Greensboro Daily Photo

Where is Spring?

The S.H. Kress & Company building was constructed in downtown Greensboro in 1930 and was a department store for 40 years.  The chain's founder Samuel Kress took pride in his buildings and tried to make them architectural gifts to the communities in which they were built. Our Kress building is no exception. The art deco architecture sparkles today. While the department store is long gone, the building houses a night club on one side and an event center on the other. Information about the architecture can be found here and information about the event center, known as Kress Terrace, here.

Today's post does not feature the building but the brilliant art display in the front window. After the wintry days we've had lately, we just fell in love with the BURST of color and with the message, Where is Spring? Here is a display in the same window that we shared last year. Thank you Kress Terrace for these arranging these wonderful works of community art. Finally, we're sharing this photo with the great group of photographers at Weekend Reflection.

 

Grand Girls

These grand girls of music reside inside the music building at UNCG. The sculpture spans 3 stories from the base, to a globe to the girl on the bell of the horn. We didn't see a description of the artwork or an artist's plaque. If you know about it, please share. It looks as if the woman is playing to a little copy of herself. Perhaps this represents the reflective process of thinking about your playing, how you sound, look, and what you think of your playing. Other than voices in the head, music in the ears, what better way than to see yourself lifting your your arms, pursing your lips, blowing air through the mouthpiece and making music!!!

If we had one wish it would be for someone to clean the cobwebs off of this work of art-- oh, and remove the nickel from the bell of the instrument. Nature brought us the cobwebs but student humor brought us the nickel for your effort!

In the ABC Wednesday meme world, this week's letter is "G" and "G" is for Girls!!!!! 

 

Oak Hollow Market

Just over the city limits into High Point, on Highway 68 (Eastchester Drive), you find Oak Hollow Market. Any yard ornament you want can be found here. Cement/metal; formal/informal; new/weathered; big/little; utilitarian/useless, you name it; if you are looking for something to place in your yard, they have it. This ocean of ornaments extends as far as the eye can see. Tweety Bird seems to be making eye contact with the viewer, as if saying, "take me home....... PLEASE."

There's just enough red in this photo to share the photo with our Ruby Tuesday friends.

 

With Mayo Please

This sculpture, known as "Mayo" by Robert Costelloe has been an icon on the corner of Friendly Avenue and Hobbs Road since the days of Burlington Industries. In 2005, when Burlington Industries' building was imploded to make way for the expanded shopping center, the sculpture was placed in front of Fleming's Restaurant where it stands today. Mayo was designed by Costelloe at the North Carolina School of the arts.

Wonder if the name is somehow related to the former business, Mayo Yarns? 

 

South Elm Pottery & Gallery

With these hands, Jim Gutesll works his magic. From the window of South Elm Street Pottery & Gallery, we snapped this view of Jim mentoring a young girl into the art of throwing a vessel. His, the master's hands ever so steady and confident; hers, eager, yet tentative, this is apprenticeship at its best. Jim is sometimes known as the Godfather of pottery in Greensboro for founding the Triad Area Spring  Pottery Festival at the Yanceyville Farmers' Market. Jim works relentlessly to make people aware of the wonderful North Carolina pottery available "North of Seagrove."

If you can brave the snow this weekend, walk by by Jim's studio on South Elm Street, just south of the railroad tracks, and watch a great potter at work. Even better, stop in and buy LOCAL! Taking this photo through the window, for Weekly Reflections, was more fun than watching TV-- any day! Here's to you Jim!

 

Leon's Style Salons

Nothing beats a good hair stylist. Here we see Robin working her magic at Leon's Style Salon on Friendly Avenue. Leon's has several salons throughout Greensboro, including a beauty school. Not only do they give great cuts at a great price, they are committed to showing original contemporary works of art. Artwork at the local salons features local artists from photographers to sculptors. The round mirrors add such drama to this salon with all of the original artwork on the wall. 

