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| Welcome to Brooklyn Love!
Brooklyn Love (art) Salon is a time and place for artists, open-hearted searching people and their friends to present what they do (or want to do), building on themes, making connections and sharing experiences.
The following pages document the Brooklyn Love (art) Salon (and
sister salons in Berlin and San Francisco) in monthly
journals and photos. Enjoy reading about the monthly events, which
began in Red Hook, Brooklyn in December 2002, hosted by Ric Oquita and
Christian Matuschek.
Heartfelt thanks to all of our salon friends who brought their light and love to these gatherings!
Visit the homepage for Ric's Cafe (www.xanga.com/ricscafe) a salon hosted by Ric in Bielefeld, Germany beginning April 2006!
| | |
| Welcome to Brooklyn Love!
Brooklyn Love (art) Salon is a time and place for artists, open-hearted searching people and their friends to present what they do (or want to do), building on themes, making connections and sharing experiences.
It is a wonderful opportunity to share food, ideas, giveaways, works-in-process and to meet once a month with friends in a supportive environment.
Also
a time to acknowledge courage, heart, talent, hard work and humor, and
to express appreciation for luminous moments and surprises. And a time
to eat (first of course!) drink and socialize.
Paula,
Mary, Chico, Ric, Christian, Cindy, Steve, Graciela, Lucrecia, Tracy
and Petra met in Red Hook, Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon
in September. Our theme for the month was Ripening and Harvesting
 Ric opened with a reading of a Carl Sandburg poem entitled
“Under the Harvest Moon”
Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.
Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.
Paula shared a series of photos taken every day of the same spot in her garden, which inspired a lively discussion about harvesting and collecting treasures.
We
talked about aspects of encasing and collecting sentimental
objects. Paula keeps a reliquary of bottles, love letters,
pieces of her family's hair and phone messages from her children from the last 10 years.
Mary
read a poem which opened our hearts and minds to the neglect and
contempt that ripened in New Orleans. We were asked to think about the
damage of what was harvested and to consider our theme in terms of
“sowing what you reap.”
Time to Share
by Mary L. Brady
© September 18, 2005
Someone is always angry down below
Someone stopping us from reaping what we sow
Who are you this time
That you let your deadly sea
Wash over our people and forced them to flee
Or to starve and die
While no one stood by?
Are you Poseidon or Neptune raging the Devil’s ugly hand
Waving destruction over our land?…
Or, are you Poseidon or Neptune the Angels of God
Warning us to prepare
Warning us to care
For our fellow man
Who cannot reap what they have sown
For their harvest has been blown
Drowned beneath the sea?
It is God’s message that the angels brought to me
We must care
We must share
Our crop that we have reaped
Not only for now – but through eternity!
This
was Tracy's first Brooklyn Love salon and she surprised many
of us who are familiar with her paintings. We were wonderfully
pleased to finally meet the artist of these wonderfully provocative
paintings.
She
showed us a painting which is part of a series of old women, some with
tattoos and piercings. She told us that they are usually seen on large
canvases. We thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on the painting and
discussing the idea of harvesting and ripening into old age.
Cindy,
Graciela and Ric created an improvisation based on three friends
visiting an art museum at different ages, from 2 years to 80 years old.
It was great fun and Christian captured our salon with his terrific
photos!
We had our monthly giveaway and shared announcements.
Graciela told us that she is going to Cuba in December. She has a
concert in November which we are all invited to!
Graciela closed our last salon in Red Hook with the song “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember and if you remember
then follow.
 Try to remember when life was so tender
When noone wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
When dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
When love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember and if you remember
then follow.
 Deep in December it's nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December it's nice to remember
Without a hurt the heart will hollow.
Deep in December it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made you mellow.
Deep in December our hearts should remember and follow.
A heartfelt thanks to all of our Brooklyn Love (art) salon friends for a memorable three years! | | |
| Welcome to Brooklyn Love!
Brooklyn Love (art) salon is a time and place for artists, open-hearted searching people and their
friends to present what they do (or want to do), building on themes,
making connections and sharing experiences.
It is a wonderful
opportunity to share food, ideas, giveaways, works-in-process and to
meet once a month with friends in a supportive environment.
