Saturday, September 18, 2010

Phillip's Mill Art Show

This cute face belongs to a capybara who lives at the Cape May Zoo. We'll be visiting him again this fall, but for now his painting is on view (as a matted work on paper) at the 81st Annual Phillip's Mill Art Exhibition. This piece and the Peeking Panda posted this summer were both accepted and will be on sale there.

It is also now possible to order prints with or without matting and framing from my Artspan website http:www.donnasaurina.com. Look for the giclee prints gallery.

My husband and I had quite a time visiting Coudersport, PA last weekend. It's a tiny hamlet nestled among the Allegheny Mountains along Route 6 in mid-northern Pennsylvania. We were there to see stars. Not the movie kind, but the ones that are only visible in very dark skies. Cherry Springs State Park is one of the darkest areas on the east coast.

To get there you drive a roller coaster ride of a trip through the Black Forest state forest. "Are we there yet" doesn't begin to describe the state of my mind (or stomach) as we twisted and turned in the dark. The park was host to 500 astronomers there to hold a star party. Etiquette demanded we use a red filtered flashlight and keep our headlights off. We managed not to run over anyone, but then ruined the effect by having to open the doors 3 or 4 times to get things out of the car-each time turning the dome light on. Do you know how bright those things are in the dark?

It was all worth it. The thousands of stars, meteors and a brilliant Milky Way just dazzled us. We found a friendly amateur astronomer with a really big telescope who showed us all kinds of nebulae, galaxies, clusters and best of all, Jupiter complete with band and spot. Truly a lifetime experience.