Book Club Update

Hello!

Today we had our first discussion on the book "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards.

This is just our opinion, since the book has been #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list, but Deirdre and I did not like the novel. The themes treated could be interesting, but we felt that the characters were not developed well enough for us to understand their actions. We also felt the setting of the story, in the late 60s through 70s, was not realistic.

Edwards style was wordy and hard to follow, she used the same adjectives repeatedly, causing the reading to be dry. Her description of places and landscapes did not allow us to "see" nor "feel" them. The book felt both dragging and rushed, as it did not give enough information to make us feel that we knew the characters by giving hurried and contrasting descriptions.

If you read the book and would like to add your comments, feel free to respond to this post.

We compiled a list of 5 books for future discussions and set up a tentative date for the next meeting, for Saturday, April 18th, at 9:00.

If you are interested in joining the book club, but would prefer a different time and day, please let me know, we'll try to accommodate everyone. If you plan to attend the April 18th discussion, send me an e-mail or reply to this post, or just show up!

Here are the books we picked, so far. Your suggestions are always welcome!

April 18th "A Mercy" by Toni Morrison

May "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh

June "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Wolf

July "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

August "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner

For those of you who cannot attend the meetings we could have a discussion on this blog, by simply posting a comment. Let me know what you think!

One more thing, you may enjoy the following facebook reading group:

"100 Novels Facebook Book Club"

Great Mothers

Hi everyone!

I received the following information from my friend Susan, who asked me to pass it along...

So here it is.

Channel for the Great Mothers

with Aurora Gabriel

The Great Mothers invite you to a channeling session with them and Aurora. Their messages are varied and they open themselves for public questions during he session. There are 12 mothers. Among them are Mary, Isis, Gaia, Hera and Quan Yin. The Great Mothers have come i at theis time for us to remember and experience Divine Love. They have said their work can gring more Love, Compassion, Caring, Beauty, Peace and Healing into our World. They thank you for your participation.

April 24, 2009 6-8pm at The International School of Shiatsu

110 S. Clinton Street, Suite 300

Doylestown, PA

April 25, 2009 2-4pm at Maitri Yoga

116 W Baltimore Pike, 2nd floor

Media, PA 19063

(Please note: if map questing use 116 W. Baltimre Ave, Media)

FEE for 2 HOUR SESSION $20 IN ADVANCE

$25 at DOOR

Aurora is a Spiritual Intuitive, Channeler, Animal Communicator and Spiritual Garden Coach. She has been channeling and reading for 22 years. Aurora's first "opening" occurred in 1987 when she was consoling a friend about the death of his young wife. "A golden angel appeared on my kitchen wall with a message that I told him. Neither of us questioned anything about the angel or the message. And that is how my work began".

Aurora channels Archangels, Ascended Masters and Other Light Beings. As an Intuitive Reader she works with your guides, past lives, health and relationships. She reads and channels regularly at Breathe Books in Baltimre, Maryland.

For pre-registratin call or e-mail Susan Watson at 610-742-2789 or susandw@comcast.net

Book club & Other Business

BOOK CLUB

Saturday, March 21st, at 9:00 will be our first book discussion.

The book we chose  is "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards.

Anyone who read the book is welcome to the discussion. 

We will also be choosing the next book, or maybe even list a few for the coming months, so that everyone will learn in advance what book will be discussed each month. Please bring your suggestions.

I am on the last few chapters of the book and I am looking forward to hear everyone's comments on it.

Should you have any questions feel free to post a comment to this blog or e-mail me at chiaraw@mac.com

WHERE IS THE WHITMOYER ART STUDIO & GALLERY GOING?

Last week's Second Friday featured Brian Hornberger and his beautiful mosaics.

We are presently showing five wall hangings and three 3-dimensional pieces from Brian's work.

We had some new guests for our event and as always we enjoyed the company as well as the appetizers and  drinks.

The next "Meet the Artist" event will be Friday, April 10th, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will feature the latest artist to join our gallery, John McGraw.

