Header Attribution

The header photo is a wall in the Depot Art District in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Chair #1: Tampa


For some reason,
I seem to find lonely, empty chairs
in various and sundry places
most everywhere I go.
This one is on the patio of "my" hotel in Tampa, Florida.
It is just outside the bar,
and as you can see, steps from the "beach."
These solitary chairs
always put me in mind of "time out."
I figure someone must've been involuntarily separated
from the crowd to give them some alone time.

This new series will feature many different types of
chairs in many different locations.
Possibly this is only interesting to me,
but hey it's my blog.
I hope you enjoy it, too, though!

This photo was taken on 2 August 2010.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Mission Inspiration


Unassuming, but bold.
Humble, yet majestic.
Small, and powerful.
Looking like it belongs on the El Camino Real with the California missions,
this iglesia pequeno in a small Arizona community
speaks volumes just by its presence in the neighborhood.
Fading whitewash against the bold blue sky,
the concrete entry walk an island in the inescapable desert sand,
a persistent beacon of hope and life
for which a young saguaro and palm mutely stand sentry.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Curb My Enthusiasm


A very simple image.
Concrete.
Man-made.
Colorless.
Lines, geometry, texture, shadow,
and a persistent impression
that there is a subliminal message
playing hard-to-get.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Pink Stucco


Partial shot of the Harbor House Gift Shop
at the entrance to "Fisherman's Wharf"
in Monterey, California.
My primary focus on this shot
was the french doors
and the white wrought iron balcony,
but the shadows are dramatic,
the blue sky,
the green plants....
this picture makes me happy.

Taken 31 December 2010.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Fabric Pattern #4


Here is a detail
from an afghan my sister made for us.
She used a technique called Swedish Weaving
to create these patterns.
Amazing.
Beautiful.
Don't know what else to say!

Taken on 1 October 2010.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Bike Share DC


I couldn't decide
which of these photos
is more interesting.


I like the top one
because of the more striking
"domino stack" effect;
but I really like the bottom one
because of the shadows of the rear tires.
Also the bottom one shows
the varying heights of the seats
more clearly.
But the top one
exposes a bit more of the brick
sidewalk
and includes
an old-fashioned lamppost
(but not all of it).

I dunno.

What do y'all think?

Taken on 19 November 2010.
In Georgetown, DC.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Humdinger!!!


I have always loved this word!
HUMDINGER!
And this sign in Garden Grove, California, suits the word so well.

Something happening here almost every day of the week!
How can one resist?

Taken 12 October 2010.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Etched Fish


Booth divider in a local taqueria.
They do have amazing fish tacos!

Functional art always captivates me.
Even though this may have been done
with computers and lasers and whatnot
and recreated by machine
dozens or hundreds of times,
someone with substantial artistic talent
had to create the original concept
that became this oft-overlooked
thing of beauty.

And I'm glad the shopowner
found it in his heart
to create an atmosphere
that is both fun and refined
so customers can
appreciate life and beauty
while gobbling delicious food.

Taken 12 January 2011.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Street Art #11: Monterey


No idea who "dweeb" is (or was)
but whoever it was
at one time found it important
(or otherwise appealing or compelling)
to advertise themselves
on the side of this abandoned building.
This looks like relatively old work
because it is faded
and because it appears to have been
applied before the growth of the
scraggly weeds almost
obscuring the tag.

I know many would agrue
that this should in no way
be glorified as "art."
It is straight up vandalism
and not particularly aesthetically attractive.

My interest is not so much in the artistic value of this obscure "piece."
(and we can have the conversation about what constitutes "art" some other time and place)

I am interested in the social statement(s),
about which we admittedly can only speculate.
What is the story behind "dweeb"?
What does this form of expression
say about our society in general?

Here are a few more pics of the abandoned area
around this grafitti to provide context.


These broken windows are directly above "dweeb."


Standing in the same place, but turning to the right.


These pics (above and below)
are from a similar building across the courtyard.


These pictures were taken early on the morning of 8 October 2010.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Horse's Mouth


This isn't a "gift horse"
and when I looked into its mouth
I couldn't see any teeth.
(when you buy a horse you look at its teeth to make sure you are getting a healthy animal,
but when someone GIVES you a horse, it is rude to "look it in the mouth"
hence - "don't look a gift horse in the mouth")

From this angle and proximity
this horse looks cartoonish and goofy!
Here're a couple of more stately shots
to redeem the poor guy's reputation.



Taken 1 October 2010
outside a national franchise Chinese-American restaurant
in Monterey, California.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Color Bubbles


A collection of glass bubble thermometers
on display in a gift shop.
A riot of color!
Liquid distortions!
Straight lines competing with curved lines!
Refraction!
Reflection!
Repitition!
Resplendence!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...there was a sale on exclamation points...

And no thermometers were harmed during the taking of this photograph.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Fabric Pattern #3


Detail from the carpet inside one of the elevators
at a hotel in Garden Grove, California.
Nice color combinations,
and it manages to achieve a bit of a 3D effect,
or an optical illusion.
I almost tripped on it
cuz I thought it was sticking up
out of the floor...  :8-D
although if you look at it another way
it looks like you could fall down into it
like it is a tube that is receding into the distance below.

Taken 12 October 2010.