Ginny from the Blog

My friends know that I rarely go anywhere without my camera. I’ve learned the hard way that if you leave it at home you will miss the photographic moments that will never repeat themselves. For me, this realization came when I was at Snoopy’s hot dog stand in Raleigh one Saturday afternoon and a limo pulled up. Out stepped a bride and groom in their frilly and formal glory. They were there to order a hotdog because that’s where the met. But alas, I was without my camera.

So when a friend invited me to participate in a friendly photo competition with the promise of a gallery viewing at the end, I couldn’t resist.  Stan at Crocker’s Mark Gallery in Raleigh agreed to open up his gallery walls to 50 entrants from the Raleigh Flickr group. For some of us, it was the first opportunity we’ve ever had to see our work hanging in a gallery.

The contest rules were simple. Any photo shot anywhere between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, 2008 was eligible. With such broad guidelines, you can imagine how diverse the entries were (everything from a controversial close-up of a penis to serene nature scenes).

The show opened on First Friday and runs through the end of December. If you’d like to see my photo (it’s the one the guy below is looking at) and the other interesting and well-composed shots, stop by the gallery.

The gallery is open from 11 to 2 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. It stays open till 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and on Saturdays you can pop by from 1 to 4 p.m., so says the gallery’s website.

A lot of the photos are for sale (mine’s not, but if someone made and offer, I’d probably sell it to you). So please check it out and support local photographers.

Workers were testing the LEDs that will back light the shimmer wall that adorns Raleigh’s new convention center on Monday night. They appeared to only be testing one panel, at least when I stopped. So I snapped the photo below.

The plan is to officially light up the entire waving Oak Tree on Sept. 5, when the convention center officially opens.

When fully lit, the wall can shimmer in tons of colors. They can even tailor the colors to match holidays (say green for St. Patrick’s Day) and special events (say red if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup).

Here’s a sneak peak of a single panel.

Can you imagine how beautiful this will look when it’s all lit up?

A place worth checking out in Durham is the Scrap Exchange. It’s a nonprofit that sells the most random stuff that factories and businesses probably would have thrown away. Instead of going to the landfill, Scrap Exchange volunteers pick up the eclectic materials and take them to the the nonprofit’s 13,000-square-foot warehouse in downtown Durham.

If you have a penchant for exploring, it’s easy to spend hours in there on your first trip. Blue barrels line the front of the store and are filled with everything from puzzle pieces to leftover lapel pins. There’s also an art gallery that always features unique pieces. The latest exhibit is the $20 art show, where everything in the gallery is for sale for $20.

At NBC17, our reporters have been exploring ways to save money, something we’re all trying to do a little bit more of given the increase in gas and food prices. I told our news director how rad the Scrap Exchange is, so he sent me there with a photographer, who helped me put together my first-ever package for TV. I also took my own camera and produced a story for Durham.MyNC.com, a community news site that our station also produces. Here’s the resulting video or you can read the full story here.

I’ve asked some of you this before, but what are some of your favorite places in Durham (or around the Triangle for that matter) where you can spend a lot of time without spending a lot of money? Who knows, maybe I’ll have a chance to feature it.

I had Raleigh’s new shimmer wall on the brain when I walked past the Durham Performing Arts Center last week. The shimmer wall adorns the side of Raleigh’s new convention center, providing an artistic splash on the wall that covers the center’s air conditioning system. So, when I passed Durham’s new arts center last week, I was initially disappointed to see that the side of the center facing the American Tobacco complex was concrete and vacant.

I was prepared to suggest that the city (which funding the $44 million arts center) sponsor a mural contest, encouraging local artists to submit their designs, with the winning one being selected to cover the blah wall. But I contacted city spokeswoman Amy Blalock first to make sure the city wasn’t ahead of me, and it looks like the city already has a plan to hide the concrete. Here’s her e-mail response:

According to Alan (DeLisle, assistant city manager with the Office of Economic & Workforce Development) the South and West sides of the deck will be covered with long banners from the Broadway plays until the development occurs around the deck.  Eventually, the deck will be wrapped with development and you won’t be able to see the concrete.  In the meantime, the banners will cover the concrete.

I’m also excited about the Broadway shows that will be appearing at the Durham Performing Arts Center during it’s debut season. Among them are Rent, The Color Purple and Legally Blonde. The city’s huge downtown investment in this project is about to take off.

