Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Art Pact #85: Portugal Through My Eyes: Évora #1
I am notorious for my obsessive photo-taking while on vacation (and any other time), and loyal to my fame I took dozens of photos in Portugal. OK, more like a dozen hundred of them, and then some. And maybe a bit more.Don't give me this look! . . .
(to continue reading, click here).
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Labels: Creativity of Others, Photohgraphy, Time Out, Vacation
Sunday, February 08, 2009
ArtPact #78: Through the Fire
OK, OK, so I've been absent from the blogosphere for a while. A couple of weeks, perhpas; no - actually a whole month! Whoa - has it really been that long?
To those of you who wonder (to the extent of emailing me or leaving concerned comments, pondering whether I have escaped to Aruba or broke my painting arm): . . .
(to continue reading, click here)
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Labels: It's All About Me, Ouch, Time Out
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Chihuly (or - He Who Lives in a Glass House...)
Sometimes, it's best to leave your expectations at home. Just air them out, leave them behind.
That's what I did yesterday, when I went to see the so-much-spoken-of Chihuly exhibition at the De Young museum of art in San Francisco.
Y'see, at the risk of losing all my readers at once, I'll go ahead and admit that I never really liked Chihuly's art. I know, I know - he is considered to be a highly-superlativized genius, and who am I to object, but, well, I always perceived his work as too colorful, too screaming, too showy, too - you name it.
And yet - everyone who went to this exhibit came back utterly impressed. Plus, Katherine Chang-Liu (who's workshop I took a coupe of years ago) said something that really stuck with me: "go see art that annoys you - and try figuring out why is it art and not crap. It will open and expand your horizons you more than you can imagine!". Alas, The JohnnyB does not abide by that principle, and he refused to come with me, as he shares my opinion about the work, but - do not despair: a couple of months ago, DiploK ((whom you may remember from this post, and who is also blessed with a husband who's sick and tired of going to every art show), has proposed to me to become her 'Art Wife'.
Choked with emotions, I accepted.
And so, we went to the city.
Luckily, I'm a member of the De Young, which paid off for this exhibit, as apparently this exhibit is considered to be a special one, which means you pay to see it (Aha! but not if you're a member!). Plus, it's timed! Like, you get a little sticker that entitles you to go in, and it has a time stamp that tells you you have to get in there by 1pm (in our case).
So, you go to the end of the v-e--r---y l----o-------n--------g line of anticipating people, and wait to be let in. I personally hated this, and got more agitated once got close to the entrance and realized that if we wish to have the headset that enlightens you about the exhibit, you need to take out more dollars and give them to the nice ladies there (a total rip-off, if you ask me). Sicne I did all the driivng up and back, DiploK treated me to a headset and in we went, with me muttering all kinds of things that were as far as can be from positive attitude. Yup, you betcha I was cranky by all this hype.
...until we got to the first room.The exhibit is spread over 11 rooms (galleries, as they call it), each has a separate body of work, a different feel and mood. The rooms are dark and only the glasswork is lit, which adds a very impressive effect. Yes, there was a lot of the ultra-colorful stuff that I was expecting and am not crazy about, but some of the galleries have just left me speechless with awe. Like the absolutely stunning glass pieces inspired by Navajo blankets and baskets, or the snowy feel of Finland, so elegantly done with countless tall thin bluish-purple glass thingies installed on top of trees with peeling bark, looking like a Hannukia on steroids. Or the huge water-lily-like sculptures. Or the immense bowls.
I was impressed beyond words. What a misjudgment it was to think Chihuly was just about gaudy flashy art. Apparently, he has another side, perhaps less-known, and I loved his more limited-palette works, especially the Navajo-inspired ones.
For reasons I cannot fathom, it was actually allowed to take photos (I still cannot believe it!), so I can shared some of it.
WackieM mentioned to me today that if you've never tried glass-blowing, you cannot quite appreciate the mastery that Chihuly has achieved in his work. So, novices like me just look at some of his work and go "Oh, that's big. OK". But - it's not that obvious, so it seems. Thinking of it, I realized it's a bit like how you look at a painting. So many times I heard the comment "Ohhh, look at that painting - look at all those details!", which is likely to be said by most people who do not paint or draw. But those of us who do, tend to stop at their tracks at the sight of a very minimal artwork with very few details, admire it forever and sigh "Ah, if I could only do that! Just suggest rather than feed all the information to the viewer with a silver spoon".
