Month: April 2008

Open Art House

On April 26 and 27, the studios of more than 20 resident artists will be open to the public.  This free event provides visitors the opportunity to meet the artists in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere — with refreshments!
Details:
2008 Open Studios – 52 O Street Studios

Where: 52 O Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Contact: Brooke Clagett, below
When: April 26 and 27, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Free Admission
Events Description:

    TWENTY-FOUR ARTISTS, in one building, working in a wide range of media and styles open their studios for a rare glimpse into the process behind their art. This free event provides the visitor the opportunity to purchase artwork and meet the artists in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Occupying 28,000 square feet, over four floors, 52 O Street Studios is one of the largest and oldest buildings dedicated to the practice of Fine Arts in Washington, DC.

    52 O Street Studios is located a short walk from Metro’s New York Avenue Red Line stop, amidst the burgeoning North Capitol Street corridor. The artists working here are proud of this historic building, its idiosyncrasies, and the myriad of artists who have created here in the past.

    Today, the building is occupied by painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, woodworkers, and video artists who seek to continue and advance the guiding principle behind its opening in 1979, “to create an affordable working space for artists in Washington DC.”

    This year’s artists include:

You can check out the work of many of resident artists at: 52ostreetstudios.org
But here are some pictures I have at hand:
Work in progress by Lisa Marie Thalhammer:

Mt. Vernon Square Downtown


DowntownUrban
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

RR this is for you.
So, you’re on the southern side of M Street, which has you staring at the backend of Shaw from your front stoop. But where does that put you? Well according to this map, in the Downtown Urban Renewal Area.
I’m going to say the Downtown has been renewed. It looks lovely. I really like it as a place to work, as I have several choices in how to waste my lunch hour. Today was sit out on the Navy Memorial, which in 1970 was the end of 8th Street. I was going to get cookies (yum salty oat cookies) at Teaism but the line was long. As I sat, occasionally eyeing the door at Teaism, I wonder was the scene I was watching, planned. Really, did anyone actually imagine that office drones and bureaucrats will be sitting around in the sun as people with dogs, school groups, and some woman with a toddler meander the world map etched in the ground? I don’t doubt the planning of the memorial, or the benches, or the commercial space. What I do wonder about, and sort of doubt, is the planning of the soul and life that reawakens when the weather warms up. There is some life in winter, kids still love the map, but it’s not the same.

When your scanner is limited


badhouses
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

The picture is of a legal sized document. Sorta circa 1970 from the same folder as the legalese I wrote yesterday. The problem is my scanner can’t get the whole page.
What is this?
“Extremely deficient buildings in Shaw” aka number of crappy buildings that probably need to be torn down. I see Square 513 had 51 crappy buildings. Square 513 is N St, 4th St, M St, and 5th Street. Well considering the post 1970 buildings on that square and the building that committed suicide last (or was it early this year?) year…. yeah. Next on the crap for bricks block is Sq. 617 with 50. That’s over with Hanover Pl, and then Sq. 271 with 35 buildings. My little map O’Squares only covers eastern Shaw, so I don’t know where that is without doing some more looking.

April 2, 1970 borders of Shaw

From page 2 from the memo NCPC File No. UR-07 “Resolution Modifying the Boundaries and Urban Renewal Plan for the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area”; File UR 07 Modification #6 NDP 2; Records Relating to Urban Renewal; National Capital Planning Commission (1952-), Record Group 328; National Archives Building Washington, DC:

BE IT RESOLVED, that pursuant to Section 6(b) and 12 of the Redevelopment Act, the Commission adopts modified boundaries for the Project Area described as follows:
Beginning at the southwest corner of the intersection of Fifteenth Street, N.W., and “N” Street, N.W., thence along the south line of “N” Street, N.W., the the southwest corner of Thirteenth Street, N.W., and “N” Street, N.W., thence southerly along the west line of Thirteenth Street, N.W., to the southwest corner of “M” Street, N.W., and Thirteenth Street, N.W., thence along the south line of “M” Street, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of New York Avenue, N.W., to the east line of North Capitol Street, thence along the east line of North Capitol Street to the northeast corner of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue, N.W., thence along the northeasterly and north lines of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the northeast corner of Florida Avenue, N.W., and Georgia Avenue, N.W., thence along the east line of Georgia Avenue, N.W., to the north line of “V” Street, N.W., extended to the east line of Georgia Avenue, N.W., thence along the north line of “V” Street, N.W., extended to intersect the east line of Florida Avenue, N.W., at Ninth Street, N.W., thence in a northwesterly direction along the east line of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the east line of Sherman Avenue, N.W., thence northernly on the east line of Sherman Avenue, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of Barry Place, N.W., thence westerly on the north line of Barry Place, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of Florida Avenue, N.W., thence along the north line of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the intersection of Florida Avenue, N.W., New Hampshire Avenue, and Fifteenth Street, N.W., to the point of beginning.

Good Lord, that is the most confusing piece of geo-legal-gaaaaah I’ve ever transcribed.