Last Sunday we presented our gallery to the North Mountain Art League's general meeting.

The Whitmoyer Art Studio & Gallery has been an exciting and fulfilling project for me and William. 

We started with a dream and a handful of ideas, we blended them with the help of friends and a lot of enthusiasm. Today we have a lovely little gallery that offers exposure to local artists, as well as a networking reference for anyone with an interest in art and culture.

As some of you already know, I reached a point in life where I am ready to move on to other quests, and my presence in the studio will be less and less from now on. Although business and interest is steadily growing, the gallery is not yet supporting itself from a financial point of view, and we have exhausted our personal resources to keep it going.

We are now faced with a decision: do we close this chapter as a fun and exhilarating experience that could have taken off onto much more but ran out of time... or do we reinvent it to somehow keep it going and hopefully blooming to its full potentials?

We do not have much time to come to a decision, so we reach out to all of you for suggestions, ideas, and any help.

We could sell the business to someone else who shares our dream and has the resources to keep it going. Or, as we suggested at the NMAL meeting, we could pool together resources and expertise, and make it into a coop or a shared artists space.

We have a cute little setting, with lots of potentials. The start-up costs are covered and we are reaching a wider audience every day. Some projects are already well established and others are taking off. We have office space, studio space, gallery area, wireless high speed internet. The fixed costs of operation are very reasonable.

This is something I would like all of you to consider. Think about how you could benefit from being part of a team who runs an art studio and promotes art and culture in our area.

Please share your comments on this blog or contact me or William directly. We would love to meet with you, individually or as a group, to answer your questions and hear your input.

You have all been a part of this project in one way or another and before we make a final decision we would like to give you all a chance to express your opinion.

Until next time,

have peace.

Chiara

Past and Upcoming Events

International Women's Day Ladies' Tea

We had a wonderful time at the Ladies' Tea!  I enjoyed the company, the presentations and the conversation so much that I forgot to take photos!

We started with some introductions and small talk, as we all got settled with our teas and treats.

Then Brash taught us a very feminine and sensual Armenian dance. Dancing together made us feel more connected and helped us to get to know one another in a different way.

We shared some of our concerns for the world of education, for the stuff we feed ourselves, and explored how the environment in which we live influences our lifestyle and our choices. This conversation was a perfect introduction for Cindy's presentation on Herbal Simples. She showed us how herbs that grow without much effort in our back yards can cure so many ailments and improve our health in general, with very little expense and without many of the negative side effects of traditional medicine. Cindy is a registered nurse with specific training in herbal medicine, and she is currently sharing her knowledge teaching a series of workshops.

Diane shared with us some of her experiences of traveling and teaching in different parts of the world, as well as some of her personal life experience. Sarah told us about her art gallery in Bloomsburg and her Yoga classes. We all talked about art, food, dance, and what ever we felt like sharing.

A very fulfilling moment for me was seeing people exchanging cards and contacts before leaving. We live in a disconnected world, and in an area that is not encouraging socialization because of its geographical characteristics. Connections between people don't naturally occur as much as they used to, so we need to make them happen.  For this aspect, I feel that our Ladies' Tea was successful, and I thank everyone who participated for their wonderful contribution.

If you are interested in any of the above and would like to know more about these ladies work and activities, feel free to comment to this post, or e-mail me at chiaraw@mac.com and I will be glad to forward your contact to the person of interest.

Second Friday - Meet Brian Hornberger

Brian is one of the latest artists to join our gallery. We are presently showing some of his dazzling mosaics. Brian combines mirrors, glass, reclaimed frames, porcelain and ceramic pieces, to create dazzling wall hangings and other two and three-dimensional art works.

You can get acquainted with Brian and his work this Friday, March 13th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Whitmoyer Art Studio & Gallery, as you enjoy light refreshments and the company of friends.

Click on the link above for address and directions or post a comment to this blog.

As always, Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Chiara