Connections

Art in Science!

Poster advertising an exhibit currently at DMNS

This beautiful exhibit features Colorado University-affiliated scientists and artists.  I have been back several times and taken photos but because of the reflection of lights in the gallery where they are located, my photos do not do them justice.  Instead, go here to see the photos and explanations of their origins.

Since I have been volunteering at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science I have more opportunities to walk through the different galleries.  It is such a wonderful place of opportunities for knowledge, new experiences and entertainment.  Another site to check out is the trailer of Hurricane on the Bayou.   It is possible to choose broadband or dial-up and watch it.  If you have the possibility to see the entire IMAX movie, I highly recommend it.  Several months before Hurricane Katrina hit, The IMAX crew began filming several musicians who were doing benefit concerts to raise money to save the disappearing wetlands in Louisiana.  After the hurricane hit, they continued to roll film as it brought home their point that the wetlands had once been a buffer against hurricanes and were no longer able to be a deterrant.  It is a powerful film--and the music is spectacular. 

Artistic rug

Chuck Close's beautiful hand-made rug.

I cannot even imagine the creativity, design sense and fabric knowlege needed to construct this spectacular rug/portrait out of silk and linen.  It is an amazing experience to stand in front of it and back up little by little until the montage of colors becomes a face full of character.

Favorite DAM art

Two photos of Vance Kirkland originals owned by the DAM

Vance Kirkland is in large part responsible for my becoming open to abstract and modern art.  I love the use of color and texture that he brings to his art.

Circle vase in Denver Art Museum's new modern art building

Modern art also has a sense of humor and I love that certain pieces or groupings can bring a smile to my face--without demanding analysis or understanding.

The Hamilton Building

The Boettcher Canyon Staircase meanders up to all four floors of art.

We recently paid our second visit to the new Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum which can be seen from the outside here.   This most unusual titanium-covered building is the perfect housing for the huge modern art collection which had been in storage for years. 

We went on a Members Monday.  The museum is closed on Mondays, except on a few occasions during the year members are invited from 3 to 7 for special tours of the galleries and discounts in the gift shop.  I mainly went there to buy Christmas gifts but we also took the architectural tour, which was fantastic.

This huge bronze spider sculpture dominates the entry lobby.

Two more sculptures outside set the modern art theme:

Two huge rocks with the public library as a backdrop.

The Big Sweep sits just outside the entrance.

I have not always been a fan of modern art but with a few years of exposure and a greater understanding, I can honestly say I appreciate it a great deal more and absolutely love some of it. In the next day or so I'll show you some that caught my fancy or my sense of humor.

Kodiak skull

Kodiak skull drawn in pencil during my "Drawing Skulls" class

For five weeks I was privileged to be one of four students allowed into the Zoology Collection Department of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for a class on drawing skulls.  We each chose a skull to be our project.  The choices were:  seal, lion, giraffe, babirusa and Kodiak bear.  I chose the bear.  An artist who has worked at the museum for 12 years guided us through some of the techniques of rendering once we had gotten the figure on paper in proper proportions. 

It had been a number of years since I had worked in gray scale and I had never worked in such fine detail.  It took the entire 10 hours of class time to produce the skull above.  Personally it is more detailed and time-consuming than I like to be.  Usually my art is more process-oriented than product producing.  It is--like journaling for me--a time-out, a release of external pressures of world tensions to become absorbed in something interior for a while. That said, I am really proud of my skull and am not sorry I took the class.  One true thing about art is that before one can  capture something tangible on paper, one must truely "see" it, study it and know it.  I feel I now "know" this skull.

Dancing at Altitude

Santiago with dancers at the DCPA (Denver Center for Performing Arts.

During the last three days that Santiago was here, he asked if I would accompany him to take some photos with my digital camera to put on a CD for him.  We ran through Denver on a couple of cloudy/rainy days like frantic tourists, digitally capturing a few remaining memories for him to show back home.   In the process I got to take photos of some of my favorite city art objects, including another one of Denver's Big Blue Bear.  Though I don't normally put people in my photos,  this time I did as they had a dual purpose.  In both these photos,  Santiago--though distant--adds perspecttive to show just how huge the dancers and the bear are.

