East Coast Travels

Bodil and I traveled to the East Coast from September 27 to October 11, 2025, to help my college friend Frank Goryl curate a show that spanned two Galleries in Scranton Pennsylvania, and then to visit friends, old and new, in New York City. Frank and his family run Moscow Clay Works in Moscow PA, about a fifteen minute drive from Scranton. The show was called “Crafting Friendships”. It’s comprised of works from Frank and his wife Susan’s substantial collection, and newer works from the artists in the collection. Frank wrote a grant to support the show, and used part of the money to help with our airfare from San Francisco to Newark, NJ. 

After our Pennsylvania experience, we visited our old friend Magda Salvesen, wife of the late painter, Jon Schueler. She has a flat in Chelsea, filled with huge Schueler paintings and vintage furniture ~ the quintessential artist’s flat from the 70’s. We finished up our trip staying with our new friend, the painter Deb Koval-Grippo. We met her through Frank and she lives and works near the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. 

All photos are HERE. 

Virtual Gallery of Crafting Friendships by Emily Taylor

NYC Dicewalk

What is a Dicewalk?

Day 1. Photos are HERE. Saturday, September 27, 2025

We had an easy flight from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey. Mission Impossible Final Solution was on, so we watched that. Our old friend Frank and new friend Deb Koval picked us up at the airport. We got big hugs at the airport. Frank took us on a tour to Deb’s apartment in New York ~ we missed a turn, so we had a longer ride in, with more sight-seeing options in the rain. We took our luggage up to Deb’s 2nd floor flat with brick walls and really good mostly mono-chromatic big abstract paintings on brick walls. Deb is a very committed and accomplished painter. We had dinner at a sports bar “quiet place” near the Cloisters NYC. It didn’t seem at all quiet ~ very active. I ordered a huge pile of nachos for the table and beers for Bodil and me. There was a sidewalk cannabis market across the street from Deb’s apartment. We all crashed at Deb’s apartment. Bodil and I slept really well in a nice double bed in a nice room with lots of good art ~ Deb’s paintings. 

Day 2. Photos are HERE. Sunday, September 28, 2025

We woke up in NYC, then the four of us drove through New Jersey and on to Pennsylvania and the Poconos where the fall colors were just starting to pop. Deb is originally from Eastern PA (I’m from Western PA), so she came with us to help with the galleries and visit family. We had breakfast in the town of Mount Pocono, where I ordered delicious house-made local sausage. 

Arriving at Moscow Clay Works in Moscow PA, we were greeted enthusiastically by Molli, the little black and white dog. Frank introduced to his beloved “R-Pod”trailer. We moved in, feeling a little jetlagged ~ it was great to have our own place to use while visiting! We met Deb’s sister, just back from her country club complaining about her “golf hair”. It looked great to us ~ and we decided that we wanted golf hair too! Deb went off to stay with her family who live nearby. 

Frank gave us a tour of the big old house, and we saw much of the work for the show. We were greeted by Frank and Susan’s son Aaron, (around 30 I think) and he came out to dinner with us. I had chili and fries ~ very Pennsylvania! And tasty. Aaron gave me a tour of his space in the attic, and their black cat helped. He has a high-tech gaming den there, and a workshop. He had been using his 3-D printer to make cool book holders for the show. Frank’s wife and our good friend Susan came home late from a party at the site of the Woodstock Festival, now Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, where she is a volunteer (but sometimes paid) after retiring from a career in nursing. 

Day 3. Photos are HERE. Monday, September 29, 2025

Bodil got up first and figured out how to use the french press in the R-Pod to make our coffee, and Susan helped us figure out how to use their pantry to make our favorite muesli breakfasts, and then we figured out how to take showers. 

After we were cleaned, fed and caffeinated, we drove into Scranton to look at the two spaces where the show would be hung. The first space was Artworks Gallery. The gallery is very spacious, and is part of a much larger facility, much of it an impressive sheltered art workshop for developmentally developed people. They gave us a tour, and we got a very good vibe from the work going on there. The clients were happy, engaged, and creating beautiful art. The instructors looked to be a motivated group of young artists. 

