"BY THE TIME WE GOT TO WOODSTOCK"

What a nice way to begin an artful journey. I picked Ines up at 10 o'clock and we headed westward. Our first stop was in Lee, MA to visit the GIANT BEAVER. Why? Why not? I think a long trip across America should include a lot of cheeky kitschy things. They are bits of americana.

As long as we were off the interstate we also drove by Skinny Chick Farm but we decided we really had no place to store a dozen organic eggs in the car so we didn't get out to look around. Instead we took the back roads over to Stockbridge hoping to gain entrance to a beautiful estate on Ice Glen Rd called the VILLA VIRGINIA. The only problem was that the gates were closed and there wasn't a sign. Too bad. It would have been a nice stroll-around on a beautiful hot summer day. We stopped in at the local library to ask if they had any information about the villa but the librarians didn't know it existed. That was of no matter. They confirmed the whereabouts of the next two truly artful (not kitschy) places that I had marked on the map just over the border into New York; the Circle Museum - BIJAN's JUNK ART in Austerlitz and after the GIANT HEAD.

What a joy it was to walk the grounds in Austerlitz. We met the artist Bijan. He invited us into his studio just as the clouds opened up and dumped an intense shower onto the field of welded art. It was a quick shower and when it finished Ines and I wandered around the grounds shoeless enjoying each sculpture. What a great stop on the journey but paled compared to the next one. That's when we met Roy.

Welcome to TACONIC SCULPTURE PARK. We were told that you can see the GIANT HEAD from the highway but we came in from the other direction. Thank you GPS! WOW! JUST WOW! What a wonderful energy. What beautiful sculptures. Artist Roy Kanwit called down from the stone house when we pulled into the drive. "Feel free to look around." Soon we all were chatting under an apple tree learning about one another.

My take on this beautiful place... The faces on his sculptures have an ethereal type of contented bliss. I could almost hear each piece singing back and forth to one another creating a harmonious buzz though the air. Roy informed us that you can enter the largest head and climb the ladders to view the valley from the top. Stupendous! It was truly difficult to leave the property especially with such a welcoming tapped in artist connection. I highly recommend that you stop in for a visit. Photos do not give Roy's artwork justice. You need to be in their presence to fully drink them in. Your soul will definitely enjoy it.

The rain held off until we got to Woodstock but it was apparent that it was going to be coming down pretty hard overnight. We did the best thing. We stopped at the Woodstock library (I love libraries) and we found a motel online. Ines called and secured it. GOOD CALL. The storms were so tremendous that we lost half the electricity at the motel. Camping would have been way too soggy.

What's next? Rainy day driving through the Catskill mountains to Corning Glass Museum... catch ya on the flip.