September Ends....

During September we celebrated a day off from work - Labor Day, kids returned to school, parents had at least 6 hours of freedom a day, summer ended - but that's okay, fall and winter sports are about to begin, and the beginning of the holiday season...

All of these are things we take for granted on a day to day basis and we tend to put them in the back of our mind because they are recurring every year.

However, there is one day that is beginning to be (with only local news reporting) and will perhaps be forgotten as Pearl Harbor Day (2,896 casualties) has been forgotten, as the end of WWI (37 million casualties), WWII (over 60 million casualties,) the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (approx. 199,000 casualties and doesn't include those who designed the atomic bomb, who gave the orders to drop the atomic bomb, or who did the actual act) Korean War (4 million total casualties - 336,00 Americans,) Vietnam War (6.5 million casualties - approx. 600,000 Americans,) The Gulf War (approx. 300,000 casualties - 183,000 Americans,) and most recently the end of our military presence in Iraq (over 150,000 Americans & other coalition members and over 1 million Iraqi civilians - all the casualties of the Iraqi civilians are not the direct result of our military - the majority are due to the terrorist attacks on our military and areas that hold more civilians claiming collateral damage due to their own hatred of the United States) which it has been eerily silenced.

It will join the words in the history books as everything else and those words are not all telling...

The day was named Patriot Day in honor of the fallen citizens of the United States and other countries who were victims in the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon, on AA Flight #11, and the Twin Towers. The East Coast will never forget, however, others throughout the United States may not have the same memories, the same feelings about what happened since they weren't close to it...It is almost like the earthquakes on the West Coast which are intense and devastating, but on the East Coast we have never felt the true impact of an earthquake, surely we have had tremors but not the devastation as on the West Coast...Tornadoes are another event we couldn't imagine until recently...

All who have perished in one form or another because of 9/11 will be remembered in their families' hearts and through history books; but will only be remembered by the masses when we all take part in the memories. So as you visit SoBoBo this last weekend in September and until September 30th, you will view an exhibit in homage to those heroes who probably never thought they would be considered heroes in their wildest dreams...

As Sheila Pite's sculpture "Re-Membering" shows the shock in Figure's face as she looks up to the Towers re-creates every one's emotions that day. As she gazes up, she also looks at "5-Star flag" by Allan Dudek which represents the five branches of our military as well as their courage and bravery. To Figure's right stands "Stars & Stripes In The Round" hand carved by Robert Pike.

"5 Star Flag"
mixed media
by Allan Dudek

"Re-Membering" - sculpture - by Sheila Pite
(Right) "Stars & Stripes In The Round" - hand carved bass wood - by Robert Pike

To her left one can see a mezzo tint by Genna Riggi of "A Soldier's Silence." Yes, the title alone lends you the knowledge of how brave our military men and women truly are. Looking at it one can see flags in the distance, a bit tattered, but flying proud.

"A Soldier's Silence"
Mezzo tint
by Genna Riggi

As Figure would glance down to her left you can see the quilt "Clouds & Stars" by Marilyn Cocking with hands emerging out of the dust from the devastation "Help Me, I Am Here" or are they saying "Please Raise Me Up To The Heaven's For I Will Never Be Saved." The image so striking, hitting you. One hand white, one hand black - "Life's Shadows" by FranCesca beautifully done! So many interpretations, Are they the hands of the same person; are the hands representing that we truly are One; are the hands representing for this exhibit ALL the ethnicities and races that perished that fateful day? Only you can decide, for the interpretation is always in the eye of the beholder.

"Clouds & Stars"
hand quilted
by Marilyn Cocking

"Life's Shadows"
Traditional Photography
by FranCesca

To the right stands "Class of '42" by Allan Dudek, although it represents the brave of WWII it is a reflection of ALL the brave of every skirmish we have been involved in.

"Class of '42" - mixed media - by Allan Dudek

"Re-Membering" meaning to attach again to something lost, something from the past....There are those who say re-membering is unhealthy and one must forget and move forward, but yet, if we do forget we will never know or understand what is needed to go forward...for it is the strength of the past that pushed us to our future, not hate and anger; and when we waver, with a sense of falling we look back to find that strength...

and to think it is ONLY A MEMORY....

Be at Peace...

Join Us! Friday Evening...

On September 24th - Friday evening stop off at Lazy Lobster and taste their lobster roll or ribs because from what is understood they were named #1 in the state for both! When you are done dining - go across the street to 19 Broadway - Walnut Beach Creamery and try the sorbet -- a nice light dessert!

...And then you can join SoBoBo from 7 pm to 9 pm as we celebrate September's Artist. Come meet Lee LaForte and other artists - learn about their techniques, inspirations and the like...

A nice way to end the week, to end summer and celebrate the beginning of Fall...

Enjoy!

Exhibit Reception - Friday, September 24th

"Marine Volcano"

Acrylic

by Lee LaForte

Visit SoBoBo and meet Lee LaForte, September's Artist! You will not only meet Lee, but other artists who are presently exhibiting at SoBoBo.

Just a reminder that September's Artist Exhibit Reception will be taking place at SoBoBo - 17 Broadway on Friday, September 24th from 7pm to 9pm.....Stop off at Lazy Lobster for dinner and walk across the street to SoBoBo when you are done....

A wonderful way to end a crazy work week, or forget about the stresses of life!

FALL is on its way...enjoy the warm days and the chilly evenings! Don't forget to look at the ever changing foilage!

September's Artist

"My current work is the result of active exploration of techniques and styles. Earlier realistic and semi-realistic watercolors and acrylics, such as my under-seascapes, endangered animals series, jazz pieces and Zen series evolved into expressionistic, figurative, and semi-abstract works, with emphasis on color and form on limited pallets (including a few mono-prints.)

-- Lee LaForte, 2010

Upon entering SoBoBo one finds an explosion of art. In viewing Lee LaForte's work one can see the fluidness jumping from art piece to art piece assimilating a connection. Jazz Series moves you rhythmically and actually brings together work from

"Jazz Series VII - Trombone"

watercolor

by Lee LaForte

artists Cynthia Rifkin - "Out There" and William Herzfeld - "Piano Men" and "Tillie In Her Tutu" finding oneself slowly rocking into a dance. And then it moves to the lines of "Mary Ellen," "Nudes," and "Head Over Heels," marking the movements each human makes with a graceful instinct, not knowing that

"Mary Ellen"

charcoal

by Lee LaForte

the connection continues as it swims to meet Lee's underwater seascapes "Big Buddy," "Eden," "Marine Volcano," and "Fire from the Sky" and again a connection with artist Jan McLean's "Angel Fish Swims at the Edge of the Universe" and when you

"Marine Volcano"

acrylic

by Lee LaForte

turn it over flows to the real world again as "Multi Flora" seems to grow and "Fox" hides behind them and "Origami Heron" as she finds a connection with Betty Geller's "Heron" who moves with a graceful elegance in time with the rhythmic fluidness or "music" where it all began.

Lee LaForte, fine artist, is SoBoBo's Artist for the Month of September. You can see his work from September 1st through September 30th.

On Friday, September 24th, from 7pm to 9pm SoBoBo will be hosting an Exhibit Reception. Please do come an join us - the public is invited.