Park near the Prado...

So I have been taking daily strolls through the neighborhood and I am excited to report that it is very green. Yes we live in Midtown and you can take a quick walk down around the corner to Piedmont Park, or if you hang a left at the bottom of the hill you can find yourself at the Botanical Gardens, but if you simply wander through the neighborhood you can quickly discover small little parks that are less than destinations but given their due are wonderful patches of green. It is pretty amazing to find so many respites in a city as large and car crazy as Atlanta. I hope in the coming months as I discover more quiet spots throughout the city to post some shots of these little emerald gems.

The Nephew's 2nd Birthday Gift...

So when Christina and I first thought about making the move here to Atlanta we had a number of natural reservations, but the one over riding sentiment that kept us in the pro column while climbing around the decision tree was the fact that we would get a chance to be closer to family. Hence we have been getting to see our Nephew a whole lot more since the big move. The little man just turned two and we recently got help him celebrate. Here you can check out the masterful job I did of wrapping his gift. We found him a groovy hobby horse (that actually is a giraffe) at a lovely little children’s store called the Seed Factory. We hope he enjoys it and doesn’t decide to use it as a weapon.

… yep we are trying not to be those aunts and uncles…

Felt like sharing...

Oh Christo Tree Oh Christo Tree....well you know the rest...

Sorry gang… I couldn’t help myself…

My new site is up and strolling...

Or rather Website update.

Greetings all!

I just wanted to share that I have made a new website which is both a little more streamlined, while also being a bit more in keeping with contemporary website conventions (we shall see how long it lasts).

I invite you all to mosey on over and enjoy the show…

The new digs are at…

http://cargocollective.com/johncmorris/

Well now that that's over... let's recap...

So it is now 2012.

Happy New Year everyone, I hope that you all had a fantastic Holiday Season, that saw you together with friends and family, mirth and merriment, I know we did.

2011 was a busy year for Christina and I, we traveled a good bit to  San Antonio, Dallas, and The Happiest Place on Earth, at least I think we did!?! Georgia turned two, whew is all I can say to that, oh and of course we moved to the ATL.

This was an especially relaxing holiday for Christina and I because it marked the first time in over a decade that neither of us got on a plane to travel. Christina’s family joined us in Atlanta for a few days from San Antonio, and Seattle, and then we drove over to Athens and Hartwell to spend a little time with my family. Despite the fact that we traveled less than ever before it still felt like too brief a time sipping coco with loved ones.

During the Holiday Season we managed to take the time to try some new places to eat and both were pretty tasty. The first was place a called Tuk Tuk which is kind of a Thai fusion sort of eatery. It was a lovely experience and in it’s papaya salad I found one of the spicier dishes that I have had in a long time. The space is large and open, adorned with candles and twinkly lights. It is located on the second floor of a shopping complex (that contains a Viking kitchen-wares showroom) and offers balcony seating with lovely views of the Midtown skyline. I had my regular green curry chicken, which was good, while Christina had Kao Moo Dang, a pork dish that made her eyes sparkle. All in all we enjoyed ourselves and would definitely be happy to take anyone who would like to try some Thai in a relaxing contemporary setting.

As for the other restaurant I am going to share, Christina and I have been seeking a Sushi restaurant, and happened to find one the other night that dovetailed nicely with a trip to the movies. As most of you know Christina is a die hard Tom Cruise fan dating back to such greats as Taps and The Outsiders, okay I kid but she does enjoy a big action flick, and thus has been looking forward to the latest and undoubtedly greatest installment of the Mission Impossible, or as we might joke Plot Implausible, movie, I digress…

SO…as we were purchasing tickets to our movie at Cinebistro (which is an experience in of itself), we noticed across the street/parking lot an establishment called BUA Thai + Sushi, and as we have not really found our “go to” Sushi spot yet here in the big dirty, we thought we would give it a try, and we were pleasantly surprised. So far BUA is the closest thing we have found in Atlanta to compare to the sushi we had grown used to in Baltimore. The restaurant is brand new, having opened last month on the 9th, and it felt as such. We only had the sushi, and primarily stuck to rolls but I am pleased to report we had a nice experience. The Thai side of the menu looked quite marvelous so I hope to go back and see how that part of the dining options shakes out. We did note however they were not timid with the sodium and the wasabi was the strongest I have had in years (much to my delight). Incidentally I asked the server how to pronounce the name of the restaurant and after doing so she shared with me it was the word for Lotus. So we may have not settled in on whether or not we have a favorite sushi spot yet, but we are tickled to have found BUA, and we hope they flourish.

Well I think that about wraps it up for chatting about this Holiday Season, it was a wonderful time spent baking cookies, fighting traffic, making Xmas Mix Tapes, seeing Lights in the Garden, laughing with family, and of course eating… mmmm… eating….

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope it brings you much joy!

Joseph Smolinski on view at Open Gallery until January 2nd. Don't miss it!

So I wanted to take a moment and share that Joseph Smolinski has work currently on display in the Open Gallery at Montgomery College. I first met Joe and Jess when I worked with them on the Thread Exhibition at Artspace in New Haven Conn. Joe makes outstanding drawings, sculptures, and mixed media works so if you have a chance to stop by I highly recommend taking the time to do so. The exhibition will be up until the 2nd of January, and below is a blurb from the Open Gallery’s exhibition calendar…

Part of “Intersections: Where Art Meets Science,” a series of exhibitions
Recent drawings by New Haven artist Joseph Smolinski. Working in pencil, graphite, watercolor and ink, Smolinski’s drawings create landscapes shared by trees, animals, and cellular communication transmitters. These images question technology and envision a future of the “natural” world.
Open Gallery, Opening Reception: Thursday, December 8, 6–8 p.m.

