Making the Season Bright

 

The small shopping center on the corner of Camelback Rd and Central Avenue has done a very nice job of lighting for the season.  Whoever put those lights on the palm trees did an excellent job.  

More Radical Clay

 

When I was at the Phoenix Art Museum a week ago, I made another pass through the Radical Clay exhibit that I told you about last month. The one I've pictured above is called "Dream Flight" and was created by Tanaka Momomi using a multitude of layers of feather thin clay.

This one looked like an old log that has been decaying in a forest somewhere.  It's called "Big Birth" and was created by Fatumura Yoshimi.  It's amazing how much it looks like a piece of wood.

I loved this one.  It has an other-worldly look to it like it had just landed from outer space.  It's called "Form of the Progenitor".  The artist, Tamita Mikilo is inspired by motifs from temples and mosques and illustrations she sees in science magazines. It contains fractals, catenary curves and logarithmic spirals. It's an amazing piece.

This one is called "Leaf Vessel" and was created by Inaba Chikako. It's another graceful and delicate piece.

This exhibit of clay sculptures was truly amazing.  It takes pottery-making to whole new level.

SantaLand

 

Scottsdale Fashion Square may be shifting toward the ultra-high end shops but it still had a SantaLand available for those who want photos with Santa.

Every year they put up an elaborate Setting for the Santa photos in the food court area of the mall.  This year Santa has a gold "throne" to sit on for the photos.

I did snap a photo of one of the shop window displays that I liked.  That's a very cute polar bear playing with those ornaments.  

Luxury Goods

 

Last Friday before my lunch at AZ88, my friend and I stopped at Scottsdale Fashion Square to do a little shopping.  That mall is the biggest mall in the Phoenix area and is anchored by three well known stores, Nordstroms, Macy's, and Dillards.  However in between those stores, many of the small specialty stores once seen have now turned into the ultra-luxury stores we think of in places like Paris.

Above you see the new Hermes store where the average silk scarf costs around $800 with some reaching an amazing $3,000....for a scarf!

Here we have the Christian Louboutin store where a pair of plain black heels or a pair of trainers can cost you around $1000.00 and a pair of boots around $2000.00.  My friend and I have started calling this stretch of the mall "millionaire's row".  

I didn't snap a photo at the Louis Vuitton store but there was a line of people waiting to enter the store and a clerk with an iPad taking the names of the people in line.  It made me wonder if they were doing a quick credit check before letting those people into the store. 

While most malls have died out, this one seems to be thriving with its march toward the high-end luxury market.  That's Scottsdale!  

Holiday LIghts

 

 Not far from where I live is an office complex called The Esplanade.  I noticed recently that they have a lot of holiday lights up so I made a point of stopping for a closer look.

The walkway between the two office towers is covered in lights.

Walking under the lights, I see a Christmas tree at the far end.

So I walked all the way to the end to get a good look at the tree.

I like it!  They did a good job with this year's decorations.

A Silver Christmas

 

I stopped at AZ88 for lunch yesterday and was interested in seeing how they decorated for the holidays.  This year they have a silver tree put together with petal-like pads that are covered in sparkly and reflective material.  

They have two projectors that are shining light on the tree from two sides so at night it must send sparkly light all over the restaurant.

Maybe I should stop by at night to see how it looks.  

The Art of Philip C Curtis

 

I don't think I've ever posted any photos of paintings by Philip C Curtis on my blog before. I'm surprised that I haven't because I have a special fondness for his work.  Curtis was born in 1907 in Michigan and he studied law before enrolling in a the fine arts school at Yale University.  He went to work for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), part of President Roosevelt's New Deal law.

In 1937 he was sent to Arizona to organize the state's first Art Center in Phoenix.  That art center later became the Phoenix Art Museum.  In 1947, he made Arizona his permanent home.  He lived in Scottsdale until his death in 2000.  

As you can see from the paintings I've chosen for this post, he was a surrealist painter.  I think the museum's description of his style is perfect:

"Drawing inspiration from the Arizona Desert and through the lens of magic realism, he created landscapes and figural compositions that often included Victorian-style subjects to complete his surrealist fantasies about human life and relationships."

The newly remodeled wing of the Phoenix Art Museum has a gallery dedicated to the works of Philip C Curtis.  Many of the paintings in that gallery I had seen before in different locations but it also had some new ones that I hadn't seen before.

So let me tell you the names of the paintings I've shown here starting from the first photo.

1. Two Way Parade

2. The Band Concert

3. The Farewell

4. After Dinner Speakers

5. Casino

I really enjoy seeing Curtis' work so it was great to see so many all together in one place.

That Luxury Hotel, A Year Later

 

I was doing a bit of shopping a few days ago near 44th and Camelback Road and I decided to snap a photo of The Global Ambassador Hotel.  I posted about this building in June of last year when I walked around it with some friends.  I mentioned that it wasn't very impressive looking from the street side as you can see. The real entrance to the hotel is on the other side of the building.  This is the side you see from busy 44th Street.  

Holiday Cheer in an Empty Building

 

I met friends for dinner last Sunday evening at a place right across the street from this former office building being converted to condos.  The last time I posted about this building was in July.

I saw that Christmas Tree in one of the windows and I thought someone had moved into one of the condos.  But, I was wrong.

As I was leaving, I saw another Christmas Tree on the other side of the building and I realized, it was set up in an empty room.  Probably an attempt by the property owners to make the building look a bit festive and desirable during this season.

