A new blog is on the scene — The Augusta Project — is recording the renovation of Richmond’s first LEED registered home. And happily, it is located on Augusta Avenue in the Near West End.

Go ahead, check out the great work (and photos) that this team is doing in this summer heat. Kudos to the homeowner and the construction and design team for choosing this environmentally sound & sustainable construction.

Under the direction of architect R. Michael Cross, LEED AP, Hollyport Ventures LLC is rehabilitating a home at 4600 Augusta Ave. in the City if Richmond. This 1938 structure, built many years before most of the practices promoted by the LEED for Homes program were created, poses many challenges. The goal of the “Augusta Project” is to renovate this home to meet the Gold certification level of the LEED for Homes program. By doing so, it will demonstrate that high levels of sustainable design are achievable in simple home additions and are accessible to the average homeowner.

We are oh-so-lucky to have UR just down the street from us in the Near West End. I go there 2-3 times a week, most weeks, for runs around the lake, swims, performances, meetings and conferences. I’m rarely disappointed by the ferociousness of the ducks or the quality of the events. I’ve mentioned before that you can often find me ushering at the Modlin Center (to score the double whammy of a free show AND avoiding paying a sitter!)

The greatest part of all the events listed below and sponsored by the University of Richmond Museums,  is that unless otherwise noted, they are all FREE and open to the public.

Enjoy.

Thursday, September 3, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
7p.m., Lecture, Cousins Studio Theatre,
Modlin Center for the Arts
It’s Only Natural:  The Art of Stanley Boxer
Elizabeth Stevens, independent scholar and curator of the exhibition
8 to 9 p.m., Reception and viewing of Rememberingstanleyboxer:  A Retrospective 1946-2000
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts

Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
7p.m., Lecture, Brown Alley Room, Weinstein Hall
Ansel Adams:  An Intimate Look at the Photographer Behind the Lens,
Andrea G. Stillman, Editor for the Ansel Adams Trust
8 to 9 p.m., Reception and preview of Ansel Adams:  The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature

Friday, September 25, 2009, 12 to 1:30 p.m.
12 p.m., Lecture & Lunch:
Traces of Time:  Fossils from the Collection
Brown Alley Room, Weinstein Hall
Evolution of Nest-Building Fishes of North America,
Eugene G. Maurakis, Director of Science Education and
Museum Scientist, Science Museum of Virginia, Research Scientist
and Adjunct Professor of Liberal Arts, School of Continuing Studies, University of Richmond
(Optional box lunch for $5, registration required by September 21:  contact Heather Campbell,
Curator of Museum Programs, University of Richmond Museums, at 804-287-6324,
or e-mail hcampbel@richmond.edu <mailto:hcampbel@richmond.edu> )

Friday, October 2, 2009, 12:30 p.m.
Curator’s Talk: John Cage:  Zen Ox-Herding Pictures
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts
“John Cage, Composer and Artist,”
Stephen Addiss, Tucker-Boatwright Professor in the Humanities-Art
and Professor of Art History, University of Richmond, and co-curator of the exhibition

Friday, October 2, 2009, 3 p.m.
Curator’s Talk: Green River Formation Fossil Installation from the Collection of the Lora Robins Gallery, Gottwald Center for the Sciences, Lower Level
“Exhibiting Fossils in Gottwald,”
Amy Mueller, ‘10, biology and global public health double major, University of Richmond, co-curator of the installation

Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Seminar and Walking Tour, Location TBD
“Tree Species in Ansel Adams Photographs”
This program is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies on-line catalog at http://activenet8.active.com/thinkagain/ or call 804-289-8133 for more information
In conjunction with the exhibition Ansel Adams:  The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty
on view in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature

Tuesday, October 20, 7 to 9 p.m.
7 p.m., Lecture, Cousins Studio Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts
“Making an Artist’s Life Work,”
Jackie Battenfield, artist
8 to 9 p.m., Artist’s reception and preview of Moments of Change:  Prints by Jackie Battenfield
and book signing of “The Artist’s Guide:  How to Make a Living Doing What You Love”
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 2 to 4 p.m.
Workshop, Keller Hall Reception Room, Modlin Center for the Arts
“Ten Ways to Get (Re)Started:  Artist Career Workshop,”
Jackie Battenfield, artist and author of “The Artist’s Guide:  How to Make a Living Doing What You Love”
In conjunction with the exhibition Moments of Change:  Prints by Jackie Battenfield
on view in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts
Limited space and $20 fee, register by October 16 by calling Heather Campbell,
Curator of Museum Programs, University of Richmond Museums, at 804-287-6324,
or e-mail hcampbel@richmond.edu

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Workshop, Location TBD
“Planting a Tree for Longevity”
This is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies on-line catalog at http://activenet8.active.com/thinkagain/ or call 804-289-8133 for more information
In conjunction with the exhibition Ansel Adams:  The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty
on view in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature

Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
7:30 p.m., Lecture, The Carpenter Center, Richmond CenterStage
“Genesis:  A Conversation with R. Crumb and Françoise Mouly,”
In conjunction with the exhibition Zap!  Comix Prints by Robert Crumb
on view in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts
Tickets may be purchased at the Modlin Center for the Arts Box Office
or by calling 804-289-8980

