Peck's of Maine Jams

Took a field trip to Brooklyn last weekend to visit my niece and with so many synchronicities in my life, the road ended up leading back to Maine! I stopped at the Farmer's Market in Park Slope on the way and one of the vendors right in front of me was Peck's of Maine--a local micro-business focused on manufacturing premium fruit spreads that use all the fruit, very little sugar, and zero artificial ingredients! Not only do they spend time in Maine and source their blueberries there but their family are longtime residents of the very same town I frequent every spring for three months so we talked about all our favorite places in Damariscotta and Newcastle. And to add coincidence upon coincidence, a relative of theirs just opened a catering business and storefront in the same town called Salt and Pepper Social and I just had the most delicious and elaborate charcuterie plate from that place at an opening at the Peace Gallery about a month ago...Turns out the guy I talked to, Brian Jeran (whose wife's family is the Maine connection), also had an incredible story to tell himself. He joined the business after leaving his Port Authority job just after 9/11. He recounted to me that he was actually in his office at the World Trade Center building when the planes hit--on the 61st Floor no less--and survived, walking step by step down the sixty one flights of stairs and all the while, helping a woman down as well to safety. He ended up receiving an award for saving her life...and with the help of EMDR as trauma therapy, saved himself too...To purchase these jams, visit their website here.

Duke Riley: Modern Day Scrimshaw

There are some pretty cool shows at the Brooklyn Museum right now including a show I recommend on African fashion but I was most struck with a show of a little known artist named Duke Riley. Recommended as not to be missed by my friend Debora Ferdman, the fourth floor show entitled Death to the Living, Long Live Trash, is made entirely from garbage picked up and transformed by artist Duke Riley on the beaches of the Northeast of the U.S. Riley's art tells a story of local pollution and marine devastation using a technique previously used to etch into whale and walrus bone called scrimshaw. Whereas in the old method, which often celebrated famous mariners, Riley takes a new twist, calling out major polluters with portraits of corporate moguls, politicians and others he considers enemies of the environment including Mike Durant, president of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State; James Quincey, head of the Coca-Cola Company; Edward Breen, executive chairman of the chemicals company DuPont; former Commissioner Sharon Dickerson, and Ronald Sugar, a former CEO of the oil company Chevron, and currently on the boards of Apple and Uber.

When asked what his overarching message is, Riley responded: "We spend all this time talking about recycling, which probably isn’t going to be the thing that helps. Responsibility is put on the masses, whereas a handful of people globally are responsible for all this stuff. We ought to spend more time thinking about them rather than spending resources on recycling things that will end up in a landfill anyway."

Riley is an activist artist known for his audacious public works and spectacle. It is rumored he introduced bedbugs into a famous hotel (you can guess whose hotel I am talking about). "The fact that he filled a well respected museum with garbage — that visitors will now pay to see — is not lost on him. It may even be the most gratifying part, he said. “I knew, when I was a kid, that I either wanted to be a garbage man, an artist, or a thief,” he said. “And I think I became all three.”

found plastic detritus transformed into fishing lures by Duke Riley

The Newtown creek in Brooklyn was first developed into an oil transfer station by Standard Oil in 1800s and eventually used by Amoco (later part of BP), and Paragon (now ChevronTexaco). The spill is believed to have occurred sometime in the 1930s while under control of the ExxonMobil. It was discovered in 1978 and subsequently covered up. Ownership continued to change hands as they continue to fail to take responsibility and further procrastinate any cleanup efforts.

Caroline Wozniacki

I always liked playing tennis as a kid and young person--and my dad was an avid player. I also have very fond memories of going to Forest Hills/the U.S. Open with him. I remember idolizing certain players like Billie Jean King and Chris Evert--Bjorn Borg of Sweden was one of my favorites. Then came the phenom of Serena and Venus but not until Caroline Wozniacki came along did I really start to pay attention again...And then she just dropped off--didn't hear anything about her until now. Two babies later, with rheumatoid arthritis hopefully fully in remission, she is coming back and I can't wait to see her play again. Here is a Vogue Magazine interview with her, hot off the press...Thought you might enjoy her determination and insight into the sport and the role of women on the circuit...Doesn't hurt in my book that she is Danish to boot.

Charity of the Week:
Rock The Vote

Painting of the Week

This type of rich dark brown piece adds elegance to a room with dark wooden furniture and makes the cross between a traditional room and more modern art in a seamless way.

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.