Blue Bear on a rainy day

Odysseys

Ancient Mariner

Both of these pieces are hanging in the atrium just beyond the Gates Planetarium in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science..  I'm guessing that this artist and Tyler Aiello from my previous post may be husband and wife.

Odyssey 19, also by Monica Petty Aiello

Sphere

Sphere V, 2005 hand-forged and welded steel by Tyler Aiello

Now that the weather is more predictable, I can once again go on camera expeditions searching out art in public places.  I have been in the new atrium of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science many times but I have not stopped to enjoy the art hanging and installed in this space.  Usually it is the magnificent view through the floor-to-ceiling windows that commands my attention.  On this day I concentrated on the beauty inside the building and was pleased with what I found. 

More Indian art

Bentwood and feather hanging art piece

During this past week I when I visited the Denver Art Museum, I was drawn, as I often am, to the hall of American Indians.  A new section on modern art has been opened.  Among some amazing paintings and sculptures was this hanging feather piece.  I really loved the way the lights played in and out of the feathers.

A Manificent mult-strand fetish necklance given to the Museum

As I continued through the hall I saw the most complex animal fetish necklace I've seen anywhere.  I have one of 5 strands which my husband gave me years ago and I cannot imagine the weight of so many carved stone fetishes in one piece of jewelry, though its beauty is exquisite.

Our life this week has coincidentally followed an Indian theme as this afternoon we will be taking our granddaughter to the final day of "dance with the Indians" at the annual Denver March Pow Wow.  Around 2000 Indians in their customary regalia, representing tribes from both North and South America, will join the Grand Entry and then participate individually in the various dance categories. We look forward to it every year but this will be the first year we've taken any of our grandchildren.  Photos tomorrow.

Preserving Ephemera

Sand Painting from the Denver Museum of Art and the sign beside it.

Like most people I want to protect and share what I love, but some things were meant to be ephemeral, just a taste of beauty not something to be put in a jar and preserved.  I have very mixed feelings about this.  I have brought home my share of seed pods, feathers and water-polished stones only to find that they lose some of their essence without the sunshine, the bird calls or the river sounds. 

This sand painting is beautiful as it sits in the museum and I am grateful that the Navajo made it possible for us to view.  I can also understand why they typically destroy them after completing them: In the ceremonies.  It is the process rather than the product that is important. 

I once trusted that the beauty in nature would be there when I returned with my children or grandchildren.  Now I have my doubts.  So much is being sacrificed to corporate greed--not only the beauty but our children's health and well-being. I recently bought a cookbook which contained a page listing types of fish and categorizing them as "Safe to eat, safe to eat once a month or less, unsafe for children under 12, and  fish to avoid eating."  How tragic that we must limit our food choices because manufacturing companies have lobbied for--and received--the right to dump more mercury, which causes brain damage prenatally and up to five years of age, and other contaminants into our waterways and oceans.  I can celebrate the ephemeral as a process but our food sources are necessary live-sustaining products and should be safe to eat.

Fascinating art, but....

....is it really wearable jewelry?

This necklace was brought to me by our current house guest from Argentina.  We had discussed by email that I was interested in art from different countries.  He brought me a beautiful hand-beaded black silk purse as a Christmas gift. He also brought this necklace as an example of some of the "modern experimental" art being currently sold in Buenos Aires.  He gave it to me with the disclaimer that he wanted me to have it but I didn't have to wear it. I do find it imaginative and fascinating but, other than a costume party with very close friends, I doubt that I will wear it on my body.  I might, however, frame it on a shiny black background--instead of my black cotton t-shirt, on which it was placed for this photo--and hang it in our bedroom or my art room.  The Buenos Aires artist who created this piece is Mirtha Bermegui. 

After I first posted this, Mirtha wrote me through a comment, listing this link to see more of her art.

New Rules!

A mandala created at the Denver Museum by Tibetan Monks.

Remember when rules were enforced against such things as talking in the library and photographing art.  Recently Bob and I went on a tour at the DAM (Denver Art Museum) and I asked the tour guide why many European museums allowed photography and the U.S. museums did not.  He said that times had changed and with less cumbersome cameras, most museums allowed photographs of items in "their" collections.  The DAM only restricts photography on items on loan or in special private collections of which the owners have requested no photos.  Hooray!  Two days later I went back to the museum--with camera--and am now photographing pieces I love. 

