I’m (gladly) ressurecting my category for posts called, “This is why I’m fat.”

I’ve lived in Ohio for 40 years and never stepped foot in Aglamesis Brothers.
This is a horrible shame and the error has now been corrected.

I know of no other place that makes plain banana ice cream.
No chunks of chocolate or nuts mixed in, just plain.
This is my favorite variety, and it’s really hard to find.

And their version at Aglamesis? Delicious.

Thanks to Maya, I’m participating in the next show at Visionaries + Voices called “Autocomplete.”

In a nutshell, the studio/artspace is pairing creative folks with V+V artists for collborative works.

Black and white drawings are the foundation and the outside artists and designers color them in.

At first I was intimidated by the prospect, but Tom mentioned an approach over lunch and I ran with it.

There are apparently tons of pieces, I can’t wait to see what everyone did. More photos soon.

The show opens on May 10th at Visionaries + Voices in Northside. Details here.

Vine, McMicken, Findlay

Bad Veins release party for their new (and very solid) album The Mess We’ve Made.

I could tell you how awesome these guys are, but I shall defer to Zan who writes lots better about the matter: Support Your Local Poet.

(She also has better photos and does it all classic with real film.)

TED × Cincinnati 2012 promotional mural in Northside.

This little fella was found outside our building and found a home immediately.

Whenever I get my car serviced these days, I pass by this plaza up in Fairfield.
The sign gives me pause, every time.
In part, it is the sheer scale of the thing, but density, shape and the color scheme add to the… intrigue.

I’m burying this other shot from the day because a friend suggested I take too many photos of cars.

Whatever.

On the matter of the new, new Beetle, I quite like the new lines, particularly in the back.

I stopped by my mom’s and it was such a nice day out we decided to grab lunch a drive around.
Ended up turning around and visiting all the places that looked interesting.

Above? A random portrait of a couple at the Building Value re-use center in Northside.

We thought the architecture of this EPA building in Clifton was interesting.
Also dug the EPA logo outside the gate:

Had lunch across from the St. Francis de Sales church:

The color schemes for Easter make sense.

With weather this nice, it’d be tough to skip out on a parade downtown.
Maybe they weren’t expecting the REALLY HUGE crowd, because there was only a single beer truck.
Thing is, it was fun standing in the really long line and soak up the sun and people.

I pass by this view usually on the weekends and think of Grease, the LA River,
and a touch of Ryan Gosling’s hand acting in Drive.

The reflection of the blue sky is particularly misleading.
This waterway that cuts through all districts of Cincinnati is quite a mess.
There is hope to fix that: Mill Creek Restoration Project.

I’m at a loss because I’ve no idea if these colorful stripes downtown are an installation, architecture or both.
Finding information about them online is tough.

This work is “Additional” by Julian Stanczak and I quite like it. ( Thanks Mr. Becker for the info! )

Kicked off the day at the Auto Show downtown.
Fairly subdued affair this year ’round.

Best of show in my book? The 2013 Ford Fusion.

Agressive, Aston Martiny looks. Dig it thoroughly.

Wandered downtown and thought these “short” buildings were pretty nifty, holding their own on 2nd street
while big high rises sprout up all around. I hope they can stay there for a good long time.

Checked out the new restaurant by Toby Keith by the ball field.
It reminded me of Hooters with a focus on legs instead of chests.
All the ladies wore cutoff jean shorts and cowboy boots.
The space was largely concrete, like a garage.

I figure if a band is playing or a game is going on, it’ll be nicely rowdy.
Not sure about the acoustics, and my freedom fries (seriously, they were called that) were cold.
They’re new though, there’s time to get these things ironed out.

All this led to a conversation about, what if a personality like Toby decided to rehab say,
The Southgate House? I don’t think that’s in his business charter, but it was nice to imagine.

At the end of the day, downtown continues to attract a wider crowd, and I think that’s a good thing.
I’ll probably spend more time at the lager house.

Later that night? Soup and cinema in Pleasant Ridge.
Watched Killer Klowns from Outer Space for the first time (silly fun), and met these two pups.
That’s Howie above and Reba below.

Went back to UC to catch that Charley Harper show one more time before it closed.

