I’m a city girl. I just can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to live alone, for any period of time, in a rustic shack in the dunes of Provincetown. No one else is around for miles. There is no running water or electricity and you must bring everything you need to safely survive the stay. It gives me the shivers to think about my artist friend Joan Cobb Marsh, an oil painter, who lived alone in that barren environment for weeks while she freed herself of any outside influences so she could truly capture the ever changing colors of the sky, the drifting sand, the waves in the ocean and the endless movement of tumbleweed.

If you Google the area you will learn that at least 19 well- known painters and writers also secluded themselves in the dune shacks on the thousands of acres of sand dunes between Provincetown and Truro. Among those that are listed are Eugene O’Neill, EE Cummings, Harry Kemp, Norman Mailer, Tennessee Williams and Jack Kerouac.

I must have asked Joan a dozen times over our decade plus-year relationship if she was scared to be in the dunes alone. I don’t think she clearly understood the question, or the nervous nelly person asking it. She would always answer that living in the dunes cleared her mind and allowed her to truly get close to her work without any distractions.

“I loved it out there. It was very serene. You had to bring your own food and water. I left some of the water outside so the sun could warm it.” She showered outside in some sort of a mobile contraption that sounded too open air for me. “What if someone saw you,” I asked? Joan sighed, “No one was around and if they were, let them look.”

Joan was more focused on the fact that she was experiencing the life of many of her ancestors who came to PTown (the nickname) before any true modern day advantages ever took place. She wanted her art to reflect the history of an area of the world that she says is so special. One of Joan’s greatest possessions is a piece of a boat that sank centuries ago when folks first came to the Cape. It’s her connection to the past and reminds her of what life used to be like.

Joan and her husband Al have lived in Ptown full time for 27 years. Their Cape Cod styled house is directly on the bay. Yes, there have been times that the bay water has reached close to the back deck. Joan is totally calm about it. She is also relaxed about living through severe snow and rain storms without a generator. “Who wants to listen to that humming sound all the time. We have a kerosene lamp if we really need it. When the weather gets real bad we will turn off all the lights, sit on the porch and watch the magic show. We have seen colors that most have never witnessed. It makes me drop back into some other state. I don’t know. Maybe it’s like taking drugs. I’ve never done that, but I imagine that’s what it is like.”

After listening to Joan explain her feelings, I would almost like to join her and Al in this timeout period, especially with the state of the world right now.

Joan has been vacationing in Ptown for most of her life. Her parents and grandparents were Ptown pioneers with homes on Commercial Street, the main drag. Joan and Al met at Rochester Institute of Technology, both earned BFA’s.

Joan was a graphic supervisor for 15 years at the Department of Instructional Development, RIT and four years an adjunct professor at Department of Continuing Education. developed a college course, and taught advertising techniques to photo students. Her gallery representation includes:

-Ellen Harris Gallery, Ptown MA

-Kiley Court Gallery, Ptown, MA

-WilliamsMcCall Gallery, Miami Beach Fl.

Al also received his MFA at the University of Rochester, worked as a lab technician at the Atomic Energy project and was a science teacher in the Greece School District.

Joan and Al have adult children and grandchildren who live in various parts of the country. The offspring are also involved in the arts. Eliot and I own a number of works from granddaughter Claire, (University of Pennsylvania graduate) who has been living in Japan for the last few years.

Joan told me, in more than one conversation, that she and Al picked PTown to live in because they knew, in the off months (when there are few tourists), they could turn off all of the distractions that consume and aggravate most of us. They have their fair share of disturbances but they sure have more peace and time to pursue their personal interests. Life in the dunes was pretty similar. When Joan was not painting all day, she would sit outside her shack and just dream.

The following is a quote from Joan’s bio.

“There is no logical explanation of visual data. A person stops, looks… all is on the canvas and the viewer is now in the arena of new experiences. A painter’s mandate is a good-faith attempt to capture the fleeting visual beauty of our relationships with worldly stimuli. In a glimpse resides an eternity.”

Everyone I speak to is totally aggravated by their personal situations, or how much the world has changed in the last few years. Some folks, including myself, are on the brink of opening their windows and yelling to the universe, “ I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” You know where that came from?

Actor Peter Finch said that line in the movie Network, which premiered in New York City on November 27, 1976. Before you scream your guts out, read about “Reflect Orb” which I describe below. I will see the product live at CES in January. I will let you know if it helped me feel, and see things, in a more positive light. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Reflect is a wellness tech company that is launching a purple orb that uses biofeedback to help guide you towards your calmest self.

The Reflect Orb is a soft, round device with a glowing light ring that changes color in response to your stress levels. Whether you currently practice meditation or are just looking to find a wellness practice that helps your body to calm down during stressful times, the Reflect Orb seamlessly blends wellness philosophies with science-backed practices to help you learn and develop everyday habits that guide you to a relaxed state of mind.

