Sunday Photo Essay~Small town season’s greetings

       We’ve been to the historical town of Weston, Missouri before, and as all small quaint towns go, the people are extremely friendly.  They have antique stores like every 50 feet here. lol.  Today, we browsed one and I was so happy to have found more doll home furniture fodder for a reasonable price.   Well, we also met a victorian Santa, ate at Charlemane’s restaurant which is a german style buffet (on Sundays) I thought it was so funny how Doug kept saying over and over that he didn’t wanna eat in town, but as soon as we hit the door of the place and that home cooking smell met him, he got his grub on.  2 plates full, plus dessert.  enjoy the pictures.

because we surely enjoyed the day there.

 

        * a portion of the main street*

 

 

*I love how the sky reflected off these windows.

 

 

*home “grown” charm?*

 

 

*despite the glare, i had to take a picture of  “window dawg”  a sweet little dog that sat in a window of a store that wasn’t open.  Yes, please refrain from singing…how much is that doggy in the window?” I don’t think he was for sale. lol.

 

 

*will the real santa claus please stand up?”

 

*this guy made my day,  a victorian Santa claus was sooo authentic looking and kewl.

 

 

* He told us, he has been portraying Santa claus for 23 years!  Sometimes as Santa, and sometimes as the Victorian Santa.

 

 

*One of the little “friends” we met for sale in an antique shop.  Only 65.00 dollars!*

 

 

*or you could play tea party with this lovely wicker table and china.

 

 

 

*battered 70 year old baybeees for sale.  Only 60.oo…. as is.

 

 

*we took in plenty of landscaping, eyes focused on this forlorn bare tree in the middle of a corn field. 

 

 

*hay rolled up for the winter*

 

 

* and a once gallant hard working truck, abandoned to fate.

Did you guess it Right?

   Hey there, did you guess the picture correctly from a few days ago?    I want to tell you,  I have fun on the photoshopping site:  www.picnik.com  with this site comes lots of fun tools  and sometimes manages to turn ugly picutres into art:

What I did with this Pic:

*crop

*zoom

*neon color change

*makes this egg splat, I photographed on a window in downtown Kansas City, downright pretty eh?

Sunday Photo Essay~How the morning greets them

   *sometimes, I feel like this*    

    *saved*

 

 

       *goose wake*

 

 

 

    *reflecting on morning*

 

 

  *just a sip please*

 

 

   *a watchful eye*

 

 

the last stubborn holdout

Sunday Photo Essay~art, rice, or an ear of corn

 ”If I run through it will I be arrested?”  Hey.  It was an honest question. 

 ”you might get kicked out”  the keeper of the “art” piles on the floor said laughing.  “maybe not arrested.” 

 

 

 I was stunned.  Over 400 piles of rice, each measuring 1 and a half handfulls  laid out on the floor.  In the middle?  5 little yellow islands of  pollen…HAND COLLECTED… by the artist.  Hey I’m impressed.  Do you know how much  pollen is in one flower?  maybe a pinch…maybe.   

 

“Laib’s art-making process is ritualistic and intensely focused. For Without Place–Without Time–Without Body, he collected hazelnut pollen. In the gallery, each mound of pollen and rice is carefully distributed by hand. Slight irregularities in the placement of some mounds of rice reveal the process and the artist’s hand at work. “~

www.artknowledgenews.com

So Hey, another experience scratched off my “not ever done in life” list.  In case you’re wondering.  No,  never been to an Art museum.  History yes.  Art no.   Not even on a field trip.

 

 

*one of my favorite watercolors below.  John La Farge.  I marveled not at the painting as much as the fact that it was created almost 200 years ago. 

 

*and another of my favorites.  painted in 1700 something.   Standing close up to it the cracking on the painting is amazing. 

I was like a mommy telling Doug to stop touching the paintings.  I envisioned alarms going off if we did touch them.  I imagined little flakes of paint falling off and us running…

 

 I can’t even imagine anything lasting a few hundred years, nowdays.    Look how beautiful it is.  Her gown must have been unimaginably breathtaking in person.

 

*In the pop art section:  forget art.  my gaze then gravitated on people.  always interesting to me. 

 

 

*because nothing says art like a giant ear of corn, and giant butter the size of my laptop.   there were stranger things on the walls.  a giant pile of metal junk with lace clothing hanging on it.   a giant smashed saxaphone. 

 

there’ll be more to come.

Sunday Photo Essay~ You can lead a man to the art museum, but….

 

  We went here.  The Nelson-Atkins museum of Art, in Kansas City, MO. 

 admission: free.

  Parking 5 bucks. 

 enlightenment: priceless. 

 Unless of course, you drag your husband along. 

Consider this the funny preview before the movie you came to watch and I’ll get back with you in the morning with s’more photos, K?

 

 

“scuse me sir?  Do you have any Grey Poupon?”