Got a kick out of these steps on the UC campus.

We Think the World of Birds
commission for Cornell Lab of Ornithology    2005
( Final piece + initial sketch with cut paper and acrylic )

I Predict the Weather
gouache on board
for Look Magazine    January 1955
( Final layout + initial gouache painting )

The Fables: Jonah and the Whale
Silkscreen    ca. 1950

( Be sure to roll over or tap the images above. )

I’m one of many enamored with the work of Charley Harper.
He’s firmly on my list of heroes and influencers.
I was thrilled that Todd Oldham worked with Charley on the huge and awesome monograph.

But a big part of my adoration and understanding was missing a crucial piece:
His approach to making.

I’m glad that Aaron Cowan (DAAP Galleries director) and Charley Harper Studio filled in
a good chunk of this process with the exhibition:

“Charley Harper: A Birds Eye View”

It was phenomenal.

His talent becomes even more evident when you see his sketches with cut paper
or the brush strokes of his work in gouache.

Even as a child, his graphic style and sense of composition and type were bang on.

As someone who likes to pull ink across the screen, a part of me wanted to see the steps between
finished paintings and subsequent prints, but I cannot rightly complain because the exhibit was
so concentrated with deft goodness.

The show completed last week, but I hope interest grows and this body of work gets shown again.

Evolution of Idea to Print:
We Think the World of Birds
commission for Cornell Lab of Ornithology    2005

Acrylic and cut paper sketch

Notepad sketches

Use Water for Health
Age 8

World War II Era

A series of paintings during Charley & Edie’s honeymoon    1947

My Grandmother
oil on canvas    1947

A Landscape on Cloudy Venus
gouache on board
Giant Golden Book of Biology    1961

From the Giant Golden Book of Biology   1961

(Amazingly awesome) Detail

Secretary Bird with Black Mamba
gouache on board
The Animal Kingdom   1968

Detail from the Secretary Bird…

What I particularly enjoy above is how Harper sharpens lines, adds hints and enhances contrast.

Tools including french curves and compasses.

Rocket Belt, Mechanical Horse, and Automatically Controlled Car
gouache on board
Cover, Panorama Magazine   1970

Links for this entry:

• The University of Cincinnati’s Dorothy W. and C. Lawson Reed Jr. Gallery
• Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life book by Todd Oldham (Amazon)
• Charley Harper Studio
• More photos of this exhibit on Drew’s blog Kitsche Café

A continued tradition: brunch with ma and bro at Take the Cake.

Twice now I’ve seen Andrew Neyer’s work outside of YES.
Always a pleasure.
There’s a playfulness there, but also? I think he’s using my favorite font ever: Univers.

Another fine thing spotted down at MiCA: this flask.

We’re having a string of gray, wet days here in Ohio.
Here’s the same view from Devou Park in sunnier, blue sky-ier days if you’d like some contrast.

Speaking of contrast, Tom made these salmon salads for lunch from leftovers and they were delicious.
I can’t recall the last time (if ever) I’d had dandelion greens. Chunks of apple made it extra awesome.

The day started out catching mascots from around the area play broomball on Fountain Square.
They’re always doing something down there. It’s nice like that.

Then it was over the river to grab lunch in Kentucky. (Above, the Roebling Bridge)

Back to Ohio and drove around The Banks on the river to see how the construction was going.
Passed behind Longworth Hall where WOXY used to be. Miss those folks.

The new Moerlein Lager House is coming along nicely.

Then popped over to the convention center for the Cavalcade of Customs.

Heavily modded cars aren’t usually my bag, but there were some fine specimens.

I’ve got a few hundred more photos, but it’s days like this where they’re so chock full, I get frozen
by the enormity of it all. I’m reminding myself to pick a few, step away, and plow forward.

I expect this view across Hoffner Park in Northside will keep getting better with seasons and time.

I’m the guy that goes to the Taste of Cincinnati and takes exactly zero photos of food.
It was sweltering that day, and packed as I’ll get out.
Went in, got some Montgomery Inn barbecue and went to find shelter in some AC.
My only gripe is that everything’s a meal and would benefit from bite sized portions as an option.
Otherwise? It’s still totally worth it.

If you’d like to see this bear with some scale…