And maybe that's why I lean more towards his clean-lined work, rather than all the spiky thorny swirly multicolored look-at-me pieces.
As DiploK and I were having lunch, trying to digest all the wonders that we've seen, we mentioned the pieces that were for sale at the gift shop. There were a couple of glorious bowls by Chihuly, for the symbolic price of several thousands dollars (well, the dollar did go down, so if you think if foreign currency, maybe it's not so pricy...). I was drooling about those, when DiploK's imagination started to get into the fast-forward mode.
"You think we could load one of those big pieces from the exhibit into your Beetle?", she pondered.
"Sure!", I joined her little fantasy game, "my Beetle has a sun-roof, we can open it. And leave the windows open too, for the spikes to stick out".
She grinned at me, about to continue, but then I stopped her thread of thought.
"There is one problem", I said sadly. "I am not sure they are microwave safe. Y'see, those huge bowls would be perfect for baking a casserole in them".
But a person like DiploK would not let such triviality stop her.
"Ah, we can go back to the exhibit hall and turn them over, check if it is microwave safe", she solved my problem.
At this point, the woman eavesdropping from the table next to ours almost choked on her food.
Some people just don't have any sense of humor.
Labels: Art, Creativity of Others, Time Out, Wow
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Going Emeritus
Ahhh, that sounds so good.
Yup - June 30th was my very last day as the president of our watercolor society. I announced my stepping down several months ago, and since nobody agreed to take the baton from my hand (like Taltul in his time), I had to cope with a lot of requests, pleas and emotional blackmail, all aimed at making me change my mind and stay put. I spent hours, days, weeks contemplating, consumed all the assertiveness I had in me in order to stick with my decision - and the day has come.
Oh say can you see the air going out?
. . . Can you spot my dropped shoulders straightening a bit?
. . . . . . Can you hear the large rock falling off my weary chest?
. . . . . . . . . . Can you trace this wrinkled forehead getting a bit looser, with less line work and texture?
Let's have a moment of quiet here, if I may. Zen, almost:
My sister, who during her visit witnessed me in action as president several times, both at an all-member meeting as well as at home, asked me if I won't be missing all the action and responsibility and fire extinguishing and crisis solving and peace making and never-ending phone calls and emails and the adrenaline rush and the status (the WHAT!?).
Yup, she is smart.
And she knows me well.
And yes, to be honest, I was somewhat afraid of having mixed feelings, of a sense of regret, a void even.
But, y'know, on the morning of June 30th we had the last board meeting arranged by me. As I did in the year of being the president (and actually, in many a month before I became one...), I arranged-the-meeting-called-for-committee-reports-sent-them-to-the-board-members-ran-the-meeting-assigned-tasks-took-minutes-and-distributed-those-to-the-board. (and the monthly board meeting, mind you, is only one part of what kept me occupied full-time during this year).
And now that it's all said and done, reverting to dude-language: I am like, "Cool!".
Man, was this a busy year!!!
To quote a fellow president (well...), I sometimes feel that during this whole year, "I did not inhale". Only exhaled. Looking at the blogpost I wrote when I just started, I smile at that young enthusiastic girl, who was so full of energy and excitement and goodwill and plans to change the world (or at least the organization) and I think, "Ah, duckie(*), if you only knew..."
And yet... of the feedback that I hear, I did achieve some things.
We are now on the road to becoming an incorporated non-profit organization (yup, after over 40 years of existing!!! about time, don't you think!? and it was not a trivial thing to pass to some of our members who are not too keen on changes); I drove some other novel ideas in several domains, and I guess I did have an impact.
Oh, also, despite all I've been told, I did not manage to make a certain member hate my guts, as he did with many former presidents. On the contrary - when I announced my stepping down, he came and spoke to me, and actually had tears in his eyes. (and yes, so did I).
And yes, I have gained a lot. A turbo speed steep learning curve from almost zero to nearly 100% has granted me a vast and invaluable knowledge of so many aspects of being in the art world, as well as what makes such a big organization tick. I won some friends, I made a couple of enemies (but hey, one of Mother Theresa’s Paradoxical Commandments says, “If you are successful you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway"... and who am I to argue with that remarkable woman?). And, I got acquainted to so many people, from fellow volunteers to art museum directors, that this may have been the biggest advantage of all; being a relatively newcomer to this country, it's not easy to have your foreign-hard-to-pronounce-name be known. And now it is.
