Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans

just remembered that today is Fat Tuesday.
this is an interesting look at all of the preparations
New Orleans goes through to culminate the
beginning of Lent.

queen's ink

while on a layover in baltimore,
i did a little shopping at savage mill...

queen's ink was my first stop,
and i must say, it stopped me in my tracks.

talk about mixed media heaven....
stamps, washi tape, paper,
and workshops!

seth apter, a NYC artist, author, and
fellow blogger (see his blog at
thealteredpage.blogspot.com)
will be teaching workshops throughout
the spring.  i hope that i can get back for
one of them.

look around.....inspiration everywhere.

airport art

there is always good art at the airport,
sometimes i don't get the name of the artists,
so i can't give rightful credit, but still want
to share the good works.

 meg aubrey

 michael reese

my own version of airport art is what i see out the window....

finding nemo

the big nor'easter, named NEMO,  began in rochester this morning.
when we landed, there was already 3-4 inches on the ground and
white out conditions on the field.

i decided that i wanted to get out and shoot some photos, and bundled
up in my long underwear, north face jacket, earmuffs, and scarf,
then headed out the hotel lobby.  i didn't even get around the corner
before i had the wet, heavy snow all over me, but knew that i would
regret it if i didn't keep going.

i walked to the high falls area, passing some new murals on neighboring
buildings.  my glasses were fogged as was the lens of my camera,
resulting in some interesting photos.

mural

a somewhat controversial mural with bears, done by a chech artist

 near high falls

 pont de rennes

old water wheel

 the falls

 snow covered railings make it look striped....kodak building in center of photo

 the waterworks

 the waterworks and mill stream area

zigzag stairs

artwork in the waterworks gallery

the walk back to the hotel

i was soaked through after walking in the snow for an hour or so.

collages

while packing and cleaning,
i found these two collages,
done last year....

have you seen these before?

happiness project...february

an update on my happiness project.

you may remember that january was my "frugal" month.
well, it wasn't exactly frugal,
but i was able to put $400 away by saving all of my change
and putting an occasional 5, 10 or 20 dollar bill into the piggy bank.

now i am on to february.
the month of organized living.
right now my place looks like a house of boxes,
but in a way, i do have everything organized, sorted and packed,
like things with like things....ready to be moved to Ohio in 3 weeks.

and speaking of organized...does getting all of the details
(doctor's visits all taken care of, the lease signed, the moving company
contract signed, a "move-out" cleaning service arranged.
and the BIG one....my letter of intent to retire,
signed and delivered.)  sound like an organized life?

i am definitely feeling that this happiness project is working!

life drawing

on my last morning in san francisco,

liz, ira and i went to the de Young museum
exhibit of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
(http://girl.famsf.org)
of course, no photography was permitted in the special exhibit,  but
inspiration was everywhere....rooms full of 17th C
etchings and finally the paintings....

as i stood in front of one particular "candlelight" painting,
tears filled my eyes at the beauty and translucency of
the skin in the light-filled masterpiece. (this example was NOT
the painting, but interestingly, this woman is also
pointing to a pearl earring)

that afternoon, liz invited me to attend a drop-in
live drawing class with her at Sharon art studios (http://sharonartstudio.org)
in the golden gate park.
i remember how difficult drawing classes were for me,
and chose not to go with her.
arriving back at the "house of sand and dog",
she unwrapped her afternoon's work...two lovely drawings with coffee wash.
see her blog at:
ej-onthewing.blogspot.com

the week came to spectacular closure with each day filled with art and inspiration.  my art retreat was a definite success!