Arches

I've shown these arches before but not from this vantage point.  This is one side of the Heard Museum.  This covered walk with those beautiful arches always makes me want to stop for another photo.  I liked this shot because of the deep shadows and the condominium tower looming in the background.

Back to school

School is back in session and I'm seeing kids in their school uniforms out and about around town.  This group seemed to be taking in a little shopping on their lunch break.

It's Sunday

Stretch out and relax!

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Today I'm visiting New York City and talking about a dream of mine that will never come true.

A beautiful place for an event

Remember last week when I mentioned that I did the photography for the 'Fred Duval for Governor' fund raiser featuring President Bill Clinton?  Well, I thought I'd show you the room the main event was held in.  I thought this was a very attractive room located in Hanger One at the Scottsdale Airport.  I love that big sweeping ceiling that goes down to the floor level in the back of the room.  Over to the far left of the photo, you can see the backdrop that was used to photograph all these generous people with the former president.

Pizza.....great pizza

Back in 2009 I told you about his pizza restaurant that had just opened and I mentioned that I was going to add it to my favorites list.  I've eaten there many, many times since then and it is consistently good.  I mentioned in that post the name of the place "The Parlor" was derived from the beauty parlor that used to be in the building.  I was there last week having my favorite pizza, and I thought I'd snap this photo so you could see those beauty parlor chairs that now grace the counter.  So, if you eat your pizza at the counter, you get to sit in the old beauty parlor chairs.

By the way, my favorite pizza there is a seasonal one called Summer Corn.  It has sweet corn, roasted chiles, cilantro and a spicy creme fraiche.  I have to get over there and have another one sometime soon before the seasonal menu changes.

Tall handle bars

I saw this bike chained up when I stopped to pick up some take-out for dinner.  It's probably silly, but I thought it was kind of pretty against that big tree and the building behind it.  I can tell you one thing for sure.  I couldn't ride this one.  Those handle bars are way too tall for me.

Oh those clouds....

We've had quite a lot of cloud activity the past few weeks and it's always fun to see them reflected in the glass buildings around town.

But, sometimes it's just all about the cloud.  

Hovering

This guy was hovering over my house over the weekend.  I went outside to see what the noise was all about and saw this guy and two others all hovering in the sky.  I quickly deduced that there must have been an accident near by and all the local news stations were on the case.  Three of these whirly-birds in close proximity make a LOT of noise.  I turned on the TV and found out that fortunately, no one was injured but, a car had run over the curb knocking down a traffic light and a street light on it's way into a parking lot.  Good job that he missed people and other cars entirely.

Mystery Mural

There is an office building not far from where I live on the corner of Thomas Road and Central Avenue that recently went through some major renovations.  A few months ago, this mural was painted on the side of the building and I've been waiting to see some sort of sign to tell me the meaning of the mural but, so far nothing has shown up.

It kind of has a "big brother" look to it but, I haven't seen any sign that the Big Brother organization has moved into the building.

So, it's still a mystery to me.

UPDATE:  Therese of Toulouse A to Z... found the name of the artists for me and I did some more research this morning and found a story about the two Berlin-based artists Karl Addison and James Bullough who created this mural. You can read it here. 

Fashion Trend

There is a new men's fashion trend sweeping around the world these days, bright, bold, colorful socks!  I have to admit when I first saw these socks my thought was "what a bold personality this guy must have".  I mentioned it to a male friend and that's when I learned that this is definitely a new trend.  So I did some Googling and sure enough, there are flashy socks everywhere.  I like it.  You have to admit, this is way, way better than exposing your "briefs" for all the world to see.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a tiny Southern California mountain escape.  Slice of pie anyone?

I do love these birds...

I spotted a group of my favorite birds at the Desert Botanical Garden recently.  They were eating the seeds from the dried-out chocolate daisies.  These peach-faced lovebirds that have recently shown up in large wild groups throughout the valley are so entertaining to watch.  They make me smile every time I encounter them.

Tundra

I've seen this couple with their dogs often at Biltmore Fashion Park when I stop there for shopping.  On this day I decided to ask about the dogs.  This dog's name is Tundra and it is a wolf.  There was another wolf pup behind Scott the owner but, the pup was not too interested in having a photo taken.  Actually Tundra, though very friendly, wasn't into the whole posing thing either.  Tundra loved a little rub on the chest and sort of nuzzled my leg when I did that.

Cabin in the city

Many times I picture large grand homes that I find scattered throughout the city but, this time I'm picturing a small home that looks very much like a mountain cabin.  It sits by itself away from the other homes in the north Phoenix neighborhood where I found it.  I wonder if this house was once the homestead or farmhouse long before the city expanded into this area.  It does have a peaceful, mountain look to it surrounded by the trees and that large lawn.

Someone I've always wanted to meet...

