Aww...some Mondays - Chihuly

Spoiler alert! This is likely to be a multi-day post. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art currently has an exhibition of the work of Dale Chihuly. If that name is not immediately familiar to you, he is the artist that created the glass flower ceiling/chandelier in the main lobby of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The exhibit at Crystal Bridges features an indoor and an outdoor component. They are spectacular. If you are within driving distance of Bentonville, you need to experience this event. The indoor display will close August 14, while the outdoor exhibit will remain until November 13.
Today I will post a photo or two from each area of the exhibit. In the coming days this week I will post images specifically from one area that caught my eye. Here we go.

Many of Chihuly's individual pieces get their inspiration from Native American baskets and blankets.

Other pieces are just sheer magic. There is a video that shows some of the works in progress at the Chihuly studio in Arizona. Many of these pieces require several artisans working together in order to produce the final product. Some of these works are quite large.

If you have never seen a fireworks display in glass, this is it. This piece is easily 8 feet tall by 15 feet long and several feet deep. Multi-color lighting provides an ever changing display. More photos of this will be posted later this week.

 I have never seen anything like this and I don't expect to ever see glass work of this caliber again. Okay, let's go outside.

Yes, this is glass and it is easily 20 feet in diameter! We have had several thunderstorms and heavy rains during the course of the show, but one of the museum staff members told me that nothing has been broken so far.

I'll be the first one to admit that I rarely understand art and I never try to explain it. I just enjoy each piece for what it is, a creative assemblage of color, form, and materials, that produce something that I like to observe and marvel at the creative mind that brought each piece into existence. Come on back, there's going to be lot's of photos this week.

Skywatch Friday

City Hall, Savannah, GA. Yes, that is a gold dome...real gold leaf! The building was opened in 1904. Savannah is a beautiful city, with many historical sites to see and great restaurants to visit.

Ruby Tuesday Too/Wordless Wednesday

Mural art has become a very popular art form in Bentonville, AR. Here a fence in the parking area of a local pub/restaurant is decorated with multiple panels. Only time will tell how they weather the seasons in the Ozarks. There are a few panel details.

Aww...some Mondays

Nap Time

Skywatch Friday - Farmer's Market

Every Saturday morning between April and October, the Bentonville square turns into a farmer's market and a social gathering place for hundreds and hundreds of people. You can buy everything from hand made jewelry to organically raised prime beef & pork. This time of year I am in the market for fresh tomatoes and okra. Yes, okra...and I like it fried or boiled. Needless to say it is good in stew and soups. I found what I was looking for so Saturday evening we had BLT sandwiches and later in the week okra will be on the menu.

Wordless Wednesday - Murals

 An emerging trend in Northwest Arkansas, particularly Ft. Smith and Bentonville, are wall murals adorning blank walls of downtown buildings.  Some are very creative.

 This mural combines advertizing the business with a creative landscape. I really like this one, especailly when you just focus on the mural and eliminate the clutter.

 Several of these are found at the end of alley's and serve to draw your attention away from the usuall dumpsters and electrical service boxes. This is a very nice monochrome pastoral scene.

I have to admit, I like these better than graffiti. I like a lot of the grafitti that I see, but the cloud of gang art, and vandalism still hangs over this artform. Grafitti can be very interesting, beautiful, and creative, but it still carries the idea of defacing something in the middle of the night.

Aww...some Mondays

Play ball!!!

Ruby Tuesday Too - Christmas in July

I found this little fellow in a place where I keep some of my pencils. I don't know how he got there. This Santa ornament is over sixty years old. He has always belonged to me. When I was a child, my mother bought a small tree for me to decorate in order to keep me from pulling the big tree down on myself. I am sure that all of the ornaments were either paper or plastic. I still have a few of these in a box of Christmas ornaments. It is a reminder of much simpler times.

Wordless Wednesday - The Language of Luggage

I was in a department store recently and found myself in the area where the luggage is on display. I have noticed that there are now two distinct types of luggage. There is the luggage that is meant to travel frequently in cramped cargo areas and handled by unfriendly and unconcerned airline staff. That luggage is typically constructed of a heavy duty water resistant fabric and is almost always black or other dark color to disguise any scrapes, scratches, or marks left by the conveyors. These bags are the bread and butter of the frequent flyer business traveler. I won't bore you with photos of these industrial strength clothing cartons.
I have noticed that there is now luggage that appears to be only for those who travel by car, always in control of their luggage and are interested in making a fashion statement as well as getting to their destination. You will probably find them in the back of the soccer mom SUV's that don't really want to be SUV's or go off-road.

While this may look great in the store and probably works okay as soccer mom luggage in the back of a pearl white SUV, but it would not survive in the world of the frequent flyer business traveler.

If you want to upgrade to leather and impress everyone in the hotel lobby at your destination with overpriced bags, then this might be the set for you.

If you like attention grabbing luggage and don't want to waste time collecting all of those old travel stickers, then here are some bags that scream where you've been or would like to go. They may also alert the border patrol or drug sniffing dogs.

If you're a "Hippie" child of the 60's looking for the next Greatful Dead tribute concert, or hoping that there will be a 50th anniversary reunion of Woodstock, then you will need this. Again, you may attract DEA agents and drug sniffing dogs.

Finally, if you're looking for something in a fake Pendleton wool blanket pattern, this has got you covered...or not. I think I"m going to stay with my time worn, battle tested, travelers luggage. How about you?

Aww Mondays - Ridin' Shotgun

Lucy loves to ride shotgun in my truck, and I enjoy her companionship. Everybody needs a buddy to ride shotgun.