Breakfast on the A Train

I was on my way downtown, bleary-eyed, to attend a monthly meeting of artists at breakfast time. I stopped on the way at Amy's Bread on 9th and picked up an oat scone studded with golden raisins and walnuts (amazing, always) and a Twinings English Breakfast tea in a white paper cup.

Cup of the Day #46

Networks, by Gwyneth Leech

Colored ink on white cup, 2010

At 8th Avenue and 42nd Street, I boarded the A train and got a seat.

Eating breakfast on the subway train always feels a little weird, but I was hungry and my scone was calling out to me. Surreptitiously, I opened my paper bag without crinkling and then maneuvered the tab on the cup lid without spilling or elbowing my neighbor. Having accomplished these difficult tasks, I looked around and took a quick survey:

3 starbucks drinkers,

2 deli coffee drinkers,

1 Amy's cup (me),

6 wearers of Ipods  with identical white cords and earpieces,

3 newspaper readers,

1 book reader,

1 young person desperately trying to finish writing an essay,

And 4 people asleep.

The woman opposite me with the heavy makeup and tired eyes had a laptop case at her feet. She was juggling an Ipod, the New York Times AND a Starbucks Vente coffee. 

Clearly for some people, sleeping on the way to work is not an option!

Sculptor Bernard Klevickas

Waiting for the subway 
with his morning brew, NYC

photo by Stanley Klevickas

Comfort Cup

 Cup of the Day #8

India ink on cardboard cup

 by Gwyneth Leech, 2010

On a recent weekday morning I am headed to the studio to paint. First, I run down to Lab Middle school in Chelsea, where my elder daughter Megan is an eighth grader, to attend a parents' "coffee chat" called advocating for your child with special needs. Megan, who is a general-ed student and a high achiever, is headed for Stuyvesant High School next year. I am at the meeting with my six year old daughter Grace in mind. She has Down Syndrome and is only in first grade but I want to know what lies ahead.

The boxed brew on the table is from Amys' Bread in Chelsea Market and it tastes very good today. As the meeting goes on and the leader talks about parents' rights, LSE, IEP, SETS, team meetings, mediation, arbitration, bumping down and schools trying to pass your hot potato child out of the the system I drain my cup and draw all over it. It helps me concentrate and makes me feel better.

The parents around me are full of anxiety and questions. They are facing middle school and high school issues. But the leader is full of sage advice and helpful strategies, chief among them is to identity early on what your child's passion is and steer him or her that way through the education system, because children will excel where they are most engaged.

Hey, that's why I am an artist! I wasn't a competent reader until 3rd grade and drawing was always where I shone at school and at home. Grace is the same way and scores above grade level in art and music (as opposed to her reading and math level which I rather not mention). I recently did a collage sketchbook combining her drawings from the past several years with mine. It is currently on tour with the Art House Coop Sketchbook Project. I believe Grace has a bright future with her art skills. As for her outstanding skills with a hula hoop, we are not sure yet where that might lead.

 Sketchbook Collaboration

Grace Wilson and Gwyneth Leech

Ink and collage, 2009

 Grace Hula Hooping in Central Park
3/21 - World Down Syndrome Day

An Irish Brew

 

 Cup of the Day #7

Filigree Cup by Gwyneth Leech

White-out pen on green cardboard cup, 2009

My painting studio is on 39th Street, eight blocks down 9th Avenue from my apartment and a walk to work invariably full of incident. This morning, getting underway rather late, I am surprised by the volume of foot traffic until at Amy's Bread, the soda bread and paper shamrocks in the window plus the line out the door of people in green remind me that it is Saint Patrick's day.

I wait my turn in the amiable crush and order a scone and coffee to go. They serve excellent Illy espresso at Amy's and one of favorite breakfasts in Manhattan is to sit in here for a large bowl of Cafe au lait with french bread and butter, but I don't have time today. I get the Oran's decaf coffee on tap and am then am disappointed to find it extremely bitter when I taste it on my way down the street.

The Saint Patrick's Day Parade is already underway several blocks East and green-clad bar-flies are smoking their breakfasts outside the bars all the way down to 42nd Street. I dump my decaf in a trash can and go into Empire Tea and Coffee at 41st and 9th. This no-frills shop carries a great range of whole beans which the owner has roasted upstate. Their tea selection is also excellent - boxes at the front, loose leaf in glass jars at the back. And they sell a full menu of hot drinks to go, including outstanding espresso drinks at great prices.

I have been coming to Empire for years and always enjoy the personable baristas who seem to be drawn from a never-ending pool of aspiring jazz and pop musicians. The clientele includes artists, people heading to offices, construction workers from the burgeoning high rises in the neighborhood and postal employees from the depot on 42nd Street. There used to be a steady stream of musicians carrying instruments and headed for rehearsal studios on 41st, but that building was torn down to make way for a skyscraper a few years ago.

I order a Barry's Irish tea to mark the day. Barry's is Empire's house tea and it is a vigorous black brew which I drink strong with milk, no sugar. I like it almost as much as Brooke Bond's Scottish Blend. I lived in Scotland for 15 years and we swore by Scottish Blend, an unpretentious, full-bodied black tea sold in super markets at a modest price. When I moved to New York 10 years ago I persuaded Empire to order it for me and it is always stocked, and quite popular - despite the New York price tag.

By 4 PM I am heading back up 9th Avenue after a productive day painting. I didn't go to the parade. My ancestors are Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh in pretty equal parts so I choose not to celebrate any of the historically warring factions. The green revelers are more numerous now, and some are staggering. Here are some green wigs, there a green torso, lots of green trinkets. Outside Rudy's Bar and Grill at 44th Street I pause to admire the Swine on Nine. Today he is wearing a kilt!

 A reveler celebrating with the Swine on Nine

Saint Patrick's Day, NYC, 2010