We also checked out AFA (Artists for Art) Gallery. The work for that gallery was mostly all from people that had founded that gallery, including Frank, 30 or more years ago. It was a small space, very underground looking ~ their 3rd and smallest space, but still workable. We were supposed to start laying out the show there the following day, but they had decided to have an event that night which precluded working in the space until Wednesday. They also decided to reduce the show (honoring their founders) from over a month to two weeks. Frank was disappointed at the double whammy, but took it in stride. I’m sure his meditation practice helps with that sort of thing. 

Scranton’s downtown was a mixed bag, but there was some vibrancy, and some nice murals. We found a good place for lunch: “Fork and Bowl”, or “F ‘n Bowl” where we could design our own healthy, spicy lunch. 

Back home, I was ready to start going through the spreadsheets of work and artists, destined to become labels and ready to use for a future catalogue, but Susan distracted us by drinking beer in the early fall afternoon sun with us on the lawn in front of our trailer. One little moment of bliss. 

I did get to go through the spreadsheets with Frank later on the couch. And we got to meet Spike, the disabled goldfish. Something is wrong with his swim bladder, so he spends most of the time lying on his back at the bottom of his bowl. At feeding time he fights his way to the surface to enjoy his dinner. He’s been like this for years. 

Day 4. Photos are HERE. Tuesday, September 30, 2025

We woke up in the little R-Pod, and made ok coffee with the French Press ~ then Frank made us some really good (but de-caf) cappuccinos which we shared in the hot tub out behind his kitchen. He and his son Aaron picked up a rental truck that had been delivered to the wrong nearby town an hour late. But not to be deterred they loaded it with TONS of artwork, heavy on the ceramics. We helped as we could. It was beautiful work. We loaded much of it into Artworks Gallery. We were welcomed there with open arms, help and occasional supplies as we took over their prime gallery space. 

Frank, Susan and Aaron went over to AFA Gallery (the new, smaller space), loaded in there and started on the layout of that show. 

After lunch at “F ‘n Bowl” again, Bodil and I laid out most of the show. Frank took over laying out parts of the show that were close to his heart. He was working on “letting go”, but it was difficult for him as he has strong emotional attachments to the work in his and Susan’s collection. The Buddhist monks that he retreats with named him “Silent Water Heart”, but there was a story with every piece in the show, and many of them had to be told. 

I had shipped his piece Ostinato from California, but it was damaged when it arrived, probably from over-zealous packing in CA. He started trying to repair it at the gallery, but it was too much and he ended up bringing it back from Scranton to Frank and Susan’s home at Moscow Clay Works. Bodil brought her new piece Taming Dark Forces on the plane with her, so it was in good shape. 

Back at the ranch in Moscow, we got pizza and our favorite local beer, Yuengling, from the oldest still-operating brewery in the US. Jeopardy was on, so that was a sacred space for Frank which we enjoyed and tried to respect. Fixing Ostinato was challenging. Aaron supplied tools and tech support and was a huge help. 

Day 5. Photos are HERE. Wednesday, October 1, 2025

People were starting to roll in to participate in the show. Gary, “Zuni Buffalo Man”, one of the AFA Founders, had flown in from New Mexico and arrived late the previous evening. We invited him to join us for a morning hot tub. He’s an interesting guy, an artist and a fine craftsman, with lots of good stories. There was leftover GF pizza for breakfast. We got a ride into town with Susan. Bodil and I finished laying out and started hanging the show at Artworks with just the two of us. (It’s a big space). We had expected Zuni and Susan to help, but Susan had other important errands (it was a busy time!) and Gary was committed to visiting old friends who were facing end-of-life sort of stuff, so that understandably took priority. 

It was difficult, but I was finally able to fix my sound sculpture Ostinato. Mimi, the Artworks teacher, was wild about it: “That is sick! I’m not even kidding, that is SICK!!” 

Emily, one of the Moscow Clayworks crew, was working with Frank at AFA Gallery and they brought us lunch, thank God. Emily is a talented photographer (She documented the show) and a talented cup-maker (we brought one of her cups home with us).

It was a long day. There was still leftover GF pizza for dinner, and more Yuengling beers, thank God. And Jeopardy on TV. 

Day 6. Photos are HERE. Thursday, October 2, 2025

It was a really really long day; Bodil and I hung both shows. It was supposed to be a day off. We thought we were getting more help, but it didn’t materialize through some sort of misunderstanding. Gary did the labels, Frank worked at AFA Gallery setting up a display for the featured artist, Lissa Jeannot. Lissa was supposed to be flown in from her home in Haiti, but our president made sure that was impossible. After we had Artworks Gallery in decent shape, we worked with Frank to hang the show at AFA Gallery. Eventually everything came together, and we were really extra happy with the way both galleries looked. We were both exhausted and collapsed after a big plate of sushi and a couple of Yuengling beers. 

