philadelphia

we have had a very good trip here to philadelphia. we began by visiting the Eastern State Penitentiary. This is a very old prison here built in the late 1800's. It was a model prison for several reasons: it provided the 1st architectural example of a prison that was built with a center hub, and originally 5 spokes of cell blocks coming out of the center. Furthermore, it was a true "penitentiary", meaning that it was a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the prisoners. they attempted to achieve this through isolation,no contact with other prisoners, so that the inmates could think over their crimes and regret them, and then never do such things again. it was very fun to see this old crumbling prison. apparently they had a real kick ass haunted house there for halloween and we were sorry we missed it.







the craft show has been going ok. i have made several good gallery contacts and have had a chance to see some friends. the money is not the best but it is better than nothing. the hours are long and grueling, but having jamie in the booth definitely makes things more fun! we've been playing 20 questions and the name game which has been quite enjoyable.








this morning we were lucky enough to see our first building implosion. it was very exciting. they took the building down in order to make room for the expansion of the convention center.








the show is over tonight, and then we pack up and chill out for the evening. we have been eating some excellent food here, ao perhaps we will go out to eat again. last night we had delicious vietnamese food with a group of artist friends. Sadie Wang, Debra Adelson, Douglas Wunder...very good company and talks!

Fermelenge!