Welcome to my Chatter Box

or Loud Whispers

A reflection of the chatter that fills my mind as I wander the streets, accepting the invitation to join the conversation and listen to the whispers of the past and the echoes of the present, even if it's just the beeping, screeching sound of a fax machine that seems to communicate from a different realm.

-Nathalie Kalbach-

“Loud Whispers”: Acrylic Paint, Acrylic Marker, Acrylic Ink and Gouache Paint on canvas 12x12”

As I write my next book, delving into the history of my house and Jersey City, I find myself making more and more connections with the buildings around me. I'm so deeply immersed in it right now that it might be a bit overboard, but that's just how I work. When I dive into a project, I tend to go all in, anxious not to overlook any clues or sparks that could lead to something even more fascinating.

This tendency to dive deep isn't uncommon among artists. Our minds are often a whirlwind of thoughts, sometimes seemingly unconnected until we realize there's a pattern in the madness.

For me, walking around the neighborhood is a kind of meditation. It helps me stop thinking about worries and everyday anxieties, allowing me to fully immerse myself in these flashes of story snippets that inspire me. Then, I return home and paint.

Come take a stroll with me past the buildings depicted in the painting:

• "Possibly built by coal dealer Oliver H. Perry."

• "Became a 'first-class boarding home for gentlemen'… I would love to see the rulebook."

• "The Sutter House, a restaurant before it moved to the Blvd."

• "Mrs. Sutter goes to California."

• "Is that the screechy humming of a fax machine coming out of the mansion?"

• "Who possibly still faxes stuff?"

• "Who spray-painted the house white and over sprayed most of the windows as well? FFS."

• "A funeral home for many decades… Seems like every other house here once housed a funeral home. I guess with plenty of space and decorum, it makes for a good place for this function."

• "How many funeral homes does a city need anyway?"

• "Is there a ratio of living inhabitants of a city to funeral homes?"

• "Enough with the funeral homes."

• "A little sliver of the closed church on Emory St."

• "The congregation of the church on Ivy Place built it."

• "Bergen School."

• "C. used to go to school there."

• "I wonder how it looks inside the church now."

• "Is this a shortcut to the church?"

• "Probably private property. Don't mess with walking down there; this is Merica!"

• "These apartment buildings... I never see anyone coming in or out, but people live there."

• "Do they hear the nonstop fax machine sound too?"

• "How annoying!"

Truly, these are Sidewalk Stories – loud whispers of the past connecting with the present. We are all just blips in the universe, zeros and ones being transported through a fax machine, making a little beep here and then static.