 

The Many Faces of Greensboro

People are sitting in the Barnes & Noble Cafe reading, grading papers, and having great conversations during a day of sloshy, lingering snow. We are featuring this post today to celebrate the self portraits of the many young students prominently displayed above. The faces, on thin sheets of foil, reflect the diversity of students in the Guilford County Schools. Our art teachers work very hard to get their students' work displayed in the community. Often, these exhibitions are hung in conjunction with school book nights at the bookstore. Could one of these faces be a future leader? Yesterday, we featured an art piece of four of Greensboro's finest students from 1960. Today, we feature 60 youthful faces of 2010.

Great art, the aroma of new books, and the taste of fresh coffee. Simply heaven!
 

Sit-in Art: A Cup of Freedom

Charles Jenkins, a security officer at the Guilford County Courthouse drew a sketch that would become this bronze work of art, named by Jenkins, "A Cup of Freedom." In Jenkins' sculpture, the cup rim is the lunch counter with the Greensboro Four seated (McCain, McNeil, Richmond, and Blair, Jr.). The coffee cup may be small is size (under 20 inches square as per the requirements of the project) but it is LARGE in symbolism. This stunning bronze artwork is prominently featured on the southeast corner of the International Civil Rights Museum and Center at the corner of February 1 Place and Elm Street. You can either enjoy this piece as a prelude to your museum visit or afterwords once understanding the Sit-in Movement more fully. We suggest both.

"C" is for "cup" on ABC Wednesday!!!
 

Art at Harper's Restaurant

Harper's Restaurant in Friendly Center is part of a chain of 10 restaurants all located in the Carolinas. They describe themselves as "polished casual." Has Harper's coined a term or have you heard it before? The diners in the photo above do, indeed, look polished casual! As feasible, Harper's uses regional food and monitors their carbon footprint. In short, the food is great and their recycling efforts encouraging.

We decided to feature this photo today because the artwork at Harper's reminds us so much of Haitian art. Haitian artists love to paint bright, bold "slice of life" scenes. Since 1974, Bill Bollendorf at his Pittsburgh Galerie Macondo has been selling Haitian art, dealing directly with artists in Haiti. Since 1977, Boris and Ruth Kravitz have been going to Haiti to bring great art to the world via their Haitian Art Company in Key West. Peruse both online galleries and you will get an idea of the scenes that will be painted depicting the horrors of The Earthquake of 2010. It is just a matter of time. Haitian artists will tell quite a story with canvas!

 

Nathaniel Greene

Here we see a painting of Nathaniel Greene on a building in downtown Greensboro, overlooking the Center City Park. Greensboro, established 1808 was named after General Greene. In the Revolutionary War, Greene pursued Cornwallis at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. Greene and his men lost the battle but  Greene's generalship and good judgment contributed significantly to the outcome of the war. The casualties inflicted on the British Army by Greene's forces caused Cornwallis to retreat from North Carolina. In his own words,  "I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons." Lt. General Charles Earl Cornwallis

Public art is always a good thing, particularly on these cold, gray days. As we write this, the temperature is 26 degrees and dropping. We need to read up and try to find out the temperature during the Battle of Guilford Court House!

 

On the 12th Day, Tom Clark

Today, on the 12th day of Christmas, the Epiphany, we are sharing Tom Clark's Holy Family and nativity scene. Clark was a professor of religion at Davidson College in Cornelius, North Carolina. He also received art training in several countries. While best known for his gnomes, equally impressive are his religious figures and his scaled miniatures of historic people like Davy Crockett and Thomas Jefferson. We are proud to feature Madame M's collection, which she displays alongside her now-famous Santon collection.

Unless we decide to feature Eastern Orthodox Christmas, which falls on January 7th, this photo should be Greensboro Daily Photo's "swan song" photo for the Christmas season. However, we are continuing the tradition of posting something spiritual on Sunday (Sacred Sunday) and will present more on the Paschal Mystery as we approach Easter. For now, enjoy the gnome-like faces on the Holy Family and google "Tom Clark gnomes" if you would like to learn more about his art as well as the value of the pieces. They are even available at Replacements, Ltd.!

