An Artistic Find

 

Back during the summer months, I was doing some house cleaning and reorganizing and I decided to tackle a box that has been sitting in the bottom of the closet in my "office" room.  That box as been in that closet for about 12 years and I've never opened it.  I enjoyed finding all kinds of things that had been hidden away.  

One of the things I found was this watercolor painting of a wonderful southwestern scene.  It was wrapped in tissue to protect it so it was in great condition.  The odd thing is that I have no recollection of how or where I acquired it.

It had some writing on the back so I know the artist's name is Benson Halwood and that he lives in Chinle Arizona.  I looked him up and found that he was born in 1963 and paints mostly in watercolors and the examples I saw on the internet look to be very much like this one in both shape and size.  I see from the notes that I must have paid $50.00 for the painting.  

I took the painting to a local framing shop and had it framed with the new matting that you see in the top photo.  I love how it turned out.  It's now hanging in my dining room where I can see it often.  

Dia de Muertos Celebration

 

I thought I had missed the Dia de Muertos celebration at the Desert Botanical Garden but discovered it was this last weekend instead of the rainy weekend before.  I decided I should go on Saturday evening.  I knew it would be busy but had no idea just how busy.  There were signs along the drive that parking lot was full and that is one huge parking lot.

In spite of that I was able to find good spot to park so I could enjoy some of the festivities.  

Above is the annual "ofrenda" or offering altar.  I waited quite a while to catch a clear shot. 

There were colored light shining on all the cacti and plants all over the garden.

I liked how this tree was dripping with lights.

There were lots of people in costumes and face paintings but this lady was especially lovely.  I asked if she would pose for me and she agreed.  I love the gorgeous head piece she's wearing.

Entertained By the Dog

 

I stopped for lunch a place near my home and since it was a lovely day decided to dine on the patio.  One of the first things to catch my eye was this handsome dog sitting patiently at the base of a table occupied by two women.  I watched him as he kept his eye on the people passing by and occasionally lifted his head when someone with another dog walked past.

I decided to zoom in a little closer and just concentrate on his sweet face.

Then one of the servers stopped by to say hello to the dog and he sat up and accepted a few pats on the head and even gave her a little doggie kiss.  

I often people-watch when I'm dining alone but this time I dog-watched and enjoyed every minute of it. 

A Little Disorienting

 

The last time I was at the Desert Botanical Garden, I took the longest trail called the "Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail" and I found another one of the "Super Bloom" glass houses that have been scattered around the garden for the new exhibit.  Only this glass house was leaning and looking like it might fall down.  

As I approached the structure, I couldn't help wondering if someone had pushed on it making it lean. On close examination, I saw that it was designed this way.  A little sign said that it was meant to be a little disorienting.

It achieved its goal!

Tribute to Route 66

 

I was at the Heard Museum two weeks ago for a special member's opening for a new exhibit.  In addition to the new exhibit, the museum was doing a little honoring of the 100th birthday of "the mother road", Route 66.  This little scene immediately reminded me of a very old TV show called Route 66 that I watched as a kid.  Does anyone else remember how George Maharis a Martin Milner drove their Corvette (just like the one above) across the country following Route 66?  The show ran from 1960 to 1964.  I think watching that show opened me up to excitement of travel.

Inside the meeting room, members were treated to a very tasty breakfast buffet and we dined at tables adorned with some truly gorgeous floral centerpieces.  

The new exhibit that was opening is called "Twilight: Trading Posts and Creative Legacies."

It was all about the relationship between trading posts and native artists.  It was a complicated relationship but it helped foster a flowering of creativity especially in the areas of finely woven textiles.  

The exhibit features some of those wonderful textiles like the two to the left.  The top one was created by Charlene Laughing and it's called Monument Valley at Sunrise.  

The bottom textile is by Michele Laughing-Reeves and it is called Spider Rock.

There were lots and lots of wonderful weavings in this exhibit.  I'll show some more in future posts. 

New Additions at the Garden

 

A week or so ago, I did a post about a praying mantis sculpture that was a new addition at the Desert Botanical Garden.

Today I have three more new sculptures that have appeared at the garden.  Above is a collection of ruby-throated hummingbirds that now occupy the hummingbird garden.

To the left is Neurothemis terminata a type of red-winged dragonfly.

Here we have some giant butterflies that are now greeting visitors to the butterfly pavilion.  These are the creations of Alex Heveri and they were gifted to the garden by Cliff Douglas.

Accidental Art

 

When we were at Julie and Dave's house for the Art Challenge Club meeting two weeks ago, we sat on the patio chatting before we went inside to reveal our art.  I noticed a line of four palm trees all lit up in the valley below so I decided to snap a photo of them with my iPhone.  I didn't realize that the phone was going to use a slow shutter speed and I moved it too quickly.  I realized it right away and was going to delete the photo but once I looked at it, I liked it.  It has a nice abstract look to it.

Here's the second photo I took holding the phone more steady.  Julie and Dave had some blue lights on their house causing the foreground to glow with a blue tone.  I like that affect too.  

Art Challenge Meeting

 

I'm just now getting around to posting about our most recent Art Challenge meeting.  The subject was "Beach" and once again, we had a nice variety of pieces to admire even if three of our members were unable to make the meeting.

To the left is Glenda's contribution, a shadow box of shells collected on different beaches she's visited.  I love it!

