The Backpackers Are Beside BestBuy- Entry One

I started my odyseey to take photographs of all seven public art displays that are part of the Art in Roanoke campaign rather arbitrarily.

My friend Stevlana (pse) and I were walking around the Grandin Court area near the Grandin Theatre when we stumbled upon "Trojan Dog" (not to be confused with the Trojan Horse in Troy, Turkey; we could not find a suitable image of the piece for this entry). The "Trojan Dog" is the creation of Roanoke's Ann Glover, who reportedly was inspired by Japanes carving pieces. It should be noted that the "Trojan Dog" is a white dog, rather than a dalmation.

On Sunday, the next day, I came back to the No. 7 Fire Station on Memorial Avenue to snap several shots of "The Trojan Dog." I didn't realize very few of the other six art pieces would be that easy to locate.

Much to my shock and horror, the original postcards that I found at a local coffeehouse with the locations of the seven pieces were no longer available. Thus, I would have to find the other six without a map!

The next one I came across was "Connect," (which is pictured) in downtown Roanoke near the offices for "The Roanoke Times." The piece has also been displayed in Lexington, Ken., where the artist Ericka Strecker is from. Strecker says that she likes to look for objects which have a connection to each other.

I snapped several shops of "Connect" as a jogger passed me by, without even sparing a glance to see what I was doing.

'This series continues on our other blog, "Politics Culture and Other Wastes of Time" (see links below). Entry #3 is scheduled to be posted here tomorrow morning."

SIDEBAR: I had the chance to see the band Poverty Level perform at a great coffeehouse near Greensboro, NC, which is sadly no longer around. But, one can see the Patrick County, Virginia, almost literally perform in their own backyard when they play The Front Porch Festival this weekend in Stuart, Va.