Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
For The Sake of Art…
So, today I decided to head to Rochester to attend the Artist’s Row exhibit at the Rochester Public Market. It was a great day for it — overcast and cool, but not cold or damp at all — and it turned into quite the adventure with an unexpected turn of events, but I really did enjoy the day! I went because a cherished friend from high school – Sharon Nowicki Jeter – was showing her newest artistic medium and I wanted to see it up close and personal (I’ve seen photos, but photos just don’t do things the justice that seeing it in person does)! She has always had an artistic side — acting, jewelry, drawing, metal working, polymer resins, and more — but, recently she has started to create sculptures and that is what she was showing today.
This was only the second time I’ve been to the Public Market in Rochester……and, actually, both times were to see Sharon’s work in an art show! It is really easy to get there, but I still used Gabby – my GPS – to get me there. I took 31A to 531 to 490 to…….supposedly the Inner Loop, but when I tried to veer off onto the Inner Loop, I discovered that it was closed! Uh oh! So, I kept heading toward downtown and figured there should be another entrance onto the Inner Loop, but found every time I tried to get on it, the ramp was blocked by either police cars or city maintenance vehicles! Oh, boy! Poor Gabby – she tried and tried to get me to turn onto the Inner Loop and just didn’t get it when I said, “it’s closed…..find me another way to get to the Public Market!” My first thought was that I was now going to be hopelessly lost in downtown Rochester may never find my way out……I may have turned into a ghostly skeleton driving around downtown aimlessly forever, haunting the streets of the city…..there would be legends told about sightings of me for many, many years to come! BUT……I am actually quite proud of myself – I didn’t get anxious or nervous and I found my way to the Public Market with just a little bit of extra effort – I prevailed – and I lived to tell about it!!!! 🙂 I just kept going the opposite way or just beyond the turn that Gabby was telling me to go so that I would force her to find another way to get there…..after a few turns, I found myself on South Union Street and knew I was home free – the Public Market is on North Union Street and I was headed north – eventually I HAD to come up on it…….and I did!!! YAY!!! Of course, the next obstacle was finding a place to park…..but, even that didn’t take terribly long and I lucked out with a great spot!
I wandered around a while and found Sharon’s booth. It was so great to see her!!! We were so close in school and for some time after school……then, we sort of drifted apart and then I moved to NC, so we had lost touch for a while, there. But, then I found her on Facebook and we reconnected! Now, I try to get in to see her shows when I can and when I know about them……wish I could do it more often – I really do enjoy seeing her so very much!
Before I get into some of the photos that I took today, let me brag some more on Sharon —- click here to check out her web site – she has a studio and teaches classes and everything!!! 🙂
So, on with the photos:
The next two photos are of Sharon with some of the sculptures she had on display:
I purchased this piece from Sharon — terrible photo of it, but I love it……I had to hang it somewhere to get a photo, so I hung it from my dining room chandelier and then I decided to put it out on my front porch right outside my den window so I can see it all the time……I’ll decide the best place for it after I give it some thought, but it is perfect there, for now!
This isn’t the best photo to show it, but they had a really big crowd come out to support the local artists showing their work:
There were several food trucks – including this colorful one:
I sat and had a nice burger and fries and listened to this guy sing and play guitar — he did some of Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and others of that same era…..very good job – I enjoyed him!!!
This band was playing on the stage – they were really good, too!
I thought the shops along side of the Public Market were interesting, as well…..
Practically everywhere I looked, there were amazing murals painted on buildings – like this one that I went around the block to come back up on so that I could get a photo of it….
Here are some other items I’ve purchased from Sharon in the past — I really enjoy having some of her work in my house! The first photo is of collaborative drawings by Sharon and her friend Trish Annise. The following three are jewelry pieces that Sharon made — including a necklace that I can’t wear anywhere without getting a boat load of compliments on it (the first of the three jewelry photos).
And…..I can’t close out this post without including a couple photos of Sharon and I when we were a couple of crazy teenagers finding joy in everything we came across!!!
Kim's Thoughts 
Hi Kim,
It looked like a great day at the market…the weather was super! Tom The Backroads Traveller