Opening The ARTS, An Artist By The River And Searching The Alley

When I headed out to the gathering area behind our apartment complex's community room, I looked up at the dike and spotted good reason to detour. After photos and conversation, I knew I had to introduce you to Terry Oakden whose artwork can be seen at Corning's West End Gallery on Market Street.

The ARTS* has a new home, still on Market Street, but further west and now on the north side of the street. Huge crowd and the ribbon was certainly representative of art... Staff from Vitrix Hot Glass Studio walked over from next door and strung a glass ribbon for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

(*The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes)

I'm always finding pleasant surprises in Corning's alleyways.

Alley photos are by Corning school students.

More alley photos can be seen on an earlier blog post. As a matter of fact, included with those August 2012 photos is one of the incomplete circle of life.



Taking a look back to one year ago ~ August 2012

Parked at Corning's Senior Citizens Center.


Polo is a very friendly, retired greyhound. She's six years old. I couldn't decide which photo I liked best, so here they both are!






I noticed this chimney at the top of the BPOE (Elks) building and am not reassured that it wouldn't crumble and fall down, down to the ground at the slightest breeze.



The next two pictures are the old Corning library building which is now (finally) being converted to apartments, or are they referring to them as condominiums?






Centerway Square... hula hoops for exercise and dance.



Ideal day for a ride. Don't forget a helmet.



In the window at The ARTS on Market Street. Louise R and Connie S-B are setting up a display featuring a dress made of recycled materials. It's time for REcycled Runway 2013.



On sale--winter sporting supplies!



These photos were taken last week - April 9 - our warmest, sunniest day so far this Spring.

Corning firemen, plus one son, man The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle in Centerway Square.


A northside Christmas tree, near the Corning Senior Center.

“Marble” at Home Again & Closet Treasures on Market Street.

At The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes on Market Street.

Flag at half mast for Sandy Hook Elementary School victims.

If you’re in Bath, New York during the holidays, drive out Haverling Street (which becomes Mitchellsville Road) and look for the most decorated, most lit-up house on the road. No one (in Bath) has more Christmas decorations than Kris Goodrich.

Merry Christmas

A Typical Walk

I know that when I view other people’s blogs, I try to picture the writer/photographer as they move through the moments they give words and pictures to.

So, in case you’ve wondered about the trivialities of my walks through Corning (you haven’t really wondered, have you?!), I’m going to share one walk in detail.


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August 6, 2012 ~ I left home at 10:45 A.M. and walked to the nearby Senior Center where I stood out front, waiting for a bus.

Wait a minute! A bus? What about the walk? Be patient, my friends. Sometimes I take a bus to another point in Corning and walk back home.

So, whenever I stand waiting at the Senior Center, I stare at -- the parking lot, the sky, cars, people. Mostly the sky. And, I take lots of photos. Once I’m back home and on my computer, I delete, crop, enhance, whatever it takes to get a photo to look its best (at least in my opinion).

Then came the 10:51 A.M. bus, on time! A swing through Wegmans’ parking lot with several passengers disembarking. Back to Bridge Street, quickly followed by a left turn onto Market Street. I rode all the way to the end of the street.

Oh, another reason I sometimes ride the bus is because I’ll have my hands full. This time I’m carrying gluten-free cookies, a check and library books. The cookies were for Donna at Pip’s Boutique. She’s eating gluten-free and white-sugar free these days and this gave me a chance to hear about why and how it’s improved her health and energy.

Next, a stop at Corning Credit Union to deposit a check.

Back to the east end of the street where I peeked around the corner and took a photo of the demolition and clean-up going on for the planned transportation center.

At the Southeast Steuben County Library, I returned one book and picked up two more they had on hold for me:

The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt by Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life by Eleanor Roosevelt


The Social Security Administration building is right next door to the library.

Back at the alley behind the Southside businesses on Market Street, I took more photos of the Transportation Center cleanup project.

This building has asbestos warning signs plastered all over...

At the end of the block, still in the alley, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of this fellow making a delivery to Van Heusen.

Alley Art Mural Project...

Sometimes the alleys are just as interesting as the fronts of the streets.

Notice the vines (real) in the bottom right hand corner of the next photo...

The ARTS...

Moving back to the front of Market Street, I popped into The Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. This chair (created, I was told by a passer-by, by Noel Sylvester, was in the front window and caught my eye.

It was 1:12 P.M. by the time I finally reach home. Because...

I stopped for lunch (Couldn’t resist. So many wonderful culinary aromas up and down the street).

I sauntered.

I strolled. (Oh, wait, that’s basically the same as ‘sauntered’, isn’t it.)

Anyway, I took my time and totally enjoyed my walk.