06.10 California, Maggie grad., Jasmine bday

Back home....

Hi everyone. Here are a few pictures from my latest Cuba trip. Wow. It was fabulous. Cindy Grant and I left early on the morning of December 27th, 2009, and just returned on Friday, January 8. It was a great art trip. We bought from old artist friends and found new artists. I collected art for my online gallery and for a few close friends. Cindy did a bit of research on Murals and European influence. Traveling with her is always interesting when it comes to Art History.

I had fun as usual taking photos. here are just a few.

Here is a photo of the statue in the lobby of the apartment house where I always stay. It is beautiful.

I am delighted by good food when I travel (and at home)...We enjoyed great fish, beans, tomatoes, avacado, pineapple, malanga (?), mango, papaya, bananas, congri (rice and bean standard), incredible fruit desserts, things we still don't know the name of, but ate with relish. Of course we walked and walked all over Habana Vieja, Santiago and Cienfuegos (about three hour drive from Havana). We took a horse and buggy taxi along The Malacon (sea wall) to Chinatown and the art market. Ordered a grilled cheese sandwich at the Central Plaza served with fresh Orange Juice. YUM.

In Havana, we visited Jose Fuster (the Picasso of Cuba), Roberto Salas, the photographer who photographed Fidel in New York in 1960, and Ernesto Fernandez, and his son who are both renowned photographers. We bought the latest drawings by Montebravo in Cienfuegos. Monte is suffering from liver disease and has not worked for a long while. We are hopeful. I also met a new sculptor, Fidel, who made some amazing pieces from wire. Somehow, two of his largest ones made it back through the luggage compartments of two airlines--all the way back to my house here in Oxford.

Here is a typical street scene on The Malazon in Havana.



Here is an indication of a typical meal at the home of Luisa and her family in Santiago de Cuba.
What a treat to stay there.




Cindy brought lots of toys for Joaquin (her son, age 7) and I am also adding a photo of him coloring on their livingroom floor.

I took all my friends in Santiago to dinner on Sunday night at a wonderful Paladar on the rooftop of a tall house near the Casa Granda hotel. It was lovely.

Goire, the famous postermaker was there and on Monday before we flew back to Havana, we went to his house and got some good posters. We also got to see his new show at the Galerie Oriente. It was amazing. More on that later. In fact, Cindy and I are thinking of trying to bring the show here to Ole Miss. It's really an amazing show and it took him most of a year to complete. The theme is on the Afro-Cuban history of women in Cuba.

Finally, Rest met us in Mexico for a few days of R and R. In the Havana airport we met a writing teacher from Oxford, England. His name is Simon, and he hung out with us a couple of days, traveled a bit and generally had a great time.

Well, this is all for now. Enjoy the photos.
Love to all,
Milly

p.s. I'm glad to be home, even though it's freezing here.

October 25, 2009

Hi Everyone,
After almost two months, I'm back to the BLOG, that word alone reminds me of THE BLOB, a movie I saw when I was much too young to understand that some glob from outer space couldn't really eat you alive and get bigger and bigger only to devour everyone in the world.

Here are just a few random photos from my last week. The first is taken from the open sides of the Trolley Car going down Canal Street in New Orleans. This whole bunch of young women were out for a big party. We were in New Orleans last weekend with the Ogden Museum of Southern Art - Party at a private home on Friday (good food, wine and in this case, art and architecture), Gala and Fund Raiser on Saturday. It was like the best of the old Southside Days-Dunlap, Virginia Mann (Sally's daughter), Maude Schyler Clay, Myrna Colley-Lee, my good friend David Rae Morris, and of course all the great staff of the Ogden, Richard Grueber, David Houston and so many more.

The second picture was in a park on our walk home from Lafitte's Blacksmith House, a place that used to be the coolest piano bar in the city, but now is a drunken watering hole for people who could care less that the piano player is trying to maintain the dignity of what the place used to be. Only when I requested Bye Bye Blackbird did the crowd react and join in singing! But just 20 feet away in the front of the bar, there was some horrible canned music that tried to draw people in from the streets I guess. We only stayed there about ten minutes, made our way out to Bourbon Street and walked back to our hotel in the gallery district (Julia Street).

Rest is in San Diego and last night he went to what might be "the best concert (he) ever saw". Ralph Stanley played his heart out at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts.
Forever a fan of Bluegrass music, Rest was still full of excitement when I talked to him this morning--just as much about the opening group, Cherryholmes http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=5156852&m=5156908 as Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys.

Here is a photo of David Rae and me in front of Ajax on Wednesday. He invited me to lunch with Curtis Wilkie and Ron Shapiro. I met two of Ron's oldest friends who are temporarily living here, too. We had a great time. David and I are talking about our photo project on Clarksdale, something we did together nearly 25 years ago. I shot color and he shot black and white. We met on Fourth St. and walked all over the independent Black community from the Sunflower River to the railroad tracks on the east end of 4th St. We used up rolls and rolls of film, capturing the spirit of what is now lost or at least drastically changed. We hope to do a show somewhere with those images next year. In the meantime, David is about to turn 50 and is running the New York Marathon on his actual birthday, November 1 (I think). I'll be pulling for him. Curtis has just finished his book about the Scruggs case, but I don't know the details about publication.

