C TOWN BEAUTIES! Cleveland Revisited

I love living right smack in the middle between three great cities: Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland! I would say that Cleveland is my favorite, though. She has a special place in my heart and I enjoy visiting her on a regular basis. I was taken a bit by surprised, the other day, when I read a post in virtual land regarding Cleveland as a dirty trash pit and the Cuyahoga River fire was specifically mentioned. It is true, Cleveland has had its problems (as well as many other cities) and the lake as well. However, we have come a long long way since that disaster and are continuing to beautify and take care of our beautiful Cleveland and abundant lake!

In fairness, a little history needs to be brought to the fore front. The year was 1969 when the Cuyahoga River, which is a main tributary river flowing through Cleveland, Ohio had caught fire. Industrial pollution that had been dumped into the stream had become so thick that the flame retardant quality of water was overcome. The entire country seemed to turn its noses up at us with jokes about planting grass on the lake to make it a golf course and one-liners about using the mercury saturated fish as thermometers. What was once the most productive fresh water fishing grounds bountiful with sturgeon know was a desolate waste land.

During the 70's groups of environmentalists,government municipalities,industries, and many many caring volunteers began to help Lake Erie and Cleveland come back to life. Those results are evident today with the numerous amount of sport fishing that takes place nearly year round on the lake and rivers. I implore you to come take a look for yourself. The Lake has beautifully clean beaches open to swimming, tasty, clean, fresh fish caught from her waters and served to you from the beautiful city of Cleveland. I love my Cleveland and hope you will come visit her and fall in love with her, too!

This is my Etsy Tribute to my fellow Cleveland Artists who love Cleveland as much as I do! They see the beauty of Cleveland and continue to make efforts to keep her a clean and beautiful place to live.

Recycled, Upcycled, Gourd Art by Patti Owens!

Patti Owens aka Lily-Puts Art is well known for her whimsical creations of folk tales through the recycling or upcycling of gourds! I happen to proudly own several pieces of here work including The Cow That Jumped Over The Moon and a children's painting on recycled wood. Patti sells some of her work both on eBay(type in her id as lilyputs-art) and on Etsy.
Here's a little bit about Patti...
"I started doing art as a child, but I wanted an eclectic whimsical feel in my home so I started creating again. I love wacky designs and mix-matched art in an environment. Once I re-found art I was unable to stop. Driven by a wonderful compulsion I continued to expand my ideas and art to share with friends and family. I have shown my art in a gallery in the resort area near my home with much success But being a full time special education teacher and part time after school supervisor, time did not permit me to continue with the projects. As you may have noticed I am inspired by childhood events and carefree times that once sparked my imagination. Finding the internet as a perfect venue for my whimsical creation has given me the freedom to make what I want, when I want without any expectations. Today my goal is to promote my own art and other green artist in the US. I started this little online shop to expand on my own without timeline and fuss." Check out Patti's art in her Etsy shop here.