So, what are a bunch of white hairs, a few sleepless nights, a collection of (well documented!) emails that caused serious palpitations, and some showers of tears (oh yes....) comparing to all this?
I was lucky to work with a board that has some truly incredible women (and one great guy) on it, which made it easier, as I did not really need to know everything. I also got a very helpful hand (and sometimes ear), from a couple of former leaders, whose wise advice was like a CPR and kept me going. And - The JohnnyB was beyond supportive the whole time. He provided some priceless ideas (for which I got the credit, alas) and insights, suffered through going over the monthly Leader's Notes to help me polish them for the newsletter, helped me phrase some responses to some ultra-bitching emails (yeah, those were fun) - I am pretty sure he is also relieved that these days are over. Yup, he is a keeper.
In hindsight, I would have done it again.
But now it's time for becoming Leader Emeritus (that is music to my ears!), and thinking about moi for a change. Yes, I am still volunteering, of course. I'm stayin' as a working bee on our exhibits committee and the website committee (coz those are fun!), and will also be busy supporting our board in leading the organization, and initiating our incoming leader (yup - someone has finally agreed to do it starting January!) - but still, I feel like I am getting my life back.
Did I mention Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew?
.
Labels: It's All About Me, Major Achievements, Making a Difference, Time Out
Thursday, May 29, 2008
ArtPact #55
Among other activities, our watercolor organization arranges weekly paint outs (or, to be fancy, plein-air painting outings). I usually do not participate in them, as they collide with our critique group meetings, and I am not quite a landscape painter.
But today was an afternoon session. Plus it was held in a Japanese garden. Plus the organizer, PleinieJ, is a wonderful fiber artist (in addition to being a great plein air painter), so my sister - also a fiber artist - wanted to look at PleinieJ's work and show off with her own (after impressing the critique group with them this morning. Hey, one of the works had gallstones - which she incorporated into the piece after undergoing a gall bladder surgery).So we went.
It's a lovely place, as Japanese gardens tend to be: the token wooden bridge, a pond filled with koi fish, ducks, sculpted little trees, background rocks - and I am sure somewhere in the garden was hiding the inevitable bamboo thingy with water dripping through. Y'know, the thingy that makes this noise without which a Japanese garden is just not it. Painters with their easels were spread all around the garden, rendering the beauty with their brushes; my sister was taking photos as if she's never seen a Japanese garden before (well, she hasn't, actually); and I - I looked for something to sketch.
I tried drawing the ducks... the plants... almost attempted the koi - all with no success.
And suddenly - an adorable chubby little kid, accompanied by his mom and aunt approached the pond. He stood there fascinated, admiring the ducks and fish and water and little tadpoles and whatnot. The other painters frowned, as he blocked their view - but I was beaming, as I have found my subject!!
I skecthed his gesture quickly, as - being a little kid, he moved quite a bit, but I recalled what our incredible sketching teacher, Jim Smyth, used to tell us: "Little kids and athletes have a very limited repertoire of poses - if you sketch them, and they move, just wait till they get back to that pose again". As always, he was right.
So, I sketched the little guy, trying to capture his nonchalant yet curious pose. One minute - that's all I had, before he abandoned the ducks and came to see what I was doing. I showed him the sketch. He was utterly unimpressed, informed me his name was Freddie, and went back to the pond. They left, and I sat there, adding some colors and the surroundings. Then they came back. Freddie was very keen on feeding the ducks (by that time, my camera was ready!). While he was becoming popular with the ducks, his aunt approached me, and after a lot of hesitation asked if she could take a photo of my sketch.
"Sure", I replied graciously.
But then, I gave it another thought, and said "actually... let ME take a photo, and I'll give you the original".
She was quite surprised by the offer, and after I made sure she indeed likes it (and won't just toss it in the nearest garbage can), I insisted.
I took a photo, signed the sketch, and carefully tore the page out of my sketchbook. Again, Freddie came to see what the commotion is about. Again, he couldn't care less, showed me the bag of marshmallows he took out of his mom's basket, and exclaimed "Mine!".
His mom offered me one - and he tried to hide his anxiety. I politely said "No" (you don't want to upset the model!) but she insisted, so I carefully took one piece. By the time my sister was offered a marshmallow, Freddie's wide open eyes were showing increasing signs of distress. As tempting as it was, we rejected a second piece. After all, that would have been like taking candy from a baby...