 

Our Lady of Grace School

The weekend is over and children head back to school today. Our Lady of Grace School is a private, Catholic School, located on Chapman Street, just behind the church. Founded in 1953, OLG (as it is known locally) serves 370 children in grades K-8. 

We offer this photo for Monochrome Weekly. Emerging from the darkness of the tree trunk, the statue to the trio of people was just glowing in the sunshine this weekend. If you notice our other posts, we're really pretty obsessed with brilliant COLORS; however, sometimes you find something that was just meant for black and white!

Whoo Hoo Truck

We like to feature vehicles unique to Greensboro. Well, the Whoo-Hoo mobile is about as unique as it gets. Greensboro artist Leanne Pizio has decorated this truck to resemble her pottery. Likely, if you see the Whoo-hoo-mobile loaded up with boxes, Leanne is en route to a show. Stop Leanne right then and there and buy something. We've featured her before (but not this great vehicle) and here is her website. We love local talent and great vehicles; this post has both. If you are a "vehicle person" click here and take a quick scroll!

Let us know if there is a "must see" vehicle in YOUR neighborhood. We've always got our camera with us. Smile. If you're reading this, you survived another Friday the 13th! Stop by tomorrow for Sacred Sunday. Which house of worship will we feature next?

Lucky 32

Lucky 32 Restaurant has been a Greensboro institution for twenty years. Here we see the painting of downtown Greensboro in the entrance hallway. Every time we sit on the bench just below the glass bricks on the left, we notice some new detail in this painting. Featured prominently is the Jefferson Pilot, now Lincoln Financial, Building. Lucky 32, located at 1421 Westover Terrace, always has an interesting menu, centered around Southern foods.

Freedom is...

November 11.. Veterans' Day... was originally designated to honor veterans from WWI. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The holiday officially became celebrated as Armistice Day in 1938 and in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law to make the holiday honor Veterans of all wars. The above photo shows drawings of Greensboro elementary school students. Their collective effort reminds us that patriotism and appreciation for the servicemen who fight to defend our freedom starts young. May we all reflect on this day, regardless national origin and hope that the world may all find a way to live in peace.

Stations of the Cross

For Sacred Sunday this week, we offer a view of 5 of the 12 panels in the Stations of the Cross artwork at the West Market Street United Methodist Church. Traditionally, the Stations of the Cross features the end of Christ's life in 14 pictures or stations. In the West Market Street UMC collection, the 14 events are presented in 12 panels. The artwork, completed around 1890, was sold by the French church near the Belgian border once the church closed. Eventually, they were acquired and donated by the Fouts family in memory of Dan Fouts. As Father Adam of Monastery Daily Photo has pointed out, it is unusual for a Methodist Church to own this, traditionally Catholic, artwork. Regardless of owner, the paintings are stunning, and, in their balcony location, accessible to worshipers.

Goodbye to the Forrests

Interior decorator Martha Forrest and her artist husband Tony (on left) are relocating to New Orleans, "where they are needed," especially by their grandchildren! Here we see Martha, owner and principal designer of the Tin Rooster on Elm Street, and Tony with friends in front of the continents and oceans that Tony painted. 

We featured this globe when Greensboro Daily Photo first began back in January before Erik Beerbower performed his welding magic and made the word Greensboro on the top. Also featured are Ricki and Sydney Grey who own the property and who upcycled the air compressor from a navy ship into this work of art.  Good luck Martha and Tony and thank you for all that you contributed to the art and design community in Greensboro. 

This is our contribution to Sky Watch Friday where hundreds gather to share their photos of hometown skies.

Carolina Tattoo Company

As fall semester gets underway at local universities, we have many new faces in Greensboro. For parents of incoming freshman, likely, it has been hard to let go and trust that their children will thrive independent of the family unit. Here we see one of the ways students announce their newfound freedom: tattoos. Carolina Tattoo Company, located 1029 West Lee Street, just a block away from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was established in 1993. It is the oldest tattoo shop in the area and has seven tattoo artists. Likely, many a student will cross the threshold this fall.

