With Spring arriving next week and this weekend celebrating St. Patrick!, we want to offer up some things that will put some spring in your step.  One of the things that always puts a spring in my step is looking forward to the new Summer offerings at the Center for Book Arts and they do have some goodies.  This blog's writer has already signed up for Shawn Sheehy's Popups for Miniatures which Shawn taught at the Asheville Bookworks last year for The Miniature Book Conclave.  They have some other great workshops offered in the bindery as well as their letterpress workshops with Barbara Henry!  Check them out at www.centerforbookarts.org!  Also premiering are some great shows in Chelsea with Faith Ringgold at ACA Galleries and another great exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcasing the work of the Impressionists with selections from their Costume Institute that looks to be a promising, fresh and colorful!  Check out their exhibits at www.metmuseum.org!  If you have never caught the views from their rooftop sculpture gardent at the Met, take a half hour and amble on up to catch some great views of Central Park from this spectacular viewing point.  On Friday nights, they are open late and you can watch the sun set over the Manhattan skyline while enjoying a great cocktail and some nibbles.  One of my favorite ways to start the evening before hitting a show or club in the big apple.  Another great Broadway classic is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Broadway.  "The Phantom of the Opera" is starring Sierra Boggess in a limited engagement who played Christine Daee in the 25th anniversary show in London that premiered on PBS.  Get tickets if you can as this soprano can woo any phantom!  That's it for now!  See you in the Springtime!

Summer's here and the temperatures are hot, hot, hot!  Staying cool is an arduous task even for me!  All studio work is done early, early, early and all other chores as well before that sun starts beating down!  So, while in the city to celebrate the Fourth, here's some things that are hot, hot, hot...  Catch The Chinese Warriors at the Times Discovery Center in New York City.  This is a great exhibit with real artifacts from the underground tomb of the First Emperor of China.  Actual 6 foot tall ceramic soldiers, officers and their stallions grace the exhibit as well as other artifacts taken from the tomb of China's First Emperor.  Up until August this is a crowd pleaser for children and adults.  Also, catch Tracy Bennett as Judy Garland at the Belasco Theater on 44th Street in "The End of the Rainbow".  A fabulous show that can be done after seeing the great antiquities mentioned above in the Times Discovery Center on 44th Street!  It's a great way to spend a hot, hot day in a hot, hot city.  Be sure to cool down and hydrate and enjoy Carmine's for a bite in between or after the shows!  Tickets for both events can be purchased through Ticketmaster or on their respective sites. 

Another great way to spend a hot, hot day in the big apple is to check out the new gallery exhibits at Pavel Zoubok Gallery and Denise Bibro Gallery in Chelsea.  "I'll Take You There" opens at Pavel Zoubok and Denise Bibro has a great summer exhibit of favorite gallery artists such as David Barnet and Dusty Boynton.  Stroll around and stop for a quick coffee or water at some of the great cafes and restaurants in Chelsea. 

Another great hot, hot spot will be in Asheville come August.  The Miniature Book Society is having their annual enclave at the Asheville Bookworks and in celebration of all things great and small, the Bookworks is having an exhibit of miniature pop-ups entitled "Mini-Pops".  This writer has a work in the exhibit and the Bookworks always has great exhibits and classes.  To coincide with the enclave, Shawn Sheehy will be teaching a two-day workshop on pop-ups for miniature books.  Check out their website for information but as of this date, the workshop is full!  To all things great and small!

So stay cool and if you're in need of a hot, hot spot, check out some of the above or email me with some of your favorite escapes, books, or anything