Day 7. Photos are HERE. Friday, October 3, 2025

I set the lights for both shows while Bodil secured all the ceramics and various sculptures and fine crafts with sticky, waxy “quake hold”. Frank put labels on all the pieces. Nadia, the staffer at Artworks Gallery, had helped by printing them. We got done at a decent hour, feeling really happy about both shows ~ especially the expansive gallery at ArtWorks. We got a ride back to Moscow Clayworks, and retired to our little trailer to rest and change clothes. 

Back in Scranton in the evening, both opening receptions were fun. Susan and Frank’s unofficially adopted son, grammy winning violist, En Chi performed at both spaces. Absolutely amazing performances, two world premiers, even if the crowd did keep talking in the background. There were many stories told. 

When we got to Artworks, a staffer told us that one of the pieces had broken, and pointed us to a dejected looking couple with two young kids, the 3-year-old girl hanging tightly on her dad’s neck and burying her face. Apparently she had reached up with both hands and pulled down a shelf with Frank and Susan’s wedding platter, which shattered into a zillion pieces. Larnie tried to ease the parent’s minds until Frank came over and very graciously forgave the girl and the couple. Later he said he would make a new one, and just to prove it was no big deal, he would make one for them too. But it was a big deal, and the platter was very special to Frank and Susan. He was very understanding about it. 

At AFA Gallery, all the founders and old timers whose community had run the gallery for many years celebrated and hugged and drank wine. They were clearly happy to see each other, and generally happy about the show and approving of the way it was curated and hung. 

After the openings we all went back to Frank’s house, “we all” being Judson Evans, a poet friend now living, writing and teaching in Boston, Frank’s two boys Evan and Aaron, Evan’s wife Emily, En Chi, Frank and Susan, Zuni Buffalo Man, Bodil and I. There was lots of pizza going around ~ none of it gluten-free. I was feeling a little left out until all the left-over sushil in the refrigerator was offered as my supper. And Yuengling beers. I felt much better after that. 

Day 8. Photos are HERE. Saturday, October 4, 2025

We had brunch at the Elmhurst Country Club with the whole crew and family. It was a beautiful fall day, and the leaves were thinking more and more about turning colors. 

Back at the ranch, Frank gave us a pair of elegant bowls, just right for morning muesli, and we got to pick out two ceramic cups as well. After a tour of Frank and Susan’s basement, we went to the Everhart Museum in Scranton to check out a space that was to be used for a Jon Schueler exhibition. We had hoped to meet James, the curator, but he was not there. It was a great space, and we were surprised to find an installation by John Bromberg, an artist we had met on a previous trip, but we were blown away by his collaborator, Samuelle Green, with her immersive “wasp nest” paper cones made from old books. Brilliant work! 

We took a walk in the nearby park by the Lackawanna River, which was a nice way to wind down from all the excitement of the previous evening. 

We took it easy, and, after we were back in Moscow, walked to a nearby restaurant. Its owner had been taken by ICE several weeks earlier, much to the chagrin of the locals. It was a BYOB restaurant ~ which we didn’t know ~ so we were surprised when Frank showed up with a pair of Yuengling beers for us. What a thoughtful thing to do!

Day 9. Photos are HERE. Sunday, October 5, 2025

We packed and got ready for the second half of our adventure. Frank drove us and Deb Koval through the Poconos and across New Jersey to New York, to our old friend Magda Salvesen’s house in Chelsea. She had a lovely salad lunch for all of us. Frank took Deb back to her apartment, and then drove back to his home. Bodil and I settled into our sleeping place in Jon Schueler’s old studio, with huge Schueler canvases to keep us company. We had some great hang-out time with Magda in the afternoon. In the evening, we went to a movie with Magda “One Battle after Another”. Good critical discussions afterwards. We were struck by how safe it seemed to walk around Manhattan. Magda never thought twice about going out at night by herself. The reality didn’t fit the stereotype. 

