Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

and, 2016, monday, wendy, saturday, 11, april, to, with, inspiration, at, wonderings, wanderings, may, 31, 2021, november, 27, 2017, august, 20, june, friday, 29, websites, blogs, where, wanders, followers, blog, archive, about, me, years, pass, book, published, pandemic, still, here, trying, keep, spirit, alive, sharing, art, museums, kids, on, two, levels, northampton, encouraging, teachers, play, materials, creatures, more, offering, acc, baltimore,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (229), and (144), for (60), with (57), was (35), this (30), have (30), that (25), art (23), from (22), one (21), some (21), but (20), time (19), our (19), wendy (18), year (18), story (16), had (16), were (16), his (15), are (15), her (15), when (15), she (15), about (14), new (14), been (14), all (14), after (14), back (13), book (12), out (12), their (12), has (12), each (12), show (11), would (11), flying (11), could (11), here (11), children (11), family (11), exhibit (11), #spirit (11), artist (10), work (10), who (10), which (10), more (10), materials (10), mfa (10), there (9), then (9), like (9), next (9), last (9), not (9), they (9), other (9), created (9), into (9), made (9), ellertson (8), april (8), website (8), arts (8), artists (8), city (8), what (8), stories (8), fun (8), two (8), color (8), creatures (8), will (8), illustrations (8), through (7), may (7), june (7), august (7), november (7), years (7), comments (7), posted (7), including (7), ideas (7), off (7), make (7), community (7), day (7), see (7), peace (7), families (7), create (7), took (7), piece (7), gallery (7), january (6), march (6), december (6), 2016 (6), blog (6), site (6), those (6), dragon (6), them (6), photo (6), eyes (6), together (6), check (6), take (6), well (6), good (6), students (6), working (6), car (6), still (6), post (6), how (6), world (6), ingrid (6), february (5), july (5), september (5), robert (5), labels (5), paradise (5), wall (5), folks (5), energy (5), days (5), another (5), couple (5), might (5), you (5), get (5), above (5), class (5), boston (5), these (5), saturday (5), video (5), summer (5), kids (5), being (5), end (5), many (5), creative (5), walk (5), life (5), over (5), few (5), forward (5), perhaps (5), also (5), things (5), around (5), both (5), museum (5), find (5), michael (5), quest (5), october (4), wood (4), imagination (4), home (4), starr (4), festival (4), leather (4), acc (4), baltimore (4), keep (4), encouraging (4), him (4), experience (4), now (4), scene (4), having (4), found (4), young (4), love (4), does (4), sent (4), hour (4), cover (4), than (4), said (4), number (4), sea (4), stay (4), down (4), while (4), northampton (4), course (4), inspiration (4), came (4), little (4), shows (4), center (4), creating (4), education (4), amazing (4), own (4), adults (4), challenge (4), various (4), told (4), look (4), even (4), granddaughter (4), did (4), before (4), trying (4), favorite (4), grandson (4), inside (4), lost (4), sharing (4), susie (4), sophia (4), making (3), pass (3), published (3), pandemic (3), don (3), institute (3), thomas (3), posts (3), covers (3), several (3), really (3), large (3), sculpture (3), person (3), ago (3), great (3), filled (3), leave (3), bit (3), orders (3), since (3), very (3), books (3), decided (3), thought (3), seeing (3), just (3), eye (3), gave (3), front (3), inspired (3), creature (3), thinking (3), hubby (3), hip (3), adventure (3), com (3), especially (3), offering (3), monday (3), urban (3), invited (3), such (3), long (3), use (3), between (3), play (3), importance (3), media (3), fct (3), group (3), talk (3), try (3), point (3), something (3), others (3), way (3), come (3), quite (3), wonderful (3), scenes (3), table (3), enjoyed (3), line (3), ended (3), theme (3), onward (3), tracy (3), matt (3), sure (3), surgery (3), issues (3), encouraged (3), though (3), living (3), taking (3), away (3), open (3), always (3), game (3), dwelling (3), black (3), morning (3), hema (3), weiwei (3), place (3), museums (3), air (3), viewers (3), four (3), beyond (3), snake (3), school (3), smith (3), birds (3), peters (3), dowling (3), hakim (3), white (3), images (3), vigil (3), reading (3), version (3), phoenix (3), publishing (3), view (2), complete (2), 2015 (2), 2017 (2), 2021 (2), sculptor (2), mythic (2), project (2), studio (2), where (2), harris (2), hagenbring (2), simon (2), semyon (2), kaplan (2), ipad (2), allen (2), littlefield (2), heads (2), intriguing (2), think (2), appreciate (2), chair (2), brought (2), folk (2), worlds (2), never (2), lives (2), brooklyn (2), left (2), process (2), ask (2), customers (2), definitely (2), checking (2), street (2), shop (2), rather (2), called (2), retail (2), result (2), much (2), better (2), sale (2), promised (2), going (2), whose (2), name (2), worth (2), every (2), spent (2), finally (2), asked (2), certainly (2), ones (2), added (2), tuned (2), spring (2), filling (2), can (2), again (2), memorial (2), weekend (2), arisia (2), full (2), didn (2), myself (2), below (2), participating (2), should (2), college (2), reggio (2), louis (2), brown (2), hawthorne (2), youth (2), pazzanese (2), weeks (2), infused (2), early (2), childhood (2), visited (2), teachers (2), dream (2), child (2), approach (2), environment (2), discussion (2), lots (2), using (2), began (2), multi (2), generational (2), programs (2), without (2), needed (2), mixed (2), workshop (2), break (2), turn (2), picked (2), imaginary (2), combined (2), people (2), incorporating (2), longer (2), guess (2), stirred (2), structures (2), morphed (2), track (2), subway (2), pieces (2), example (2), water (2), presented (2), gone (2), results (2), challenging (2), realize (2), impact (2), exactly (2), hear (2), classrooms (2), appropriate (2), problem (2), solving (2), description (2), workshops (2), title (2), share (2), honor (2), friday (2), kochanski (2), miriam (2), carter (2), evald (2), johnson (2), kimberly (2), willcox (2), chris (2), balance (2), live (2), supportive (2), members (2), flowing (2), regular (2), husband (2), seemed (2), usual (2), hospital (2), short (2), three (2), minute (2), communities (2), friend (2), went (2), suddenly (2), deep (2), knowing (2), probably (2), fantasy (2), spirits (2), agreed (2), push (2), metal (2), ever (2), stitching (2), chess (2), awesome (2), room (2), reminds (2), wake (2), say (2), count (2), used (2), helped (2), food (2), call (2), beautifully (2), sense (2), levels (2), jonathan (2), borofsky (2), upadhyay (2), choi (2), jeong (2), hwa (2), aaditi (2), joshi (2), image (2), figures (2), seems (2), start (2), old (2), spend (2), under (2), visit (2), event (2), major (2), besides (2), entire (2), structure (2), same (2), size (2), talks (2), moving (2), sadly (2), ceiling (2), walls (2), perspective (2), yes (2), supposed (2), painted (2), megacities (2), apologies (2), eliana (2), step (2), friends (2), organization (2), series (2), wanted (2), categories (2), glass (2), backpacks (2), honoring (2), sculptural (2), medicine (2), wheel (2), productions (2), kathleen (2), raquib (2), any (2), escape (2), times (2), reflect (2), display (2), difference (2), whole (2), shadows (2), wrote (2), dreams (2), difficult (2), recognize (2), ways (2), connected (2), sky (2), looking (2), faced (2), marching (2), posting (2), installation (2), put (2), panels (2), soon (2), past (2), months (2), hopefully (2), creates (2), copies (2), versions (2), available (2), amazon (2), paperback (2), task (2), webmistress (2), kindle (2), library (2), perfect (2), storyteller (2), format (2), illustrate (2), publish (2), clearly (2), happen (2), wonderings (2), wanderings (2), skip (2), profile, myth, manifest, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, archive, followers, andrea, hairston, andrey, drozdov, andy, moerlein, bruce, chapin, christine, kaiser, deborah, mills, carver, becker, puppets, donna, dodson, faith, wilson, forest, rogers, interstitial, foundation, janet, coshow, jorge, añón, karen, gubitz, nnedi, okorafor, reina, mia, brill, alan, hyde, sandie, fenton, wargin, top, directory, valerie, bunnell, virginia, fitzgerald, websites, blogs, wanders, subscribe, atom, older, mounted, surprises, tribal, unfortunately, able, connect, trained, alaska, fasion, pushing, limits, lose, exploring, stretching, ourselves, orleans, store, magazine, optical, wholesale, started, slow, grew, nice, weather, snow, storm, curtailed, crowds, sales, special, pageante, roland, traveling, librarian, duo, appreciative, persistent, fell, son, because, dyslexia, give, customized, include, guessed, correctly, arrived, beaming, sparkle, know, customer, box, choose, expecting, pick, red, suggest, maybe, octopi, squid, beginning, planting, greens, raised, beds, garden, dreaming, waiting, travel, far, limes, festiva, range, functional, mugs, clayoh, head, protruding, hurt, treated, reliquary, jars, built, form, texture, drew, pictured, hand, wander, aisles, remember, why, begin, wonder, emelia, visiting, activities, gladly, caretakers, combination, headstart, preschool, kindergarten, situations, supporting, week, mornings, further, starting, schools, philosophy, deeply, rooted, centered, emilia, words, focuses, interplay, literacy, readings, writing, challenges, active, experiential, practicum, artwork, masking, tape, previous, value, developing, previously, shown, focus, opportunities, gather, inclusive, welcoming, disabilities, spanish, sign, language, interpreters, led, neighborhood, lead, judy, battat, program, advisor, evaluator, involved, present, recycle, plus, realistic, divided, tables, requiring, cooperative, sometimes, conclusion, part, wove, dug, right, unlike, variation, support, emerged, pleased, begun, else, fence, individual, ribbons, covering, everything, bicycle, sports, dress, hotel, prudential, tower, fountain, tossed, coins, wash, face, happy, washed, backyard, bbq, places, relax, gathered, round, participants, single, nana, final, orange, mentioned, earlier, worked, odd, realm, creations, reported, similar, projects, albeit, geared, ages, admire, tremendously, passion, spreading, promote, cooperation, skill, development, exact, weekly, leading, tentative, tomorrow, gathering, signs, mother, celebrating, courage, heading, team, director, hycc, died, lifetime, commitment, ldb, institut, extras, reuse, ion, organizat, williams, maintain, fighting, important, causes, your, keeping, juices, rest, dose, originally, scheduled, replacement, opted, until, threw, curves, often, case, medical, dealt, rescheduled, cancelled, feasible, extended, complications, nothing, drastic, only, discharged, cancel, kicked, excellent, choices, respect, chosen, close, feltmaker, offered, drive, hampshire, meanwhile, dad, breath, packed, greet, musician, talented, wooden, rocking, horse, carousel, animal, polymer, first, trip, lifted, caged, fairy, booth, attendees, door, cage, fairies, occasionally, need, contained, soared, watching, journal, attracts, bring, along, usually, astounded, creativity, true, resist, modern, promethes, bookbinder, torn, needy, wish, paid, attention, teach, imagine, played, castle, thrones, court, knights, side, gratitude, loving, offer, gesture, exist, learned, savor, muhammad, ali, feeling, extremely, blessed, backup, confidence, aging, invulnerable, competence, parents, homefront, promoters, supported, kept, resolved, everyone, became, dicey, encourages, harder, movement, design, sculptors, variety, willimas, comment, rushing, enjoying, dreamed, fly, reflection, attempt, viewer, friendly, fortunate, grandchildren, admit, surprised, later, chose, fine, granted, hot, conditioned, already, explored, parks, science, its, leadership, friendlier, participatory, success, chance, explore, interact, social, suggested, gund, spread, visitors, tour, areas, bamboo, resonated, electronic, device, parts, tapped, draped, shaped, plastic, bags, x12, shacks, demonstrating, cities, across, mombai, pakistan, violence, murdered, chaosmos, seoul, floors, covered, mylar, chandelier, moved, slowly, middle, comfortable, sit, upon, shifting, breathing, flower, huntington, entrance, passionate, everyday, influence, saw, isn, accomplish, shadow, actually, linde, wing, returned, cousin, pet, smaller, contemporary, couldn, online, wire, mesh, cool, hole, although, discovered, weren, joaquin, oops, handle, fantastic, savoring, topic, finished, giving, fall, eerily, quiet, neglected, six, house, pics, settled, photos, herself, leaves, outdoor, cafe, lunch, listed, paper, pen, ink, searched, square, different, bingo, crushed, supplies, governmental, responsibility, earthquake, upset, lack, publicity, denial, china, sichuan, province, 2008, collapse, poorly, constructred, asim, waqif, asia, bittetti, wondered, flown, skies, political, events, united, states, tempting, composite, direction, response, late, viewing, bitetti, curator, keeps, corner, walled, request, minimal, wings, pierced, rawhide, chest, wingspread, resulted, avians, sizes, explanation, confronted, frequently, resort, fight, remembering, window, jumping, ledge, adult, involve, soaring, easier, bigger, picture, commonality, concerns, efforts, petty, differences, web, passions, inclinations, listen, carefully, calling, however, blended, sort, golden, jacob, ladder, disturbing, demonstrations, hate, negative, rampant, sectors, sliding, backwards, instead, livable, kind, positive, asserted, activism, speaking, inspiring, hiatus, busy, agitating, dealing, computer, length, determined, thurs, nov, dec, orchestrating, aids, 1000, colors, circular, brick, cyclorama, held, helping, spending, write, measuring, distance, moment, brilliant, silverish, blue, glow, thirteen, moons, begins, poem, moon, set, paintings, medicinewheelproductions, org, alive, symbolically, hold, due, multiple, pandemics, facing, promise, let, reconnecting, storytelling, listening, tales, wisdom, helps, understanding, quarantine, hope, pulled, shelves, reread, homes, moments, hardback, someday, signed, bookmark, directly, shipping, illustration, seen, reactions, aimed, elementary, age, enjoy, peek, 142, chapters, bedtime, reads, disappeared, gifted, named, mythical, avian, journey, encounters, magical, dives, eternal, depth, research, takes, ride, legendary, eng, reader, decide, putting, want, fortunately, kay, ritter, knew, self, kdp, control, shape, price, demand, availability, meant, printing, costs, initially, five, loves, converted, less, expensive, option, expected, most, doing, central, met, kallick, ikallick, sci, con, fair, compensation, talking, wait, painting, draft, copy, passed, feedback, immediately, liked, idea, literally, publication, accepted, edit, tale, enough, seriously, illustrator, limiting, hmm, reflections, dances, road, meets, collects, savors, adventures, sidebar, main,

Text of the page (random words):
