Tuesday, July 24, 2012

dennis haggerty



i just found out that a west chester based artist, Dennis Haggerty passed away today.  i had the honor of knowing him for the past 9 years.  he was very encouraging to me when i was first starting out in my art career.  he would visit my bar sometimes, and i loved picking his brain about his experiences in the art world.  i was honored to have known him and to be the recipient of many of his smaller pieces.  i am very sad that he has passed on.

for more info about Dennis, go to...
http://www.chestercountyarts.org/exhibit/2007/haggertyhttp://www.chestercountyarts.org/exhibit/2007/haggerty

Rest in peace, Dennis.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Things that inspire... Yorklyn, DE

On friday i had an exhibition at "Secrets in Stone" -a sculpture studio/exhibition space.
The owner and associated artists were wonderful.
The space sits as one of the few reconstructed buildings amongst the decaying factory of Yorklyn.
From what i was able to gather from people who live in the area, Yorklyn was a town based upon the factory-  National Vulcanized Fiber- most likely built in the 1920'sThere are the factory buildings, nearby twin homes, a recreational area and even a school (which is now home to the Center of Creative Arts).
Apparently the company went bankrupt and just left one day back in the eighty's.  Since then the majority of the buildings have been let go to decay and slowly be reclaimed by nature  A few people had ventured inside the buildings to find papers and personal belongings amongst the office areas. "It looks like they just left", they said.  Also, some of the materials they used were very hazardous, therefore the land "was found to be contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Vulcanized_Fiber)
I kept trying to research online about the factory and town's history but could find little. 
Driving into the place was like driving into a ghost land.  I was thoroughly inspired and intrigued.
I went around taking some photographs.  i would have loved to venture into some of these buildings if i was allowed- but at the same time i really want to stick around as long as possible for my daughter.