While some of us will be gearing up to spend Labor Day weekend out of town, many people will be coming into Greensboro for the 15 Annual NC Tattoo Convention to be held at the Downtown Marriott September 4-6, 2009. At least 70 tattoo artists will be available to provide tattoos and body piercings. Little John's Tattoo shop sponsors the event. Little John was known far and wide for his amazing tattoo artistry. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago. However, his store is still going strong and many people still sport his tattoos. Next time you see an interesting tattoo, ask the "owner" about it. Often, there are fascinating stories about a tattoo's meaning and symbolism. By the way, is tattooee a word?

Tyler White Gallery on State Street

One of the reasons my husband and I undertook Greensboro Daily Photo was to build community, not only in cyberspace but right here in our own back yard, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Well, The Tyler White Art Gallery tries to build community not only in the art world but also on State Street. This Friday July 24th from 6-9, Tyler White will host a great art event, the Summer Sizzling Party. Additionally, a dozen or so nearby businesses will hold extended hours and offer great summer savings.

Greensboro Daily Photo will be there cheering for the State Street Proprietors and perhaps indulging in a little art purchasing, jewelry and art glass admiring, coffee drinking, and restaurant hopping. As you can see from the photo above, State Street has the character of beach shopping or hanging out in a little New England town. Come on down and join us and let's help increase the foot traffic on one of the cutest shopping streets in town. If you are one of our blog visitors from elsewhere, please post a comment letting us know about your favorite shopping district in your town. We just may be in your neighborhood!

(Other business with extended hours and possible special discounts that night: Carolina Coffee & Tea; Earnhardt Optical; Eclectic By Nature, Hearthside Home Care, Lillo Bella Shoe Store; Mechelle's Resale Shop; Spoiled Hair Salon; The Pewter Place; Yamamori, Ltd.; The Salt Box; Aesthetic Images; Secret Tea Room; Cafe Pasta; Napoli).

Lyndon Street Artist: Dai Rees

Yesterday we featured Lyndon Street Artworks for Sky Watch Friday. Today, we take you inside the studio with Dai Rees and his "found object" art piece, entitled, "Electric Kiwi Chia." Dai likes to take found objects and upcycle them into works of art. Often, he selects items from the on-property yellow quonset hut where people donate "junk" for artists to use. Dai likes to use items that have been sitting around for a while. The base of the Kiwi Chia is one such item, a dentist's lamp. The fibers are weed-eater string and inside are lights which give the three-dimentional piece a luminous effect at night. 

On the day we visited Lyndon Street, during the Fourth of July week, most artists were on vacation. Dai arrived just as we were leaving and offered to give us a full tour and to leave the studio open for as long as we wanted to wander about. He patiently answered every question and showed us around. 

We want to stop back when Karen Bjork Dischell in working on her batik-like, "Chaotic Appearance of Trees" paintings and when other artists are present. Sounds like First Friday would be a good time to stop back. Thank you Dai for serving as our personal tour guide! If "Electric Kiwi Chia" is available on First Friday, we just may need to bring her home!

Sky over Lyndon Street Artworks

Lyndon Street Artworks and Artworks Collective Gallery is a collection of studios, @ Lyndon Street, featuring over forty local artists. The gallery is open to the public and the first Friday of every month, from 6:00- 9::00 pm, they feature special exhibits and an opportunity for the public to come out and meet local artists. These human-sized butterflies are perched near the entrance to the gallery. We thought they made a great addition to our Sky Watch Friday contribution.

Marshall Art Gallery: Advertising on the Go

Tracey Marshall of Marshall Art Gallery is living her dream, working full time as a professional artist. Her gallery, located at The Village on North Elm, houses a fabulous frame shop and features many fabulous local artists, like Dawn Ashby, as well as international artists from as far away as Moldova. The post today, however, is about Tracey's Art-Gallery-Mobile, a roving advertisement, brilliantly wrapped in her own artwork on all for sides. Here, we see the van parked across from her gallery.

