Sarah Cosgrove

One of my first posts in July told about the start of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, encouraged and funded by the father of a young deaf girl, Sarah Cosgrove.

Today the school is in West Hartford, but it was originally founded in downtown Hartford.

This statue of Sarah Cosgrove is in a small triangular park at the intersection of Farmington and Asylum Avenues, near the original location of the school.

ASD was first called the Deaf and Dumb Asylum.  Isn't "Asylum Avenue" an appropriate reminder of  the area's history?

Cow Parade

Having a herd of creatively painted cows on your town's main street is a lot of fun.  The first time.  And the second time.  It is OK the third time.  But . . .

West Hartford is the home of Cow Parade Holdings, the promoters of similar events around the world.

For those who are unfamiliar, a city or town enlists artists to decorate the cow blanks imaginatively.  Corporate sponsors put up funding.  The painted cows are installed around town amid parties and fairs and other civic events.  They give a city a festive feeling for a couple of months,  Afterward, the painted cows are auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charitable organizations.

I do feel like a grinch, but I think I have seen enough painted cows.

(I am traveling and don't return until the weekend.  Sorry if I am slow in responding to any comments.)

City Arts and Theater Works

Theater Works operates a "black box" theater production company in the basement of a renovated gas company building, on the right.  The theater is just a block or two from the center of the downtown, on Pearl Street.  About one year ago, they entered into an arrangement with the New Britain Museum of American Art to provide rotating works of art for exhibition in an adjoining space.  Together, the performance space and the exhibition space are called City Arts on Pearl.

Weekend Reflections II: Sails

OK, this one is a puzzler.  What is going on here?

At the antiques fair I visited last weekend, one dealer had a recreational vehicle parked next to his tent.  On the RV's dashboard, he had placed a large model of a sailboat for sale.  By moving my camera a little higher, I was able to capture both the sailboat and reflections of exhibitors' tents on the same line, along with great clowds.

I kind of like this one.

For more Weekend Reflections, click here.

(I am traveling, so please excuse me if I am slow in responding to comments.)

Weekend Reflections I: Mirrors

There are lots of mirrors at antiques fairs.  I liked the way the top photo makes it appear that the couple in the right mirror are looking disapprovingly at the woman in the left mirror, even though they were actually in different locations and had nothing to do with each other. 

In the second photo, I waited until the couple strolled into view of the larger mirror, hoping to make it appear that they were at the table behind it.

For more Weekend Reflections, click here.

(I enjoy reading your reactions to my photos, but now I am travelling, so please don't be offended if I don't respond to your comments for a while.)

Real Art Ways

Real Art Ways is an innovative, experimental, entrepreneurial, avant garde art presenter and promoter.  They occupy a large brick building in Parkville, a previously industrial part of Hartford that has fallen on hard times.  RAW's energy and vision have been turning many of Parkville's previously abandoned factories into arts spaces or other new and productive uses.

School Yard Sculpture

I looked around and couldn't find the name of the sculptor or the name of the statue.  But, it does seem appropriate for the yard of two schools, one for mathematically and scientifically-focused high school students and the other for arts-focused students.