Hello from Columbus, OH

Mindy and I have been on the road the last 2 days. We opened my 'Midwestern Landscapes' show at Bear's Mill in Greenville on Friday. We had a good crowd and a lot of fun. I gave a short lecture, we sold a couple pieces, saw some friends we hadn't seen in a while, and enjoyed our evening at the mill. Then it was back to Portland for the evening (after a late road snack of Maid Rites). We spent the morning with my brother and parents then made our way to Columbus.

After finding our hotel and checking in, we went to Short North (Pole) to check out the Columbus art scene. Lucky for us today was gallery hop. We arrived early in the afternoon and the crowd was thin. We stopped first in a Cajun/Creole place called Da Levee. What a start. We spent $20 for food and drinks and ate till we could roll out the door. We sampled 4 classic dishes from the daily changing menu, red beans and rice, chicken creole, jambalaya, and a deliciously buttery dish called B&B (black beans, corn, and other delicious morsels). All were spectacular.

We then began stopping in galleries and checking out the work. Our first stop was one of our best: Sherrie Gallery. We bought a brilliant cup by Dustin Harris. He was featured at the space for gallery hop and his work stood out amidst the work of Tom Coleman and Deanna Clayton (among others I am failing to remember). He was a nice guy and took the time to talk to us and bullshit about pottery with me. Then we wandered around stopping in here and there. We ended up taking a break in the late afternoon for tea at Zen/Cha. Then re-upped our meter and continued wandering through galleries and boutiques. The dark crept in on us and so did the crowd. By the time we were getting hungry again the streets were jammed and so were the sidewalks. We decided that was enough for us and made our way back to our hotel. We stopped at a place called Columbus Fish Market to eat dinner, but after looking over the menu, we realized it was just an overpriced red lobster. Instead we drove a bit out of the way and ended up and a Persian place called Noora. Simple and delicious and the service was excellent. Eat there. Back to the hotel, then sleep. This morning we are going to German village and the book loft. We will also be doing a short review of the public art/graffiti here.