Day 329 Maryjane’s Candy

November 3, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

The theme of the small art show at Roman’s Place was candy, specifically Halloween candy, and the opening was tonight. I am always awed with the depth and breadth of creativity found in art exhibits, toy stores and specialty venues. In the past, I have bought items merely because I admired the inventiveness and imagination that gave it birth.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” ~ Albert Einstein

This candy exhibit at Roman’s is small but it is big in imagination such as a mask made of candy wrappers. Photographer Jim Burger, organizer of this exhibit, shows a photo of a woman, from the shoulders up but presumably naked, standing in front of the brown remnants of a cornfield and throwing candy corn up in the air against a mostly blue sky. His concept and execution are remarkable. Another piece, a sweet 3D, displays an assortment of previously licked and then shellacked round lollipops sticking out from a white base. Clever titles like Sugar Daddy made me chuckle. There is a series of drawings of mug shots, people arrested for crimes against Halloween, like a man accused of distributing toothbrushes instead of candy.

My hanging photo poster is a close-up—ribbons of sugarcoated rainbow candy. It is secured to the wall with whimsical monster finger puppets. I have played with these finger puppets merely because they make me smile. Anyone who eats this candy might be even more inclined toward laughter, silliness and sudden urges to bake and eat brownies. However, my eye, rather than my taste buds, is what drew me to the color, patterns and texture. Too bad that this beautiful Colorado candy is not available locally because it is illegal in Maryland. But it is not illegal to sell a photo of it—which I did. 

My gift today is sale of my art. 

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http://welcometobaltimorehon.com/romans-place          

> Day 330: Alas, Deer Yorick

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 326 Tricks and Treats

October 31, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Twelve-year-old Alexander provided a treat for his neighbors with his haunted driveway. Above are two scenes from his creation.

When I was a child, my mother did not allow my sisters and me to go from house to house trick-or-treating. She said she didn’t want us begging at our neighbors’ homes. I think she was also afraid of unknown dangers. However, we were allowed to go to a select few homes of family and friends. Our shopping bags were filled with visits to eight houses. Although her daughters did not go around the neighborhood, our mother often made homemade treats for those who came to our house—caramel apples on a stick, brownies, rice crispy treats. And if she thought the kids were too old (more than 14), she admonished them for acting like little children and refused to give them any treats.

I always loved dressing up for Halloween but not in princess costumes. I liked to dress up as a hobo (politically incorrect to some these days) so people wouldn’t recognize me. Even as an adult, when Halloween fell on the meeting date of the Baltimore Camera Club years ago, I attended as a ghost and left with no one the wiser, except one friend who was in on it. 

Tonight, we had only a few kids knock on our door and we answered—David as a monster and me as a witch. When the knocks stopped, we checked out the other end of our neighborhood and found a haunted scene in a driveway. We learned it was created by a twelve-year-old boy, Alexander. He used tricks of animations, fog, and sounds— everything to make it fun for anyone who stopped by. As a retired 7^th-grade teacher, I was amazed at his ingenuity. His display was so well planned and professional that it is easy to foresee a creative career in his future. Although everyone who stopped by his house could get a candy treat, the real treat was this amazing kid-built spooky experience.

My gift today is a haunted driveway.

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> Day 327: When Will Bob Get Naked?


You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html