How it Works:
Each day, set aside a few minutes in your schedule when you can concentrate on your practice. Settle into your favorite spot, allowing yourself to feel present in the moment. Then, activate your Orb by placing both hands on either side in order to begin your session. The Reflect Orb measures and analyzes your body’s physiological signals and provides continuous visual indications of your mental state. The calmer you are, the closer to white the light ring will be.

This feedback helps you guide yourself toward a calm state. The Reflect App displays the data received from the Reflect Orb to help you track your personal progress, as well as provides a daily journal where you can log your feelings after each use. You can use the app to set notifications to set aside time in your day for self-reflection; while analyzing your data can help you better understand what you are feeling. Over time, and with consistent use, Reflect will help you to gain control of your mental and emotional wellbeing.

Link to Purchase: https://www.meetreflect.com/product/reflect/

Price: On sale now for $199 (normally $229)

———————————————————————-

Our Singer Friend Nicolas King Recently Posted This On Facebook

———————————————————————-

Thank you cousin Harvey Oshinsky once again for sharing these great pieces of art.

Thank you cousin Harvey Oshinsky for giving me a sign.

A Sign That Gets
My Full Support

Confidence

I Thought It Was Weird Someone Put Tape Over The Sign

This Sign On A Beach In Lithuania

Shop Sign In Kyoto, Japan

This Wet Floor Sign At The Toronto Aquarium

Los Angeles Ice Cream Truck Owner Is Tired Of Social Media Influencers 

Trying To Get Free Ice 
Cream For Mentions

Let’s Not Ruin It By 
Calling Out Colors Or Sides. Just Enjoy The Sign For What It Says

This Sign In Front Of A Bunch Of Venus Flytrap

Housemate Put This Sign 
On Our Door After Amazon Repeatedly Posted 

“Sorry We Missed You” 
Cards Whilst We Were Home

This Sign At The Entrance To In-Laws Retirement Community

Sign In A Taxi Cab

A Few Days Ago A Car Drove Through An Arby’s. This Was Their Sign 
Today

Friend Saw This On Her 
Walk This Morning

Utah Has Its Issues, But It’s Traffic Signs Are Top Notch

Sign At
A Local Park

Never Seen A Hotel Pool 
Sign So Blunt Before

Corn Maze Sign

A Sign Outside An Off Strip Casino In Las Vegas

This Relatable Sign In Ireland

Sign At
A Local Coffee Shop

Great View With A Fitting 
Name At The Grand Canyon

The Sign
Outside Local Coffee Shop

This
Sign Cracks Me Up

Local Doughnut Shop Has 
Some Jokes

Sign 
Posted At A Community Ball Field

First Time Seeing A Funny 
Sign Like This

This Sign In An Antique Store

My Dad Was Responsible For Our Neighbourhood Sign This Week, A Series

Museum Had A Working Piano – They Had This Sign

Over Thanksgiving Week, the Hess, Armada and Greenberg group went to visit our friends, Andrea and Ron Hein, in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, CA. Needless to say, their home was exquisite. So was their garden. I immediately took photos of some of their unique plantings so I could identify them with my “Picture This” app. I finally did it.

All you do is snap a photo of the plant, then the app identifies what you are looking at. It’s very interesting to learn all of the particulars, and sooner or later, you know more than the average person. This is a lot of fun for a city girl. Ron, did I get it right?

————————————————————————

The following was taken and shortened from CNN

Wikipedia’s first ever edit is being auctioned as an NFT

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is auctioning off a non-fungible token (NFT) of the first edit ever made on the site.

Wales typed the words “Hello, World!” after launching Wikipedia on January 15, 2001, and the moment has been immortalized in an NFT that is being sold by Christie’s, the auction house said in a statement.

An NFT is a piece of digital content linked to the blockchain, the digital database underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.

They transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain, and have seen a huge spike of interest in the art world.

Collectors have a chance to buy the very first entry on what has gone on to become the largest repository of free information on the internet and one of the world’s top 10 most-visited websites, according to Christie’s, which estimates that the NFT will sell for $100,000-150,000.

.What is an NFT? Non-fungible tokens explained

———————————————————————-

This is one of the best advertisements I ever watched. The Italians know how to get your attention. Click now.

Thank you Central Synagogue of NYC.

———————————————————————-

————————————————————————

————————————————————————-

———————————————————————

With Valerie Hess-Cevallos, Alfredo Cevallos and Eliot at a Hanukkah Candlelight Concert : Spotlight on Jewish Composers FT: Gershwin —at Temple Emanu-El Miami Beach

————————————————————————