"Falling Into Place" at Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, NY April 13-July 7, 2013

Click on this photo taken by J.P. Pacquing to see it larger.

I can't think of anything that is harder to do than to put words to an ineffable experience. After all, just read the definition:

in·ef·fa·ble /inˈefəbəl/ Adjective: Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words: "ineffable beauty". Too sacred to be uttered. Synonyms: unspeakable - inexpressible - unutterable - nameless

Well, "ineffable" perfectly describes everything I experienced last weekend in Beacon, NY as we celebrated the opening of my "Falling Into Place: self portraits" exhibit at Fovea Exhibitions. Here's a partial list of the weekend activities:

1. A dinner in my honor for 20 of Fovea's volunteers and Board members put on Friday night by the co-founders/directors Stephanie Heimann Roland and Sabine Meyer at Stephanie and Mark's lovely home in Beacon. The wonder of meeting so many creative individuals, hearing their stories and falling in love with Sabine's 7 year-old daughter Jordan and Stephanie's 3 year-old son Mack, both of whom loved scooter rides.

2. On Saturday afternoon attending a special screening of the remarkable film, "Chasing Ice" with the film's director and none other than the folk music icon Pete Seeger, his wife Toshi and daughter Tinya in the audience.

3. Then the opening of my exhibit with 232 people showing up to help us celebrate, including Pete, Toshi and Tynya. My giving a gallery talk that was not only well received but elicited a tender sharing by Vaughn who told us of his mother who had dealt with MS with grace and tenacity. Feeling like spring rains were soaking into the sometimes parched soil of my confidence as a photographer as generous-spirited folks affirmed my work.

4. A late-night sushi dinner after the opening at an excellent Japanese restaurant on Main Street with Ron Aubert, who had kindly taken photos of the opening using my camera, and the exhibit curator, Sabine, who must have been exhausted.

5. Sunday at Fovea where J.P. was sitting the gallery as he has done every Sunday for years, then lunch at the Tea Room and hours spent at the amazing minimalist contemporary art museum, Dia Beacon, with my niece Carolyn and her husband Jonathan who had come up to visit me from New Jersey.

6. Later that afternoon as I charged my scooter at an outlet at Hudson Beach Glass, I visited with Janet Griffin and listened (unseen) to an astounding improvisation on acoustic guitar by a beautiful man named Zenote. That was followed by dinner with Stephanie, young Mack, and her singer/songwriter/creative consultant friend Carol who allowed me to brainstorm with her about the very exciting workshops she is preparing to offer to corporations.

6. Then Monday morning at Beacon High School where I was privileged to present a slideshow of images from "Falling Into Place" and discuss self portraits with Mark Lyon's photography students whose questions delighted me and whose engagement was palpable.

7. After a delicious lunch at the Homespun Cafe, I was allowed to photo-document Hudson Beach Glass owners, John and Wendy Gilvey, create one of their annual awards for the Rainforest Alliance: an exquisite earth-colored paperweight with two orange and yellow frogs painted in glass on the surface. I hope to create a slideshow using the photos to give to them.

8. My final dinner in Beacon was at the Yankee Clipper Diner with Stephanie, Mack, and photographer/photo editor Ronnie Farley who not only gave me a book of her photos but hopefully will come visit me in Detroit.

What I carry with me from these four days and nights is a sense of awe at the kindness, community-feeling, creative consciousness and open-hearted welcome given me by every person I met in Beacon. I went there for photography and found people I love. I shall return.

To see more images from the opening, go to "Exhibits and Installations" under PORTFOLIOS on my website. Once there, you can also see a video taken by Fovea volunteer J.P. Pacquing of my gallery talk on "Videos and Slideshows" under INFORMATION. The video can also be found under "Artist Talks" on the Fovea Exhibitions website.