We parted as friends, and after a while, I admit had some pangs of regret that I gave the sketch away, as I liked it quite a bit. But hey - a random act of kindness. Plus, I took so many photos of Freddie, that he might become a series one day.
Obviously, Freddie's own opinion was that a piece of marshmallow was way too high a price to pay for a sketch...
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Nature, People, Time Out
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Devil's in The Details
Last week, the temperatures were peaking at 100. Then it got nice and cozy, very spring-like. And today, winter is back. Gray skies, chilly - and even rain. Feels like California got into some crazy time machine that got broken.
But yesterday, before this sudden winter, my sister and I managed to go and visit the fair Filoli Center, with its flowers and greenery and sculpted gardens and all.
The roses were in blossom, generously spreading their perfume, the lavender pitched in the aromatic festival with its usual stunning purpleness, joined by other flowers in varying shades of purple and orange (whoever designs the gardens there has an exquisite sense of color!), and many more blossoms whose names I shall never know.
It really was lovely; a nice break from the shopping sprees we got into (in my defense: I'm still sick and thus cannot really drive around; the paradox is that standing for hours in stores does not make me feel any better... on the contrary).
We strolled through the beauty, enjoying the sights, smells and the fact that we do not need to water all these plants.
Eventually we went into the house (which is quite impressive if you are one of those fancy-house lovers, with chandeliers and carpets and heavy furniture and window treatments and a drawing room and a refectory and the China from which they used ot drink tea and a living room and another living room and - well, y'know).
My sister went to visit the rest room, and while waiting for her, I examined the artwork on the nearby wall. Two big paintings of sailing ships hung very high above the extra-high doors, and in between them a third piece that looked impressively three-dimensional. A close look revealed that it really was 3D, with plastic sails glued onto the canvas... I gazed at the paintings and the 3D critter with sheer boredom, filled with thoughts of how much I dislike this kind of art, when the docent approached me.
She smiled at me - and immediately frowned at my sister's big black purse which was in the carpet.
"Oh, I thought it was a cat!", she realized her mistake.
"Nope, it isn't", I assured her.
"So", she turned to me, wearing back her smile, "I see you are admiring the details in these pictures?".
For a moment there, I contemplated giving her a lecture about details having nothing to do with quality of art, about going beyond the obvious and reaching higher for expressiveness, about the elements of design being sacrified so often in favor of mediocre art - - -
But instead, I just smiled and said with my sweetest voice: "Oh yes".
Because sometimes, it's just easier.
Labels: Art, Creativity of Others, People, Time Out
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
ArtPact #54
I am not painting these days. Haven't painted for several weeks before we went on the trip to Utah and Arizona, haven't really painted since we came back.
I'm busy and distracted. My one and only sister is coming to visit us for a month (she's landed in New York today for 5 days on the East Coast, and will arrive to our house on Monday), and it got us in a frenzy of house improvement, or at least converting the house from a pigsty (lot of neglect in the past year) to a welcoming cozy home - not just for her, but mainly for us.
And yet - I do have the urge to dip a brush into some paint and go for it. And am in the eternal catch 22: I have so many images I want to work on that I cannot choose any of them. Plus, after not painting for a while, you kinda get into regression, and need to start two steps behind (at least two, that is). Armed with all these lame excuses - no wonder I haven't visited my studio for quite a while.
In the last couple of days I've been browsing through Rhonda Carpenter's Watercolor and Words art blog, and was inspired by her recent work, of going nuts with masking fluid, letting it dry, and then pouring watercolor all over. I decided this might be a good way to loosen up and get over the well known fear of a white paper staring you in the eyes. Plus - I am on a quest for new ways to get away from tight realism, and this process has really appealed to me. Nothing frees you up like making a mess and then creating a painting from it. (Thanks, Rhonda, for the inspiration!!)I took 3 different color triads, and played with five pieces of paper this way. Without thinking of the subject, I simply tried to create interesting shapes with the masking fluid, smearing it with a scrap piece of foamcore and using spray bottle to move it around a bit (hmm... still need to work on that). Waited for it to completely dry (which wasn't hard, as we're having a heat wave as I write. 94 degrees tomorrow!), and then poured the paint. It was pure fun to see the colors intermingle and become acquaintances without the interruption of the brush. When this dried out too, I removed the mask (which is a very annoying stage - I hate doing that!), and was rewarded with five pieces of paper with interesting colors and patterns.
OK... now what?
