I wanted to get a quick post out there about the West Whiteland Holiday Craft Fair this past Saturday. It was in a word, terrific.
It was an absolutely beautiful day and they held it at Church Farm School. It was held in the school’s Founders Pavilion.
When you walked in the door, you immediately felt how happy people were. It was this total sense of community with an area off to the side for stuff for kids and outside there was food. There were tons of vendors, something for everyone.
What was missing? Politics. As opposed to the East Whiteland Community Day this afternoon, politics stayed home at the West Whiteland Holiday Craft Fair and that was much appreciated by all. This was about celebrating community meeting, some fun, crafts, people and just enjoying a beautiful fall day.
Isn’t this the most amazing birdhouse?
Well done, West Whiteland Township, and I look forward to next year. Thanks also to Church Farm School for providing the space!
This Saturday I went to Church Farm School with a dual purpose: to go to the West Whiteland Township holiday craft show, but first I wanted to see the Church Farm art exhibit of Amos P. Kennedy, Citizen Printer at the Buck Family Center For The Arts.
Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. is an American printer, book artist, and papermaker best known for social and political commentary, particularly in printed posters. Mr. Kennedy is 76 years old, so I wanted to see what he saw and created because he has lived through so much. Artists, even though who wish to be seen as just citizen printers, see so much through their eyes, and we can learn from that.
According to Wikipedia:
Kennedy creates prints, posters and postcards, often incorporating chipboard, using letterpress printers that operate with handset wood and metal type. Many of his posters are inspired by proverbs, sayings, and quotes related to social justice and the political movements that Kennedy supports.
The exhibit was amazing and powerful. I’m glad I went. Church Farm has really cool things like this. It is an academic institution that is a gem in Chester County.
I will share my photos and links to a couple of articles about Mr. Kennedy and his work.
Big Boy did a whistle stop through Gladwyne, PA down on River Road.
Courtesy of Sabina Louise Pierce
The last two photos I will share was Big Boy rolling into Philadelphia. These photos have all been lent to me with permission of National Geographic Photographer/Explorer Sabina Louise Pierce. I am really lucky that she just happened to connect with me and say “Hey guess where I am?!”
Courtesy of Sabina Louise Pierce
Again, I have permission to share them.
People walking down Waverly Road in Gladwyne to the river to see Big Boy! Sabina Louise Pierce photo
The last two I will share are from Philadelphia, including a little seven second video which I think is great!
It just doesn’t seem possible. And I shed quite a few tears over this news when I wasn’t on the phone with Sherry Tillman.
Once upon a time and 50 years ago, a young artist named Sherry Tillman had an idea. That idea came to be Past*Present*Future.
It started as a one of a kind cool place for special handmade toys and creations and it became the business we have loved for so long.
Sherry is retiring and the business will be closing, so stay tuned for special opportunities to come in for one last visit and shop and reminisce.
Sherry has been such a part of all of our communities (and lives) and she will continue to be in Ardmore, it’s just for the first time in her life, I think she might actually relax for a little bit!
Sherry has been a big part of my life personally for so many years and I love her so very much and I wish her the best and I hope all of you go in and shop when she starts her sale and if you have any questions, just hit her up.
Special sales in advance of a well-deserved retirement start June 8th at 11 AM!
On a snowy afternoon, what’s a fun thing to do? Hmmm…maybe go to a Christmas party in an antique market of course!
You also need music …
And some nibbles….
And add some friends and #shoplocal !
We did this at Frazer Antique Market and it was magical. Most importantly besides friends coming together at Christmastime? Supporting a local business and vintage/antiques and crafts people.
It’s not about the influencers who want a ridiculous photo for their Instagram and Snapchat, this is about supporting our local businesses.
And no, I was not compensated for this post OR this event. We paid to host it.
This was our Christmas present to friends and loving what’s local.
Also many, many thanks to the acoustic duo The Dunns for the festive music to add to the atmosphere. You can hear them locally at places like VK Brewing and Myrtos as well as other local spots and places like Cape May in warmer weather months. And they are occasionally available for private events!