Tracey, we LOVE the van and only hope you never need to drive around town incognito. Word in the store is that everyone is saying, "I saw Tracey today." "I'm driving down Battleground Ave. behind Tracey Marshall." What a great way to advertise and celebrate your artwork, as well as your passion for art. What a great way to ensure that you are making good choices while in traffic!  So far, the advertising on your van seems to be money well spent! 

(We featured one other wrapped car on 2/6: Kneaded Energy).

Happy Father's Day, Yesterday

If you are a dad, we hope you had a wonderful Father's Day! Here we are, back on the lawn on Holden Road, across the street from Starmount Country Club. The lifesize letters say it all: DAD!

Stained Glass at St. Paul's Catholic Church

St. Paul's Catholic Church is the visual version of surround sound. Technicolor abounds.  Here, is an example of four of the many stained glass windows on the rounded exterior walls. People may question the architect when viewing the exterior of the church. However, on the inside, the sanctuary is breathtaking. As you can see from the above windows, the one on the left is more washed out, indicating that the sun is beaming directly through that window and it has already passed the other three all of which seem darker.

Mother's Day Madonna and Child by Mario Skori

On this Mother's Day Sunday, we reflect on Mary, Mother of Jesus, the most widely portrayed mother in history. The above Madonna and child was painted by Mario Skori and comes from the private collection of renown portrait painter Marcus Blahove (b. 1928).  Blahove, originally from Ukraine via Argentina, lived in Greensboro for several years with his Spanish-teacher wife, Maria Raisa and their family.  

We like the intensity of the eyes painted in the above picture. The baby's eyes are blue and the mother's eyes are dark brown. Both are pensive; neither is looking directly at the painter. We wonder just what they are seeing, pondering... The baby appears to be incomplete, a work in progress-- perhaps a metaphor for motherhood in general. Our understanding of the word mother changes as we move from infant to toddler to adolescent to adult to parent. At this point in your life, what does the word "mother" mean to you?  How will you remember your mother on this Mother's Day?

(Note:  The above painting remains in a private collection in Greensboro. The owner would love to know more about the history of the painting and the artist. If you are in contact with the Blahove family, please direct them to this blog).

Tape Art: Drawn Together- Organized by Weatherspoon Art Museum

You've been taped!!!! In this photo, the green decoration on the side of Zeto Wine & Cheese Shop is tape. This community art project was organized by the Weatherspoon Art Museum of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. For eight days, a different place around town will receive a tape art mural. A new twist this year was keeping the location of the "daily tape" a surprise with clues including live images streamed from artist Michael Townsend. Temporary art does give the eye something new to enjoy!

               

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Happy "Cinco de Mayo." This photo was taken on Saturday at the  Artbeat Festival in our beautiful City Center Park in downtown Greensboro. The four dancers are dressed in festive costumes from Jalisco, Mexico. These women make dancing look easy; however, in reality, the dresses are extremely heavy and the women get quite a workout swishing the skirts and moving around on stage. 

Typical of events where Artbeat and the Greensboro Public Library are involved, this event attracted people of all ages and from many cultures. The Artbeat Greensboro Festival will continue until May 10th, so if you haven't attended an event yet, it is not too late. Also, if you are in the mood to celebrate Cinco de Mayo today, turn your radio dial to 94.5 FM, La Preciosa, and enjoy the "musica inolvidable en vivo." If you look to the left of the photo above, you can see the tent belonging to "La Preciosa." The announcers were balanced bilinguals and took great care to accommodate their English and Spanish listeners.

If you go out today to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, please dine in one of the 127 restaurants participating in the "Serving Greensboro Together" fundraiser for Urban Ministries. Ten percent of the sale will be donated to Urban Ministry.  Arriba!

Fabulous Saturday in Greensboro

If you live in Greensboro and stay home today, you are missing out on a tremendous amount of local talent, history, and culture. First, as part of Art Beat Greensboro, Children's Day/Book Day will be held downtown in Center City Park from noon- 3pm. Bilingual children's writer Pat Mora will be on hand and many family-friendly activities will be offered at this free event-- music, dance, face painting, making bilingual books to name a few.

