A Mysterious Invite...

About a month ago I received a personal letter addressed from a friend I play wedding music with, Ms. Angie Shyr (we have a string trio, Strings of Desire, and we play weddings and events). It was a letter sized envelope complete with fancy return address labels and one of the coolest comic book stamps ever. So of course I opened it instantly. Inside was a brochure for the Brookline Artists' Open Studios event and that was it.

So I carefully poured over every single name in the brochure to see if I could come up with some clues. Is Angie playing music, is a mutual acquaintance a closet artist? Then a bright picture caught my eye; I quickly read the artist's name and it occurred to me, oh my, Ms. Angie is a closet artist! I never knew! (I did later find out that she went to film school and did quite a bit of animation) (This vivid artwork at right, is an original mixed media piece by Angie Shyr)

Then a week later I received more pieces to the puzzle, a hand written note from Ms. Angie herself inviting me to come see her work (fantastic comic book stamp adorned envelope included)! Of course I jumped at the invite...but Dan and I decided to surprise Angie as we have not seen each other for a couple of months. Roadtrip to Brookline!

Angie was showing her work at the Brookline Sr. Center as a collaborative effort with several other artists. Including a highly skilled fiber artist Ms. Iris Sonnenschein. (At right is an original quilt by Ms. Sonnenschein)

Dan and I also loved the photography of Ms. Gloria Carrigg. Her subjects ranged from nature to her homeland of El Salvador to Cityscapes of Chicago as well as portraits of classic cars, a personal love of hers. (She told me so. At right is a wonderful sleek photo titled "duesenbergII3" © 2007). Dan and I are now owners of two fantastic photographs of arches with beautiful sculptures of people. (Sorry, she does not have a copy of them on her website or else I would share these great photos with you.)

While we were enjoying the art at the Brookline Senior Center, we were serenaded by Ms. Anita Suhanin, an amazing singer as well as a voice teacher. She was singing beautiful jazz pieces.

Dan and I also ventured into an artist's personal studio. We approached the classic brick townhouse and were unsure if we should enter the closed door of a residence. The address was correct, but there were no signs and it looked rather private. We then peeked in the window (we really wanted to see her work, she was one of two fiber artists featured in the entire event). And behold, the Brookline Artists' Open Studio sign appeared taped to the inner door. Phew! I marched in and timidly climbed the stairs to yet another inner door. Dan knocked, a dog barked, the window was dark and a the smiling glowing face of Ms. Marianne Busse welcomed us into her home studio. It was fantastic! Great decor, we had a fun time just ogling her decor in the entry way. She then led us into a room with racks of immaculately sewn clothing and treasures! Marianne specializes in "Cool Creations - Mostly for Kids" (The funky hat pictured at right was one of many incredible items available for sale)

We capped off the evening listening to a friend of Dan's, Phil Raptis and his band "Gold Star Campaign" open at Worcester's own The Lucky Dog. Phil has great pipes and "is not afraid to sing falsetto" (as Dan put it) and his band (after only two months of rehearsals) sounds really tight. They play all sorts of rock originals.

(All art depicted here is credited to its original author and may be subject to copyright.)