The colored sand mandala above was created on-site at the DAM.  They dyed the sand with natural colors from Tibet.  They created it to music from Tibet.  The entire process was recorded and can be watched on an accompanying video.  The temptation was to go home and create my own mandala, but like most art, it is impossible to separate the product from the process.

I am four lectures into my "Peoples and Cultures of the World" DVD course and I find myself wanting to experience other cultures more deeply.  When I first traveled to other countries and experienced new cultural events or celebrations, I wanted to OWN each of them.  I quickly found that it was as impossible to implement foreign cultures in my country as to introduce new species into an ecosystem.  It may survive--and even come to have a purpose or meaning--but when separated from the natural surroundings, it most likely will lose some of its enchantment and flavor.

I had thought to sketch some of the pieces at the DAM  from the photos for practice--and to get to know the art better, but I have decided to set aside time to go and sketch more often in the museum instead..  Portable folding stools are provided for just that purpose.  As long as one doesn't bring in a messy medium for sketching, they are quite accommodating:  No water media, oils or pastels. The rule is the same as for photography:  it is permissible to sketch anything in the DAM's collection.  I first became acquainted with some of the pieces through a DAM art course called "Sketching in the Galleries."  Maybe I'll take that class again. 

Gesso bath revisited

Completed water media portrait using a gesso bath.

In a previous post I referred to a mixed media technique that I learned in my figure painting class.  I tried it on two paintings.  I killed the first painting I tried it on with too much regular gesso.  On this one I like the results for the most part.  It is a good way to save a painting that has problems that cannot be fixed with watercolor  alone.

I now have about five paintings that I'm willing to commit the money to having them framed.  I guess that moves me from totally "process" to a little bit "product."

Stalled!

Animal art on the stall doors--front and back--in the Denver Zoo restrooms

I've seen restroom advertising but this is the first time I've seen art used in this way.  I must say it was a pleasant addition to what is usually a drab decor.  I dropped in just after the zoo had opened so no one was around to see me photographing restroom stalls.  Well, I guess the secret is out now.

Gesso Bath

Yesterday I had my watercolor figure class and our instructor, Victoria, demonstrated a technique that she invented, originally for the purpose of rescuing failed watercolor paintings.  It is fascinating to watch.  Using watercolor-tinted gouache, compressed charcoal, pastel and regular gesso to correct the offending areas and turn the watercolor piece into a multimedia project, she produced an amazing painting.  Afterward, we went outside where she gave the painting a clear gesso bath to seal the colors.  To see some examples done by Victoria, go to her website. Check out Anne, Whitney, Leigh Ann and Kate in the figure gallery there.  I am now working on rescuing one of my own.  If I am successful, I'll add it to this post later.

Thursday afternoon we got a flu shot and went out to dinner for a private celebration of Bob's birthday, knowing that tonight we'll have the family version.  It has been an eventful two days!

Sketch practice

20-minute sketch done from a high-fashion magazine

While on our 18-day trip in June I wanted to add a few things to my sketchbook, trying to sketch only minimally in pencil or with my Rotring art pen and then fill in with splashes of water color.  The one above was a sketch I made of a model from an ad in a fashion magazine.  The models in these photographs usually have exaggerated expressions and poses which are good for practicing.

Later in the trip I wanted to try a quicker sketch of a live model, so I sketched my husband while reading .  What I discovered in this 15-minute sketch was that the cartridge that came with the Rotring art pen was not waterproof so there are some smears where the watercolor touched the lines.  I later experimented a bit with black Sharpies and they are waterproof when dry but the sketchbook paper has to be thick or they will bleed through to the other side. 

Yesterday I signed up for a figure watercolor class beginning in September with my neighborhood art club.  I look forward to getting back in an "art" routine.

Husband reading

Dushanbe continued...