I can see things in some of these, but nothing really screams at me yet.
Because it's so much fun to make these, I think I'll just start a pool of poured papers, and use them when the right mood and subject strikes. Some will serve as backgrounds, some as under-paintings, and some will sit in the dark closet until their day comes to be torn and reincarnate as pieces for collage.
Still, they look really cool even as they are now. So, I played with them a bit on my "Picture It!" program (the poor cousin of Photoshop), and - lo and behold, just juxtaposing them together came out as a cool abstract piece! (The JohnnyB claims he likes it more than most pieces of nonobejctive work he's seen).
Sometimes, art can be just for fun - I need to remember this more often.
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Creativity of Others, Ode to other blogs, Time Out
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
UTAH Rocks: From Zion to Bryce
After another wonderful breakfast at the Harvest House B&B, we bade farewell to Springdale. We were not happy to leave, as we really fell for Springdale, the B&B, Zion... but - Bryce was awaiting.
I have to confess here: when we planned this vacation, Zion was more of a must-do for me. I didn't expect it to be special. Nor beautiful. Nor impressive. Just a park that needs to be visited coz it was on the way. I basically wanted to be done with it and get going to the real attractions. And so, when I saw Zion with all its glory, I was utterly stunned, to say the least.
What I really yearned to see was Bryce Canyon and Antelope Slot Canyon. And now we were heading there.
But, just before leaving Zion, we went through the little ghost town of Grafton, of which we heard from a guest at the B&B, who told us about the town and the graveyard. My imagination went flying into full-gear, wallowing in images of ruined buildings against the dramatic mountains, with tumbleweeds rolling in the gloomy wind and the spirits of the deceased still haunting the graveyard.
Nope.
A bunch of few well-preserved buildings, and a graveyard that was well kept. No ghosts. No mystery.
It was interesting, though, to see the plate that listed down the causes of deaths in the particularly unlucky year of 1866, from "Killed by Indians" to "swing broke". 
Another interesting thing was to see the graves of the Mormon settlers, all with proper gravestones, full names, dates and inscriptions, side by side with three graves of Indians who were probably converted to be Mormons, but were - apparently - not worthy of a gravestone nor a full name. And so, their graves are marked with little wooden signs saying "Ind. Wiley", "Ind. Puss" and "Cedar Pete". Y'see, they were not even worthy of fully spelling the word Indian. Makes you think, eh?
Interesting place.
And we proceeded to Bryce, driving through the scenic Utah byway 89 - which suddenly started to be spotted with white!
WHITE???
Yup!
Patches of snow that became frequent and bigger.
Lunchtime was getting close, and we were getting hungry - but all the little towns we drove through seemed utterly deserted. 
I mean, Grafton suddenly looked like it had a lively rich community life in comparison...
Hmm - not a fun feeling, and it was a bit surreal, verging on unnerving - until we reached the town of Hatch, and a sign that pointed at a restaurant that claimed to be open! With tears of gratitude, we sat at a table, and enjoyed a buffalo hamburger (never had it - very tasty) and the view from the window.
With renewed energy, we hit the road again.
The scenery changed, with a lot of pine forests dipping their feet in white patches of snow, and a lot of rock formations that got me very excited, as they started to look like the photos of hoodoos I saw online.
We were - apparently - in Dixie National Forest, and came to the Red Canyon. Gorgeous place that made me wonder how come it was not mentioned as a highlight, as it had such cool rocks! The JohnnyB said that a lot of people who arrive at the Red Canyon think it doesn't get better than this, so they don't bother to continue to Bryce.
We bothered.
I was so anxious to see this legendary canyon - just couldn't wait to get there. Finally arriving at the entrance, we went to the visitor center, where we read the somber warnings about hiking in Bryce. The keyword was hiking boots. We didn't have any. We had good sturdy hiking shoes, but the ranger we spoke to was very strict on that, giving us apocalyptic prophecies of how crucial it is to have good grip for the ankles. We started to contemplate getting hiking boots at the general store of the little town(?) of Ruby's Inn, but as we asked him about the trails that really captured our attention, we learned that some of them were closed because of snow. As in 5-6 feet of snow!
OK then - we decided that our hiking shoes are enough, and we'll stick with the non-snowy parts.
We left the visitor center, checked in to our accommodations in the nearby small town of Tropic - and The JohnnyB got a lot of points by offering to give up on his nap and go see Bryce.
