From Skilled Hands » Cuyahoga Valley

Winter Thoughts

fromskilledhands — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:21:05 +0000

After the flurry of activities that surrounded the holidays, we took a couple of much needed days off. It’s quiet in the Village of Peninsula, population 602. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the incessant rain we’ve had. This has, thus far, been the winter of mud.We have been working to develop new glazes, and we have both been working on new designs and new pieces. There are so many things we want to explore, and winter is a good time to do that.

The Cuyahoga Valley is a beautiful place in any season. If you have the opportunity, plan a visit to our amazing Valley. You can Explore Peninsula, visit the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

Cheese board: 19″ x 8.5″. Tiles by Debra Bures; wood by Dave Kish. Available for sale. Contact the Gallery for information.

Did you know that the crooked river called Cuyahoga has had other names? Visit here to read about it.

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Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

fromskilledhands — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:45:03 +0000

Autumn in my Valley is glorious. The colors of the leaves, sometimes brilliant, sometimes subtle, contrast with the textures of the trees and layers of earth. We hiked the Tree Farm Trail at Horseshoe Pond last week. It was beautifully silent, the only sounds, our feet in the leaves, the birds, and the wind.

As always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know that you’ve stopped by. Come by tomorrow to see who won Monday’s drawing.

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Words for Wednesday

fromskilledhands — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:35:24 +0000

The quality of the light has changed in my Valley. The heavier tones of Winter are being replaced by the lightness of Spring. That does not mean that the 24″ of snow on the ground won’t have a topping of more white stuff. It does, however, signify that there is plenty of mud underneath just waiting to be caked on the dogs’ feet.

Nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos, tufted titmice, chickadees, finches and brilliant red cardinals are visiting the feeders, singing the songs that suggest that Spring is on it’s way.

My Word-A-Day calendar has brought pages of words to me, some new, others, old friends. Here’s a sampling:

**Conventicle: a noun. 1. An assembly of an irregular or unlawful character. 2. an assembly for religious worship, especially a meeting for worship not sanctioned by law. 3. a meetinghouse

**Fulgent: an adjective. Dazzingly bright: radiant.

**Parry: a verb. 1. To ward off a weapon or blow. 2. to evade especially by an adroit answer.

**Infix: a noun. A derivational or inflectional affix appearing in the body of a word

**Clepe: a verb. To name or call

**Rectitudinous: an adjective. 1. Characterized by straightness or moral integrity. 2. piously self-righteous.

**Harbinger: a noun. 1. A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another, herald. 2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign; 3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train etc., to provide secure lodgings or other accommodations.

As always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.

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Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Blue Skies

fromskilledhands — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:32 +0000

For more looks at the color blue, please visit Jodi’s weekly color challenge at the Women’s Colony.

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My Town Monday– Late Edition: A Different Kind of Post

fromskilledhands — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:43:40 +0000

Jodi, over at the Women’s Colony/Sanctuary, has challenged bloggers to post photos that show the color orange. I looked around my town, the Village of Peninsula, in the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley, and saw the color all over the place. Here is a snippet:

Check back on Wednesday. My Wordless Wednesday post will be sponsored by the color orange.

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My Town Monday’s current host is Clair Dickson. Wander over to the MTM site for links to the posts of other MTM Marauders.

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My Town Monday: A Bit of This and That

fromskilledhands — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:31:08 +0000

It has been quite a while since I have shared the MTM experience. Life has presented our family with multiple challenges including 3 deaths and the hospitalization of a child. I have learned a lot about community, and have had my feeling that we all live in the same town reinforced over and over.

Fall has come to My Town, the Village of Peninsula, population 601. The leaves are beginning to change as daylight hours grow shorter. The Village is nestled in the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley, home of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The Valley is an amazing and diverse place with so much to see and do. Here are some photos I took during a summer hike on the Tree Farm Trail. Take a look, and if you are in our neck of the woods, stop and visit. Feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o) to let me know you’ve stopped by.

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Visit the My Town Monday website, for a look at other places on this fine planet.

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COMING SOON: Cups of Kindness

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P Minus One

fromskilledhands — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:57:14 +0000

Signs of the python are all around: Larry has been getting his python ready for tomorrow’s parade; the Peninsula Art Academy’s artful python has emerged from it’s winter resting place. Our python has been enjoying being outside.

We are getting ready for the python scavenger hunt in the Gallery. If you can find them all, you win one! Lots of activities are planned in the Village tomorrow. Slither on over here to see.

While you’re in the Valley, wander on down the Towpath to Deep Lock Quarry. Hobo Days will be in full swing. It starts tonight with the Hobo Jungle Campfire, the official lighting of the hobo campfire. You can enjoy potlatch and hobohemia. Bring a can of soup for the hobo pot. Breakfast will be at 9:00a.m. tomorrow, and there will be activities all day. The election of the Deep Lock Quarry Hobo King and Queen will be at 3:00 p.m.. The campfire will be at 8:00p.m., and there will be more hobohemia Sunday, from 11:00a.m.-1:00pm. For more information, check out the MetroParks, serving Summit County website.