Day 10. Photos are HERE. Monday, October 6, 2025

We woke to coffee and a nice array of breakfast muesli options. Colleen, Magda’s very capable Foundation assistant, showed up to begin her workday. Bodil and I headed out for a day of walking in Manhattan. We made for the Highline and walked its length. We enjoyed the beautiful gardens and most of the sometimes-challenging public art ~ and the fun post-modern architecture we could see from our vantage point. 

We had been recommended to go to the Chelsea Market, so we went there for lunch, looking around and a little shopping. It was a bit touristy. We found a Thai place for lunch. Bodil ordered feathery salmon, which sounded great on the menu, but was just greasy deep-fried breaded salmon fibers ~ not much in there that was recognizable as salmon. 

We were getting used to the pace ~ fast! Crowded. It took a while for us laid-back Californians to adjust, but it’s fun once you get in sync with the rest of the people. 

We went through Whitney's massive show Sixties Surreal. We really enjoyed it. There were many artists from the Bay Area that we had some sort of connection with ~ friends of friends, or important influences like William T. Wiley, Bruce Conner, Robert Crumb. We got to see Jay DeFeo’s the Rose, which really should be at the SFMOMA. We saw work from Judy Chicago and Robert Arneson, both having lived in Benicia ~ Arneson, most of his life, and Roy De Forest, who lived just across the Carquinez Strait. There were many more artists that we were familiar with represented, so we took our time. At one point Bodil and I got separated, but I was able to use the “find my” feature on my new iPhone to find her. There was a lot of political/revolutionary work, which resonated with our current situation, and the movie from the previous night. 

We found an Agnes Pelton painting in a different gallery ~ Bodil used to work at a gallery that represented her, and we have one of her paintings in our home. We tried to get a drink on the upstairs balcony, but the bar had closed. However, the views from there were fantastic. 

We relaxed with Magda in the evening and watched the news together ~ not always a good idea before bedtime. 

Day 11. Photos are HERE. Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Magda laid out a lovely breakfast with fruit and muesli and coffee. After that, Bodil and I walked to Madison Square Park to see sculptures by Larry Bell, someone Bodil had been aware of ~ an artist who works with glass and light. We found them ~ big, minimal, cubes of glass and mirrors, with pretty colors and interesting patterns created by the ambient light through the trees. There were many happy looking people, and moms with kids playing in the park, or being entertained by story tellers and musicians. We came across a couple wearing yellow ribbons. I was curious, and asked what they were for. They told us they were to remember the Israelis still held hostage by Hamas. Trying to avoid a political conversation about that, we struck up a conversation with them. Susan was a photographer and an arts consultant who had sold a Jon Schueler painting, and had visited Magda’s loft. What are the odds against that? There are eight and a half million people in New York. They suggested the MoMath Math Museum, which had a private event, but we spent time in their gift shop and bought some stocking stuffers. 

Back at Magda’s, Magda had prepared a delicious luncheon. Our old friend Ann Koll, who we stayed with the last time we were in New York was there, as well as Colleen. After lunch there was a Jon Shueler Foundation meeting. I accepted a place on the Board of advisors, but did not want to resume my former role as paid consultant. 

En Chi, whom we had met in Pennsylvania, and who is a grammy winning violist with the Metropolitan Opera, got us free tickets to Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Forth row, middle. What a treat! We rode the subway back to Magda’s building. 

Day 12. Photos are HERE. Wednesday, October 8, 2025

We said goodbye to Magda, and Ubered over to Deb Koval’s house near Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters. We had a long conversation with Magda, then a long conversation with Derek, the Uber driver, then a long conversation with Deb. Deb had set up a nice little charcuterie, so we enjoyed that together, and I took a nap afterwards. 

Deb made some gluten free pesto pasta for dinner, and after we ate together, the three of us subwayed it to Marshall Stack (a bar), and a Laughing Squid drink-up with Scot Beale and Lori Dorn ~ old friends and Cacophony Society veterans. There were maybe ten or twelve people engaged in interesting conversations, mostly drinking good beers. Lori had been working on her Fuck Book, a conceptual reaction to the Trump era, I think, though she might disagree. We met Mark, the guy who started San Francisco’s underground night markets, and Rob who started Santacon. We recruited a new friend, Mark, for our planned dicewalk the following day. We had a really fun evening, then we took the subway back to her place to sleep. 