Seven bronze maidens greet guests as they enter

These enchanting sculptures are situated in a rock-enclosed pond in the center of the tea house.  The pond contains a group of small koi and some water plants.  There is so much beautiful and diverse art in this place that it would take hours to take it all in.  To the right is a photo of hand painted tables and stools for a group of people to just have tea and perhaps play a board game.  Some of the tables are elevated on a platform, some are grouped next to the pond. There are also umbrella tables in the gardens outside.  In addition to the matching panels outside on either side of the entrance, there are two white panels inside plus several elaborate textile pieces and at least two huge oil paintings.  The most dominating of all the art is the ceiling, made up of individual indented blocks so that each person can look up into the intricate colors of one block design as in this panel which was directly above our table.  With all the intricate carvings and paintings one would think it might be too "busy" or distracting but I found the ambiance of the entire place to be calming and assuring.  Yet another photo is of a wall hanging which appeared to be a type of batik with more of the circular and repeated designs. The Tajiks who designed and assembled the tea house helped compile a book explaining the symbolism of each piece of art.  This is my second trip to Dushanbe and I know I will go again.  Paula and I are already making plans to go there with some mutual friends who enjoy writing together. What an inspiring place to write! 

Of course, It is an added bonus that the food was tasty, artistically presented and complemented by the best selection of world teas I've seen anywhere in the Denver area.

A Dushanbe Day!

The Boulder Dushanbe Tea House and gardens.

Today we took my friend, Apprentice of Wonder, and her husband to the tea house for her birthday.  She is one of several friends I know who not only celebrate birth days but the entire birth month.  Probably in Paula's case it is because she has so many friends that by the time they each celebrate with her, it takes a month.

Inside the tea house

The tea house is a very special one which evolved from an active Sister City relationship with Dushanbe Tajikistan.  See the story here.

Below the four of us with our meals and two of  three teas we sampled.

After lunch, tea and conversation we walked for over an hour on Boulder's  wonderful Pearl Street Mall, people watching, photographing flowers and the always present Buskers and their enthralled crowds.  It was a wonderful day, finished off back at our home with wine, munchies and more catch-up conversation.

Veil of Glows--Falling Water

Ned Souder's installation at Guaranty Bank & Trust

I have walked past this installation on the way to Coors Field to attend baseball games since about five years ago when it was installed.  The bank is usually closed or I don't have my camera.  It is a stunning display and both artificial and natural light play with the colors even looking through the smoky-tinted plate glass windows of the bank.  One actually gets a better view from outside as it is nearer to the top and your eyes can follow its form as it extends below street level into the lower floor of the bank.  The smoked glass does interfere with photography however, so I settled for the possible--an indoor "from the stairway" shot.

I tried to find out more about the artist but all I know is that he was from Minnesota at the time he installed this cascading chandelier.  I love Bank Art.

Is it art yet?

The new Daniel Liebeskind addition to the Denver Art Museum

This is the current state of the new wing, literally, of the DAM.  It has been much maligned but as I walked around it two days ago, I can see that it will be a marvelous addition to our downtown artscape.  Go here  and here to see how it will eventually blend in with the Denver Public Library just across 13th Avenue.  The Art Museum has more than 30,000 pieces of its collection in storage waiting for this new home to be completed.  I can hardly wait.

Chihuly Exhibition.

A portion of a Dale Chihuly installation in a Denver Bank.

Yesterday I went into downtown Denver with my camera, primarily to visit banks as they are only open on weekdays.  Banks tend to have some of the most unusual  large pieces of art.  The photo above is a section of Colorado Wildflowers,1995, by Dale Chihuly a world famous glass artist, installed in UMB Bank of Denver.  Each of the glass flowers is approximately 3 to 4 feet in diameter.  Altogether the installation included 12 glass flowers, much too large in scope to include in a single photo.

While I was in the bank, a woman asked me if I knew about the Colorado Exhibition.  I didn't but I do now. She gave me a wonderful magazine with full color photos of some of his work and details about the exhibition,  which opened last night with the black-tie Chandelier Ball,  celebrating Chihule's Chandelier installation at the Center.  It will continue at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center through August 14, 2005. I plan to make the one-hour drive to Colorado Springs several times to fully enjoy the exhibit.

Another part of the same Chihuly installation

Miles of Murals

One of many groups painting murals for  Denver's Miles of Murals project.