I was thrilled to be asked to be the photographer for another Fred Duval for Governor fund raising event, this time with special guest President Bill Clinton.  I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about shooting photos for such a prestigious event but, my desire to meet this man in person far over shadowed any butterflies I had.  And what a charming and gracious man he is.  The above photo is Clinton with our favorite candidate for Governor of the state of Arizona, Fred Duval.

I had to say that I've seen quite a lot of politicians do the "meet and greet" event and I don't think I've ever met one who so thoroughly enjoyed doing just that.  He spoke with everyone in attendance and posed for a photo with each and he did it with so much attention to every person he met that I think everyone left feeling that it was a very special afternoon.

After smiling, laughing, and posing with near 90 people, he graciously posed with the photographer who had been aiming her camera at him all afternoon.

It's not a great photo of me, but I don't care.  I love it!

Sunnyslope

The decoration on this bridge over one of our many canals is designed to introduce the driver to Sunnyslope, a village within Phoenix on the north side of town.  I recently heard a story on our local NPR radio station about how Sunnyslope used to be a community of people who came to Arizona for their health.  A little more than a century ago, people were coming to Arizona for  the hot dry climate, thought to be good for people with tuberculosis.  Many of the people who came here were poor and couldn't afford medical care at home so they came here to see if the climate would help.  Because of a need to help these people, the Desert Mission was founded and later the John C. Lincoln Hospital.  The city of Phoenix annexed the area in 1959 but many people who have lived there since the beginning still refer to it as Sunnyslope.  

Marilyn....revisited....

For many years now, Marilyn Monroe has been gracing the side of an auto shop on busy Indian School Road in Phoenix.  If you have been a long time follower of City Daily Photo blogs, you may have seen her pictured on Randy's Fotographia Phoenix site back in 2007 when Randy was living in Phoenix instead of his current home in Santa Fe New Mexico.  I was driving by the site the other day and I remembered how I had seen the photo on his blog long before I thought about doing a blog myself.  When Randy moved to Santa Fe is when I started thinking that it might be fun to post a photo a day from Phoenix.  It took me a while.  I didn't start my blog until almost a year later but I have been posting ever since.

So this post is a little tribute to Randy of Santa Fe Daily Photo.  Randy, I thought you'd like to know that Marilyn is still there on the side of that building!

Western Bench

Sitting in the middle is not an option!

I saw this bench in Old Town Scottsdale and decided that it is built for only two at a time.  That middle seat could be a bit hard on one's back.  I wonder how many tourists have posed for a picture on this bench.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm remembering a  fantastic meal in Argentina.  

Greek Goddess

A row of Greek Goddesses standing in front of a Southwestern Art store in Old Town Scottsdale.  They look just a little out of place standing here.

Mystery shot

I took this photo a while ago when I was walking around the Scottsdale Civic Center park.  I spotted a patch of poppies blooming so a took a few shots.  For some reason that I can't explain, this shot looks like I photoshopped the background to black and white, but I didn't.  This is straight out of the camera and it's the only shot with the background looking like this.  Other shots have green backgrounds.  I checked the meta data for the photo and it's exactly the same as the shot with the green background.  Whatever the reason, I like the way it looks.

The Residences

I took this shot of The Residences at 2211 Camelback from the side of the building with the palm trees in the foreground.  It's a luxury condominium tower in the heart of Phoenix and the Phoenix home of Senator John McCain and his wife (remember him, the guy who ran for President 6 years ago?).  I've never been inside this building but, I did look it up and found that the condos here tend to run into the millions of dollars.

Show in the sky

I was headed over to Julie & Dave's house last Saturday evening and I noticed that there was a storm building up in the east while the sun was still shining in the west.  The buildings were all lit up against the dark sky.

When I got to Scottsdale, the clouds were turning darker with patches of color and the sun in the west was still lighting up the buildings.

The sunset show from Julie & Dave's back yard was even more spectacular.  We stood out there for quite a while snapping photos between the oohs and aahs.

Lots and lots of rain

Sometime around 2:30 AM, I was awakened by the sound of wind and rain slamming into my bedroom window.  I got up to look out and saw rain coming down in sheets, sideways from the south.  The remnants of hurricane Norbert had made it's way into the valley and it left behind quite a bit of damage, mostly to cars that got caught in flooded streets and highways.  In fact, all of the major highways in and out of Phoenix were closed in places yesterday while clean up crews siphoned off the water and towed away the flooded cars.  I watched the news and saw just how bad it was in some places.  The photo above was taken in a parking lot not far from where I live.

There was no damage at my house and the water stayed outside where it belongs.

The above photo is from the parking lot of the Safeway store near my house.  Since water drainage isn't a priority in the desert, many places don't have the drain facilities to accommodate so much water when it comes down at that rate.  They cleared the highways pretty quickly but it might be a day or two before the parking lots are water free.

