Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

I had a good time with this piece, which I did in honor of a friend. And of course, there’s Frankie Valli, so what’s not to love?

This piece features a lot of eyes, and with the abundance of green and blue eye shadow, it will probably not surprise you that they are of a 1960’s ilk. The whole piece has a sort of retro vibe with its array of aqua and green tints mixed with a yellow ochre.

Besides the printmade pieces and the 60’s eyes, there are shoes from a book about shoes, a hand from an anatomy book, and lettering taken, oddly enough, from a couple of hip hop magazines. You can read more about it on its gallery page.

Inspiration Trip: Day 7

The intersection of diverse ideas

The intersection of Doherty Hall and Wean Hall on the Carnegie Mellon campus

I received my Masters Degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1986, so of course I wanted to revisit the campus. There were a few students out enjoying the bizarrely warm weather, but not many. That’s the sad part of the Covid crisis. Everywhere I go, it’s like a Sunday and a holiday combined. Ghostly quiet. It’s hard for all of us, but I think that for young people it must be incredibly frustrating.

Despite the crisis, there is inspiration to be had, like this wonderful moment. One of the most interesting places on the Carnegie Mellon campus, in my opinion, is the spot where Doherty Hall, a Beaux Arts masterpiece conjoins with Wean Hall, a wonderful example of Brutalism. How can you not be excited?

Inspiration Trip: Day 6

On a clear day you can see Braddock

Poles and towers at the Edgar Thompson Works, Braddock PA

It was, at last, a clear day, so I headed down to Braddock to grab some shots [ a few hundred of them ] of the Edgar Thompson Works for US Steel. The vast majority of the steel industry has closed down, but this plant still seems to be in some part operational.

The shapes that make up industrial landscapes are so inspiring. Towers, tanks, warehouses. Walls of windows, towering smokestacks, and webs of wires. There are a lot of projects to come with this.

Inspiration Trip: Day 5

Now this is inspiring

The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh PA

Tuesday, The Warhol Museum. What a treasure, and really inspiring! I spent nearly four hours there; so much to see! And a wealth of inspiration. Yes, it was dreary outside, and somewhere during the day I took some pictures, but this was definitely the highlight.

Inspiration Trip: Day 4

What’s a little rain?

Rear view of apartment buildings in Pittsburgh

Monday was a bust in terms of photography, but it mattered not as I got to spend much of the day with a friend I had not seen in decades and her wife. It was a socially distant lunch date on her porch on a cold rainy day, but who cares? I have spent very little time with friends over the past several months, even the past many years. I was overdue. And getting to catch up with a friend is priceless, especially these days.

So no photographic inspiration, but friendship inspiration, which is much better for the soul.

Inspiration Trip: Day 2

What could go wrong?

Corn field in Ohio on a beautiful clear day.

When you finally get the heck out of town, you want to think everything will go right. It usually does. But not this time.

Thank goodness I have a newer model car that tells me when a tire is going down, which allowed me to get off the highway before it went entirely flat. That’s the good news. The bad news was that it was a Saturday in Zanesville, Ohio. Apparently, no one in Zanesville can fix a tire on a Saturday.

I got off the highway and stopped at a gas station. They had no air. No worries, there is a tire store across the street. I head over there, but it was closed.

So I Googled tire places, and thankfully, there was a National Tire and Battery just a few miles away. They took my car in immediately. Yes, the front passenger tire was low, they gave it some air. I asked if I could get it patched. Oh no. we don’t have time to do that. Really? They suggested I go down the street to the Toyota dealership. So I drove over there. They were so nice, but no, no one could patch a tire on a Saturday. I should try WalMart down the street.

So I headed down to the WalMart. They were very nice. They might be able to patch it in, maybe, three hours. Maybe. I was not really interested in waiting for a maybe. So I Googled again, and found a company that did road service. So I called them. They could come out. Yay! But then I find out that they only do big rigs, not passenger cars.

Finally, in desperation, I called AAA. Yes they could send someone out to patch the tire. So after a very lengthy time on the phone with them and a 45 minute wait, a service truck finally showed up. No, they couldn’t patch a tire either. So I had them put the donut on the car and I hit the road and left Zanesville in the dust.

Inspiration Trip: Day 1

Traveling during a pandemic?!

Really, I couldn’t take much more of home sweet home. While I enjoy solitude and being in my studio, eventually I have to leave the bubble for the sake of my sanity, not to mention the sake of my creativity.

I have been to the grocery store. I have been to the post office. One day I went out to get a large eyed blunt point needle. All fully masked. And that’s about it since mid March. I desperately need to do something different. So I planned a trip.

Here I am in Cincinnati. Urban landscapes. Wonderful architecture. Spending the night at an AirBnB before proceeding to Pittsburgh for a week of photography and a couple of socially distant meetings with old friends. I have dozens of masks, jars of vitamins, and bottles of hand sanitizer. I can do this.

I’ve gone to look for America. And inspiration.