I talked toNaturalist Pat Rydquist (whose hobo name is Hummingbird) about Hobo Days. Thie is the 6th year of the event at Deep Lock Quarry. 30-40 hobos will camp in primitive campsites there. Hobos were really the first “leave no trace” campers. Number 8 of the Hobo Code of Ethics reads: “Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.“ For more information about the Code of Ethics, hobo terminology and hobo symbols, go here.

And don’t forget to send me your mug shot. You could win one of our favorite mugs.

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My Town Monday: Pythons in Peninsula, Oh My!

fromskilledhands — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:50:19 +0000

The Village of Peninsula, Ohio, population 601, will once again celebrate the saga of the Peninsula Python, the serpent whose escape, disappearance, and subsequent sightings terrified the people in the Valley during the summer of 1944.

Word War II was going on, and many of the young men from the Valley were deployed overseas. When the story of the Python was picked up by the wire services and Stars and Stripes, soldiers stationed overseas sent letters to the Village. Letters from places people had never heard of.

While the story of the python frightened people in the Valley, it was not nearly as scary as the horrors of war.

The mayor deputized a posse to try to capture the renegade reptile. Although they men of the posse followed up on every lead, they were unable to find the snake.

photo courtesy Your Community News

If you are in our neck of the woods on Saturday, July 18th, come on over to the Village. We’ll be celebrating the python with our Python Fest. There will be all kinds of things to do. Slither on over here to find out just what will be going on. Steve and I will have a plethora of pythons around the Gallery, at 1619 West Mill Street. If you can find them all, you will win a prize.

You can also wander down the trail to Deep Lock Quarry, part of the MetroParks, serving Summit County. Celebrate Hobo Days with food, stories and the crowning of the Hobo King and Queen.

If you’d like a chance to be part of our modern Peninsula Python Posse, post a comment. Last week’s Posse winner was Barbara Martin. She joins fellow posse members, Amy, Terrie , Sam, Travis, Barrie, and Eryl.

My Town Monday is now hosted by Clair Dickson here. You will find links to other MTM posts all over this fine planet. Travis Erwin is the originator of MTM. Go visit him and say hello. He’s a very nice guy.

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Raising a Cup of Kindness

fromskilledhands — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:01:38 +0000

Cups of Kindness, a show and sale to benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, has raised enough money to purchase around 27,000 meals—that’s almost 45 meals for the 600 and some folks who live in the Village of Peninsula, Ohio.

Over 70 artists donated pieces of art, 160 pieces in all. All proceeds from the sale of the artwork has benefited the hungry in the 8 Ohio counties that the Foodbank serves. The show opened in early December of 2008, and continues.

Diane Keske Talmadge has been drawing and painting since she was a child. She is an accomplished portrait, landscape and still life painter. Her paintings have a wonderful luminous quality about them, quietly showing how she sees the world. Diane teaches painting and drawing in her home studio and at the Peninsula Art Academy.

Diane has a collection of 25 or so antique teacups, and she puts at least 1 antique piece in each of her still life paintings. When she was asked if she would donate a piece to Cups of Kindness, Diane didn’t hesitate. She painted two of her antique teacups, which are displayed on lovely small easels. This piece, along with it’s companion pink teacup are available here. Please visit Elements Gallery in the Village of Peninsula, Ohio, or the Cups of Kindness website to see this and other beautiful pieces of artwork. Every dollar raised purchases 7 nutritious meals for NE Ohio’s hungry, folks like you and me, who need a hand.

Cups of Kindness: Friends and neighbors helping each other.

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Along the Crooked River: Plein Air Comes to Peninsula

fromskilledhands — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:00:44 +0000

The crooked river called Cuyahoga is an integral part of the Cuyahoga Valley and the Village of Peninsula. Artists have tried to capture it’s beauty in a multitude of media. Painters, photographers and artists with sketch pads are regular sights in this Valley.

On Saturday, June 20, 2009, 25 regional artists will converge on the Village, canvases, easels and paints in hand. They will be participants in the first Plein Aire competition that the Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce has hosted. En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air.” It is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Plein air painting has it’s roots in 19th century Europe. The invention of tubes that contained pigments made painting portable, and the introduction of the steam engine gave painters a way to travel for their art.

If you’re in our neck of the woods or are in the mood for a beautiful drive, come on over and see us. You can watch the painters, take a hike in the amazing Cuyahoga Valley National Park (did you know that it is the 6th most visited National Park in the country?), take a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and explore the Village of Peninsula. Stop in and see Steve and me at our Elements Gallery on Mill Street. We’re looking forward to meeting you.

For more information on the Plein Aire competition, visit here.

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