Antonio Berni

Yesterday I told you about my First Friday outing and I talked about the first stop on the tour.  Today I'll talk about our last stop.  It was the Phoenix Art Museum to see a special show about artist Antonio Berni.  There was no photography allowed at this show so borrowed a photo from the internet (Huffington Post) so you see an example of the sheer size of the pieces in this show.  Some were even bigger than those shown above.  Many of them were woodcuts and the wood piece was displayed right next the print made by the cut.  I don't think I had ever seen woodcuts so large.  The rest of the wall pieces were collages made up of all sorts of found objects, auto parts, tin cans, utensils, fabric, doll's hair, scrap metal and much more.

There were also whimsical sculptures like the one above.  (This photo borrowed from the Phoenix Art Museum)

All of the sculptures and art works were related in theme to a story he was telling about two children as they grew into adults.  The sculpture above represents a nightmare had by "Ramona", one of the subjects of his story.

The work was simply amazing.  I'm so glad I got to see it.

If you want to read more about this artist and the show at the Phoenix Art Museum, you can see it here.

Taking in some art

I haven't been to a First Friday Art Event all summer long so when a friend called and asked if I wanted to go, I jumped at the chance.  Our first stop was Pela Gallery for a new show opening that night called "Evidence of Life".  What a great name for these out-of-this-world art pieces.  The paintings are by Jason Hugger who paints "dreamlike strucures against realistic desertscapes".  He says he was inspired by visits to the Middle East.
In the center of the photo above you will see a round, lighted sculpture created by Thad Trubakoff (Thad is the tall guy in front of the piece).  It's described as a "giant pinwheel that leaps to life activated by the viewers presence before it".  And, it really did leap to life with a whooshing sound and a some spinning action.  I loved it!
There was another sculptor present too, his name was Brad Konick.  The two pieces on the wall to the left were by him.  I didn't get a shot of one of his great free standing pieces but if you click on the link above you can see a photo of it there.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm back in Treviso Italy again, this time with a sculpture that has an amusing history.

Orange Frame

What on earth is that thing framing those palm trees?

It's a sculpture that sits on the grounds of the Phoenix Art Museum.  I couldn't find a plaque for this one so I can't tell you who the artist is but, I do know that it has been in various locations around the museum for many, many years.  

Thorne Rooms

There is a room at the Phoenix Art Museum that houses twenty miniature rooms that are viewed through windows.  They are part of what is known as The Thorne Rooms.  After the turn of the 20th Century, Narcissa Niblack Thorne started collecting miniature furniture and accessories during her travels to England and the Far East.  She had the idea to put the collection into beautifully crafted room settings and beginning in 1930 she and the craftsmen she worked with created a total of 98 rooms.  Phoenix is lucky to have 20 of these rooms.  The one above is one of my all time favorites.  I do love art deco.

The majority of the rooms are located at the Art Institute of Chicago where I was lucky to see them back when I was working in Chicago.  They have 68 of the rooms.  The Knoxville Museum of Art has 9 and the two remaining are located in the Indianapolis Children's Museum and the Kaye Miniature Museum in Los Angeles.

Jealousy

I don't think I quite get this sculpture but, maybe it's meant to be interpreted by the viewer.  It's called "Jealousy" by Eduardo Oropeza.  I see the jealousy part, I'm just not sure if that's a guy with his wife and girlfriend, his two girlfriends, or his teenage daughters.  Regardless, I don't get a warm feeling about it so I'm not going to think about it any longer.  I found it on the grounds of the Phoenician Resort.

Ruby Red

I spotted these bright red radishes on a Farmer's Market table.  They are certainly a gorgeous color and would be a bright touch to any salad.  I should say they were a bright touch to a salad.  I bought a few and sliced them into my dinner salad and my lunch salad the next day.

In ruins..

Yesterday I had the rust, today I have the ruins.  Actually I had a hard time deciding between the two representations of rust and ruins.  This ruin is located on the grounds of the Tovrea Castle.  Remember when I was working on opening that historic site to tourists?  You can see one of my posts of the castle here.  It seems like I spent every weekend out there back then.  Well it's been open now for at least three years and doing rather well.  They were hoping that at sometime in the future they could restore some of these old out buildings.  They are in pretty bad shape so I think "restoration" might not be what will happen.  I think "rebuilding" will be more like it.

Theme Day: Rust & Ruin

Sitting in the parking lot of a restaurant in north Phoenix is this old Austin slowly disintegrating.  It's been sitting in that same parking slot for as long as I can remember.

It makes me wonder if the restaurant owner bought this car with the intention of restoring it or possibly using it as a display for the restaurant but, never got around to getting the job done.

Instead, the elements have taken their toll.

To see how other City Daily Photo Bloggers have depicted "Rust & Ruin" from their cities, Click Here.