Julie took a class in abstract art and composed this colorful creation filled with the colors of the beach.  She enjoyed the class very much and said she would be experimenting some more with the techniques she learned.

Jim created one of his paper cuts and prints and this time put it behind a porthole he purchased on a recent trip.  How fun is this?

My contribution was pretty simple this time.  I created a photo book filled with some of my favorite "beach" photos from over the years.  I'll be able to enjoy this book for years to come.

Rainy Weekend

 

We had a very rainy weekend this last few days.  On Friday I was at my friend Glenda's house when it started to rain very hard.  It rained on and off for the three hours I was there and there even was a bit of hail at one time.  When I left to go home, I found the streets flooded in several locations.  I made it safely but a mere few blocks away, the fire department had to rescue some people whose car got flooded in the fast moving water.

I took this photo yesterday morning from my place.  The view of Camelback Mountain shrouded in clouds shows just how grey and rainy it was.  If you look very closely at the center of this photo, you can see a hint of some waterfalls coming off the mountain.  Water comes roaring down the mountain and that's what causes the flash floods in the streets below.

I wanted to capture some of the leaves with water droplets on them.

Then I spotted this tiny little hummingbird flying around.  The rain didn't seem to bother him.

Theme Day: Happy

 

Thanks heavens for my archive of photos!  I took this photo many, many years ago back when I was practicing my skills at portraiture.  This happens to be my niece who is a grown woman now and living in Missouri.  I figure that a big Teddy Bear would make just about anyone happy so it certainly fits the theme.

City Daily Photo Bloggers post a photo on the first of the month based on a theme and today's theme is "Happy".  You can click here to see other happy photos!

The Halloween Guests Have Arrived

 

I took a drive over to my old neighborhood to see if the group from the Skeleton Clan were making their seasonal appearance at my former neighbor's house.

Every year it seems like the group gets a little bigger as more and more members of the clan join in on the fun.  

That fellow with the red scarf must have been a basketball player in a his previous life.

I hate to break it to that doctor but I think he might be a little late to save that guy on the ground.  

It's good to know that this group is still around and making their annual appearance.  

Happy Halloween!

Witchy Woman

 

I don't think this is what Don Henley and Bernie Leadon of The Eagles had in mind when they wrote score to "Witchy Woman" but she certainly fits right in to the Halloween atmosphere we are experiencing as the month of October winds down.

I spotted these two ladies recently sitting among a lot of different Halloween decorations.  They both seem quite happy to be there.

A Seasonal Champagne Thursday

 Back in June I did a post about my Thursday evening indulgence of champagne and friends and how I started taking a photo of my champagne glass every time we meet.  I took the photo above last Thursday and tonight we will be using those same two glasses.  I saw those glasses for sale among a lot of holiday decorations and made one of those impulsive decisions to buy two and use them for the October Thursday events.  The glasses combined with my friend Glenda's seasonal decorations make a fun Halloween style photo.  

More Pumpkins

 

A pumpkin with a little Mexican style.  This one was greeting customers at a Mexican Restuarant.  I like his happy face and that great sombrero. 

This one was in a window and it was so neatly carved that I couldn't resist a photo.  Upon closer inspection, I think this might be a ceramic pumpkin, not a real one.  No wonder that carving looks so neat.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

 

When I saw this giant pumpkin at the Desert Botanical Garden, I immediately thought of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.  

Believe it or not, the very first airing in the U.S. of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was on this day in 1966!  

The great pumpkin is 60 years old today.  That's worth celebrating!

Pumpkin Season!

 

It's the time of year when carved pumpkins show up in a variety of places.  This fellow was part of the Halloween decorations at the entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden.

Here's the full scene.  I looked for some "Strange Garden" things while on my walk but the only thing I could find was that giant praying mantis I posted yesterday. However, it was dog day too and there were plenty of dogs attached to their humans at the garden that day.

Praying Mantis

 

I took a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday morning and I found this praying mantis lurking on one of the garden trails.

This is the work of Alex Heveri and was gifted to the garden by Cliff Douglas.  

I found quite a few more sculptures created by the same artist and all appear to be gifts to the garden.  I'll show those sometime in the next few weeks.

Super Bloom

 

I have a few more photos from the new exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden called Super Bloom.  Walking down one of the main paths, I can see some pretty flowers blooming in distance.

The path leads to this central location where one of the glass houses sits surrounded by some pretty blooms.

At another location we see this large mural of cactus blooms in a picture-perfect "Instagram" location.  I've seen lots of people posing here for those instagram moments.

Above is another one of those picture perfect spots.

To the left is large lantern hanging in one of the covered gardens.

It's a very photogenic exhibit. 

Pumpkins, Squash and Gourds

 

The fall decorations at the Desert Botanical Garden are all centered around pumpkins, squash and gourds.  Remember that tree composed of pumpkins that I posted at the beginning of the month? The theme of pumpkins, squash and gourds was followed all over the garden.

I believe that purple one on top is painted in some way.  I did a search about what kind of pumpkin is purple and there doesn't seem to be any naturally that color.

I did see several of these cages filled with a variety of "cucurbita".  

This wreath made of dried flowers and fruit was also an attractive touch.  You get the feeling that fall is in the air even if there are days when the weather isn't agreeing.