At 8pm, Barbara Presnell's poem  Piece Work will be brought to life on stage at the Historical Museum. The poem, and the stage adaptation, are an account of the lives of textile workers in Asheboro, NC across forty years. We saw the production last night and HIGHLY recommend it! As an added bonus, at the entrance to the Historical Museum is the fine photography of Lisa Scheer, documenting the under-celebrated lives of textile workers and their families in Greensboro.  We used the above photo today, the Water Tower at Revolution Textile Mill, because a woman, whose family on her mother and father's side all worked in textile mills, told us that the small structure at the top of this building was built during WWII to house a machine gun, kept there to protect the mill workers during power black outs. 

By getting out and attending these free events, you show your support for the arts, you will learn much about the history of our community and meet some very interesting people. If you're still looking for something to do, consider attending the Tape Art Project in Greensboro today!

African American Atelier's Bilingual Mural

The above bilingual (English/Spanish) mural is a multi-level project painted Summer 2008 by the African American Atelier Community Youth Program. As seen in the pink lettering above, the artist-instructor was Brittain Peck. Peck's work, "All City All Star/ Las Estrellas de la Ciudad,"  is an illustrated, narrative saga of two children whose houses have been crushed by the feet of a robot. Their story is told though dialog clouds in English and Spanish. "Wow! I am sliding up! Wow! Estoy deslizando arriba!" says the skateboarder. "Yucky! The air smells bad. Asqueroso! El aire huele malo."  Fear not, the ending is uplifting mainly due to the upbeat attitude of the children. 

We have several pictures of this fabulous mural to share at a future date.  However, the above picture was chosen because it is a good introduction to the color and complexity of the project. If you come to Greensboro or already live here, you can find the project on the Church Street Parking Deck in the stairwell nearest the Central Branch of the Greensboro Public Library. While many names are associated with the vertical mural, the other one we want to include is Delois Bynum, assistant to Mr. Peck and Atelier staff member.  Chatting with Ms. Bynum is like talking to your wise auntie. She has a gentle way of educating you and making you feel welcome at the same time. 

               

Art Quest

Here we see a picture of the clay corner at Artquest, the hands-on studio located in the Cultural Arts Building on Davie St. Artquest is just one of many facets of the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art. Artquest is a fabulous studio where people can paint, weave, draw, make a collage, mold clay, and hone visual/spacial skills with twelve art stations designed by North Carolina artists. Additionally, Artquest is a great place to go for a field trip or for a birthday party. If you are looking for summer activities, they have reasonably-priced camps. Artquest is fun for children because it is so interactive and visually stimulating. It is fun for adults because you can dabble in art without being intimidated. It brings out the artist in everyone! Finally, the studio adjoins the Green Hill Gallery so you can saunter through the gallery, seeking inspiration from professional artists, before making a work of art yourself! Take advantage of a great community resource.

               

O.Henry: Extraordinary Short Story Writer from Greensboro

Here we see one small part of the O. Henry Monument at 301 N. Elm Street in downtown Greensboro. O. Henry, pen name of William Sydney Porter, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862-- at the time of the Civil War in the United States. O. Henry will always be remembered for his great short stories with clever endings (aka, the O. Henry ending).  This human-sized book, dubbed "O. Henry's Book" by the artist Maria J. Kirby-Smith, was placed at the U.S. Trust Tower Plaza in 1985. In futures posts, we will see more delightful sides of the book as well as a statue of the author himself and his little dog, just a few paces away. In the meantime, if you are curious to learn more about the author or to see a picture of him, please follow the Wikipedia site linked to his name (above).

This must-see,  ensemble/tribute is posted in black and white today as part of the Monochrome Monday theme day. Since the overgrown azalea was removed a few years ago, this view of the monument is actually well suited for black and white.