The gallery is quite literally art in an unexpected place and it’s fun! It’s a big well-lit space on the second floor of the auto spa.
As a matter of fact an amazing artist I know named Leah Macdonald who is an encaustic artist has a show there on Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 4 PM – 6 PM.
Anyway, discovering Leah was doing a show was the cherry on top of the delightful surprise of discovering this new gallery. There were a few different galleries that were in Malvern Borough over the past few years which are now sadly gone.
Art is one of those things that makes the world a happier place, so I hope you check it out. Again the gallery space is on the second floor of the Franklin Auto Spa in their lounge area.
Apotheosis of the Family used to hang in a bank. Photo from 52 Pieces Blogspot
OK, sign me mind blown. The huge mural, Apotheosis of the Family by N.C. Wyeth, newly restored, will be available once again to be viewed thanks to his grandson, Jamie Wyeth, as per the amazingly fabulous article in the New York Times this morning.
A friend of mine sent me the article a little while ago. And I’ve just been sitting here, reading it and almost gasping to myself about the crazy story of this mural.
CLICK AVOVE ⬆️ FOR NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ⬆️
I remember years ago hearing about this mural. Then it came off the wall when the bank, Wilmington Savings Fund Society now known as WSFS, literally took it off the wall. That was 2007, and I remember reading that at the time and it was crazy to me because well the bank had restored it in 1998. BUT and it’s an important but, according to the New York Times, the building was sold for development. Art vs. real estate profit?
Can you imagine owning a building that had a giant mural painted by a Wyeth in it and then just taking it off of the wall and selling the building?
It’s a huge mural. It is 60‘ x 19‘. So 60 feet wide and 19 feet tall. I never saw it when it was in that bank branch for all those years, but it’s one of those things that pops up on postcards and coffee mugs and you can buy a replica of it.
Commissioned in 1932 by the Wilmington Savings Fund Society (WSFS) in Wilmington, Delaware when N C really wanted to do something other than be “just an illustrator”, the mural is made up of five canvas pieces that span a total of 60 feet by 19 feet…..The mural depicts a family standing in front of a house, surrounded by neighbors….Some say this is a theme N.C. Wyeth may have borrowed from his son-in-law, Peter Hurd. Done in the grand manner style of murals from the 19th century, N C also used bright colors, unusual perspectives and powerful abstract forms of clouds, smoke and sea, reflecting Wyeth’s interest in avant- garde Russian art, and works by Marc Chagall.
So again, according to this blog, it was removed off the walls of this bank building in 2007, after being restored in 1998. The work to pull this giant piece of art off a wall and I guess store it was done by some company called Ely Inc. (I found a website for the company. They do some kind of museum services. )
Here I interject a little bit of my own opinion about WSFS. They like taking things off of walls. When they acquired the Bryn Mawr Trust Company a few years ago, they yanked the name and letters embedded in the wall of the historic bank building in Bryn Mawr off. Yeah, sorry that sounds a bit snarky, and I kind of meant it that way because I remember when it happened, it struck me as petty, because so many banks keep the original things of the bank building they acquire on it as part of the history. Wells Fargo did this in Paoli, for example. But I digress.
However, I guess everyone’s lucky that the mural was saved, and now will be able to be viewed at some point this fall. I guess I just feel at this point, that this country in general is somewhat disposable with various aspects of its history at times.
So fast-forward to the New York Times article of today. And apparently this giant mural went into storage for a bunch of years. Now, remember it’s oil on canvas, and paintings can crack and stuff as they age. If you read through the New York Times article, they had to do more restoration as the canvas was unfurled to be prepared for hanging.
According to the New York Times and their research, this is the largest mural in US history ever created for a public space. I like looking at murals, and if you think about it, it’s pretty cool that an American treasure of an artist also did one. No, this was done during the depression, and apparently the money received at the time translated to today’s dollars was fairly significant.
Now thanks to Jamie Wyeth, soon if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to take a shuttle bus from the Brandywine River Museum of Art to a special round barn on his property to view it. The farm is called Point Look Out Farm.