Today I took my camera on an art date to capture some city art.  Something I hadn't planned on just happened to be in my path as I crossed Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.  Adults and children were painting murals with an environmental theme for Earth Day as part of Miles of Murals, Denver's contribution to the International Art Miles Mural Project.  Tomorrow all the murals that have been painted in March and April throughout the city will be taken to Barnum Park and joined together to try to be included in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest painting.  The international program suggests a variety of themes from which to choose, among them peace, diversity and environment.

Several school buses brought students to participate in the painting.  They were so enthusiastic and so sure their efforts would make a difference.  I hope they can keep this "political innocence" a while longer before they realize that environmental policy is just one of many ideals that can be bought and sold in search of power and influence.

A portion of one of the murals lying on the grass to dry.

Collective Architectural Risk Aversion

A night view of the new addition to our convention center

Last week we were out at night and came upon the building above.  I had never seen it before and thought it might be the "point"  of Liebeskind's new addition to the Denver Museum of Art.  We decided to follow the light to see for sure.  It was, in fact, the recently completed addition to Denver's Convention Center. I don't know why but it seems that every new public project becomes controversial--until it is completed and people see how its style adds to the architectural culture of the city.  This one was no exception. Like all the projects before it this one was cussed and discussed thoroughly until it was completed and there was then nothing that could be done to change either the design or the cost..

Diane Carman, in today's Denver Post, uses the term "collective architectural risk aversion" to describe the fact that every generation has complained about every new arhictectural addition to our city.  It was too different, too ostentatious, too costly etc.  And yet, one of the things I like about Denver is that our buildings, airport, museums and libraries have an artistic flair to them.  There is a mixture of old, new, traditional, modern and outright weird.  One of my favorite things to do is the Walking tour of Lower Downtown.  It reflects the evolution of Denver from "a mining town on the Platte River" to the city we have today.

Unexpected Connections

When I first began this blog it was with the intention to nurture connections I already had and to motivate me to connect with the world in new ways in order to share it here.  Yesterday I was the beneficiary of an unexpected connection through blogging. I received a comment to yesterday's entry from John M, an art history professor at Oregon State University.  He has set up a blog, Tesserae, on which his students can initiate a discussion or contribute to existing ones.  I love this idea.  In about 15 minutes of reading and following links I found several blogs that I have added to my bloglines subscription and sites I have bookmarked. One is  the website of Vik Muniz who creates art using sugar, chocolate and other unusual media then photographing the results. Another site found on Tesserae is Learning to Love You More.  Check out all three and enjoy!

Edible Art

The pirate cake served at my grandson's birthday party.

This beautiful work of edible art was created by the wife of one of my son's co-workers.  She has her own cake decorating business and does quite well.  She has made every cake for my grandson's birthdays and several for other special occasions.  I've seen a lot of special-occasion cakes but this woman really is an artist with the frosting, as well as with the added thematic touches of chocolate coins and candy beads.  And, from the response of the 15 kids and 20 adults at the party, the cake inside the frosting  was pretty tasty as well.

Loveable Lions & giraffes

A group of lion sculptures just outside the new gate area

Every time I've been to the zoo in the year that the new addition has been open, the light  has always been in the wrong place to get a good photo of these marvelous metal sculptures.  Today I went later in the afternoon and was able to get these photos.  The little girl in the photo above seemed to like them too.

And another of a giraffe mother and calf.

First Friday

Victoria Kwasinski beside one of her oil paintings

A Denver tradition from April through November are First Friday Gallery Walks.  My watercolor and mixed media teacher, Victoria Kwasinski, invited her classes to attend First Friday on Santa Fe Drive as she was showing a number of her paintings at one of the galleries. We made a day of it.  First we went to the Museo de las Americas to view an exhibit of 21 paintings by Mexican artist David Sigueiros. Here is a quote from a publicity brochure:

"Sigueiros revolutionized the artistic arena in the 20th century and is ranked along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco as one of the Three Great Muralists.  He is internationally recognized as a leader of the Mexican Muralist Movement that sought to bring socio'political art to the masses through large scale works on public walls.¨

From the museum we walked three blocks to El Noa Noa, one of Denver´s best restaurants for Mexican Food.  After dinner, sated with Chicken mushroom soft tacos for me and spicy enchiladas for B, we spent two hours roaming through some of the more than 20 galleries in a four block area. The night was warm and the art was inspiring.  Some galleries had classical music playing, one had a single guitarist and yet another featured a heavy metal group.   It was the first time I had participated in a First Friday and I will definitely do it again.