               

Cultural Arts Center: Graduated Roof and Cloudless Sky Above

Greensboro's Cultural Center at Festival Park located at 200 N. Davie Street has it all! As noted on the Downtown Greensboro website, "Within the Greensboro Cultural Arts Center are the following: The African American Atelier, The Center for Visual Artists, Green Hill Center for NC Art/ArtQuest and Gift Shop, and the Guilford Native American Art Gallery and Gift Shop." Additionally the Community Theater of Greensboro, the Greensboro Children's Theater, and a host of other organizations have offices there. Finally, you can be sure to find some music or art organization performing and hosting exhibits throughout the building. The Cultural Center is a community space we need to use and help fund. We decided to use it for Skywatch Friday because we love to showcase Greensboro's buildings. The redbud trees in the foreground look beautiful in combination with the green on the roof. Since the brick is approaching orange, it is ALMOST as if this were a celebration of secondary colors!

If you are not from around here, hopefully, you will appreciate the beauty of the building. If you are local and use this building, likely, you are on a first name basis with Mary, Rosina, Steven, and Mitchell (to name a few of the dedicated folks with offices in this building).  If you are looking for something to do this weekend, stop by the Cultural Center, take in an exhibit, and get a schedule of upcoming events. Happy Friday. We hope you enjoy this little slice of the cloudless blue sky.

Easter Sunday: Christ's Blessing

Happy Easter! Today, we present this ecclesiastical window, Christ's Blessing, which was installed in the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro circa 1903. According to the sign, posted beside the window, "(t)he theme for this beautiful Tiffany-style window comes from the Gospel verse, 'Let the little children come unto me... for such is the kingdom of heaven.' It was sponsored by members of the Scales family in memory of their mother Effie and father Junius, who was a prominent 19th-century Greensboro attorney and state legislator."  Today, the window is housed on the property of the original First Presbyterian Church which is now part of the Greensboro Historical Museum.

             

Leanne Pizio's Pottery

Leanne Blake Pizio is a local potter whose eclectic work can be seen in the photo above. Leanne sells her wares at most of the local pottery festivals as well as through the internet. This photo was taken on Sunday during the Pottery Festival at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market at 501 Yanceyville Street.

Leanne has perfected the sgraffito technique which involves coating pottery and scratching off parts to achieve an intricate design. Additionally, Leanne leaves no surface unadorned. The back side of her work is usually as intricately detailed as the front! Designs on her pottery include dreamy Alice-in-Wonderland like characters, rabbits, crows, owls. Currently, she is smitten with her 100 tall, "wonky" bottle project, two of which are in the upper right hand corner. If you want to learn more about her artistic process as well as how to order her pottery, you can contact her directly through her blog. We have always been impressed at how personable Leanne is with her customers.

   

Stained Glass Window at Greek Orthodox Church

The stained glass window is found at the entrance of the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church at 800 Westridge Road.  Greensboro isn't filled with stained glass like the European cities; however, we do have some beauties like the one above and will feature other examples in upcoming posts.  Today crept up on us and we didn't get back to learn more about the window. If you attend this church and know the history of this window, please share the information in a comment below. From an artistic point of view, we love the way the colors of the window reflect onto the brass name plates on the wooden plaque on the left. The scene appears to be God handing Jesus to Mary (Theotokos).

If your church has stained glass windows and you need replacement pieces or you are a crafter looking for sheets of stained glass, we suggest contacting Blenko Glass Company in nearby West Virginia. Blenko has a fascinating process for hand blowing sheet glass in a process that has not changed for over 100 years. 

              

Elsewhere Artist Collaborative (City Daily Photo Theme Day: Yellow!!!)

Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, located at 606 and 608 South Elm St. (Greensboro, NC, USA), is the site of today's GDP post, celebrating the City Daily Photo April 2009 theme-- YELLOW. Does this photo yell YELLOW, or what? If you are interested, here is the history behind Elsewhere. 