Apparently, this work of art celebrates family. N.C. Wyeth’s family is worked into the mural. His son Andrew is the naked boy with the bow, and interestingly enough, the Times reports his sister Carolyn is portrayed as a little girl, although she was eight years older than Andrew. According to Jamie Wyeth, as recounted to the New York Times, point of the mural was to depict two things that were very important to his grandfather, a deep love for family and the land. (OK, I’m going to interject again. What would N.C. Wyeth think of all the development in the area he calls home today?)
I think this is very exciting. And I’m going to hope I can get a ticket to see this in person. N.C. Wyeth was known first as an illustrator. He illustrated a lot of children’s books for example.
This if you like art, and you appreciate the art from the various members of the Wyeth family, is pretty freaking amazing. the Delaware Historical Society had this mural before it came back to Jamie Wyeth’s farm. it sounds like they could never find a place for it. I think from a restoration point of view it’s probably very lucky for the world that this place has been made for this giant mural because it sounds like it wasn’t rolled up right when it was stored. Thank goodness it was given to the Wyeth Foundation.
The Wyeth family has had a history of fabulous art and great tragedy. After all, the creator of this fabulous mural, we are all about to see for the first time in many years, N.C. Wyeth died in a tragic accident in 1945. His grandson, Newell, who was four at the time also died with him in the crash.
Of course, this is not the only tragedy that this family suffered, as there have been many twisted tales of complicated lives of this often larger than life amazingly talented family of artists whom we loosely call our own in this area. And thanks to the generosity of Jamie Wyeth will be able to see this mural now.
There is actually a giant Wikipedia page devoted to N.C. Wyeth which is pretty interesting and has many links about his life and work. I really wish I could meet Jamie Wyeth and ask him what it was like growing up in this family except how many writers and reporters and others have done this over the years?
Anyway, read the article in the New York Times. It’s amazing from start to finish and it’s also kind of sad that a New York paper is breaking major art news from this area.
This morning Bob from Fox29 went to Historic Yellow Springs to visit Life’s Patina Mercantile and Cafe, and it makes me wonder aloud does West Pikeland Township appreciate the treasures in this township?
Now everyone knows I love Life’s Patina and the simply marvelous things Meg Veno and her team do. A fun fact is I really was the person who told Meg at one of her barn sales that the late Charlie Orlando (He died a while back and remember Yellow Springs Inn?) had lost the Jenny Lind House (now the Life’s Patina Mercantile and Cafe) to foreclosure and the site was up for grabs. Meg had been speaking about wanting a new project, and I said the Jenny Lind. That was 2018 maybe late 2017, I forget.
here are some photos I took during a visit when the renovation was occuring:
It was so exciting to watch the Jenny Lind come back to life! I took a little video in 2023 when she opened. I do not remember if anyone from West Pikeland Towsnhip was there or not. I do not know the elected officials, so I wouldn’t recognize them.
I was there a couple of weeks ago again:
It was such a long and involved process and my favorite part is not even open yet: the upstairs guest rooms. They are ensuite and just perfect. I haven’t wanted to pry so I have not asked why the rooms are not open yet, but knowing what other people have gone through living in West Pikeland with that odd township, you have to wonder, right?
If West Pikeland was more savvy, they would better cultivate these new businesses pouring money into expensive renovations for the right reasons wouldn’t you think? After all they also have Jeff Devlin (HGTV etc Stone House Revival) there with Sycamore and Stone, as well as Meg… although the Life’s Patina team saw the potential in Yellow Springs Village before Jeff arrived. Ironically, he opened ahead of them and I totally adore Jeff and his wife Janelle, but there is no denying star power motivates local government. I saw it happen on the Main Line all of the time, and it probably still does happen, sadly.
West Pikeland is just odd and Pennsyltucky in their ways. No other way around it.
It’s like West Pikeland favors some over others. In that township they have had musical chairs with managers, they can’t seem to record meetings, meeting minutes are problematic, and oh yeah they are trying to ditch their local police department and you are never ever sure what is going on and it’s truthfully sad because it is a lovely slice of Chester County there….. but what is new to me is their 90% tax increase? Oy.
