ROCHESTER: A LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE

Susan B. Anthony, Mt. Hope Cemetary, Rochester, NY

Sometimes my home town gets it right!

For those who may not already know, Rochester, New York, was home to Susan B. Anthony - her modest family home is a little museum and there’s a tiny park near her house with a bronze sculpture of Susan B. sitting with Frederick Douglas having tea (Douglas lived in Rochester too and published his NorthStar newspaper here.)

This week was Voting Day ( 2016 Presidential Primaries) and here at Susan’s graveside, women left small bouquets of flowers but even better, plastered their “I Voted” stickers all over her gravestone.  Now I ask you…is that not way cool?  I can’t think of anything better, any way more appropriate to acknowledge the gift that she and those early mothers, sisters and aunts gave us.

Now….VOTE…next November…and every chance you get.  People actually suffered for our right to mark that ballot.

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I want a “studio craft museum” here.  It makes sense historically and philosophically and (cross my fingers) financially.  We sit in the very cradle of craft renewal.  Roycroft is just up the road, Stickley is just a short jont uphill, and Shakers are not far away. Swedes settled Jamestown to build furniture in high end factories. Alfred University (school of ceramics) isn’t far away, Corning Glass is about an hour’s drive, School of American Crafts is here at Rochester Institute of Technology.  What could be more sensible?

THE NEW YORK TIMES article in today’s paper speaks to the huge imbalance between the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They make a strong case that all the $$$ and attention (attendance too?) is headed toward contemporary art. MOMA is booming; the Met is in trouble. 

O.K., I get it.  But people like making things and they love seeing what other people make and they fantasize that if only they had the time/studio/material they too could turn out beautiful stuff but in the meantime, they want to see, touch and add the handmade and unique to their own environments.  I believe this! I’m willing to try convincing other people to believe it. 

So what shall we name this new Rochester place? I’m thinking “Hands”…”Made by Hand”…”The Annex?”

"Taking Tea" bronze by Pepsy Kettavong, 2001