Joe and Sylvia Gray owned the South Elm Street building and maintained a thrift store inside. The inventory was the result of nearly 60 years of collecting. After Joe died and Sylvia got up in years, she had a sign posted on the door of her thrift shop saying something along the lines of, "call before you come. I may open up at 12:00 noon, and then again, I may not." We always got a chuckle out of her cavalier attitude towards committing to a fixed schedule. By the time of her death in 1997, Sylvia's store was stacked floor to ceiling with over 1,000,000 second-hand treasures. Thrift shoppers looked longingly through the windows at the items they only dreamed of purchasing. Developers looked at the building wondering how they could get her to clear it out. Along came George Scheer.

In 2003, Sylvia's grandson, George Scheer, opened a "museum" and artist collaborative in the location. Since the opening of Elsewhere, none of the million pieces has been for sale. NOTHING is for sale. The items serve as artifacts of a life of collecting and a place for artists to creatively assemble the items into visual feasts. Elsewhere is referred to as a "playhouse for artists." It has quickly developed a following and is gaining international attention, receiving grants, and evolving into a legitimate artists' venue worthy of grants and special events. The above picture was taken in one of the far back corners of the space. Who(m) do you think the mannequins resemble? Are you starting to appreciate the spirit of the collaborative?

Go here to read more about Elsewhere.

Since this is the first day of the month, it is theme day for the city daily photo community. This month's theme is "yellow." Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

               

Through the Doors of the Greek Orthodox Church

The Lenten season in the Orthodox Church is a time of purification of body and soul in preparation for the feast of the Ressurection of Christ. Lent is a time for Orthodox Christians to reflect on their living habits and on their spirituality and to remember the dead. These flowers were placed in the vestibule of the Dormition of the Theotokos Orthodox Church on Saturday, March 7th, The Saturday of Souls. The Saturday of Souls is set aside for prayers and hymns to commemorate people who died within the liturgical year. The icon above, known as The Akathist, depicts Theotokos, or the Mother of God, and Christ. Akathistos translated means "not sitting" and participants stand while the hymn is being prayed. In the top right corner of the photo, you can see a woman standing during the service.

The church is located at 800 Westridge Road on the corner of Westridge and Friendly Avenue.

               

Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch of the Greensboro Public Library

This painting, depicting the sky over Greensboro, is found in the small  rotunda of the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch of the Greensboro Public Library System. The actual sky can be seen through the windows in the middle where sun beams through to illuminate the picture for all to enjoy. As stated on their website, "[t]he library is located in the 98-acre Price Park, which includes a bird and butterfly meadow, reading garding, walking trails, ponds, and wetlands."  This is our second link to Skywatch Friday, a project where people from all over the world share a slice of the sky as seen over their respective communities.

Are there any sky paintings in your town? If you painted the sky, what would it look like? Why don't we all try it! The more we examine our city, the more we realize how much there is to see and do here. Happy Skywatch Friday the 13th! (We published this, by mistake, earlier in the week and, at least one reader chalked it up to the superstition that Friday the 13th's are considered unlucky)!!!

             

West Virginia Glass Pears in North Carolina

Today's theme for City Daily Photo is GLASS. At Greensboro Daily Photo, we love to photograph glass, so this photo is entered in the CDP theme day. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. The first of these  three pears was made by Rainbow Glass in West Virginia. The other two are from WV but do not have stickers.

While North Carolina is not known for glass blowing, we are famous  for the selling of glass treasures on the secondary market. Replacements, Ltd. located at 1089 Knox Road, in Greensboro, is known worldwide for its offering of glassware and china, old and new. With an inventory of 13 million pieces, likely Replacements has glass like these pears available for sale! 

              

Kneaded Energy Smart Car on State Street

State Street is reminiscent of walking through a quaint community at the beach. Eclectic, local-proprietor shops abound. If you haven't walked State Street lately, you are missing something special. The last two times we've been there, this car has been parked on the 400 block. As it turns out, Kneaded Energy is located at 408 1/2 State Street. For now, we'll just have to sit back, enjoy our coffee from Carolina Coffee and Tea (400 State Street) while looking at this picture on the Smart Car! Happy Friday! Why don't you head out and see if you can spot the kneaded energy mobile--ette.