Thursday, November 5, 2009, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Photography Seminar, Location TBD
“Photographing the Landscape”
This is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies
on-line catalog at http://activenet8.active.com/thinkagain/ or call 804-289-8133
for more information
In conjunction with the exhibition Ansel Adams:  The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty on view in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature

Friday, November 6, 2009, 12:30 p.m.
Curator’s Talk: Coins of the Ancient World,
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
“Iconography of Power in Ancient Coins,”
Amanda Haviland, ‘10, business administration major, University of Richmond,
Arts and Sciences Summer Research Fellow, and curator of the exhibition

Friday, November 6, 2009, 1:30 p.m.
Curator’s Talk: Traces of Time:  Fossils from the Collection,
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
“Putting Fossil Collections in Context,”
Matthew Houle, Curator of Museum Collections, University Museums, and curator of the exhibition

Note: Images for press are available by contacting Heather Campbell, 804-287-6324 or hcampbel@richmond.edu

University of Richmond Museums comprises the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, and the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature. Admission to all museums is free and open to the public. For group visits and tours, please call 804-287-6424 at least two weeks prior to your visit for reservations. Call 804-289-8276 for information and directions or visit our website at museums.richmond.edu

The Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art is located in the George M. Modlin Center for the Arts. Museum hours (8/20/09-4/25/10): Tuesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. Summer hours: Closed Summer Break (5/16-8/19/09), Fall Break (10/10-13/09), Thanksgiving Week (11/23-30/09), Semester Break (12/14/09-1/11/10), Spring Break (3/6-15/10), Easter Weekend (4/03-05/10), and Summer Break (6/05-8/25/10).

The Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center is also located in the George M. Modlin Center for the Arts. Museum hours (10/02/09-4/07/10): Wednesday through Saturday, 1 to 3 pm., and by appointment (804-287-6424). Closed same schedule as above.

The Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature is located in a separate wing of the Boatwright Memorial Library with its entrance on Richmond Way. Museum hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. Closed Fall Break (10/10-13/09), Thanksgiving Week (11/24-30/09), Semester Break (12/14/09-1/04/10), Spring Break (3/6-15/10), Easter Weekend (4/03-05/10).

Alison over at Richmond Bargains blog posted a nice review of the Kid’s Layne consignment sale at Willow Lawn. If you are looking for used kids clothes, check it out.

This morning, I popped in briefly to check out the Kids Layne Consignment Sale going on this weekend at Willow Lawn Mall. It’s located in a storefront between Rack Room Shoes and Suntrust.

Kids Layne is a semi-annual children’s clothing sale featuring consigned nearly new boutique clothing and designer overstocks. We strive to stock only the finest labels in children’s clothing so that you do not have to dig through mounds of clothes looking for the best items. We sell clothing in sizes newborn to 12 years.

Also, coming up in September is the very popular West End Assembly of God childrens toy and clothing sale.  I always consign and buy at this sale and manage to get clothing for my kids and at the same time get rid of the old stuff. It is a great place to pick up some cheap used books and toys too!  This year’s sale is September 26th, 8 a.m. but folks line up around the building much earlier — so get there a the crack of dawn for the best selection.

Just got an email from one of our readers asking us to post this notice about her lost dog.  Take a look, have you seen her?

MISSING   -  TALLULAH

11-month-old Shih Tsu

REWARD

Please help.

Call 804-909-4873

She is a blond Shih Tsu with a pink collar and blue tag. Her hair has grown out a bit from this photo.  Missing from Kensington Avenue area of the Near West End.

Thanks to John Murden over at CHPN for sending this our way. Westham joined The Fan, Oregon Hill, Woodland Heights and Bellvue in an HGTV “Front Door” story on 5 great neighborhoods in Richmond.

For being an out of town publication, it looks like they pretty much nailed it:

Built primarily in the 1940s and 1950s as the city expanded westward, Westham borders the University of Richmond and is home to Cape Cod houses alongside elegant estates. Easy access to shopping centers like the Village and River Road as well as nearby private schools and the strong Henrico Country school system make Westham an attractive neighborhood for both empty nesters and families. The area owes much of its charm to the wildlife and native flora in Westham’s mature woodland.

Style Weekly’s Chris Dovi has a wonderful cover story on our neighbors at the Congregation Kol Emes on Patterson Avenue. I’ve always been curious about the traditions and beliefs of our neighbors as I watch them walk to Kol Emes on Saturday, rain or shine, and this story answers more than a few of my questions about what their beliefs are about.  The simple answer, that this is a religion that finds a  “near ecstatic joyfulness — an almost playful celebratory acknowledgment of God in everything” was not what I would have guessed. But what a beautiful thing to center a religion around.

It is well worth it to read the whole story. Like me, you’ll might find you have more in common with these folks than you thought. Regardless, getting to know a bit about your neighbors is a good thing. Here’s a quick excerpt:

The Kolakowskis and their fellow Hasidic Jews — and other Ultra-Orthodox Jews like them — are far from opposed to a little faith on the rocks, recognizing that God hath provided good whiskey to enjoy. Boisterous expressions of devotion through song and dance that at times are almost raucously charismatic are fundamental to Hasid faith.