Also
a time to acknowledge courage, heart, talent, hard work and humor, and
to express appreciation for luminous moments and surprises. And a time
to eat (first of course!) drink and socialize.
Paula
J., Ursula, Mary, Chico, Paul, Ric, Paula H., Silvia, Pip, Tomek, Will
and our friend from Cologne, Nicole met in Red Hook, Brooklyn on a
Sunday afternoon in July. Our theme for the month was Tolerance-The Heat Is On!
We
began with a free drawing with our impressions of tolerance while
listening to the Gypsy/Cuban duo Bebo and Cigala. We shared our
drawings with each other which inspired a lively discussion in which
one perspective of tolerance was the feeling of "vibrations when
opposites
work together. "
We listened to the collaborative music of Bebo and
Cigala again to inspire us further.
Paul
read new lyrics from his musical about Van Gogh, "Painting the
Wind" from a song called "Despair" sung by Gaugin. Paul reflected
on Gaugin's inner turmoil and shared his experience of the
collaborative process with us.
Will shared photos from his visit to India,
which he experienced as a continent rich in diversity. His photos
reflected the theme of tolerance as a distinct intimacy because of the
openness of physical contact which he felt is less an issue in India.
Many of us shared our experiences of travels to India and the
feeling of moving deeply into a culture as an outsider. Will also
shared a series of photos taken of his mother and the landscape of his hometown in Ohio.
Paula H. read some short writing and Paula J. sang two original songs, “In This Time” and “Love and
Forgetting”.
We enjoyed a lengthy discussion about Tolerance and Intolerance. Silvia talked about Ethnicity Day at her school and how
students practice tolerance by sharing their different cultures.
Ric
read thoughts by various philosophers on tolerance, some of which
spoke of tolerance negatively as an act of submission. Many felt that
tolerance is an active process and that intolerance is as a
state of being.
To close or salon, Nicole taught us a gypsy song called “Romale”
Brooklyn Love (art) salon meets again on September 18th in Red Hook. The theme for September is Ripening and Harvesting.
| | |
| Welcome to Brooklyn Love!
Brooklyn Love (art) salon is a time and place for artists, open-hearted searching people and their
friends to present what they do (or want to do), building on themes,
making connections and sharing experiences.
It is a wonderful
opportunity to share food, ideas, giveaways, works-in-process and to
meet once a month with friends in a supportive environment.
Also
a time to acknowledge courage, heart, talent, hard work and humor, and
to express appreciation for luminous moments and surprises. And a time
to eat (first of course!) drink and socialize.
Marion, Alrun, Tomek, Akiyo, Judith, Ursula, Jane, Mary, Chico, Ric, Paula, Silvia
and our Canine mascot, Pip met in Red Hook, Brooklyn on a
Sunday afternoon in June. Our theme for the month was Double Happiness.
Our salon began with a sumptous table of tasty treats, inspiring thoughts of happiness!
After some food and chat we began our
salon by drawing our versions of the Chinese Double Happiness symbol, representing two soulmates walking arm in arm.
Jane celebrated the happiness of closing on her new home ...
Marion shared her symbol of balance and harmony ...
Alrun showed us her drawing of two linked souls. We enjoyed
interpreting the picture in different ways. Jane recognized the bottom
of a pair of sneakers ... two "sole-mates"!
Ursula inspired by the memory of her life-long love for chocolate, drew two Lindt candy bars!
We then sang “Science Fiction/ Double Feature” from the
Rocky Horror Picture Show and expressed our wished-for Double Feature.
Some favorites included: Jules et Jim, Young Frankenstein, Amelie,
Eternal Sunshine, Sideways, and Le Bal ...
Chicoshared his love for the sea and his Double
Happiness drawing of two boats, expressing his longing to be out on the
water ... Chico read a poem dedicated to the Brooklyn Love salon …
"Our Brooklyn Love Salon" by Chico Eberle
I look forward to our salon and anticipate the enjoyment we share.
Be it the food and drink, the conversation which opens each heart to
share.
The feeling of friendship, our differences so obvious brings a smile to
each,
And sharpen our minds as we learn from each other and extend our
reach.