I was delighted with this morning's edition of The Oxford Enterprise. It was great to see the good work Ron is doing as a volunteer, along with Steve Allen of Gift of Love Ministry. They are helping people who are temporarily homeless, for example a man recently released from prison with no job. There is a completely furnished home which serves as a place of compassion in Water Valley, but Ronzo asks (paraphrased) "If Water Valley can pull it off, why can't we (Oxford)?" Good question. You can check all the news out on the web http://www.theoxfordenterprise.com/index.html

And I was happy to see my own guest column concerning recycling here in the Ole Miss/Oxford community. I had written it a couple of weeks ago, but heard from Sandra Knispel early last week that it would run today. It's cool to see your writing in print, but the message is vital. If we as Mississippians, especially here in Oxford, could set an example of how to become a sustainable society, what kind of positive message would that send to the rest of the country? We are pretty smart here, or so we like to believe, so why are we ignoring the major issue of our time?

Finally, thanks to Denise and Angie for staying on me about my blog! Hopefully, it will be more daily than bi-monthly from now on.

Love to all, and please recycle everything you can.
Milly

Traveling I've done and MIAL

Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Awards, 2009 Pictured here are Marshall and Jason Bouldin...

Last weekend Rest and I went to Laurel for the Institute of Mississippi Arts and Letters Banquet at The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. We go every year to this event and I consider it a time for getting to know my old friends a little better. I'm not sure this year's event would win the award for food, though. Usually the food is incredible, but this year it was awful. I guess we were spoiled by the event in Natchez a few years ago and a couple of great meals in Jackson.

Luckily, we didn't go for food. We visited with Bill Dunlap, David Lambert and Vidal Blankenstein, Jesse Pinkston and Sally Scott.

I invited H.C. Porter to sit at our table and she and her mother Harriet joined us. Chris (Porter) won in the painting category. I also was there in support and happiness for Jane Rule Burdine. She is the recipient this year in photography.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to the wonderful and amazing portrait artist, Marshall Bouldin. Jason Bouldin and his wife Alicia and his mother were there too, along with the lady who lives with and cares for his parents. It was an emotional time for the family, I could tell. He gave a wonderful talk about his work and career. That is an amazing family.

H.C. Porter, right, Jane Rule Burdine, left.

Here (right) is a cool picture of our friends Jess and Sally.

Sally Scott is from Gunnison, Jess from Greenwood, but they have a condo here in Oxford now and we had a great dinner with them a few weeks ago at the Blind Pig. Clarissa Romano joined us for a while. She was waiting for Jane Rule, but we all had a great time. Clarissa is my fabulous Yoga teacher. Finally, once again, Rest...

Good way to end today's blog. Hope you all have a wonderful day and evening. Tomorrow look for pictures from the beach at Dauphin Island along with some new art photos!

Love,

Milly

B.B. King and more...

June 15, 2009

Holy Moly,


I wrote a whole evening's worth of blog, and when I thought I was sending it to the big blog spot in the sky, it disappeared into a black hole. I wrote all about BB King and the museum, my trip with Rest to Indianola. I'm going to just add the photos now, identify the folks, then write more in the morning.


Here is the first photo. Taken last Thursday, week ago, on my way to Rosdedale. I was stuck in road construction and decided to document the fields. You can see the truck behind me in the rearview mirror. Also, I guess you know this by now, but there is no more cotton in the Delta.

Soy beans, milo, corn...yuk! who wouldn't have some nice cotton blouses more than soy???



Here is a picture of the front of the B.B. Museum. It's worth the trip to Indianola to see it.






Below is a picture of B.B. talking to a woman from Arkansas (I think) who told him it was her birthday. He not only signed whatever it was she had to sign, he kissed her hand. She was about as happy as a woman could be. He is sitting on his new "Throne".

My friend Steve Cheseborough was there from Portland, Oregon.

Some of you may remember Steve from his days here at Ole Miss as a Southern Studies major. One of his major projects was his book, Blues Traveling. The museum gives his book away to new members, so he was there that day signing the books. It was fun to hang out with him. Here he is on the phone with Eden Brent, the fabulous pianist from Greenville.

Finally, the cutest man in the world is here below (not Bobby Rush), my husband Rest with Bobby. All in all, it was a fun and memorable day. After that we went to Carrollton, MS to the Carollton Market. There we saw the Rebel Flag flying over the courthouse (I believe that there and the Jefferson Davis home on the coast are the only PUBLIC places it flies anymore).

I am blessed with a very full and fun life. I've met hundreds of talented and kind people. I've danced with lots of them and photographed even more of them. One day, maybe this year, I hope to get a book done of my work, maybe of the musicians, maybe of the artists, maybe of just the great "ordinary" people I know.

Love to all,

Milly

off to the delta...

thanks to all you who have followed my blog. Since i wrote you last, my uncle Monk died. I'm off to Rosedale now for the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow. I spent a lot of time writing something to read at the funeral. I have some good pix from last week at the BB King museum. will post some of those when i get back.
more later,
milly

Good morning.




I'm in a hurry to get to Rosedale for what may be the last visit with my Uncle Monk. He is the only brother
of my deceased father and since my father died when I was 2, I'm pretty close to Uncle Monk. And he loves me like a daughter.

I had time yesterday to get a few pictures of the garden as promised. My tomato plants have a few blossoms and here is a photo of my clothesline and a few wild flowers, too. I hope you all have a good day and enjoy your family and maybe even plant a pepper or tomato plant.