Jerome Glass

Linda wanted to show me this glass blower's work when we were in Jerome, AZ earlier in the month. The glass blower, Tracy Wiesel must either be a late riser, or has a ton of things he gets done in the morning before opening at noon. The hours of operation posted did indicate that he opened at noon. The locals will tell you that it can be anywhere from twelve-ish to one-ish! Ah, no matter as he did have some of his wares out for display behind the fence. I kinda had to jam my camera lens through the fence to wrassle this shot! I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Tracy as I think he has got to be one interesting person. Perhaps the next time...

Really fun stuff! I guess I'm a wee bit relieved that he wasn't there as I don't think I could've left without buying something of his! Red glass, blue glass, pear shaped glass; everything in so many different colors! There is something so magical about hand blown glass. Danger and beauty all rolled up into the process.

His studio is located behind this 'leftover' building.

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Hey Harriet. Entertain your muse by stopping by to see what others have posted!

A Slew of "S's": Simply Silly!

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. Our Host, Mrs. Nesbitt hails from Great Britain. We started with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. We are now in our second year, round 4! This week's letter is, "S".

A Spam Haiku Book made from Polymer Clay.

Each 'slab' of Spam has a Haiku written on it

Haiku #1

Glistens, pink, bejeweled

Nearly 2 X 4 inch slab

A GEM of a meat!

Haiku #2

Please hold your disdain

Had YOU grown up eating it

You'd feel differently.

Haiku #3

One bite transports me

Childhood dreams awake in me

Emotions abound!

Haiku #4

How do I love Spam?

Boiled, fried, broiled, baked in a stew

Much, so much to do!

(Please do not reprint any of this without my permission or I shall have to force feed you a can of Spam!)

Shaved Ice-a Hawaiian treat. The ice is shaved with a large circular blade. Not to be confused with a Snow Cone!!!

Shrimp Plant (that's what we call this in Hawaii. I'm sure it goes by other names, but I'm not aware of them!). Look closely at the yellow bloom; there are little white things sticking out between the petals. THAT'S the part that looks like a shrimp. Click on the image to get a larger view.

Sludge

Really. This was in my sister's neighbor's yard. The bottle of water is to put weight on a branch to train it to grow in a certain direction. Over time, 'sludge' grew in the bottle of water. Well, I'm sure it's some sort of fungus, but to me, it looks like sludge!

Spiral Staircase

This is the world famous spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's famous because engineers, architects and carpenters are STUMPED as to how this staircase can bear the weight load. For the sake of preservation, they no longer let folks walk up this staircase.

Succulent Plant

I have a lot of "S's", don't I?

Lest We Not Forget

The following text and images were from an email a friend forwarded to me. It seems appropriate to use these images to honor those who fell for us and our country. One day a year to honor those who serve just isn't enough. Wear something blue every Friday to continue the honor...

International Picture of the Year Here are two very touching photos honored this year

First Place

Todd Heisler

The Rocky Mountain News

When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.

During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: 'See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane , watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds , knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home , ' he said 'They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should..'

Second Place

Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News

The night before the burial of her husband's body , Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket , asking to sleep next to his body for the last time The Marines made a bed for her , tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep , she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat , ' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. 'I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it , ' she said. 'I think that's what he would have wanted.'

What is Beauty?

How does one define beauty? What makes an object beautiful or a work of art beautiful?

Perhaps it is best defined as the aesthetic pleasure gained from perceiving something that you believe to be attractive. Or, put even more simply, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". That perception owned by the beholder is never static either and is in a constant state of flux based on what is going on in that person's life at any given moment in time.

When I'm out on a hike, I am always the one lagging behind everyone else. Mostly because I come armed with a camera and can't help but stop to take photos of what's around me. I will admit that I am more distracted by things that require a close up inspection than I am of the grand sweeping landscapes before me. Macro is a muse that I spend a lot of time with.

This was a very big rock that had lots of irregular surfaces. In this particular case, the irregularity made for a very abstract shadow. Any bystander who saw me taking this picture might have thought I was off my rocker as it didn't look like my subject matter was worthy of a shot!

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Hey Harriet. Entertain your muse by stopping by to see what others have posted!

The Madrid Anagama Kiln

May 2, 2009 the public was invited to the unloading of the Madrid Anagama Kiln in Madrid, New Mexico. It had been a year since the last firing. The anagama kiln had been built about 10 years ago. 'Firing' up this kiln is a very complex, labor intensive process. When everything does work well, however, they end up in some very lovely and unique wood fired pottery. Inherent within the process is a high mortality rate. Click on the links provided to find out more about this process and click on the link for the Madrid Anagama Kiln as there are many videos on it that document the process. Artist, Jesse Scott is the one who does the narrating and filming.

I heard about this place 8 years ago when I was a taking art classes at the University of New Mexico. I think it's existence is tied into grant money received via the University of New Mexico. This is the top view looking down at the structure.

And, from the bottom, looking up.

The kiln does seem to have a life of its own; personification as a dragon couldn't be more appropriate.

Since there is a high mortality rate, there are a lot of pottery shards as a result. I love this effigy on top of the pile of shards that sum up how the artists feel about things that didn't work out. I really had to practice restraint to not just dive into that piles of shards and collect some to take home. That inner raven in me was squawking pretty loud! I might get the nerve up to ask permission to go and collect some of these discards. I'll figure out later what I will do with them.

I believe that these fabulous black bird heads are done by Melanie Wegner, but I'm not entirely sure. They were truly captivating. To give you a sense of scale, these heads were about the size of a child's head.

