Personal | Virtually Gina

The Hilarity of Life

August 11, 2019 by Gina Marie

On the second day of my period during a marital separation, feeling extra hormonal and mopey, I hopped on a bicycle and passed a scene that could only happen in New York. A scruffy-looking fellow who I probably would have mistaken for homeless except that he was riding an expensive-looking bicycle, was BLASTING Sinead O’Connor’s rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which—under the circumstances—brought tears to my eyes. I pedaled behind him for a few blocks, listening to the mournful […]

Categories: Bicycles, Brooklyn, Heartbreak, Life, Love, Memoir, New York City, NYC, Personal, Short Story

Lessons Learned from a Year in New York

April 21, 2018 by Gina Marie

I’ve always loved cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the cool architecture, the colorful street art. When my husband and I made the decision to move from suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey, to the crown jewel of all American cities last year, it seemed like a dream come true. From the very beginning, I knew that there would be sacrifices. Steep housing costs and cramped living quarters were just the beginning. In preparation, I got rid of as much […]

Categories: America, Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City, Personal, Recovery, Urban • Tags: Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City

The Bridge That Glows Golden

February 14, 2016 by Gina Marie

It was nearly midnight on my last night in Budapest, and I was perched by a bay window in our room at the Sofitel, where my new husband and I were staying on the final night of our honeymoon. The room had a magnificent view of the Lanchid, or “Chain Bridge”, aglow with golden lights that spanned the Danube river. As I gazed out the window, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. * * * My father and his family […]

Categories: Ancestry, Budapest, Europe, History, Memoir, Personal, Photography, Travel • Tags: Budapest, Family HIstory, Hungary, Memoir, Photography, Travel

Buried Treasure

January 24, 2016 by Gina Marie

The new year brings with it an opportunity to declutter one’s life and see things with brand new eyes. Beneath all the clutter, I sometimes find buried treasure — old artwork, journal entries, poetry, and photos that meant a lot to me on this journey to adulthood. The work featured below is a mixed media piece called “Two Men Walking Towards the Light.” In order to create symmetry in this piece, I digitally mirrored an original photo of a man walking through an archway beneath Philadelphia’s City Hall. […]

Categories: Art, Collage, Life, Mixed Media, Personal, Philadelphia, Photography, The Artistic Process, Urban • Tags: Art, Collage, Journey, Mixed Media, Philadelphia, Photography, The Artistic Process, Urban

It’s What’s Inside that Counts

February 14, 2013 by Gina Marie

Some believe that a girl should never give up a good apartment—not even for marriage. However, I didn’t get that particular memo until long after I’d already married (and long after I’d traded in my studio for a larger unit, sans the dazzling skyline view). Do I wish that I’d kept the place, so that Jeff and I might have a cozy little unit in which to reside whenever we returned to Minneapolis for a brief visit? Not really. After […]

Categories: Boxers, Buddha, Dogs, Humor, Life, Love, Minneapolis, Personal, Philadelphia, Photography • Tags: Boxers, Buddha, Dogs, Humor, Life, Love, Minneapolis, Personal, Philadelphia, Photography