Nicki's Central West End Guide

Memorial Day 2012

Sunday, May 27

Dr. George Benson's photos from the Himalayas

Following on the heels of Wednesday's post on last Friday night's gallery openings on McPherson, I want to mention a photography exhibit that occurred the same evening at Coiffures by Shawn, 312 N. Euclid. The salon is located above SubZero Vodka Bar. Gregory Smith, the proprietor of the salon for the past thirty years, and CWE resident and real estate broker Paul Mittelstadt, organized an exhibit of Dr. George Benson's photography. Dr. Benson, a retired psychoanalyst, lived with his wife, Virginia, on Pershing Place and later in the Greystone.

A small selection of the photographs that Dr. Benson, above, shot with his Hasselblad 500C large-format camera during his three trips to Nepal remain on display at the salon. (The photograph above Dr. Benson's head is not his work.)

Dr. Benson developed the photos he took on his travels to Nepal between 1980 and 1985 in his CWE home. Besides being an avid photographer, he enjoyed cycling, hiking, and mountain climbing, see photo above.

The group of photographs above were taken on Dr. Benson's treks through the Annapurna, Dhalguiri, and Everest mountains of Nepal, and also in the capital city of Kathmandu.

You can always count on Gregory to find ways to ramp up any occasion. SubZero provided drinks and appetizers from its new Market Bar, while in the back area of the salon stylists were on hand to offer free shampoos and styling using Moroccan Oil Hair Products. Also on hand were the creators of the locally-produced Smelly Things Candle Company. Coiffures by Shawn carries the company's line of 100% soy candles which come in a variety of fragrances.

Dr. George Benson's "Photographs from the Himalayas" will be on view at Coiffures by Shawn at 312 N. Euclid for several more weeks. Check out the website for hours.

A big welcome for the Philip Slein Gallery

The Philip Slein Gallery recently moved from a location downtown to 4735 McPherson Avenue and celebrated with a grand re-opening last Friday night. Fellow gallery and shop owners along the McPherson corridor rolled out the welcome mat with openings of their own. The street was crowded with art patrons and those who were curious about the art, or just wanted an excuse to get out and enjoy the beautiful May evening.

The photo above shows the gathering in front of the Philip Slein Gallery, left, and a view into the neighboring, eye-catching Halbert Rugs.

We stopped in to visit with Atrium Gallery owner Carolyn Miles and her husband Joe, above. I recently posted a story about Atrium's current exhibition, "Come'on to My House" by New York artist Christopher Tanner.

This time I persuaded CWEnder Mike Owens to let me snap his photo in front of Tanner's "Hand in the Pool of Maria Montez." I thought the shot would add a little glitz (which is why he's laughing) to his run for State Rep of the 84th District (that's us). VOTE FOR MIKE on August 7th!

Shelton Davis Antiques at 4724 McPherson, was also open late for browsers.

Centro Modern Furnishings at 4727 McPherson featured new arrivals from Antonio Citterio for Flexform and kept the party going with its notorious CenCen Punch.

Eleven-month-old Max, who was gallery hopping with his parents from their home in Benton Park, thought the cool Feltry chair at Centro was just about perfect. Ginny Stewart, co-owner with Todd Lannom of Centro, said the chair's quilt was taken off for the evening, so if you're interested in learning more about it, stop in Centro, 4727 McPherson. 

Art even parked at a meter in front of the Duane Reed Gallery.

The Duane Reed Gallery hosted two exhibitions. In the front room is work by artists Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles who collaborated on pieces they named "Reflections." They create their stunning art out of "off-hand" blown and sculpted glass, found objects, beads, and antique West African findings, above and below.

 

Matthew Paul Isaacson, Ceramics Coordinator/Gallery Director at Forest Park Community College, incorporates industrial manufactured porcelain tiles & fabricated stainless steel into his sculptures. Gallery owner Duane Reed said that Isaacson arrived a week earlier with boxes of tiles that he put assembled on site. Both exhibitions are a must-see! Check website for hours.

Greg Halbert (center), proprietor of Halbert Rugs at 4733 McPherson, had visitors guess the price of his rugs, which are new but look old. We all flunked--they are much more reasonable than they appear. 

It was a one-way ticket for Jackie Saccoccio's oil and mica paintings at the Philip Slein Gallery.  By the time we arrived there were ten red dots on the New York artist's work---all of her paintings sold to St. Louis collectors!! How's that for an opening night?

The gregarious Philip Slein, above, is shown standing in front of one of the Saccoccio paintings visiting with a few of the many people who stopped in to welcome him to the neighborhood.

Another one of Saccoccio's paintings, above, and a final shot of some of those admiring her art, below.

I ran into an old high school friend at the Philip Slein Gallery who jokingly asked why I didn't wear my shorts that evening. I replied that I would have if I still could, but instead I'd rather admire the beauty I photographed above---love the legs, love the red shoes--loved the whole evening! And welcome Philip...

Shakespeare Festival's "Othello" opens this week

"Places everyone!" for the opening of the 12th Season of the Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park's Shakespeare Glen. This season features the Bard's Othello, which according to Festival Executive Director Rick Dildine, is one of their audience's most requested plays.