And while there are some naysayers who didn’t support the city’s decision to invest so many tax dollars into this project, now that the center is nearly complete, it would be lovely if Triangle folks would come together and support yet another Durham leap into the arts.

The shimmering oak tree that lives on the west facade of Raleigh’s new convention center is simply stunning. The sprawling tree is made up of nearly 80,000 light and dark aluminum squares and was completed a couple weeks ago. When the wind blows, the squares flap and it looks as if waves are rolling over the tree.

Soon, the tree will be backlit by LEDs, allowing the tree to glow and reflect a ton of colors. That won’t happen until the convention center officially opens on Sept. 5.

The success of this public art piece (or design feature, depending on who you ask) is apparently a big deal in Raleigh, which has had some hangups with other public art attempts, the News & Observer reports.

Two years ago, Raleigh officials rejected a hydro-electronic abstract sculpture planned for Fayetteville Street that was designed by Jaume Plensa, an internationally known Spanish artist. The decision led businessman Jim Goodmon to withdraw his offer to pay $2.5 million to help fund the project.

And then, in the mid-90s, there was a debate over the Time + Light Tower located in the median of Capital Boulevard north of the Fairview Road ramp, the N&O reminds us. The 40-foot tower is made up of glass panels that reflect rainbow colors.

I remember riding down Capital with my friend Graham when I first moved to Raleigh and asking him what that tower was. When he told me it was a public art piece, I laughed. It’s actually pretty cool (compared to most things in the Capital Boulevard median, anyway). When the Time + Light Tower went up, it “was called an ‘old derrick with mirrors’ by Tom Fetzer, Raleigh’s mayor at the time,” the N&O reports.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the shimmer wall for yourself, check out this hasty video I made.

The easiest place to pull over and view it is on Cabarrus Street, which is sorta closed for construction right now. Just head down South Dawson Street and turn left on Cabarrus Street to park. Then get out of your car and admire it’s beauty. An oak tree, of course, is a fitting shimmer wall stamp for the City of Oaks.

Have you seen the shimmer wall yet? Do you love it or are you underwhelmed?

These would be the rules.

This poster was hanging at the open mic event Friday held at a church that meets above Adam Cave Fine Art on Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh. The poster is referencing Dwight from the Office, who is big on rules. I had to give props to the clever person who posted this sign. I wish I had taken better notes on what church is located on the third floor of the building and what their mission is. If anyone is aware, please fill me in. It’s an awesome venue, and an interesting pick for a church.

The only other interesting sign I spied during this month’s First Friday festivities was at Father & Son Antiques. The steamy weather kept the retro shop from staying open for the evening’s wandering art seekers. In case you didn’t know, there are artist galleries/studios on the third floor of this shop that seem to always be open whenever the store is open. If you haven’t made it that high up in the business, I’d suggest taking a peak.

I was surprised to see this creepy sand sculpture still standing Sunday, when I was walking through Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.

The sandy sculpture went up for Artsplosure on May 17 and 18.

I’ve never been cynical though. So maybe good ol’ fashioned warning signs really work.

(Please don’t take this as encouragement to dive into the sculpture). Are you surprised this sandy creation was still standing a week later? Has anyone been down there since to see if it’s still there?

I had no plan when I headed to downtown Raleigh Saturday afternoon. I didn’t even glance at the Indy to see if anything was going on. I figured I’d find something on such a lovely day. Here’s how my random Raleighness unfolded:

First I saw signs for the Handmade Market on West Street, so I had to pull over and check it out. I’m glad I did b/c I snagged some rad, crafty jewelry, an awesome piece of art and this cool seahorse shirt from Sew Bliss Sew.

I’ll give you a hint, it was in Raleigh at a restaurant where you’re served by a waitress. I had mushroom and onion angel hair pasta. I took a picture of this mural in the restaurant’s waiting area:

I’ll follow up on any guesses. Take a stab.

If you want to see some Dinosaurs next week, head over to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The museum is sponsoring a free showing of the 1960-flick “Dinosaurs” at 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Click here for more details.

The featured movie is being aired as part of the museum’s First Friday event, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m. At the Jan. 4 event, visitors can check out the museum’s latest exhibit, “Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries” for a discounted $5 admission. You can buy beer and wine at the museum’s cafe and listen to the sounds of The Scarlet Divide, a local band that will perform at 6 p.m. Check out the band’s sound on its MySpace page.