And then there is the police of it all and to that end what happened at a recent meeting:
West Pikeland Township, you need to appreciate what’s in front of you, including the police. You are a township of treasures, undervalued by you.
The Surrey Services Holiday House Tour completed their second successful year this past December. I am a proud supporter of this tour and it was magical, and my friends enjoyed themselves tremendously.
I have written about Surrey before and it is a particular favorite non-profit of mine. They quite literally do good things.
This year I was one of the photographers of the event as well as a tour attendee and sponsor. I have to be honest, it was one of the most fun events I have photographed in years. Why? Number one it was pretty, and secondly, there was no artifice to the attendees. People were there because they wanted to be, and the joy on attendees’ faces as they went from location to location and finally to lunch and the shops showed you how great of a day it was.
And I will give a little feedback of my own, having been on 2 years of tours.
First of all, Surrey Services knocks themselves out for this. The staff and volunteers could not ben nicer. And this event has a lot of moving parts. They work hard.
The shops were even better than last year, and last year they were fabulous. The shops I think have found a perfect home at St. David’s Church, and I hope they secure this location for next year. The one thing I will repeat which I stated last year, is the people who have subscribed for the entire day (tour/lunch/shops) should have dibs on parking. They should have people at the shops location at the parking lot entrances to direct patrons, with again, dibs on parking being given to entire event subscribers. And they need to have volunteers literally check the lots for people inventing a parking space where none exists, people not handicapped taking handicap spaces just to go shop, and those who feel the need to take up multiple parking spaces with one vehicle. This is NOT Surrey’s fault, it’s the simple fact that humans can be selfish.
The homes this year were wonderful. My feedback is the homes which were enjoyed the most were the homes where they followed the assignment: that this was a holiday house tour. I think some might feel that decorating for the holidays might be a wee bit passé, or clash with the interior design, or they are a bit fearful of holiday decorating. Look, that is what the patrons are signing up for. No matter what holidays you celebrate, as long as it isn’t a lawn full of blow up figures that are the stuff nightmares can be made of, decorate for the holidays. We aren’t only here to see the interior design, we are there for the Christmas and holiday of it all.
I also need to comment on the fact that the tour goers need to remove their floor protective booties between houses. If you don’t, then it defeats the purpose of wearing the booties to keep from dragging dirt into these beautiful homes. The other reason is just practical: if you don’t take the time to remove them, you are creating a slip and fall risk for yourself and we saw that when we go to St. David’s for the shops and lunch. A woman who still had her booties on in the parking lot at St. David’s slipped and fell.
My two favorite houses were in Bryn Mawr and one of the Wayne houses. They were not only spectacular houses, but they let their holiday spirits fly and the love showed. Those were the homes people connected with and you could see people trying to figure out if they could create a similar look. They were inspirational.
Technically Christmas can stay up until epiphany, so I hope you all are still enjoying at least some of your holiday decorations still.
I am sharing some of my favorite moments of the Surrey tour this year.
I look forward to next year’s tour and a big thank you to Surrey and the homeowners who shared their holidays with us!
This weekend is, at long last, the spring barn sale at Life’s Patina in Malvern!
SPRING BARN SALE DATES: Friday, April 26th: 10am to 7pm Saturday, April 27th: 10am to 5pm Sunday, April 28th: 10am to 4pm
I previewed it yesterday, and it was amazing!
1750 N. Valley Road, Malvern, PA
Remember that this is literally a barn sale, so wear appropriate footwear because you will be crossing a field to get to the barn.
Part of the proceeds from this springs sale goes to one of my favorite local nonprofits Surrey Services.
Also, if you want to make a Chester county day of it, Life’s Patina has their Café and Mercantile in historic Yellow Springs Village. And starting Saturday, the Yellow Springs Art Show opens.
So what does that mean? It means you can start at Life’s Patina barn sale and then go to Yellow springs Village and taking the art show starting Saturday and have lunch in the café or coffee! The café, located in the historic Jenny Lind house is located at 1657 Art School Rd., Chester Springs PA. And the Mercantile is also full of amazing things for your home.