Art, process or product?

I painted this recently from a model in my watercolor class.

I love painting with watercolors.  It's a way to completely block out the world and concentrate on color.  I have been painting in watercolors for just over a year and have yet to paint something I'm really happy with.  Thus far, it is more process than product for me but that is OK.   Though I still have a tendency to overwork things, I can see where I am learning and improving. 

I have no desire to frame everything and put it on a wall or enter things in shows.  I just enjoy playing around with color.  At first I tried to duplicate the exact subject, but thanks to my current teacher Victoria Kwasinski, who is absolutely fearless in her painting, I've learned to be looser and bolder with color.  "Just remember," she says, "It's only paper."

It's been three weeks since the last class of the second session for this year at Park Hill Art Club and I am itching to get back into it at the end of March.  The next class will be mixed media--also with Victoria.  To see some of her work, click here.

An Art Day!

At 8:00 a.m. my friend Paula will pick me up and we'll begin our day of "pastel immersion."  For eight hours--minus sack-lunch time--we'll be in a workshop with a wonderful landscape pastelist:  Jan Myers.   To check out some of her work, click here.

The Unfurlers!

Three of many "unfurlers" who stand by in case of high winds

My husband took these three photos when he visited New York's Central Park last week.  He said Christo's Gates infused the park--and the city--with positive, joyful energy.

Wall Art

These two "hand" murals appeared on either side of the entrance door of a small high school in New Mexico

During the late 50S and early 60S many public buildings were rather bland, utilitarian constructions of stucco or painted cinder block--but they were built for longevity.  Now as we drive through small town America we often see extensive wall art exhibits.  In the small town of Ely Nevada a yearly contest is held and the winner will convert his/her submission to a wall mural in the town.  After a number of years it has become so popular that walking tours are given several times a day for tourists who visit Ely. Two of the murals can be seen on a previous post of Connections. An article, Fresh Paint in Ely, can be seen here. 

I love it when towns display their history and/or culture on otherwise bland walls. Any body know of other small towns that have done this?

Just because you can do it...

...doesn't mean it's a good idea. 

I find myself thinking of all the things $260 would buy other than a wooden toilet seat with a hand-tooled leather cover featuring a cowboy flashing his herd.  But then maybe it's just me.  Maybe this stock show "artist" has an order list several pages long of people who appreciate the time and effort spent and would proudly display his/her work in their family bathrooms.  As for me, I am clearly a minimalist when it comes to bathroom decor--and I'd much prefer to spend the money on books and art supplies.

By the way,  Coors and the National Western Stock Show  also presented a five-room juried display and sale of western art in many media and the pieces were exquisite--and priced accordingly: I saw several priced at $12,000 and only a few below $1000.

Healthful Art!

A while back I subscribed to Salon Magazine online.  As a reward I received a free one-year subscription to Cooking Light Magazine.  I barely keep up with reading my current subscriptions and now--my favorite blogs,  but I am enjoying this magazine and not just the recipes.  In the January/February 2005 issue I found a small blurb that I have pasted into my journal to encourage me to continue the process of art even when the product is not always to my liking.  Below I quote the blurb:

Sing, Dance or Paint Your Way to Better Health.

"Exercising your vocal cords--or dancing or joining a painting class--may provide health benefits similar to those associated with eating well and exercising, says a study from George Washington University's Center on Aging, Health and Humanities in Kensington, Maryland.  Over three years researchers followed 300 men and women, ages 65 to 100;  half belonged to a chorus or other groups engaged in painting, drawing, poetry, or creative writing, while the other half was not involved in active art groups. 

Initial results were from evaluating those participated in chorus.  After one year the singers, who practiced weekly and participated in 10 concerts per year, reported fewer trips to the doctor and fewer falls plus less medication use.  They also felt less depressed than those who didn't belong to a chorus.  The health boost, says study author Gene Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., director of GWU's Center on Aging, Health and Humanities, may stem from three factors:  the sense of mastering an art, the social engagement and the sustained effects of a long-lasting group effort.  The results, he notes, would hold true for younger artists, too."