ddaughter i would like to spend some good 1 1 time with each they both chose the boston museum of fine arts granted it was hot and the mfa air conditioned and we d already explored parks and the science museum under its new leadership the boston mfa has been trying to make the museum a friendlier place and to make a visit a participatory event their megacities asia exhibit this spring was an example of success it encouraged you at every chance to explore and interact with the art as well as to talk about some of the major social issues it suggested besides the gund gallery pieces of the exhibit were spread around the entire museum encouraging visitors to tour many areas of the museum that s our grandson inside this bamboo structure created by asim waqif which resonated through an electronic device when various parts were tapped viewers were encouraged to walk under and around the draped shaped plastic bags by aaditi joshi check out her video comments at mfa video hema upadhyay s 8 x12 gave you a sense of being inside a city of shacks at the same time demonstrating the 8 x 12 usual size of the structures and materials they are made of in various cities across the world hema talks about the impact of moving to mombai from pakistan has on her in a mfa video sadly urban violence ended her life in december of 2015 when she was murdered our grandson s and probably my favorite piece was chaosmos by seoul artist choi jeong hwa the entire gallery floors ceiling and walls were covered by mylar a chandelier moved slowly in the middle a comfortable chair was place in the center for viewers to sit upon to take in the shifting perspective in a video posted by the mfa the artist talks about having art come down to play with us yes he had four piece in the exhibit including the breathing flower in the front of the mfa huntington entrance he is passionate about using everyday materials our grandson said the experience was going to influence how he saw things beyond that room isn t that what art is supposed to accomplish when i was there with our granddaughter she found a shadow friend to share the visit actually painted on the wall in the linde family wing by the time i returned to spend a morning at the mfa with her some of the megacities exhibit was sadly gone but not all including the snake ceiling by ai weiwei we took a photo of it for her cousin who has a pet snake a smaller one the snake is made from children s backpacks honoring the children lost in the collapse of a poorly constructred school in china s sichuan province after the 2008 earthquake upset with the lack of publicity and denial of of governmental responsibility ai weiwei visited the site seeing all the backpacks and school supplies of the crushed children inspired the piece up in the contemporary gallery both kids enjoyed this sculpture i have to go back to find the name of the artist my apologies i couldn t find it online structure of wood and wire mesh is intriguing on several levels it s cool to look into and take a photo through the hole although we discovered when there with eliana that we weren t supposed to step up like joaquin did oops a step and a handle certainly called to be used our granddaughter had fun with a bingo game from the mfa each square was a different media or materials art could be made from metal glass paper pen ink wood she searched for something in all the categories then in the outdoor cafe over lunch we listed more categories water air food leaves both kids enjoyed taking photos of the art eliana wanted a photo of herself it took quite a few pics before she settled on this one as a favorite piece of art from the day after having family living with us for six weeks the house seems eerily quiet i m back to filling neglected orders and working for fall shows and a gallery exhibit i ve also finished giving a series of workshops for the organization families creating together that workshop will be the topic of my next post have a fantastic end of summer savoring art friends and family adventure on wendy posted by wendy ellertson at 10 24 am 1 comment labels aaditi joshi ai weiwei boston mfa choi jeong hwa hema upadhyay jonathan borofsky saturday june 11 2016 inspiration on two levels at northampton balance how does one maintain that in the world we live in balance between fighting for important causes being supportive of your own family members and keeping creative juices flowing to have the energy for the rest of life for me one way is to make sure i get a regular dose of inspiration from other artists originally my husband was scheduled for hip replacement surgery the end of march so after acc baltimore i opted to take a break from shows until the northampton paradise city arts festival over memorial day weekend then life threw a few curves as is often the case some medical issues were picked up which had to be dealt with before surgery so hip surgery was rescheduled for may 18 i could have cancelled northampton but it still seemed