Show Cancelled

Sadly, I have to report that the "Make Your Home Your Masterpiece" show at Hilltop at Falls Ridge previously scheduled for Saturday, December 14, has been cancelled. Hopefully there will be another opportunity to run into you all soon!

Enjoy your weekend!

Make Your Home Your Masterpiece

Hello All!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the start of the holiday season! This Saturday I will be participating in a group show at Hilltop at Falls Ridge. The show will showcase work by 9 different Philadelphia artists, and include some new pieces by yours truly. Come enjoy this opportunity to view local artwork in a place that feels just like home!

Saturday, December 14

Hilltop at Falls Ridge

4436 Riverview Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129

Meet & Greet with the Artists, 1 - 4 pm

Cocktail Reception, 4 - 6 pm

Below is news about the show from curator, Greg Trout:

"The amazing community where I sell homes has allowed me a day to commandeer a home and fill it with nothing but the finest art that the East Falls/Manayunk region has to offer. Many local artists including myself will be filling a home for the day with art for you to enjoy and purchase. Here is more info:

East Falls, Philadelphia – An art show featuring work from local artists will be displayed at the Rittenhouse model home at the Hilltop at Falls Ridge community in downtown East Falls.

The show is called “Make Your Home Your Masterpiece,” which is meant to show prospective homebuyers how to decorate their home, as well as connect them to East Falls’ up-and-coming art scene and community. Artwork from ten local artists will be displayed in the Rittenhouse model home on December 14 starting at 1 p.m. The event is open to the public; however, reservations are required. Both the model home and artwork are available for purchase.

Organizing the event is Greg Ephemera Trout, a sales associate at Hilltop, as well as a local artist. He uses collage and assemblage techniques in his pieces, which can be seen at the show. The model will host paintings created in a variety of media, including geometric abstraction, pen and ink, acrylic, oil, charcoal, and graphite.

The exhibitors who are participating in “Make Your Home Your Masterpiece” are Katie Dillon Low, Lisa Renee Goldberg, Stephanie Santoro, Kerry Wujcik, Jed Williams, Jodi Cachia, Jeremy Eric Tenenbaum, and Erin O’Brien.

Hilltop at Falls Ridge is one of four communities offered by Fort Washington-based Westrum Development Corporation. This is the company’s first art show in a model home, which we hope will attract potential homebuyers to East Falls’ diverse arts and culture scene, says Wendi Subers, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing.

The art show Meet and Greet and model home tour will take place on Saturday, December 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Afterward, a Cocktail Hour with food and refreshments will be served from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. To reserve your spot, call the Hilltop sales office at (215) 844-8888."

About Westrum Development
Westrum Homes has excelled in the homebuilding and real estate industry for over 26 years and is recognized today as one of the leading homebuilders and developers in the mid-Atlantic region. Established in 1987, Westrum Homes has built over 2,700 homes, and has been the recipient of numerous industry, business, and sustainable development awards as well as other prestigious regional recognition. In addition to Hilltop at Falls Ridge, Westrum’s other award-winning, actively marketed communities include The Arbours at West Goshen in West Chester, PA; The Arbours at Eagle Pointe in Southampton, PA; and their Rebuild New Jersey Coast project in Ortley Beach, NJ.

Earth Shaking, Typhoon-ating, Tokyo!

The next two nights I stayed in yet another section of Tokyo - this time it was Ebisu. I arrived at Kenji's place in the evening. We stopped at a couple markets to grab food and spent the night talking about couch surfing experiences and whatever else came to mind. I stayed here for 2 nights. Kenji would make me breakfast, then I would go off the spend the day discovering more of Tokyo. At night, he made me dinner. His was the smallest home I stayed in. He lived and worked out of his studio apartment. Kenji didn't have much space, but he happily shared with me what he had and made me feel completely at home. You never know when the generosity of strangers will overwhelm you. I have been very fortunate experience this many times and it never ceases to warm my heart - my stay with Kenji was no exception.

For my excursion, I headed to Ginza. I had't seen this part of town yet, but my real motivation was to go check out the Kabuki theater - I'm not gonna see that in Philly! There were no photos allowed during the performance, so I can only show you the outside, and inside before the action got started, but it was cool to get to see it. The show wasn't exactly riveting, but it did get pretty fun when a couple dozen actors started mock-swordfighting all over the stage.

I should mention that while in Ebisu, I experienced not only my second typhoon since getting to Japan, but it was also the second time I was woken up by an earthquake! The first one occurred right after I arrived. I had never been shaken out of sleep by the earth shifting before, so the first time I wasn't sure that's what it was until it was mentioned to me the next day. This time I knew exactly what was happening! It lasted a long time. I was definitely freaked out, but I figured if I didn't hear Kenji screaming, then everything was ok!

Kabakuzi Theatre

More of the outside

A view from my seat. Kabuki theater goes on all day, but
you can buy a 1 hour ticket for about $10. These seats of
course have a bird's eye view (aka nosebleed), but here
really isn't a bad seat in the house

Heading out into typhoon #2!

Checking out a weekly flea market

A marvelous system I wish we would implement in the 

states. Some places, like here, you enter then leave your 

umbrella in a slot and take the number - like a locker. 

Most other places you just leave arrive with an umbrella, 

leave it in the bin, then take an umbrella when you leave 

- no worries!