yesterday Shepard Fairey (Obama HOPE poster artist) installed a mural on the wall of Astorino's building. It was a very cool process to watch... there are several (20+ even) other murals 8, 12, and 15 feet high that are being put up all over Pittsburgh (i've heard brillobox has one, the sprout fund building, the former rosa villa restaurant, and i'll add to the list as i find them). i'm pretty sure it's to generate discussion and interest in Fairey's upcoming show at the Warhol in october, called Supply & Demand.
a coworker and i want to put together a bike tour to see them all... if anyone wants to help scout out all the locations and plan the route let me know!
yesterday my neighbors (the sweet, strange boys that they are) built a "scare rat" in their front yard, accompanied by three evergreen trees dressed in ponchos and sombreros. this makes (at least some) sense if you have seen the sign hanging in front of the house which gives their abode the moniker "rat manor," which has been the source of much curiosity among passersby, who wonder whether it is a store, a haunted house, or simply a place were rodents run free.
to further people's confusion, a couple of the guys decided to put an "OPEN" sign at the base of their walkway and at the corner of butler st. a couple of weekends ago while they (and i) watched from the roof as people walked by and stared with puzzled looks on their faces. only a few ventured up the steps to read the list of services available... the ones i remember are "kisses/hugs, legal advice, manicures, nature walks, gold digging, tax preparation, carnival games... (i wish i could think of more, they were pretty hilarious), each for $5.
now one of the mexican trees has turned into a PILOTbush... who knows what will be next :)
day 1 (may 23) - before
this is the first time in my adult life that i've lived in a house with a yard. in brooklyn my apt building had a fenced in concrete "patio" which was great for cookouts and parties (but technically it was shared by the entire building and we either had to climb out the back window or go through the basement to get there) and in my second pittsburgh apartment i had some luck growing herbs on windowsills...
day 1 - after (and more progress pics from that day)
so when i decided to plant seeds in the ground for things that can actually be eaten as part of a meal rather than just used to season it, i didn't want to get my hopes up, but things are actually growing (!!) and i'm pretty excited about it. anyway, this is what i have in the herb department: cilantro, basil, thyme, sage, and oregano, but the rosemary decided not to sprout. otherwise, there are tomatoes of several varieties (none full grown yet), okra, and lettuce. now that i've listed it out, it seems pretty measly and i have friends whose gardens are WAY more impressive, but i still feel pretty good about this first effort!
watering with my nephew (july 11)
yesterday Shepard Fairey (Obama HOPE poster artist) installed a mural on the wall of Astorino's building. It was a very cool process to watch... there are several (20+ even) other murals 8, 12, and 15 feet high that are being put up all over Pittsburgh (i've heard brillobox has one, the sprout fund building, the former rosa villa restaurant, and i'll add to the list as i find them). i'm pretty sure it's to generate discussion and interest in Fairey's upcoming show at the Warhol in october, called Supply & Demand.