We went back to Bryce and headed towards to the first overlook, Sunset Point, to get a first glimpse of Bryce Canyon
- - -
- - - and to have words fail us.
Labels: Nature, Photohgraphy, Time Out, Vacation
Saturday, April 26, 2008
UTAH Rocks: Zion
5 days since we got back - and I'm starting to get used to having no desert around me. No cliffs, no majestic views other than traffic lights and Safeway signs. No living out of a suitcase, no more hiking shoes or Teva sandals composing my footwear wardrobe. It's good to be home, but - I am missing the views, the fresh air, the stars, the silence, that sense of awe that I felt wherever I looked.
Time to reminisce, then.
We flew to Las Vegas on Saturday, 2 weeks ago - one day later than planned, but let's forget this part.
Having never been to that city, I pressed my nose in anticipation against the window of the airplane, and was very surprised to see how small it actually is. I imagined it so much bigger, and very different. It was almost surreal to see a group of tall buildings bunched up, surrounded by a vast area of, well, nothing. I was very curious to see it up close, so we drove through The Strip.Hmm... I was actually amused to see the the mighty sphinx of Luxor ogling the Statue of Liberty, the juxtaposition of Eiffel Tower with Rio, and the cocktail of Tropicana with a sprits of Mandalay Bay, all garnished with the Bellagio. OK then... got the idea after a couple of minutes, but we were yet to make our way out of the busy traffic. I'm sure it's much more impressive at night with the lights and all. Plus - I wanted to see nature!
And so, after a few left turns and a quick lunch (In-n-Out seemed like the best choice under the circumstances), we started to head towards the little town of Springdale, UT, that resides on the edge of Zion National Park.
It didn't us take long to start enjoying the feel of the desert - weird cacti on the roadside grabbed our attention, and the winding road among cliffs had a great positive impact on our stressed-out mood.
Arriving at Springdale, we checked into the Harvest House B&B, overlooking The Watchman cliff. We had high expectations. Very high, in fact, as it was rated #1 on Trip Advisor. Got a very warm welcome from Tom, the owner, and followed him to our room on the second floor. WOW! Great room, meticulously clean to the extent that you are almost afraid to step in it - and the whole house had this wonderful fresh smell that is still a riddle to us. And - as I stepped out of the room to the private porch, The Watchman was, like, right there! As if it's the most natural thing in the world to have this majestic cliff peeking at the window. The room - and the breakfast - exceeded our expectations - this place gracefully made its way to the top 3 B&B we've ever stayed in (and we have a lot of B&Bs in our histories), in all aspects.Since we arrived in the evening, we took a couple of hours to fall in love with the very cute town of Springdale, its many little shops and the friendly people strolling around, before having a wonderful birthday dinner at The Spotted Dog café. Two friendly guys were sitting at the table next to us, looking like the ultra-hikers type, so I asked them what they recommend for newcomers who have one day only in the park. They diagnosed us as out-of-shape rookies (well, sadly, we were!) and told us about the easier ways to enjoy Zion.
The morning after, we had a wonderful breakfast prepared by Tom, the B&B owner. The star was a divine stuffed French toast - a dish I have never had before and I would give a lot to have again! That was accompanied by an interesting conversation with the two other couples who stayed at the B&B: one Mormon couple, and one very yuppie couple from Los Angeles. Quite a contrast, eh?
And - we headed to the park. We started off by a drive through the tunnel (very cool!!) and a hike to the Zion Overlook, where The JohnnyB has discovered - much to his dismay - that he has joined the rest of us mortals by developing a fear of heights. (Ah, I still recall when I first found out I adopted this fear - four years ago, on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as we were climbing it! Not a good place to discover such a thing, so I just kept going, trying to look good in pale...). Anyway, looking down the overlook became a bit of an unexpected challenge, but the views were remarkable nonetheless.
See the tiny white spot sorrounded by a red circle in the photo below? (this red circle is my ArtPact for the day...). That's a white tour bus that had the courtesy to climb up the road and serve as a nice perspective reference so y'all can appreciate the size we're talkin' about.
From there, we drove back, parked the car next to the visitor center, and took the shuttle all the way to the Temple of Sinawava, taking the time to get off at some stops in order to overuse the "Wow!" word and take photos galore.
We took the shuttle back, and went for the Riverside Walk - a nice stroll (can't really call it a hike, as it's on a paved trail) that takes you down the Virgin River. A very popular route, so it seems, as it attracted quite a few fellow visitors.
