tones.

Bone-chilling, eerie, haunting.