When I stopped by last week, signage was laid out and ready to be installed at the top of the beautiful glen northeast of the Art Museum; and actors were arriving to step onto the outdoor stage for the first time. 
Othello is directed by Bruce Longworth, head of the acting program at Webster University. Longworth also directed Hamlet in 2010. The Shakespeare Festival's production is set in 1912 during a lesser-known war between Italy and Turkey. The set designer is Robbie Jones and the costumes--always at the top of my list--are designed by Lou Bird.

Over the past eleven years the Shakespeare Festival has attracted over 500,000 people. The photo of the huge crowd above was taken two years ago when Hamlet was being performed. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs, and a picnic--or purchase food and drink under a tent on the festival grounds. Othello will be performed each evening at 8 p.m. (except Tuesdays) from May 23 (May 23 & 24 are preview performances) through June 17. Complimentary backstage tours, 20-minute Talkback sessions, and Green Show activities are available starting at 6:30.

Major donors to the Shakespeare Festival include Emerson, Wells Fargo Advisors, UMB, Missouri Arts Council, Ameren and Scottrade. While the Shakespeare Festival is free, individual donations are definitely encouraged.  Call the festival office at (314) 531-9800 or check the website for more information. 

Sunday, May 20

Got Wheels?

The Food Pantry at Second Presbyterian Church

There is a lot to learn about the impressive Romanesque Revival Second Presbyterian Church, including its collection of Tiffany windows in the sanctuary. The Church, located at 4501 Westminster at Taylor, is currently undergoing some interior renovation, see photo above.

Some readers may be familiar with the classroom space in the lower level of the Education Building, constructed in 1930, as the polling place for two 28th Ward precincts in the CWE. It also houses a food pantry, Good Ground, which has been in existence for over thirty years. On Saturday mornings 18 to 25 families come for groceries and, here's what's unique to this pantry---samples of a healthy recipe. If the clients (who are scheduled to visit the pantry once a month) are interested, they are given the recipe and a bag full of ingredients they'll need to recreate the dish at home.

Jana Sisler and John Leo are co-directors of Good Ground Pantry. The items on the well-stocked shelves above were purchased by the volunteers using monies donated by parishioners and others. Bread-stuffs come from Panera Bread on Forest Park Blvd. which donates end-of-day items to a different organization each day.

Other donations come in the form of fresh produce. One of Second Church's parishioners purchased a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and donated it to Good Ground Pantry. CWE Board Member Arthur Culbert also drops off fresh produce from the community garden he and the 4th grade class from New City School cultivate on Waterman. And children at the Washington Montessori School in north St. Louis have planted a garden that benefits the pantry. Neighbors are also invited to drop off excess produce grown in their backyards, see information at end of this post.

Once a month, a nutritionist from Operation Food Search brings a healthy recipe that volunteers help Karen Buckey test and then make for sampling each Saturday. The March selection was "Friendship Soup," above, which included legumes that don't need to be soaked, a spice packet, and a bag of oyster crackers.

A spicy bean salsa was April's selection, above and below. It came with a box of cornbread mix. The volunteers shop at big box stores, or wherever they can get the best prices on the ingredients. In addition to developing the recipe, the nutritionist from Operation Food Search visits Good Ground Pantry once a month to offer advice to the clients on healthy eating. The hope is that with exposure to the good nutritious food Good Ground provides, and follow-up consultation with a nutritionist, the clients' health will improve.

There are lots of ways you can help Good Ground Pantry at Second Presbyterian Church continue its work. To volunteer by handing out samples of the healthy recipe on Saturday mornings, contact KABuckey@gmail.com. If you have excess produce growing in your backyard, bring it to Second Presbyterian Church on Saturday mornings at 9:30, or drop it off in the church office during business hours. Use the entry on the parking lot, there is a buzzer.

And once a month a group of volunteers gets together for "Table Talk," which is a chance to network over dinner. The group meets at a local restaurant--last month it was Duff's--to support a locally-owned restaurant and discuss topics such as local food sources and sustainability. Contact Karen Buckey if you'd like to join Table Talk: KABuckey@gmail.com.

Finally, donations to Good Ground Pantry can be sent to Second Presbyterian Church, 4501 Westminster, 63108. Make the check out to Good Ground Pantry.

"flash flea market" this week!

The Flora Conservancy of Forest Park's Plant Sale

Volunteers for The Flora Conservancy of Forest Park hold a yearly plant sale in the St. Louis City Greenhouses at 5600 Clayton Road. The greenhouses, located on the southern edge of Forest Park, border Highway 64 across from Forest Park Community College. This year's weeklong sale commenced last Saturday and will continue through this Saturday the 19th (see hours at end of post).

The Flora Conservancy of Forest Park, whose Director and former Forest Park Manager is CWEnder Anabeth Weil, is a not-for-profit volunteer organization (see some of the many volunteers in photo above), that landscapes and maintains plantings throughout Forest Park. The organization operates in partnership with the City of St. Louis Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department.

Volunteers take charge of growing the plants for the sale, which provides the bulk of the funding for the organization.

Plants are very reasonably priced, $3 on up. Hanging baskets, chock-full of a variety of shade-loving plants were marked $8. They were snapped up fast.

Volunteers also helped customers to their cars on Saturday, see above. In return for 30 hours of service beautifying Forest Park, Flora Conservancy volunteers are granted the privilege of overwintering tropical plants in the City Greenhouses. To become a volunteer, call (314) 289-5323.

The Flora Conservancy Plant Sale continues the rest of the week from 8 to 3, and Saturday the 19th from 8 to 11, cash or check only, 5600 Clayton Rd.