We heard a lot about The Narrows and the fun walk in the water that takes you to the cliff called Wall Street - TexieD told me that was one of the best parts of Zion - but that trail was closed for the day. Too much water flowing too fast in too low a temperature. Bummer.
Still - The JohnnyB would never give up the opportunity to dip his feet in water. A true Minnesotan is not afraid of the cold. So, as we arrived at the river, he took his dusty hiking shoes off, and dipped - - -
- - - And, 10 minutes later, his feet got back to their natural color. A shame, really, as he was quite cute in his transformation into a smurf.We went back to Springdale for dinner. this time, went for the Switchback Grill. Another nice, friendly restaurant with decent food, that made me very happy because their presentation of the food resembles the scenery of Zion, with mashed potatoes and other sides arranged like the rock formations in the park. Now, that's creative!
And, after an obligatory orange sunset (oh yes, that's what it looks like. Really. Flaming rocks against the cobalt blue skies, and so much silence!), we hit the sack. A long day - and Bryce Canyon - were awaiting us.
More to come.
Labels: Holidays, Nature, Time Out, Vacation
Friday, February 29, 2008
Spring. ish.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sun-Day
Breaking news: sun came out this weekend! 
I know y'all are thinking why would anyone from California even bother to mention the weather - but we did have our share of cold gray wet windy bleak wet rainy and rainier spell in the past couple of weeks. Did i mention it was wet?
So, after several weekends of staying at home like grumpy hermits, socializing with our many many pet ants, we finally went out, blinking against the sun.
Yesterday we went to an exhibit where WackieM, StampieJ and some other artists were showing their artwork. As many others, I have seen a lot of WackieM's creations on her blog. Which is why it was so very cool to see them face to face, in real life! Much, MUCH more impressive and inspiring. Da woman rocks! Add to that her bubbly cheery unassuming personality, and you'd undertstand why is was such pure fun. The JohnnyB, as usual, was painfully honest in expressing his opinion about her work. Don't get me wrong - he likes her work quite a bit, but he did have his share of comments which he did not hesitate to share with her. I wonder if he was getting back at her for the famous sentence of the month. I am starting to suspect The JohnnyB is much more into what we call happy safe art, and not so much into art loaded with emotion which I tend to adore (and sometimes manage to create).
We enjoyed the other artists' work as well, only eventually The JohnnyB has reached the limit of the amount of the artistic patience that was bestowed upon him, and so we had to leave very early (from my point of view!), had an alfresco lunch at the only restaurant that bothered to put tables outside in the midst of February (best hamburger in a long, long time!) , and went back home.
And yet, I wanted more sun, more fresh air, less walls.
So today, we went to a nearby county park, located 15 minutes drive from our house. In the (soon-to-be-6-years!) time that I am here, we've never ever went to that park. Outrageous, right? Well, The JohnnyB lives in this area 15 years and has never been there either.
Took us forever to find a parking spot. I think everyone was celebrating what felt like the first day of spring. It was soooooooooooo beautiful, so warm, so sunny, so blueskyish - would have been a shame to spend such a gorgeous day indoors.
We found out this is one great park, full of majestic oak trees and trails galore that combine uphill sections with a blessed majority of flat strolling. We are painfully aware of how much we suck when it comes to being in shape - and today we kept getting constant reminders of that each and every time we passed many a joggers whose breath was not nearly as heavy as ours after a 30-second slight-slope... Shame on us!
It ended up being one of those nothing-to-write-home-about days. Just a hike in the park, looking at the animals at the "model farm" they have there with chicken and napping pigs and curly sheep and a nice little vegetable garden and lots of happy people walking around with hats, providing me with some cool reference photos. Oh yes, and some very cool shadows.
See, I am learning to highly appreciate and cherish the dull moments.
What is that you're asking? Ants?
Oh, they kept popping for visits, and we think we've finally found their entry way into the shower. But why ruin a perfect day discussing them creatures?
Labels: Nature, Photohgraphy, Time Out
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
A Thousand Words - And Then Some #16
Welcomed the New Year in Sonoma.
Nice B&B.
Great food.
Fun olive oil tasting, wonderful cheese tasting, wine shopping, soothing drives in rural areas, and some incredible art.
Beautiful (cold!) weather.
Tired.
Happy 2008!!!
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Labels: Holidays, Photohgraphy, Time Out