Black Magic currently on view at the Open Gallery at Montgomery College

So I just wanted to remind all my loyal readers out there (um mom, dad do y’all still visit this) that if you haven’t taken a moment to stop by and see the Telepathy Drawings exhibition currently on view at the Open Gallery down at Montgomery College, well time is almost up! The show runs through the 28th of this month, that would be Friday, and it is really a lovely space, so if you are interested please carve out ( Seasonal Joke) some time and head on down before it is too late. And just in case you need a refresher on what is being exhibited, Christina and I are showing not only our works, but also a number of “anonymous” drawings we have collected from previous exhibits of the Telepathy Station, a few of the drawings we have had made by invited artist collaborators, and the Telepathy Station, just in case you might like to sit down and give the process a try yourself.

So for all of those who have stopped by, and those who have taken a few minutes out of your day to sit down and make a drawing and perhaps a new friend, thank you for visiting and sharing your day with us, we hope you enjoyed the show. Until next time take care and have a lovely fall…

Sharing our thoughts on The Telepathy Drawings with The Gazette

So a lot has been going on the last couple of weeks, and at the top of the list was our triumphant return to Baltimore last Thursday. Ok honestly it was not that triumphant but then again it was far from a skulk so I will chalk it up to the win column. It was the first time we had made it back since we loaded up the budget truck and made our 30 day journey (read as longer than anticipated) drive to our new digs in the ATL, and we were in Btown for two reasons.

First and foremost we were back to attend the reception for our Telepathy Drawings exhibition up at Montgomery College. The work will be up though the end of October so if you are interested, or in Silver Springs please drop by and check it out. The show looks good and we have had some nice press as well, here is a link. It was a lot of fun doing the interview with The Gazette, and we even did a drawing on tape, a first for us, so if you get a chance take a look at the video. I would also like to say thank you to everyone who helped make the show happen, with a special shout to Maureen, Mike, John and Lincoln, and of course to Megan, who it was lovely to see. Steven sorry we missed you, hopefully you will get to emerge (hee hee art reference dumb joke) next time and play.

The second reason we were in town was to check on the house and pick up a few things that we managed to forget in the first move. We are pleased to announce that the house survived the floods, earthquakes, and zombie invasions of 2011 with little to nothing to show for it. We were also happy to meet 3/4ths of the family who are currently residing there while they are having some work done on their home due to damage caused by Miss Irene. They are lovely folks and we are so appreciative to have them looking after the Chateau AyalaMorris on the Roland Park until their home is back up and in working order.

While we were in Btown we didn’t have a lot of time to deviate from our agenda, so for all of our friends who we were unable to make a play date with, we apologize but we just ran out of time. That being said it wasn’t all work. We did pick up a late dinner in DC after our opening at Founding Farmers, a farm to table eatery. I had chicken and waffles, tasty, but if asked, I would have to give the nod to the  Woodberry Kitchen’s rendition in Baltimore. Christina on the other hand had the chicken pot pie, which she said was perfect. We also stopped by Eddies to make a little goody bag, and I snagged a pack of Sea Salt Caramels by Mouth Party (which could be the highlight of 9 out 10 trips anywhere)! Finally we made a quick run to LL Bean before we had to catch our flight home. Christina found a couple of cute things and was very excited to be able to make it by there, as there are no stores located here in the Southeast. Thank goodness for Orvis!

All in all things are good, we are visiting with Christina’s brother here in a little bit so I will wrap this post up. As always thanks for stopping by and please take care, until next time, best of wishes…

Fun and Food throughout the Atlanta Metro Area...

So Christina and I have been settling into our new digs and making time to see what the ATL has to offer, which happens to be a whole lot by the way.

One of the first things we noticed upon moving into to the midtown area is that Atlanta is not short on eating establishments, and better yet it runs the gambit. There is fine dining to paper dining and everything in between. Now to be honest we have not actually knocked out a lot of new restaurants, but we have perused countless menus at this point, and boy howdy is there a lot to choose from. The two spots of note that I will share today is South City Ktichen and Osteria del Figo. Now SCK is kind of nouveau soul-food. I had an outstanding vegetable plate and Christina had the fried chicken, both plates were left bare at the end of the meal, and we are most excited about going back to try something new. Figo’s is a pasta bar that allows you to mix and match. The portions are reasonable and the ingredients fresh. The one thing I am still getting used to is one counter orders and then pick a seat, which seems to be a growing trend at many nicer non fast-food establishments. We have tried it twice, and they have a lovely spinach salad and the ravioli is quite delicate.

The other thing that Atlanta seems to have its fair share of is Arts and Crafts Festivals. Last weekend we dropped in on the Yellow Daisy Craft Fair at Stone Mountain Park. It was a lot of fun, loaded with arts and crafts, music, and food, yes lots of food. They even had the giant turkey leg…not that I partook mind you. This weekend we walked down the block to Piedmont Park and we checked out the craft fair being held there this week. It did not seem as large as the Yellow Daisy Craft Festival, but I think I saw a little more at today’s fair that struck my fancy. We also had lunch down there, Christina had a hotdog and I had bbq from Williamson Bros, it was a “dry” pork sandwich, it was quite tasty! Yep, I’m talking about food again, I can’t seem to help it. Both festivals had a wide range of goods for sell, everything from tin can sculptures to exquisite hand crafted wood furniture, simply stated we had a fantastic time walking around. As a matter of fact we may go back tomorrow and pick up one of those tin can planes, I’m still on the fence!

Anyway, we have been having a great time getting adjusted to our new city and we hope to have more visitors to show around real soon, thanks Mr. and Mrs. A for being the first. Until next time thanks for reading, and take care…