Tales from New York City
New York grips me. It’s like a children’s playground where the rides and games can come in all manners of form – a jog over the Williamsburg bridge, to bargaining for the best ginger down China Town, to bourbon cocktails in the Gansavoort Hotel roof terrace bar… these are just the rides that I took with my mother, but I am sure the city offers much more risqué varieties of experimentation, exploration, pleasure, interest and fun.
I find it a feast for my eyes and everywhere I look is a photograph. A stunning beautiful, interesting image awaiting the click of my camera. Excitement and happiness builds up in me as I run through that city, until I’m almost bursting at the seams with the possibilities.. my artist well over spilling again.
I love the people. It’s a like a home from home. John Lennon always said that he was a son of both Liverpool and New York and I can understand why… both cities are populated by cheeky, witty, rebellious and creative types… always ready for some banter or debate. And staying with my school friend (and I mean infant school friend) Barbra, in the East Village I bumped into my first inspirational characters in a famous pancake place. The woman caught my eye the minute she walked in. I loved her spirit and when I saw her tattoo – I dunno, I just liked her.
I had to take a picture, so we had a chat. She is an illustrator, calligraphy I think… lived in Brooklyn, involved in film… had that twinkle in her eye. Unfortunately I have lost my little notebook with all these details. Devastating. But I realised that I am embarking on a theme of inspirational women. It’s a theme I’ve probably been following since my youth, having been surrounded by great strong women, then studying women in art history… being brought up by not only a feminist mum, but a feminist dad! Once having told me, ‘Anna, in mid-70s, I even hated men!’. But this meeting in New York consolidated my ongoing gratitude to those and are out there doin’ it and livin’ it and made me realise that I’d like to do a study on wonderful women that inspire me. Watch this place.
People and place. They are what makes all of the difference. And in the short three days we had in NY we enjoyed chats with people from many small neighbourhoods and caught a glimpse of the history and heritage of these people and this place.
My tales from NY couldn’t be complete without a mention of Stevie G. Barbra’s cat who is toilet trained to actually sit on his own real toilet to go to the loo… Ingenious. And who is the funniest, cuddliest, most gorgeous cat I’ve met in a while… nearly as gorgeous as the real Stevie G 🙂