The first time I posted about this building being converted to condos was back in 2020 when I rather optimistically said that people would be living there soon.  It's now over five years later and it looks like they are still working on this building.

Around the Neighborhood

 

Another walk around the neighborhood yielded a few more photos to share.  This extremely full tree was showing a little color in the leaves.  Unlike some trees that turn yellow, this one is turning an redish-brown color.  

I noticed when walking past this house that I could see straight through the front window and into the golf course behind the house.  It looks like the owners can chat with the golfers right from their back yard.

This house had put up some modest holiday decorations. They've made the front door very welcoming.

Another house had this lovely fountain in front for everyone who walks past to enjoy.  

Ed Mell's Southwest

 

In the Ed Mell gallery at the Phoenix Art Museum, I saw some fascinating pieces that I had not seen before.  This Painting of a cactus flower about to open is called appropriately enough, Opening Cactus Bud. It is part of a private collection so it had not been on display before.

This one was part of a series of abstract paintings that Mell had done.  It is called Summer Hunt.

This small painting was a part of a series of canvases that were painted as ideas for larger paintings.  I loved this one.

This last one is a painting also found in his studio that is a typical Ed Mell southwestern scene.  It's called Reverent Land.  

I love seeing the small paintings that were usually studies for something much larger like the lightening strike one above.  It was enlightening to see how the artist came up with ideas for his paintings. 

Big and Bold

 

There were several spots in the newly restored wing of the Phoenix Art Museum where the art was big and bold in the way it was displayed.  This scene greeted me as I entered the gallery.  The painting on the right is by the native American artist Fritz Scholder. It's called "Posing Indian with Headdress".  The sculpture on the left was new to me.  It's by Virgil Ortiz and it's called "Po' Pay".  

Around another corner was this "ofrenda" created by Amelia Mesa-Bains.  This one is called "Queen of the Waters, Mother of the Land of the Dead".  The artist says it's an offering to the mother goddesses of three cultures, Mexican, Spanish and West African.  That is real potpourri on the floor around the alter and it sent up a sweet smell that envelopes you the minute you enter this gallery.

A third bold statement was made when I rounded another corner and saw this display.  The center sculpture is by artist Carlos Alberto Estevez Carasa and it's called "Across the Universe".  

I found all of these bold exhibits to be fascinating and imaginative.  They blended well with the European Art pieces created hundreds of years ago.  

Newly Remodeled

 

For most of the summer, one wing of the Phoenix Art Museum has been closed for some major repairs and a remodel.  It was reopened on November 28th and I finally made it yesterday to see the changes.  I was very impressed.  The wing has been named after the museum's Director Emeritus James K. Ballinger.  The wing houses American Art, Latin Art and European Art and the current exhibit features pieces from the museum's original collection along with contemporary works.

There was one gallery dedicated to the works of Ed Mell, a native of Phoenix and well known southwestern artist who passed away last year.  Most of the works in this gallery were from his studio and have never been on display before.  It was wonderful.  I'll have more photos in the future.

A Dazzle of Zebras

 

Back in November, a fellow blogger did a post about collective nouns, the names used for groups of people, animals and objects.  I learned from that post that the collective noun for a group of zebras is a "Dazzle".  I loved the idea of calling a group of zebras a "dazzle" so when I came across this photo taken 10 years ago, I just had to post it.  Dazzle is a great name for a group of these creatures because they are rather dazzling, don't you think?

This photo was taken at a wild animal park called "Out of Africa" located about 90 miles north of Phoenix at Camp Verde Arizona.

Regal Cactus

 

I loved the look of all of these organ-pipe cactus plants lined up so evenly along this wall.

Then after snapping the above photo, I rounded a corner and caught sight of this rather regal looking saguaro cactus.

These might be rather prickly plants but, they do have a certain beauty about them.

Desert Winter Blooms

 

Almost every house I pass when I walk in the neighborhood has flowers blooming around them. One of the houses has a fence around it that is covered with a vine of roses.

It was full of blooms when I walked past recently.

Another house had these pots full of pretty flowers.

According to the news, many of you are experiencing some cold and wet weather right now. I hope these blooms add a little color to your day. 

Here in the desert, we see more flowers blooming in the winter than we do in the intense heat of the summer.

A Surprise Pop-Up

 

As usual, I snapped quite a few photos while walking in the neighborhood last weekend.  There were a row of these ornamental orange trees in one spot and I stopped to snap a photo of this neatly trimmed one that happened to be full of fruit.

While I was standing there, this little mockingbird just popped up from inside the tree.  He must have a nest inside that complex den of branches.  

Theme Day: Furry Things

 

When I saw this theme coming up I thought that I might just pull a photo out of the archives.  After all, I have plenty of dogs, cats and even quite a lot of zoo animals in the archives. Then on Saturday I stopped at a small store that is adjacent to a local grocery store and I saw these colorful and very furry critters for sale.

The colors were so bright and cheerful, I couldn't resist a few photos.

All that brilliant color and all those happy faces, it was a more than I could resist.  

Today is theme day for City Daily Photo Bloggers.  Click here to see more "furry" photos.  

A Goose Parade

 

On my walk around the neighborhood on Friday, I saw these geese marching in a single line across the golf course.  There was a little precision goose-stepping going on there.

In the opposite direction, I saw just one goose watching over the antics of a group of ducks.  All of them were sharing all that lovely green grass with the golfers who were out for a round of golf. It was a perfect day to be enjoying the outdoors.