I dabbled in drawing as a child and occupied as many--or more-- hours  with a pencil and sketchpad as I spent running and playing.  Now as an adult I've discovered journal writing, free-writing, watercolors, pastels, acryllics and Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) and photography. All of these provide meaningful use of time and occasionally an actual result that I share with others.  I attribute a lot of my sense of well-being to the arts I pursue--and I am healthy. 

Art and Science

This pen and ink art piece was created by my son Dane.

He gave it to me as a gift many years ago.  I've always loved it, especially since I aspire to being a world traveler.  I have a quotation that I cut out of a travel advertisement and put in my journal.  It says, "I haven't been everywhere---but it's on my list."  The real world I live in is never only black or white.  I left behind the two-point scale of good-bad, either-or and right-wrong when I left my Texas birthplace in 1959.  The world above is the only black and white world I tolerate.

Time for blogging is short tonight as we just returned from the holiday party and graduation celebration for the Earth Sciences Division of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  After almost four years of taking 2 or 3 classes a year from Museum faculty, my husband received his paleontology certificate of graduation. He can now work in the paleo lab or attend digs twice a year working on different research projects.

Around 400 researchers, interns, volunteers and docents brought fantastic food for the potluck. A lot of mingling and some pretty hilarious awards and slide shows resulted in a very enjoyable evening.  Rock hounds, paleo-botanists and dinosaur folks are fun to be around. Who knew?   

Red Rocks Quilt Extraordinaire!

Red Rocks Quilt by fabric artist Judith Trager

While touring Red Rocks Park with our guests from Spain we went into the Red Rocks Museum and Visitor's Center. I hadn't been there for a while so I had not seen this magnificent quilt. I stood there studying it for a very long time and took several photos. It captures perfectly the shapes, light, strata and geological importance of this park. It is totally machine sewn giving it a wonderful rippled texture in adddition to the vivid colors. It is one of the most beautiful quilts I've seen in person. Check out some of Judith Trager's other textile art.

Chapungu!

Stone carvings in the Chapungu Exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

I'd read about them and seen photos but nothing prepared me for the personal impact of more than 80 of these "spirits in stone" stationed around the gardens, in lily ponds, next to fountains and in shaded alcoves. They are exquisite and I hope to see them several more times before the exhibit closes October 31. More details on the carvings and the carvers can be found here. If any exhibitions of the Shona carvers from Zimbabwe come to your city, I would encourage you to see them.

With babes on hips and jars on heads, magnificent stone women stand in Monet Pond.

Brazilian Needle Art!

A Teresina needlework artist demonstrating her art

During my childhood, almost everyone's grandmother did needlework of some type. Every home had crocheted tablecloths, embroidered pillow cases, crewel-stitched cushions or appliqued bedcovers. It seemed so commonplace then but as I grew older I saw my own generation drifting away from the time-consuming arts and opting for "store-bought" utilitarian items. To see such art pieces in the U.S today one must go to County Fairs, antique stores or specialty needlecraft shops but in the Northeastern part of Brazil, these needlework fairs and bazaars are abundant. The Northeast area is the poorest part of Brazil so many of the people turn to handcrafts or service jobs to support their families and both types of work are respected and encouraged by the population at large.

A few nights before we left Brazil, we went to a town fair which featured all manner of needle art including hand-sewn clothing, hand-made hammocks with needlework embellishments and other handcrafted items. I hadn't planned to buy anything as I am already a bona fide clutterbug, but I fell in love with the colorful tablecloth in the photo below and bought it for me and table runners of different designs for my two sons and their wives.

We have inherited some lovely pieces of early 20th century furniture from family and I love buying doilies and other furniture accents to enjoy for myself--and to reward and encourage needlework artists.

Needlework tablecloth from Teresina Brazil

Spontaneous floral!

