Circle Game

We had a fabulous day at Hershey Park. 

Can you tell that the Philadelphia Toboggan Company #47 classic from 1919 has me spell bound as soon as we enter the park?   You can really appreciate the artistry that went into this ride. And to sound old

 fashioned, they just don't make 'em like they used to. 

Zoe has tamed her wild steed.

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Weekend

My weekends, this time of year especially, are divided between work and play. On Saturday we went to Peddler's Village to check out the annual scarecrow competition and see what Halloween goodies we could find in the shops. If you've never been there, it's a gorgeous little shopping village in Bucks County, PA, near New Hope. This time of year the grounds are decorated with handmade scarecrows and gorgeous flowers. It's one of my favorite places to go shopping (even if I can rarely afford the things I want there).

One of my favorite scarecrows, the Headless Horseman, of course!

Another favorite, created by Pumpkin Rot.

I LOVE their website and blog! 

The Grand Carousel is not to be missed! Fully restored in 1998, this 1922 Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel has forty six hand-carved wood figures, by Master Carver Ed Roth from Long Beach, CA.

This dapple grey with  celtic saddlery was by far my favorite. I want a real horse just like this one!

I love the ear placement and expression..

I managed to come home with one awesome raven on a pumpkin repro sculpture.

He'll make a nice addition to my halloween decorations.

And on Sunday I worked. One giraffe halloween painting on a long board.

I love giraffes and have been wanting to paint one for ages.

I also painted this paper mache mask with a Day of the Dead sugar skull design. Zoe likes it so much she's decided I cannot sell it. Guess who's going to have the kid with the weirdest costume in preschool?

Also started a Day of the Dead horse painting on canvas, a Sleepy Hollow Painted Pony, a pumpkin sculpture on a gourd and several Halloween pendants for a local gallery's October show. I love this time of year, never a shortage of fun ideas. Now to find the time to accomplish them all!

Trimper's Carousel

One of the oldest carousels in the US is on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD at the Trimper's Amusement Park. This 100 year old beauty is my favorite thing about the boardwalk and the first place I head to take pictures while on vacation. You can read more about the history of this Herschell-Spillman carousel here.

Carousel

We spent the day at Hershey Park thanks to some free tickets given to us by a friend (thank you Carol!). My favorite ride is the carousel: a magical mix of stunning artistry, childhood wonder and that cool feeling you get being near something that still functions as beautifully as it did nearly 100 years ago. They don't make 'em like they used to is a line that certainly applies to the carousel. It's one of those rides that seems like it should just be for children but everyone from 1 to 100 gleefully chooses and mounts their colorful steed. The one at Hershey was made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in the early 1900's and has called this park it's home since 1944. What more can I say, it is the most romantic ride there is!

Click on photos for a larger image.
Click HERE to learn the history of the carousel.

Sneak Peek!

EHAG is having a challenge this week starting Friday the 15th. Our theme for this challenge is "Halloween Carnival". I finished my piece tonight so I thought I would give people a sneak peek.
Here it is, my Sleepy Hollow Carnival Carousel!



Search EHAG on Ebay starting August 15th to see what all our wonderful members have created!

Back from the beach...

When I'm on vacation my two favorite things to see are native animals and art.
The artwork that was my absolute favorite was a 1902 fully restored Herschell-Spillman carousel with 45 hand carved wooden animals of all shapes and sizes. The horses even had real horse hair tails! It is one of the oldest in the United States.
My 2 1/2 year old daughter was fascinated with the sea dragon and had to ride it twice despite my urging to try one of the animals that went up and down.

This gorgeous piece of history is housed in the Trimper
Amusement Park at the begining of the Ocean City, MD boardwalk.










The two other fun things at the beach are wild ponies on Assateague and sea gulls. I think I must be the only person that loves seagulls but I get a big kick out of feeding them and listening to their calls. I didn't have much time to spend with the ponies but I caught a glimpse of these two young stallions by the water.








Okay, now that the fun is over I am back to painting on Monday!
Jen