BREATH OF FRESH AIR!!!

OJAI ~ Art in the Park 5.29.11

"We should not forget to enjoy the experience 

of daily creativity, whatever that may entail."

~ Diane Carter, American artist

Purple & Black Giraffe

Needing a breath of fresh air - JPE & I took a day trip to OJAI for the Art in the Park festivities (sponsored by OJAI Art Center)... 

Having lived in OJAI for 15+ years, JPE was excited to find so much of this "artist enclave" untouched by mega-monster stores!

Art in the Park is held in Libby Park - located in the center of town! 

OJAI Post Office

This adorable, moving giraffe (the head bobbed up & down) greeted us at the entrance of the festival.

Although the festival was small (due to the size of the park), 20-30 juried vendors displayed their artistic talents as the notes of live music swirled among the leaves of the trees.

OJAI ~ Libby Park fountain

OJAI averages 85-100 degrees in the summer, but Sunday's weather was gorgeous with billowy, white clouds, an occasional dark cloud, and with the sunshine peeking through to "shoo" the chill away.

The OJAI Post Office is an exquisite example of the architecture of the city... and everywhere you look, the city has maintained that ambience...

MADE in OJAI ~ unique gifts...

The shopping arcade includes numerous shops that have been in business for many decades! 

More info can be found at the OJAI VISITORS BUREAU.

...oh, if you get tired of walking, you can catch a ride with the OJAI City Trolley (for free)!!!

 

RAINS, an up-scale gift store, with great prices, sells garden, kitchen and home items, as well as men's & women's clothing. I checked out a couple of pairs of Teva and Merrill shoes before deciding to wait until I can actually get my "SLOOOWLY-HEALING JONES FRACTURE" into something other than an athletic shoe. RAINS has been in business for 81 years!  

Another business that visitors & residents frequent is the OJAI Coffee Roasting Company... of course, we had to stop for a cuppa tea & to "people watch."

One "local gent" was wearing brown hounds-tooth pants, with a yellowed, weathered dress shirt, a black bolo tie, covered by a beige flannel sportcoat, and a pair of shocking pink (women's, obviously) sunglasses. He had on a pair of Keen sandals with beige colored polka dotted socks... a black felt hat covered his very tanned, weathered face & his snow-white hair swirled from underneath the back of his hat... what a character! He had a scruffy, dirty dog on a pink leash that he tied under the edge of the cafe table legs outside the coffee shop. I considered "asking" to take a pic of the dog, (an excuse to capture his essence too), but he got his coffee & took off walking for home!

This is NOT the "colorful gent's" dog! 

...but if you ever get to OJAI, you'll notice that "everyone" seems to have their dog with them!!

This dog was sitting near a bench at Art in the Park....

And - this teeny dog (with an attitude) was outside the OJAI Coffee Roasting Company...

JPE & I also drove by the two places he lived while in OJAI, and have decided we'd like to go back in the Fall (eh!! cooler temperatures) to celebrate our anniversary!

adorable from another angle ~ ART in the PARK Giraffe

Spending the day in fresh air, looking at pottery, woodblock prints, watercolor & oil paintings, jewelry, sculpture, photography, as well as "people watch" was just what we needed ~ before we head into our last few weeks of intensive, report-writing work before the school year closes for 2010-11.

How about posting a LINK (in the comment section) sharing your latest "creative experience"... would love to take a peek at your BLOG!!!