Day 13. Photos are HERE. Thursday, October 9 , 2025

After coffee and breakfast, the three of us set out to walk through Central Park and meet another old friend of ours, Allen Whitman, former bass player for the Mermen. He led us to a quintessential crowded NYC lunch counter on Madison Avenue ~ we had to yell at each other to talk. Now we felt sure that we were in New York City. It was great catching up with Allen and hearing about his new band (which I love), Five Day Miracle Tent Crusade. He took us on a short walking tour of the area, and to Argosy Books. 

We said goodbye to Allen, and hello to Mark, who we had met the previous evening and set out on a Dicewalk. HERE are all the photos from that. Like the last time we did a dicewalk in NYC, we didn’t get very far, as there was interesting stuff on every block. Notable parts included a tiny Japanese ceramic gallery, Dai Ichi Arts, and the Arsenal in Central Park, with its friendly greeter, majestic WPA era murals and photo gallery upstairs. 

After the dicewalk, we explored our way over to the Equinox Gym, where Deb’s son Roman works. She had a package for him, and wanted us to meet him. He had left early, so that didn’t happen, so we went to Grand Central Station to see a temporary installation Dear New York. As hordes of commuters streamed past us we stood in the center of the station to watch the changing images of New Yorkers’ faces, eyes, ears, and their statements projected huge on the walls on both sides of the station. It was very moving. It felt like being in the middle of Koyanisquatsi. 

We made our way, walking, exploring and subway riding back to Deb’s place for the night. 

Day 14. Photos are HERE. Friday, October 10 , 2025

Our last day in the City. After coffee and bagel and cream cheese (gluten-free bagel for me), we hiked up the hill through Fort Tryon Park, around the Cloisters, but not in them. We found a grouping of ceramic sculptures portraying individuals from (I think) some sort of old folks home. 

It was a lovely day in a nice City park with a great view of the Hudson and green space on the opposite bank. Deb had said that there were bald eagles over there, and sure enough we saw three of them in the distance. The leaves were just starting to turn. I killed a few spotted lantern flies, as Susan Goryl had instructed me to do, as they were an invasive species responsible for killing many pine trees. Sad, and difficult, as they are large, pretty insects. 

We had few plans for the day, having dropped the intent of seeing a Rauchenberg show at the Guggenheim. Deb had still had the package for her son Roman ~ Amazon had dropped off his costume for Comicon. After we got back from our walk in the park, we set off on the A Train (as in the classic jazz tune) for the Equinox Gym near Grand Central Station. We briefly met Roman, a really nice and athletic young (well, 30 something) man. We stopped in a nearby café, Ground Central. Great coffee! We had a chance to make some plans, so we asked Chat GPT for advice. 

As suggested, we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to see the new mural there. It portrayed immigrants and contemporary saints, and was very moving. Deb and I were in tears. 

We went through Times Square on our way back to the subway. There were people in all sorts of costumes ~ King Kong, the Statue of Liberty, sexy sport girls (we weren’t sure what their thing was). Deb told us not to photograph them, as they would try to charge us for the privilege. There was a group of breakdancers that had a big organized thing going ~ a drummer on plastic buckets (he was good!), and a team of dancers who were a call-and-response chorus for one main guy who was leading the group. They did a minimal amount of actual dancing, but a lot of organizing the crowd: “move up, move back, ~ you, kid, step up here. Hold still. Don’t move. Everyone clap.” Eventually one of the dancers jumped over the kid, then they lined up a group of old white guys in the middle ~ all the while passing a bag for donations and shaking the guys in the middle down for money. It started out looking positive and fun, but ended up being a hustle. 

We took Deb out to her favorite local tapas place, and shared a nice bottle of chardonnay for a very warm and comforting last evening in New York.

Day 15. Photos are HERE. Saturday, October 11 , 2025

We woke up early. I was feeling a little bleary from the excellent wine from the night before. Deb got up and made us comfortable with coffee and a nice little continental breakfast, including avocado toast. After a final look at Deb’s new paintings, we made our goodbyes. Such a great new friend! We had booked an expensive Uber to the Airport in Newark NJ. The driver was loud and animated, a final taste of the boisterous NYC energy.

We were greeted at the airport by a suite of engaging map paintings by friend and local Benician Lordy Rodriguez, but otherwise had an unremarkable trip home, and were happy that the house in Benicia was still standing, and happy to sleep in our own bed!