Yesterday was my last watercolor class and we all brought things we'd been working on and wanted to finish. The assignment which created the floral above was to start with a multicolored background and leave white space to insert some flowers of different sizes and types. I can paint a flower if I have one to look at but to create them out of my imagination is not easy for me. Watercolor teachers always tell us to be careful not to lose the whites and of course, I became so engrossed that when I realized it I had only one major white space in which to put a light-colored blossom. I put the painting aside thinking I had ruined it. My teacher insisted we bring our "mistakes" to work on the last day. She showed me some tricks to rescue the daisies. While I don't love it, I like it much better than before--and I now realize that rescue is possible if I am willing to give up my original expectations for the piece and just go with where the possibilites take me.

I will miss my every Monday class but I am ready for a break. I hope I can be self-motivated enough to do some painting on my own during the summer months. The art club I belong to carpools each week to a different location to paint outdoors together. I hope to make a few of those, but traveling light has never been one of my strong points and I can imagine needing a wheelbarrow to transport all my supplies from place to place.

We will be traveling a lot this summer and--for added portability--I plan to take only a sketchbook journal, watercolor pencils and several brushes.

I had my third Spanish class with the new group today. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Each of us wrote out a description of our most favorite vacation. We all got vicarious trips to Costa Rica, Alaska, Spain (two), Italy and Estonia. As much as I enjoy the classes I always come home mentally exhausted from working in a second language for two hours.

I have no schedule. Our baseball team is out-of-town. I think I'll take a nap--before I finish packing away winter clothes and hanging up the summer ones.

Trunk Art

I live in an urban neighborhood of brick homes built between 1910 and 1940, some with trees that have been growing for 90 years. Each year a few of them die. Some of the neighbors, in an effort to prolong their enjoyment of these no longer nutritionally vital but still sturdy trunks, have turned them into trunk art. There currently are about 10 in the area but these two are my favorites. They each are uniquely symbolic of the families who own them.

Artistic humor!

A very strong frog appears on this building in downtown Helsinki Finland.

I love it when architects or other artists exhibit a sense of humor in their products. In addition to a design that seems to have a "tin-man" face on the corner protrusion of this building, a small frog appears to be bench-pressing the upper story. I am sure there are other examples but I have personally only discovered two--and both were in Europe. The other example is Gaudí's Park Guell in Barcelona. The park is full of little artistic riddles as in "One of these (columns, windows, sections of a wall) is not like all the others..."

Kent Pendleton, an artist who painted diorama backgrounds in Denver's Museum of Nature and Science from 1971 to 1983 and from 1989 to 1995, "signed" five of his backgrounds by painting small hidden leprechauns who appeared to be peeking through the foreground plants. In what he originally thought was to be his last diorama in 1983, he painted one waving goodbye. When six years later he returned to paint more dioramas he added two more leprechauns. My husband, a volunteer docent who gives diorama tours at the museum--and carries in his head a passle of facts about the animals, the habitats, the adaptations of each bird and mammal depicted, says the most common question is: "Where are the leprechauns?"

I'd love to hear about other examples of artists displaying a subtle sense of humor in their works.

Whimsey!

A playful tempera piece created to music in a workshop entitled Freedom, Passion and Painting.

This painting, which I titled Whimsey, was created on a torn piece of butcher paper with bulk tempera paints from plastic jugs--and one fat brush. The intent of the workshop was to immerse ourselves in the process without concern for the product. We painted to music, danced around occasionally to view the paintings of others and generally turned the process into play. At the end of the day almost everyone had enjoyed the process--and produced some incredible products as well.

I have turned this one and several others from that workshop into Art Trading Cards to trade this coming Saturday. Some 80 people will attend, gathering at a local gallery to wander around and trade these tiny pieces of art. No money changes hands, only ATC's.

It has become a minor obsession for me, but one I can do while watching TV. I rarely watch TV until April rolls around and then I can be found watching Colorado Rockies Baseball games--when the team is on the road. Last night was the season opener--on the road. I watched the game while signing and numbering each series of cards. Our baseball home opener is April 12 and I'll be there rooting for our persistent but loveable underdogs.

Kurrassare Market

The result of my Friday and Saturday workshop. It is not yet finished. I see some tweaking and detailing that needs to be done but I am pleased, especially given that I only started regularly using watercolors 5 months ago. The subject is a local market in Kurrassare Estonia on the island of Saaremaa.

It is now three days later and I think it is sufficiently "tweaked"--maybe even over-tweaked-- but I consider it done.