Getting Ready...Salem Arts Festival June 5-7

As I was enjoying the sunny, clear breezy Saturday in Salem, I noticed artists readying their creative wares along Salem streets.

Salem Arts Festival begins June 5-7. I'll be volunteering June 6 and can't wait. Salem Arts Festival is one of the best events in Salem, MA. It is the real start to summer on the North Shore.

Here's Looking at You

Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty,  sponsored by the PEM starts today and will be on display through June. A lover of nature, he used his sculpturing skills to create stick art. 

Dougherty's work is a highlight of the Arts Festival.

If you're on the north shore, the Salem Arts Festival is not to be missed.

Where Have I Been, And Where Am I Going

It's been a while since my last blog post. The past six weeks has been tumultuous to say the least. We still have "weather" (a euphemism for bad) in New England, and I started a new job that is quite chaotic. 

Needless to say, I haven't really been out-and-about enjoying the treasures of the North Shore. 

However, I have had dinner and lunches with friends and can now see my deck, albeit no snow, but considerable damage. 







Now that we are starting to have clearer weather and the snow has melted, it got me thinking about what I might want to do this weekend (Sunday should be nice). 

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has a Duane Michals photographic exhibit, called Storyteller. I do love a photo exhibit so this may be a wonderful way to spend an Easter Sunday afternoon.  

Me at Crane Beach a few years ago

But, if the weather is nice, there is always a hike on Crane Beach. The photo above was taken by a friend of mine several years ago when we went to hike the beach on my birthday in March. The dunes may be a bit wet, but it's early in the season so the price for parking should be lower, $10 instead of $25, plus there is also a photo gallery so I'm sure to get my photographic fill.

Whatever I decide to do I'm trying to keep a positive attitude now that spring has sprung on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese House

Ever since moving to Salem nine months ago, I've had an amazing walk through American history. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has been a treasure I've enjoyed over the last months and continue to find new and exciting exhibits to keep me amused.

Last Sunday I decided to view The Chinese House located just outside the premises.

The back side of Yin Yu Tang: The Chinese House

There are many Chinese architectural designs and artifacts in Salem due to many of the early resident sea captains traveling to China. The original part of the museum has several items from both China and India from the thirteen marine society members who established the museum in 1799.

The Yin Yu Tang house is presented just as it was in the 1980s as the home of the Huang family. It was deconstructed stone by stone from the Yin Yu Tang village in southeastern China in the Anhui Province.

Yin Yu Tang was the home for multiple generations of the Huang family with up to 30 people living in the house at one time, for a period of 200 years!

The furnishings have been preserved from beds chairs, even the courtyard lattice and shutters. 

The house was part of a cultural exchange with the local Chinese officials in the Anhui Province and the PEM.

If you are in Salem, this extraordinary piece of architecture and its amazing story is worth the experience.

Going Extreme at the PEM

Back to the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) at another great event.  This time going Extreme.  Extreme coffee, drinks, music and my personal favorite, art.

I met up with a colleague, Diane and her friend Kay where we sampled, extreme raw spices, coffee (way to strong) and drinks; a spicy Bloody Mary.  On a side note, as I digress...I'm in the hunt for the best Bloody Mary but this wasn't it. Although extreme in its spiciness  it still doesn't beat Rockafellas. Okay now I'm back to the PEM...

There was the Extreme Band. All of us "mature" ladies loved seeing the even older people watching this young rap band. And liking it!

Extreme Coffee. A little too strong (extreme for me)










Diane, my colleague and an Art Director, and her friend Kay, a career coach decided we had to do the Extreme Art.  I love art, but I've never felt I was that artistic.  We were give a "palate" and a piece of construction paper, sat before tubes of color and different types of "implements" like flowers, balls, sponges, to create art.  

I guess I totally missed the whole palate part because that is what I used to create my art.
I was so proud...when I showed Diane, she pointed out I created my "art" on the palate, not the canvas.  Oops!

So I decided I would take my masterpiece, turn it upside down on the canvas and ended up with this EXTREME!

Can't wait to see what I do next month.  Oh well, off to find the Extreme Bloody Mary.

British Pub Night at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM)

The third Thursday of the month, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) hosts an event to promote the various exhibits. This month it was British Pub Night complete with a Celtic band, English pub food and ale.

I tried the beer "flight", the Boddingtons (light and best with fish or cheese), the India Ale (Pan Asian dishes), Fuller's ESB (my favorite) best with pizza and the London Porter stout, a meal in itself.

One of the exhibits I was excited to see was the California Design 1930-1965, basically a walk through a Mad Men episode. 

Admit it, this photo scream Betty Draper.

Doesn't Don Draper live here?

These Barbie (1959) and Ken (1961) are even before my time. I did have a Barbie and Ken but a much later rendition.

This Studebaker graces the Lobby of the PEM

Peabody Essex Museum...A Walk Through Time

John Ward House 1600s

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of touring the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM to us locals) with my neighborhood association club. It was a walk through history and I loved it!

Before moving to Salem I had visited several times, but like most visitors to Salem, concentrated on the whole Witches theme. Witches are only a very small part of the uniqueness and history of Salem. Salem boasts the first U.S. millionaire, Derby, and 13 wealthy maritime Captain merchants that started The Marine Society bringing artifacts from all over the world; India, China, Europe, to start the PEM in 1799.

The first stop on the tour was visiting three house from the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s to show the changes in architecture, style and wealth. Our tour guide mentioned The Death of an Empire detailing the people involved in American history including writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Quincy Adams (sixth president of the United States) and Daniel Webster, writer, congressman and creator of our dictionary. It is now on my good reads list.

Austerity was key in the 1600s. Much of the style represents European architecture because of where people originated, and many of the materials such as glass for the windows were imported from England. Functionality and necessity ruled style. The John Ward house is from the 1600s. John Ward was what we would term a middle class merchant and his house is comfortable for the time but not extravagant. There is a second story for bedrooms and an addition to the bottom level as their family grew. 

This is the second extension in the John Ward house with an additional fireplace and kitchen table. They ate with their hands because the only utensils were for cooking, not eating. Knives and forks were not used yet. The head of the table (the man) had a chair with arms. The rest of the chairs didn't have arms. They used quite a bit of pewter which we now know has lead. This caused severe health problems.

The Crowninshields were an extremely wealthy family that still has descendants in Salem. The original Crowninshield built this home in the 1700s. The hundred of years since the Ward's the house is bigger, more comfortable and starts to show the influence of color and design from India and China. The windows are larger because technology had moved to roll out the glass more effectively and added floors (mainly for the children and servants) are added.

Crowninshield Home 1700s

Crowninshield home parlor

The Gardner home of the 1800s shows incredible wealth. However, after the "Empire" fell and many of the wealthy merchants of Salem were either thrown into bankruptcy (Gardner lost his home) or they moved to Boston to save their wealth.


Notice how the floor, hearth and decorations are extravagant showing wealth and prosperity of the owners. The men would stay in the dining room with port and cigars and the women would move to the parlor (right) with the children. This is called the Federal-period design. 

Detail on the Gardner home staircase

As a history buff I can't wait to get to the bottom of all Salem history has to offer. The other tour participants were long-term Salem residents and I had a wonderful time chatting and hearing about the many stories they told like the one about the Crowninshield's grandson that murdered Captain White (owner after the Gardner house). 

We finished the tour at the PEM with a walk-through of the old part of the museum that was the first housing of the 13 marine society in 1825! And...I get into the museum for free because I'm a Salem resident. How great is that!