Our Sunday afternoons together seem to elicit joy to all who attend,
We are as one during the short time, we give what we have to send.
It is my sincere hope that we leave with a new view and without
duress.
May we all continue to live, love and share with each other our success.
 There were many new friends, like Silvia, who were attending
the salon for the first time. Silvia enjoyed the Brooklyn Love slideshow and shared some lovely feelings about being
with us on a warm Sunday afternoon…
Paula, who is a commercial food photographer, shared beautiful
pictures of her two children ... her Double Happiness!
Which inspired a chat about good meals! Judith reflected on a past
experience when she was a food stylist sharing leftover gourmet meals from
photos shoots with a homeless woman that she often met at a subway station. She
is still moved by the memory of the woman, who revealed something of her past
by thanking Judith for sharing delicacies which she was once accustomed to
eating.
Tomek and Marion shared that their two-month visit to
Brooklyn from Frankfurt is a Double Happiness
for them, because it is their first vacation abroad together.
After exchanging information about great, free summer events
in the city, we had our monthly giveaway.
Mary shared a moving story called “What’s New?” a story
about a recent loss of a loved one, written and read from the heart.
To close Ric read a scene from his play “Echoes from the New World.”
After our salon, we enjoyed a long, summer walk to the Red Hook waterfront ...
Brooklyn Love (art) salon meets again on July 24th 2005. Our theme for July is: Tolerance: The Heat Is On!
Our sister salon in Berlin, Salon 46 met on the same day in June to celebrate Stefanie's Birthday - Geburtstag im Park
Visit Double Happiness, our sister salon in San Francisco online at www.doublehappinesssalon.com
Double Happiness meets again on July 17 with the theme Agenda
| | |
| Welcome to Brooklyn Love!
Brooklyn Love (art) salon is a time and place for artists, open-hearted searching people and their
friends to present what they do (or want to do), building on themes,
making connections and sharing experiences.
It is a wonderful
opportunity to share food, ideas, giveaways, works-in-process and to
meet once a month with friends in a supportive environment.
Also
a time to acknowledge courage, heart, talent, hard work and humor, and
to express appreciation for luminous moments and surprises. And a time
to eat (first of course!) drink and socialize.
Marcy,
Lucrecia, Richard, Christian, Tim, Ric, George, Paul, Jessica, Nicole,
Gregory, Ursula, Michael, Ann and Oona met in Red Hook, Brooklyn on a
Sunday afternoon in April. Our theme for the month was Spring Ahead!
We began our salon with a sing-a-long of "It Might As Well Be Spring" by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Marcy moved us with a recitation of her poem, “For Rosalie”
Paul played a musical selection from “Painting the Wind”
called “Claudine’s Dream”, with music by John Henry Sheridan.
Tim shared a collection of captivating photographs from his “Last Light Series”
David showed a series of photographs taken after the
blizzard in Provincetown
on January 31, 2005.
Lucrecia invited us to decorate her tree project with
positive words and phrases, which will be painted over and given to an
organization in the Bronx working with children with special needs.
... We filled the tree with affirmations in English, Spanish and German
During our break, Jessica and Nicole played music from Radio
Station WKCR 89.9, a jazz and classical music station that has been on air for
65 years and struggling financially.
Our afternoon was blessed with a magnificent rainbow!
After our break, Nicole passed a hat for
the radio station and Jessie sang “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by George Gershwin.
Richard talked about his recent trip to Cairo and shared a presentation of his
exhibition entitled “Playground.” He explained that in his work he explores
ideas of looking and seeing and uses common imagery and rethinks it.
“Clouds”,
“Empty Nests”, “No Colon,
No Conclusions”, “The Die Is Cast” are titles of some of his pieces. Visit Richard online at www.dis-positiv.org and http://10.or.at/-productions
To close, Ric read from a piece written by he and David
called “Day Old Dish” while Patricia and David improvised movement.
Brooklyn Love (art) salon meets again on May 22nd 2005. Our theme for May is inspired by a Dylan Thomas poem!
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower.
Our sister salon in San Francisco, Double Happiness, celebrated their first gathering on April 3rd, 2005. Please visit Double Happiness online at www.doublehappinesssalon.com | | |
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