VISITING IN NEW YORK STATE--Summer 2015

VISITING IN NEW YORK STATE
SUMMER TRAVELS--New York 2015


Walking Figure (2003-2004)
by Donald Baechler
towers over our heads as
we stroll the grounds.

On another day of cat-sitting in July, we headed up County Route #22 to Ghent, New York and five hours of leisurely strolling around The Fields Sculpture Park and Architecture Omi. This exhibition center features the Omi International Arts Center and a busy day camp for elementary school students.  Groups of young children dashed here and there in small clusters, led by enthusiastic teens and young adults.

Andy leans on It Up
(2008) by Robert Mellee.

Their activities varied from etching information about sculptures to playing active guessing games about the various pieces to crafting their own mini sculpture mobiles at the tent art center and hanging them from tree branches near the actual sculpted creations.
We watched the activity, chatted with a few of the children and browsed from sculpture to sculpture, following paths through the nine major areas of outdoor display.  These included: Grounds of Architecture Omi, Back Woods, Wheat Field, Pond Woods, Little Field, Far Afield, Poplar Grove, Clover Meadow and Residency Road.  Gorgeous summer weather made the day all the more relaxing and enjoyable. 

Victoria, (1991-2000) by Philip
Grausman, one of three huge
heads of women, looks with
authority at the nearby woods.

An earlier trip to Omi some years ago had been sweltering with temperatures near 100 degrees.  Today was just beautiful with flowers in bloom, butterflies floating above the art pieces and smells of new-mown grass drifting above the cut fields.

Sue finds a special niche to sit for a moment at
Species Niches 2 (2014) by Harrison Atelier.

Arcs in Disorder: 4 Arcs x 5 (2000) by
Bernar Venet invites inspection from
all different angles and perspectives.

Smoke (2009) by Richard Nonas
spreads evenly like a
cloud over a secluded field.

                 
               
                  


Queen Anne's Lace dots the landscape.

Black-eyed Susans nod lazily in the sun.

Tiny butterflies light at our feet.

On the way back to Tara's house, we stopped to see the gravesite of Martin VanBuren (1782-1862),  a New York State governor and the eighth President of the United States.  His nickname, Old Kinderhook, reflected his Dutch heritage.

A simple stone obelisk marks the tomb
of the country's eighth President.

The cemetery, quiet and low key, seemed oddly out-of-place for someone so important in world affairs during his lifetime. The stone obelisk simply gave the following information about the man and his wife: Martin Van Buren, VIIIth President of the United States, Born Dec. 5, 1782, Died July 24, 1862... Hannah Van Buren, His wife, Born March 8, 1788, Died at Albany, N.Y., Feb. 5, 1819.