 

“NO?  Oh.  that’s because you are a stunning replica of a real human dressed in classic retro guard uniform.”

we had to look reaaallly close. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug had to do his own check to make sure…

 

 

Well well, what do have here? a nude statue outside in the sculpture garden?

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, honey… a-h-a….a-h-a…funny…

 

 

this sculpture must’ve  been made in honor of brooding husbands everywhere.   

  says, Doug:  “If I was on a field trip right now, I’d be the naughty kid” 

      

 

 

They call it “BAD” mitton. 

 

 

 

So, I’m thinking of getting a great shot of this cut glass and silver vase…

 

 

 

but….

 

 

a time out works for me too…

 

So what do you do for fun?

 

Downtown San Antonio Library keeps a secret.  A sculpture that “stands” ceiling high, on it’s own platform.  Each piece of this sculpture is hand blown taking anywhere from 1 to 4 hours PER individual PIECE to create. 

 

 

When the artist began placing the sculpture together, he started from the bottom and went up, with a map of each piece having to be precisely put in it’s own place before the next one went on.  This piecing together  took many hours to complete.

 

“The idea of a Tower just came from looking at one of my Chandeliers and imagining what it would look like upside down.”   —Chihuly

 

 

Artist Dale Chihuly  completed this sculpture.  if you’d like to know more about this artist Please go HERE

Bigger Than Me

 

I dove into the mighty ocean without a moments hesitation of rip currents, jelly fish, sharks,  rogue waves,  barely passable swimming capabilities, or salt water stinging my eyes.

I can do this.

I got on a bus and joined a man’s army at  barely 18. 

I can do this.

I lived in a foreign country without a lick’s worth of the language under my belt.  I paid my rent in a foreign currency, caught public transportation, even managed to make a few friends.

I can do this.

I made my home in a drug and gang infested neighborhood in southern California for 2 years without a car. 

I can do this.

 

It’s bigger than me.  Yes, like concrete and steel that is intimidating and forceful and presents yet another obstacle on the way to my steely determination to get to my passion in life.

I ordered business cards today.

Next stop :  Portfolio and then some formal classes

 

Incase you were wondering,  “Image Artist”  is what I’ll be calling myself. 

Okay, just humor me anyway!!

Photos:More from Master Lego sculpture artist Nathan Sawaya

Here are some more sculptures from Lego brick artist Nathan Sawaya at http://www.brickartist.com/   Please  see this tour live if you can. Currently it is free and available to the public in Kansas City, crown center plaza. 

 

 

 

 

Photos~A “must see” talented Artist made these

This tour can currently be seen free of charge in Kansas City, in the Crown Center Plaza.  It is a MUST see.  For you will not believe your eyes at what gifts are given to people at birth to do these things. 

 

http://www.brickartist.com/  Please go see this tour if you can… Ultra talented Nathan Sawaya lego brick artist.  We were blown away by the pieces.

 

 

Sunday Photo Essay~Art Weekend~Part 2 Chalk Walk & a big surprise!

 

 

From across the country, a fellow wordpress blogger has brought me emotional support for over a year now. 

 MORE THAN A YEAR people!

  we’ve written back and forth, read each other’s blogs prayed for each other, and you know what?

  When I met her and part of her family today,  I felt like I had known her my whole life.   It’s amazing. 

 She allowed Doug and I to join her and her son’s family for lunch downtown Kansas City, and we talked as if we just happened to be part of their lives for a while already.  It was awesome. 

 And if you have a chance to read:  You did what?  http://dobegil.wordpress.com/

you will find Dobegil becoming a friend to you too!  Her and her beautiful family sure made our day, and all I can say is:  Thanks Deb and thank YOU  WordPress! 

 

 

 

This event was a  pleasant surprise to stumble upon for  us, and provides the 2nd part of this photo essay for you. 

The  awesome detail of a mermaid on a sidewalk drawing

 

 

Ya’ll know Sweetiegirlz by now.  I just LOVE talking to strangers. 

 Art has long been a fascination for me, so I began to talk with Annette and Suzi,

 (Annette Funicello and Suzanne Pleshette she reminds me with a trick to remember their names later lol!) 

 Annette is calmly sorting colors while Suzi is concentrating hard on finishing the mermaid.  They wear knee pads and their clothing is already  colorful from the early morning work.  

  Both are artists, I believe she also said  both are art teachers.  

 ”[art] It’s in everyone” Annette explains, to Doug, who has asked how they do it.

 I stand fascinated for awhile watching Suzi study a small rendering of what she’s doing on the sidewalk and then painstakingly detailing it out.   I ask if they mind if I photograph them.  “No we don’t mind, and  no one else out here will mind either!” 

   So I did.  Big thanks to you ladies!  For the interview.  and if I got any part of it wrong, please correct me!  :0)  (((hugs))) 

 

 

 

 

*some of the other artist’s renderings. 

 

 

 

 

 

It says cloudy with a chance of MEATBalls! lol.

 

 

I just had to add my own rendering signed but not numbered haha!