feasible with the usual hospital stay and my hubby encouraged me to go forward long story short hospital stay was extended and a couple complications though nothing drastic were added so i would have to leave for show only three days after my hubby was discharged cancel at the last minute or go forward that s when other artists and family kicked in and made us realize how excellent our life choices have been all these years with respect to the communities we have chosen to live in our close artist friend feltmaker miriam carter offered to drive down the 1 hour from new hampshire to work the show for me if i went but then suddenly had to leave meanwhile two of our children living in brooklyn said they would come up and cover for me with their dad so taking a deep breath and knowing a couple days away would probably be good for me i packed up and went off and who should be there to greet me but the dragon musician above and these creatures below created by the talented wooden rocking horse carousel animal and polymer fantasy creature sculptor tracy kochanski this was tracy s first trip to the paradise city arts festival her creatures lifted my spirits even the caged fairy in the back of the booth after a few comments by attendees she made sure the door to the cage was open though we all agreed some fairies occasionally need to be contained chris willimas dragon soared watching over us all and his sea creatures inspired me to push my new line of deep sea journal covers the metal sculpture at the show always attracts me i look forward to seeing what matt evald johnson will bring along i am usually astounded by his energy and creativity this year was as true as ever how could i resist a piece like modern promethes a bookbinder stitching and stitching her his torn and needy books matt s chess table made me wish i had paid attention when folks were trying to teach me chess i can just imagine a game played on this table in some awesome living room or castle dwelling or perhaps in some game of thrones court scene check out the dragon knights on the black side kimberly willcox one of my favorite sculptors was also there her variety sense of line movement and design always encourages me to work harder and go for it with my own work at one point things became a little dicey back home but in the end resolved for the better everyone at the show artists and promoters supported me and kept checking in and our kids on the homefront did beautifully problem solving a wake up call perhaps that we parents are aging and not invulnerable but also to their competence and our confidence in them other folks back home helped out as well with food and backup if needed my husband i ended feeling extremely blessed i have learned to savor each day as muhammad ali used to say don t count the days make the days count but knowing we wake up to exist in such supportive and loving communities reminds me to offer a gesture of gratitude each morning adventure on wendy posted by wendy ellertson at 12 39 pm no comments labels chris williams kimberly willcox matt evald johnson miriam carter tracy kochanski paradise city arts festival friday april 29 2016 encouraging teachers to play with materials a couple weeks ago i was invited as a visiting artist to ed pazzanese class art infused early childhood education activities at the urban college here in boston i visited last year as well and had such a good time with his students i gladly came again his students are teachers and caretakers in a combination of headstart preschool kindergarten and other situations supporting young children after working all week long these amazing folks show up for a 4 hour class on saturday mornings to further their education one has a dream of starting her own schools ed s philosophy of education is deeply rooted in the child centered reggio emilia approach to early childhood to use his words this course focuses on the interplay between art play literacy and the environment his course is filled with great readings writing challenges active discussion and lots of experiential practicum in the arts check out the artwork created using masking tape created at a previous class on the wall here the class began with a discussion of the value and importance of developing multi generational programs ed had previously shown the students a video of the families creating together organizat ion he began a number of years ago whose focus is offering opportunities for families to gather in a multi generational and inclusive environment welcoming adults and children with and without disabilities and offering spanish and sign language interpreters if needed i led a our neighborhood our stories mixed media workshop for fct last summer will lead another this summer it s an amazing group judy battat fct program advisor and evaluator was there this saturday to talk about fct and other programs she is involved in after a break it was my turn to present the art challenge this saturday was to