Over 600 pieces were loaded into that kiln and it took a lot longer than the artists had planned to get everything out. This was due to the fire getting too hot in many areas of the kiln. Even some of the shelves had 'melted'! So much time and work goes into doing this, that I can't even imagine loosing even one piece.

I don't know which artist did these little black birds (not Melanie), but they seem to be quite happy to have made it out in one piece.

I did buy a lovely teapot from Ben McCracken. The teapot's lid had suffered a bit in the firing and was chipped on the edges. I think Ben was surprised that someone would want to buy it! I don't know if I'll ever use it as a teapot (it does function), but it does make for a lovely tabletop sculpture.

Please do check out the blog link for this kiln; the videos are short and fascinating. Also check out the list of artists that put a lot of effort into this project.

Beware of Rubber Duckies!

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. Our Host, Mrs. Nesbitt hails from Great Britain. We started with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. We are now in our second year, round 4! This week's letter is, "R".

Everyone needs a bathtub flanked with Rubber Duckies! Seriously! They are the perfect companions to any bubble bath!

Ristra Shadow. You can see the bottom end of the chili ristra in the top right corner of the image. Moss on the rock is just an added bonus!

Roots. Anyone here old enough to remember the blockbuster mini series from the '80's? Roots? Whatever happened to those miniseries? They were always well done. Now we are reduced to reality shows. What a sad statement of our culture!

Ahhhhh...my favorite perhaps. Rusty things. Rust speaks of the elements. Of age. Of things breaking down. It reminds me that things are not permanent. Very much so in keeping with the philosophical concepts rooted in Wabi Sabi.

La Laments IV

Lament: to express or feel great sorrow or regret

I've found shadows to be an interesting subject matter for probably most of my life. I took a photography class when I was in college back in the (gasp!) '70's. It was for this class that I took this shot of a shadow of a yucca plant. I also took a photo around the same time of the sky that seemed to be quite mysterious and moody. I have both of them printed as 8 X 10 glossies.

Fast forward to 2003 and I am back in college taking art classes, working on my second degree. My area of concentration was printmaking and at that time I was enrolled in a Photo Intaglio class. I used these two images as the subject matter for two plates that I planned to print together which is what you see here.

As for the title of the piece: "La Laments IV". I'm trying to recall where my head was at when I gave it the title. The "IV" is probably because I had done four variables of this print, all of which are considered to be working proofs (giving the printmaker a visual reference of where they might want to go in further working the piece, or as a static reference for striking further prints which would make it a final proof). For me, the image is moody and enigmatic. It speaks of the regrets that we have throughout our lives. Regret about things we said. About things we didn't say. Regret about actions taken and not taken. Regret about relationships that didn't work or that ended up being hurtful or disappointing.

Whatever that list of regrets are though, we certainly can choose to drown ourselves in that endless chasm of regrets OR we can choose to look at the silver lining in the cloud where the light is breaking through and aim for that.

May you always keep your sights set on the silver lining that is there in every dark cloud!

Help us celebrate Shadow Shot Sunday's Birthday Bash (one year-woo hoo)! Thank you, Tracey for being such a fabulous host of a wonderful meme!

Quintessential

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. Our Host, Mrs. Nesbitt hails from Great Britain. We started with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. We are now in our second year, round 4! This week's letter is, "Q".

Quintessential

This image is a quintessential image of how I like to work (for the most part) in my imagery.

It's about texture. Patterns. Variations in color. Many of you have heard me blather on and on about this. This is what attracts me to many of the images I take. Many of which most people have not seen, as they don't seem to make it out into the public.

Where Did that Little Boy Go???

John K. Scott at four years old

Sigh...

I have no idea how 17 1/2 years zipped by. It seems like yesterday that this young man came into my life.

He was born a few weeks early (four to be as exact as one can be with guestimating birth dates); definitely a "preemie" weighing in at 4 lbs. when he came home. So little!!

Now, he towers over both of us at 6' 2" and about 165 lbs.! Geez.

At four years old, they can be quite silly as this photo is testimony to! At 17, they can be quite grumpy!

I have so many mixed emotions that run through me in regards to this young man who is at the doorstep of 'adulthood'. I can only hope that he's learned some good things from me and that he is about as prepared as any young adult can be for that big old world out there.

Kurly Qs

Art

The kind of art a proprietor of a business has in their establishment speaks volumes about who they are and what is important to them.

I get my car serviced at my car dealer which is Corley's Lincoln/Mercury/Volvo. While I was there the other week, I noticed the art that he had on his walls were original and abstract. This one, of course, is a wall sculpture.

To me, it tells me that he cares. You know, a class act.

No art means too cheap and don't care. Which translates to how they feel about their customers, don't you think?

Please do go here to check out what other Shadow Shots have been posted!

Agave

Ahhh!!! Sedona! I'm here in Sedona this week with a friend. We got in Monday evening and leave here Friday to head on over to Window Rock and to the Hubble Trading Post on Saturday.

We spent today in a nearby town named Jerome that used to be a copper mining town. If you are ever visiting the Sedona/Phoenix/Flagstaff (Arizona) area, do plan a day trip to Jerome and spend your money there. Everyone is friendly, hospitable, not snooty and the prices are much more afforable! I hope to post some of the photos from this trip when I get back home.

In the meantime, in a quest for wildflowers yesterday, this is one of the images I took that appealed to me. I do believe it is an Agave cactus which is in the family of cactus plants that tequila comes from.

Cheers!