Chavah and Joseph Kolakowski with their daughter Faith at home. Hasidic Judaism puts less emphasis on study of Talmudic law than other Jewish disciplines. Study remains central, but additional weight is placed on Jewish mystical and spiritual traditions like those found in the Kabbalah. Photo by Scott Elmquist

“It’s a movement based on joy,” says Rabbi Kolakowski. He’s a member at Congregation Kol Emes, a tiny Ultra-Orthodox Jewish congregation on Patterson Avenue within walking distance of his house, that’s welcomed him — despite the departure that Hasidism represents even from Ultra-Orthodox. Kolakowski says he understands how it’s difficult for outsiders to believe that the sect’s 18th-century founder, the Ba’al Shem Tov, rejected then-prevalent views that Judaism should be religion for scholars, and that God was best found through strict and continuous study.

Also, you may want to check out their extensive Wikipedia listing and their Yahoo Group. For a congregation that dresses in a dated style, I’m rather impressed with their use of technology.

John O’Bannon’s 73rd District seat challenger, Tom Shields,  will host a town hall style meeting on the topic of education, and preparing our children for the 21st century economy, on Monday, August 24 at 7 p.m.  The meeting will be at the Tuckahoe Area Library –
1901 Starling Drive.

Shield’s press release states the reason for the meeting:

WHY:  Incumbent John O’Bannon has voted to defund education by over $1/2 billion.  Whether on early childhood, K-12, or higher education, O’Bannon has provided a consistent voice against Virginia’s schools. As an educator and Director of the Center for Leadership in Education at the University of Richmond, Tom Shields knows that education is the key to preparing our children for the 21st Century economy and as Delegate will fight to improve, not weaken, Virginia’s education system.

Wow, I had no idea any legislator would vote to defund education right now!  Personally, as a parent of 2 kids in school and as the wife of a long-time Head Start teacher, I can say, that is the last thing I would want for our children.   I feel like more money should be spent to improve quality and opportunities for our children’s education. Free Pre-K as an option for all of Virginia’s children would be a great start. Also, I like how Shields is emphasizing 21st century learning. As a blogger and someone who makes a living in social media, I have to say that what our children need to know is changing and our educational system needs to change with that. Sheilds totally gets that.  And thankfully, Henrico County Schools seem to get that too.  Computers and teaching technology to our children costs money. We should spend more money on education and teachers not less.

Also, I’d love for our education system to teach our children more creativity, and alternative solutions. So much of our schooling teaches us that there is one right answer. But what about the inventors and the people in this world that can see that there are many right answers and we just have to find or discover them.  The successful workers in the 21st Century will have learned how to be innovators and inventors — always being open to new things and always learning. Because in 21st Century learning, one thing is for sure — nothing will stay the same for very long, and our children will need to be open to new perspectives and new ways of thinking on a continual basis.

I’d love to hear O’Bannon’s side of this.  I wonder what he thinks is important for our children’s education. I wonder where else he thinks this money would be better spent.

Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment if you have an opinion on either of these candidates or the future of education in Virginia.

The University of Richmond Museums presents Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty, on display September 17 – December 6, 2009, in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature. The exhibition consists of more than twenty black-and-white photographs taken by Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984) from 1927 to 1960.

As a former professional photographer myself, I’m really looking forward to this exhibit. There is nothing quite like see a photo in person in large scale in a gallery to capture what the photographer wanted to convey.

The photographs serve as profound reminders of his reverence for the beauty of the earth and the healing force of nature in our lives. He is perhaps among the last of the romantic artists who saw the great spaces of wilderness as a metaphor for freedom and heroic aspirations.

Highlights of the exhibition include:

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico; Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California; and Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, California.  All the photographs were printed under the artist’s supervision in 1980

Best of all, check out these free and open to the public events:

Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
7 p.m., Lecture, Brown Alley Room, Weinstein Hall
Ansel Adams: An Intimate Look at the Photographer Behind the Lens

Andrea G. Stillman, Editor for the Ansel Adams Trust. 8 to 9 p.m., Reception and viewing of Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty. Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums
Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Seminar and Walking Tour, Location TBD
“Tree Species in Ansel Adams’ Photographs”
This program is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies online catalog at http://activenet8.active.com/thinkagain/ or call 804-289-8133 for more information

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Workshop, Location TBD
“Planting a Tree for Longevity”
This program is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies online catalog at http://activenet8.active.com/thinkagain/ or call 804-289-8133 for more information

Thursday, November 5, 2009, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Photography Seminar, Location TBD
“Photographing the Landscape”
This program is free and open to the public, registration is required
Register through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies online catalog or call 804-289-8133

OK, the fine print:
The Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature is located in a separate wing of the Boatwright Memorial Library with its entrance on Richmond Way. Museum hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. Closed Fall Break (10/10-13/09), Thanksgiving Week (11/23-30/09), Semester Break (12/17/09-1/04/10), Spring Break (3/6-15/10), Easter Weekend (4/03-05/10).