use the various recycle materials ed picked up at extras for creative reuse plus some materials i and some students brought and to create a city scene could be imaginary or realistic the students were divided up into two group tables and told to try to look at the materials from a kids point of view then each create something which would be combined with the others to create a story scene requiring working together in a cooperative way sometimes a challenge for adults and children at the conclusion each person told about their part and then one or two people wove a story incorporating them all some dug right in others took a little longer to come up with ideas not unlike the variation in children i would guess with support from others ideas were stirred and structures emerged i was pleased to see that some ideas begun morphed into something else a fence into a track for a subway car with car the individual pieces and use of materials ribbons for wall covering for example were quite wonderful we had everything from city street scenes complete with bicycle and sports car to dress shop hotel prudential tower with water fountain with tossed coins even a car wash check out the face on the happy car being washed to backyard scenes with bbq and places to relax in the end each group gathered round while the table participants presented their piece and combined all into a single story or two if we had had more time those stories could have gone on and on a granddaughter came with her nana and enjoyed the final results that s the morphed orange line subway car on the track in the center i mentioned earlier last year when i worked with ed s class the materials were a little more challenging and odd the end results ended up more in the imaginary realm made me realize the impact of exactly what materials are presented these creations were wonderful but another time i think it would be fun to challenge even more it will be fun to hear what from this experience the students took back to their classrooms last year ed reported many did similar projects albeit it ones geared to appropriate ages in their classrooms i admire tremendously ed s passion for spreading the importance of art infused education to promote problem solving creative thought cooperation and skill development i m still working up the exact description for the 5 weekly mixed media workshops i will be leading for the families creating together this july tentative title story creatures but before then tomorrow i m gathering folks at the hawthorne youth and community center to make signs for the louis d brown peace institut e s mother s day walk for peace and to share community stories the theme for this year s walk is celebrating the courage of community i m heading up a team to walk in honor of the director of hycc who died last year after a lifetime of commitment to families and community more about the ldb peace institute and the walk in my next post peace and onward wendy posted by wendy ellertson at 4 41 pm no comments labels ed pazzanese families creating together hawthorne youth and community center louis d brown peace institute reggio emelia urban college monday april 11 2016 creatures and more offering inspiration at acc baltimore just when i begin to wonder if i should take a year off from shows i take a little time to wander the aisles and remember why i love participating inspiration at acc baltimore this year came especially from thomas harris s work pictured above and below his hand built work s form texture and color drew me in of course that he had reliquary jars with creature heads and a dragon head protruding from the wall didn t hurt i treated myself to one of his functional mugs check out his website clayoh com to see the full range of his work several artists had wall mounted heads this year including this intriguing one by allen littlefield i keep encouraging him to show at arisia i think folks there would really appreciate his work and then there were surprises like this large chair from simon semyon kaplan artist sculpture in wood who brought 30 years experience from the tribal and folk art worlds unfortunately i was never able to connect with him in person at the show trained in alaska he lives in brooklyn now i left the fasion scene years ago but appreciate artists like starr hagenbring who are really pushing the limits and having a great time in the process starr is one of those energy filled artists who ask us what do we have to lose by exploring new ideas stretching ourselves and our customers next time i m in new orleans i m definitely checking out her store on magazine street optical shop and art leave it to starr wholesale started off rather slow for me this year but bit by bit grew including nice orders which have been called in since the show the weather was great for retail days no snow storm like last year which curtailed crowds the result was much better retail sales including a very special sale pageante and roland th...