On the Rocks:1949 & 2011

My friend Carol took the photo of me on the right a couple of days ago at the Garden of the Gods,  It reminded me of an old photo that was taken at Mt. Rushmore when I was five years old. I found it and scanned it and I put the two together. How can more than 60 years go by so fast? What a long, strange trip it's been - glad it's not over yet.

Art, Adornment and Analogy

Yesterday morning as Carol and I were having breakfast on the patio at the Garden of the Gods Club, she asked me what I would remember as a defining moment about our weekend. I think it was discovering the earrings in the photo. We were in Rich Designs, an eclectic gallery which carries the artwork of Gwen Fox, whose paintings we both admire. We looked at her new work, then both spotted some wonderful chunky ethnic jewelry in a nearby display case. I fell in love with these earrings. There was a matching necklace and several other striking sets with large beads and silver findings. Then we learned that the beadwork we were so taken with was also created by Gwen Fox - she is branching out into jewelry design. What talent!
Carol bought me the earrings for my birthday - they are more than just jewelry. They symbolize our discoveries in art together, and they also absorb the colors and light of anything around them, seeming to glow from within. I will wear them often for inspiration and cherish them as a reminder of the comfort of sisterhood across the miles.

Garden of the Gods

What an inspiring trip - seeing Carol Mylar is always a delight. I have missed sharing a studio with her so much. I'm here at the Garden of the Gods club in colorado Springs soaking in the cool weather and the mountains. Art, food, friendshop, fun - all of it.
Yesterday was Rich Designs, a visit to Carol's amazing friend Rori, lunch at the Broadmoor, shopping and looking, a facial for each of us at the Spa, and a wonderful diner and conversation. I'm writing in Goina's journal all of the new ideas that seem to come to me effortlessly when I'm here with Carol.

Photos:
Top: Grilled vegetable salad at the Broadmore - art in itself, delicious, too

Next: Favorite artist Gwen Fox is now creating tiny boxes with painted tops - lovely idea

Next: She is also incorporating calligraphic elements in her paintings

Next: I get to cut my own geode at a mineral shop near the Broadmoor

Next: The incomparable Broadmoor

Bottom: Kissing Camels outside my terrace - beautiful view of the Garden of the gods

Very Low Altitude Aerial Photography

While looking for a particular illustrator's work, I found this gallery - a collection of images taken by looking straight down in a variety of locations. Jon Sachs believes there is a lot to see right at our feet and presents this evidence to support his claims. It reminds me of my recent Street Shards photos, but with a lot more expertise and thought.
His photographs are great studies in texture and color and composition - here are a couple, and here is his gallery link.I love his quote about the first photo, "I did not put the leaf next to the rock. Somehow it seems to matter whether I did or not, but why?
Sometimes I do move things in order to make the photograph more of what it wants to be.But not this time."

New Collage - King Baby's Feast

I finished this today and just matted it. It was a tough baby to birth, and I think it's because I sent a photo to a friend of the preliminary images I wanted to use, so I felt obliged to stick with the plan even though other things evolved during the process. It took three or four days to complete. The framed collage is 18"x22".
Below is the photo I sent to my friend of the images I thought might work and then a photo of the completed piece. I called it King Baby's Feast. The pomegranate photo in the center is my work, and there is also some other mixed media things going on, including black gesso. My only complaint is that it's kind of matchy-matchy, but that's also what ties the images together. Anyway . . .

Street Shards 6.11

Laurel mountain beans, feather, wood, magnolia pod, shell

This is the last of this series for a while - I find I'm getting more into the manipulation of the photos than the objects themselves. But that's part of the experiment. Here are two versions of this morning's flora - sadly, I saw a dead squirrel while I was coming home from the track. When you start observing more closely, you see the beauty of the small objects but also the sad things.

Journal by Gina

My friend Gina created the most beautiful one-of-a-kind leatherbound journal as a Christmas present for my son. He loved it - and I wanted one, too, after I saw her incredible craftsmanship. She combines the best paper, her own original acrylic paintings, and original touches such as pocket between the signatures that are lovely and useful. There's only one problem - it's almost too wonderufl to use, but use it I will and do my best to sketch and write inspirational things that are worthy of this journal. See for yourself in the short video below. Thanks, Gina!

Street Shards 6.10

. . .starring a styrofoam cup with tire marks and a very nice magnolia leaf.

Haiku: Techie Reflection While Running

i meditate in

random access memory

save to soul’s hard drive

~LB

Street Shards: Photography 6.9

Found around construction site near garden - very little manipulation except cropping image.

Street Shards: Photography

I started this series of photos two days ago when I was coming home from the track just at sunrise and saw three or four dying (but still soft and velvety) magnolia blossoms along the edge of the street. As I picked them up to feel the texture, I saw some other great partial plant shards and pieces and took them home to photograph. Here are the first two results - the rules are that they have to be found on the same day at the same time in roughly the same spot and they can't be over analyzed in terms of composition or quality - just picked up "because." No precious tacky metaphors on the meaning of life and death and faded beauty are allowed :)

Diana Kennedy

What a thrill to meet one of the most famous chefs in the world, Diana Kennedy, at La Vida Gallery tonight. I have many of her cookbooks and have counted her among my cultural heroes for decades. She is a good friend of gallery owners Matt and Carole Weissler, and although she does few book signings these days, she did agree to come to La Vida and sign her wonderful new definitive book on the food of Oaxaca. I can't wait to look at it -the photos are amazing, and her anecdotes read like chapters in an adventure novel. It' s a rare glimpse into the cuisine of Oaxaca - she was charming and funny and gracious - she even asked about my artwork that was hanging in the gallery. What a remarkable woman. Viva Diana Kennedy!

The Song and the Arrow

I found a painting of a young boy holding an arrow in one of my art books - Children of the Golden Age, I think - and then decided to look through an old song book for some sheet music to use as a background. The first page I opened was titled "The Song and the Arrow"- really a strange coincidence. That became a somewhat collective theme, and this collage is the result. I like the unusual strongly horizontal composition.

Muse Calling

I was rushing around doing errands and getting frustrated when the thought of "dove gray and silver" came into my head. I walked to the studio, took off my silver bracelets, added a dove feather that I had found yesterday morning in the garden, and took this shot - it's one of my favorites now. There's something good about stopping everything to take a break and listen to whatever muse is calling :).