Greetings from up here in Inwood, NYC, aka "beautiful upstate Manhattan."

I promise, very soon warm sunshine is going to be beckoning you to come out and play, and surely, tempted by the items below, you will find it difficult to resist!

June kicks off a month of events held under the umbrella of the Uptown Arts Stroll. I’ll be having an open studio, and want to let you know of some local goings-on that I hope will entice you to visit.

SAVE THE DATE! Sunday, June 28, 3-7pm, OPEN STUDIO.  My cheerful little studio has been reconstructed, and I’m very happy to open my doors again and welcome you in. The open studio is a great opportunity for me to meet fellow art-lovers in a setting that is much more casual than a gallery show — more like a backstage tour or a visit to a mad scientist's lab! Come see a variety of work, and shoot the breeze about what moves you about art in general.  At http://www.artstroll.com/open-studios/ you can get a map and listing of all the local artists also having open studios that day. (Note hours: studios below 190 St, 12-4pm, above 190th St 3-7pm)

My studio address: 91 Payson Avenue #1C (closest subway: A train to 200/Dyckman St). Studio phone: 917-992-4001. For more info, visit http://www.artstroll.com.

As part of the Arts Stroll this year, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) is honoring Miguel Zenón – Saxophonist and composer, 2008 recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship as well as a MacArthur Genius Award, and a local resident to boot! Zenón’s fast-rising career centers on fusing jazz with various forms of music from Puerto Rico, like bomba and jibaro.  If you venture north for the open studios, you’ll have an opportunity to catch a FREE live performance of the Miguel Zenón Trio, also on Sunday, June 28th, 12:30-2:30pm at Ft. Washington Collegiate Church, 729 W 181 Street at Ft. Washington Ave.

Also honored this year is Marjorie Eliot – pianist, vocalist and actress. Art’s power to make an emotional connection is on display in Apt. 3F of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, where every Sunday at 4pm for the past 16 years, Ms. Eliot has staged a jazz concert in her apartment and welcomed the public to attend. Parlor Jazz keeps the jazz tradition alive. Young lions hoping to test their chops share the stage with veteran musicians. The audience squeezes into the living room, kitchen and hallway on folding chairs. (For info, call 212-781-6595).

UPCOMING: July 10-12, June Kelly Gallery will be showing some of my work at Art Hamptons in Bridgehampton, Long Island, at the Bridgehampton Historical Society, 2368 Montauk Highway. http://www.arthamptons.com

You can keep tabs on my upcoming shows and news by visiting my website, http://www.skypape.com and blog, http://www.skypape.wordpress.com.  If you want even more, you can also find me on http://www.facebook.com/skypape and http://www.twitter.com/skypape

So why not make plans to take a day exploring uptown while there's so much going on throughout June?  Once the relentless rain stops, you could bike all the way up here on the Greenway (http://www.nycbikemaps.com/), and then refresh yourself with a drink from Noemi Juice Bar (on Dyckman Street, west of Broadway). Or grab a great iced coffee from De Café (Broadway between Academy & W 204 St.) and stop in at the historic Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.  What better way to ease into the season?

Wishing you an idyllic summer, and please feel free to send me news of your own!

Best regards,
Sky Pape
www.skypape.com