Some Make Stuff Up, & Some Bring Proof


shawborders
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

I have a laundry list of 1/2 done projects. At work there is the ‘paper that should have written itself,’ but noticeably didn’t. At home there is the 1900-1930 census project, which at the pace I’m going will be done in time for the 1940 census to be rolled out. And way down on the list is correct that damned Wikipedia page on Shaw. Because I want to actually cite sources, the problem is trying to figure out the coding (which I know shouldn’t be that hard) to cite the sources to prove that most of the history written there is a load of horse manure. I’m reminded of this everytime the question of where the borders of Shaw are comes up, like with DCist .
Maybe I’m too timid when it comes to over writing something that someone else wrote. But then again, I have to ask ‘prove it’. The other problem is that I’m a bit shaky and not particularly sure on a comment I wish to make saying that the neighborhood wasn’t called Shaw prior to 1950. Okay I actually want to say 1960. However there was a school boundary but as a neighborhood in general I haven’t come across any pre-1950 lit saying otherwise. But just because I haven’t come across it doesn’t mean it such evidence doesn’t exist, and that’s what concerns me.
So in my mind, the TC is part of Shaw, as it was a federal agency and the DC government that came up with the borders. Yet, people keep doubting and throwing out ideas with no proof or anything to back it up.
Correcting the damned page just moved up again.

End of Nature Art Show at Warehouse


100_1048.JPG
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

Friday went to see the art work of friends and neighbors at the Warehouse Theater on 7th. The theme was to have artists think about “THE END OF NATURE”. I kind of like Artist Ira Tattleman’s view of it that there is no end of nature, nature fights through the sidewalks. In his piece, which I think (I didn’t take notes) was titled “The band played on” incorporated I.V. tubes and other medical items to denote illness in either our world or nature (once again, if I had notes…).
Tom Drymon took up one whole room for his “We All Fall Down”. I can’t remember the text of how the installation related to the theme, but I do know he was a N.O. Katrina victim and one of the photos in the piece was damaged by the storm waters.
Anyway, the pictures I took of Tom’s & Ira’s pieces are in the Flickr tag group EndofNatureArtShow. Shown here are two pieces I really liked and would consider buying, as they were actually in my price range.

Mari, Mari, Quite Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow

I was going to post on how I completely forgot to attend the school buildings meeting on the 10th, but that’s just a downer. Instead, why not something happy, that makes me happy, my garden.
The peas are the exciting thing right now. Pea shoots have emerged from the ground and their tendrils are looking for something to latch on to. I read somewhere that pea shoots are a Chinese delicacy that you throw into a stir fry. I’ve eaten the thinnings raw and they do have a pea pod taste, I guess I could throw them in the pan. There are peas growing near my fence, peas in window boxes, peas in pots, everywhere.
As peas make their entrance other things that have weathered winter appear to make their exit. Cilantro is sprouting those funny looking tops that herald flowers, then seeds. Nicely though, I noticed little cilantro seedlings that must have come from earlier plants now long composted. The arugula is flowering and it’s hard to find decent salad worthy leaves on the plants. The flowers are tasty though and are nice additions to salads. Also going to flower are the sage and the chives. I think sage flowers and I know chive flowers are edible and they too will make appearances in salad, as I’ll let some go on to seed for the next season.
The Alpine Strawberries are flowering, but instead of a seedy end, I’ll be getting strawberries. I don’t have the sunniest plot for sweet fruits, but these plants have been wonderful for the past two years or so since I’ve had them. They give me small sweet berries that are enough to decorate a dessert or add to a small yogurt. They even produced when I completely abandoned them last year during the renovation.
I think I’m getting kind of late with starting my salad greens. The only greens I’ve got in pots right now are corn mache and spinach seedlings. A low and wide pot for the mesclun mix would do fine. I look forward to baby salads.
As soon as the sample dries out I’m finally going to get my front yard soil tested. I’ve heard some of your concerns and completely ignored them, regarding the soil from which I grow my tomatoes, chard, arugula, radishes, mint, thyme, and other edibles. Yet I’m curious to know if I’m actually right. If there is any significant amount of heavy metals (lead) in the soil, I guess I’ll do raised beds next year.

Joys of Craigslist

Jimbo discovered a Craigslist complaint about a car at Q and New Jersey with a car alarm that constantly goes off. I guess it is around the same area where I saw the torched remains of a car… it was completely black, so either it was torched or a lousy car painted completely with flat black paint.
I was bobbing around Craigslist looking at the rental and for sale pictures, because I like to see how people decorate or design their spaces, when I came across this. Ok, would someone like to explain WTF is that? What exactly is being advertised in the picture?

Dump Truck Protest

I work in lower Penn Quarter and right now I’m being serenaded by dump truck horns. If I stick my head around a colleague’s cubical I can sort of see a huge convoy of building construction dump trucks. Some of them have signs. Unfortunately the only one I could read said “Fuel Costs”. There was another that might have said something about occupational safety or another about insurance. A periodic complaint we have on our floor is it is nearly impossible to read protester’s signs, so we spend most of our time trying to figure out what the heck is the message.
The on going, cacophony of truck horns sounds like the brass section tuning up.

Update= I went down to the street level to take a look, one sign said “Fair Compensation”, which looks like “New Construction” from the office window. Also from the street, those horns are loud.