Washington Capitals / Metro Closed
Peter and I went to a Caps game tonight. It was great, and they beat Carolina 2-1 in overtime on a (slightly) contested Ovechkin goal.
On our way to the arena, a guy sitting near to us on the Metro told us that the entire system would be closed for 24 hours starting at midnight. We figured he wasn’t kidding when we saw this ⇧. Should make the morning commute really interesting.
Design Observer / Jessica Helfand
Very shortly after the first Willard Suitcases kickstarter went up I received an email from Jessica Helfand expressing her interest in the project. She soon invited me down to New Haven to speak to her Yale freshman seminar class, “Studies in Visual Biography”. Here is a post I did just after that first visit. I have subsequently been to her class on several other occasions and it is always very stimulating and fun.
As well as teaching at Yale, Jessica and her late husband Bill Drenttel created Design Observer, which is a fantastic website devoted to creativity and design. That description doesn’t do it justice though, as it is so much more than that. It is really worth checking out on a regular basis. In addition to the site, Design Observer recently started publishing a quarterly magazine. The second issue is just out, and they included a huge spread on the suitcases. I am just so honored to be a part of the issue, and it looks great. Here is a link to purchase it, and I would really recommend all of you interested in the project to do so. It includes many suitcase photographs that haven’t been published before. Special thanks go to Eugenia Bell, who did a great job selecting the images, and making sure it all came together. She was a joy to work with.
As we were saying goodbye after that first class at Yale, Jessica reached out, hugged me and said “We’re friends now!” It was a most touching gesture and I have rarely felt so quickly welcomed into someone’s life. She has been a massive supporter of the project who has helped me in so many ways, and I am very fortunate to be her friend.
Coal Harbour Vancouver
I walked down to the harbour yesterday afternoon. There was a break in the rain so it was a nice time to watch the Harbour Air planes take off and land. I found myself thinking that if one were a pilot, this would be the best job in the world. And I love the floating Chevron station.
Although this plane was Westcoast Air. Back home tomorrow. This visit was much too short.
Japadog
I have always liked street hotdogs. Even (and maybe especially) New York City Sabrett dogs. Just outside our hotel is this Japadog stand. I had the Kurobuta Terimayo (Most Popular!!!!). Very tasty.
Vancouver Day 2
When we were taking the taxi in from the airport, Cris saw a sign in a shop that said “The world needs more Canada”.
I couldn’t agree more. The people here are astonishingly nice.
Everytime I come back to the room, the view is different.
Off to the botanical gardens later today.
Back to Vancouver
The first leg of the flight was Hartford/Toronto on this tiny little prop plane. It was kind of cool actually. Air Canada service was great.
The windows frosted up, but when we started descending just past Buffalo, there was an amazing view of Niagara Falls.
I took this photo just after first light. It will rain much of the day, but Vancouver is such an amazing city. Cris has meetings, but there will be lots of time to walk.
Olive Takes a Dip
I think I post a version of this photograph more than I probably should. We have had a ton of rain in the past few days, and Olive and I had a lovely wet walk in the woods this afternoon. But for some reason, the water, the leaves, and the dog make me feel quite happy and I wanted to share it.
Bernie!
I had heard earlier today that Bernie Sanders would be in Amherst this evening and thought it would be interesting to go and check it out. I used to shoot a lot of political stuff when I was younger and have always liked the vibe of campaign gatherings.
There was a huge queue outside of the Mullins Center for the 6.00 PM event.
Here are Bill, Billy, and Elias who came over from Hudson, NY. Bill is a huge politics buff and was a fan of both Hillary and Bernie. Elias is going to Africa in a few months.
The event was supposed to start at 6.00, but there were still thousands of people outside at that time as security was pretty tight. TSA were checking bags and pockets, and the Secret Service was in full force.
I think this guy was serious!
There was quite a lot of positive energy in the building. And not just young folks. It was actually quite diverse in terms of age.
The only merchandise I saw for sale were these earrings, and I don’t think the woman selling them was an “official” part of the campaign. $10.00 a pair.
Just like old times for me; this guy was shooting 16mm film!
I love photographing events like this, as people are really open and happy for the attention.
Here is my Norwegian friend Björn, who seemed to find it all exotic and interesting. He said that given what Bernie had to say, he would probably be thought of as a center-right candidate in Norway.
I will say this; Bernie has a tremendous amount of energy and drive, and there is a very genuine quality about him. The crowd was completely with him the whole time.
It was a very interesting evening, and so much fun to be in the middle of this sort of event again.
Don’t forget to vote!
Gordon Krieghoff
I have mentioned my Krieghoff connection before. Like Cornelius, Gordon was also a painter, and he lived and worked in Detroit, which is where my mom grew up. If I remember correctly, they were contemporaries, although Gordon was somewhat older. In addition to works like the one above, he was also a commericial artist.
While my family doesn’t have any Cornelius paintings, we do have quite a few of Gordon’s. There is not much of a market for his work, and there isn’t much information online about his life. It is possible that my brother or sister know more than I, and they might add something in the comments. I don’t ever remember meeting him as a child.
When my parents died, we siblings each got several of the paintings. The frames were in pretty good shape but the mats were yellowed and probably not acid-free. This is the second one that I have had reframed, and like the first, there was something sketched out on the reverse side of the painting.
This is clearly the beginning of what was probably an advertisement of some sort. I know he did illustrative work for some of the larger Detroit companies, including General Motors. Like many of us, I wish I had more concrete facts about my extended family history.
Olive’s New Bowl
When Judy Berde and I were making arrangements for my talk on Roosevelt Island, I got an email from her asking if I had a dog. The question came out of nowhere, but I told her about Olive. When I finished my talk she presented me with a box with this amazing gift inside. Olive now has a new bowl, and she loves it! (Well, it has food in it and she is a Labrador; what’s not to like?) I think these bowls are for sale through the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, as well as mugs with the same text. Any of you who live in the metro New York area should think about joining the organization; Judy does a great job and the island has a really interesting history.
Olive is also now rocking a new Red Sox collar, which is a gift from my sister Karen. Thanks Sis.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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