I recently spotted this very colorful Tattoo parlor. The entire outside of the building is covered with exotic murals.
I didn't see an artist's name on this one so I can't say who the talented person was who painted this big mural. I do see an advertisement for "Placebo, Mersey Productions" a local record and concert producing company. There must be some connection.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
As you enter the indoor Chihuly glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens, you are greeted with a selection of colorful glass bowls....or baskets as Chihuly calls them. They are on really tall pedestals so they are difficult to photograph especially for someone as short as I am.
There was a room similar to this at his museum (Chihuly Garden & Glass) in Seattle. I remember that they were also on very tall pedestals.
I especially like the colors in this one. Chihuly and his team of glass artists sure create some gorgeous things.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I've got some more Egyptian art from the Met.
It took about a year and a half to build this building but it is finally done. It's the new headquarters for Helios Education Foundation an organization that operates in Arizona and Florida. The Helios organization studies inequities in education and develop solutions to overcome those inequities. They collaborate with other educational organizations with a goal to increase college enrollment for all children in the two states.
The building is so large that at first I thought they were going to have classrooms in side. (That white space behind the copper building is also part of the building.) I was wrong, they use the space as meeting space in order to collaborate with other organizations with the same goals. Some of those organizations might even be housed inside this facility. Check the link if you want to know more.
On one of my visits to the Heard Museum, I was standing in the little sculpture garden and there was something about the light that appealed to me. So I snapped this photo of the sky over the wall and then....
....I snapped this photo in another direction looking toward the Art Deco condo building near the museum.
Just two quick photos that I find appealing for some reason.
I didn't remember that the lobby had niches with busts in them. I believe there were four altogether.
At one end of the lobby is the "peacock" staircase. It's called that because of the beautiful peacock that is located on the underside of the stairs.
It's such a beautiful place. I'd love to explore it more.
Saturday evening, I went to another Phoenix Symphony concert and this time it was at The Orpheum instead of Symphony Hall. I hadn't been inside the Orpheum Theater in a long time so it was nice to see it once again. I featured some photos of the outside of this historic theater back in 2019. You can see those here.
The top photo is looking forward toward the stage and this photo is looking toward the back and the balcony above the theater. I love the lighting they use to light up the ceiling.
This photo just concentrates on the details above the proscenium arch. I love the seven rows of ribbons that frame the stage. Each one has a different pattern. They don't build theaters like this any longer.
Tomorrow I'll show you some details from the lobby area. It was exciting to once again be inside this historic building.
I was looking at my photos from the most recent Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden and I found myself drawn to different glass pieces in shades of purple. I've photographed these "Neodymium Reeds" on several occasions since the exhibit went up. This one shows them framing a giant agave plant.
In the indoor part of the exhibit, shades of purple are also expressed.
The one to the left looks like pulled taffy.
Looking at the photos prompted me to go back and look at the photos from the two previous Chihuly exhibits at the garden in search of shades of purple. And I found a boat full of blues and purples that were from the April of 2009 exhibit.
From the 2014 exhibit, I found these pretty fan-shaped glass sculptures with the Neodymium Reeds behind them. Chihuly uses all colors in his art work but since purple is a favorite color of mine, these really appeal to me.
I mentioned yesterday that some of the aloe plants were blooming when I went for a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden. My favorite of all the different aloe plants is the Cape Aloe. It has luscious, tall orange/yellow blooms.
I'm not sure if it was the house that caught my attention or the two bare trees in front but for some reason, I stopped to take a photo. The house did stand out a bit on this street full of older, single-story homes. This one looks like it's either brand new or been totally remodeled. I also liked those trees in front that have lost all their leaves. I'm guessing that in about three weeks, new buds will start to appear and soon after we won't be able to see that house as well as we can right now.
Here are two more of my Art Challenge Club projects. These two are both from 2019. For the one above, the challenge was "Melting". I took a photo of a cactus bloom and used some editing software to make the flower look like it was melting.
For this second one, the challenge was "Sticks". I used this photo of a bamboo grove and used software to enhance the edges of each 'stick'.
This one has a different look with four buildings in a row. These have an interesting look to them with those big windows facing the street. However, I wonder about the windows on the other units in this row. I'm not sure they would have much a view.
This one gives a better idea of how it might look when done. It looks like maybe some curved balconies might be shaping up on this one. I'll make a point of photographing them again when they are complete.
I found this new mural recently added to the side of a building housing a dog grooming business called "The Hairy Dog". That is one very large dog.
The parking lot is shared with a restaurant next door so there are always a bunch of cars next to it. I finally went on a Sunday morning thinking there might be fewer cars but there were still many parked there. With all those cars there, you can see just how big that dog is.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
If I drive straight north on my street to the place where the street ends, I see this building sitting on a skinny piece of land. Since I have lived here, it has been a bank and now a real estate office.
It is located on the back side of a long shopping/office center full or restaurants, clinics and a variety of businesses. So on the side visible above, it faces the back of the shopping center. On the other side of it is a steep ravine. The place fascinates me. I like the rocky exterior but, I can't help but wonder why it was built in such a strange spot. I took these photos on one of our recent rainy days.
I have an new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I'm visiting my favorite Egyptian spot....in New York.
I'm seeing more trees turning color and shedding their leaves. We've reached that time when the leaves will fall and once gone, within days the new buds will appear.
The cycle is so different here in a warmer climate than it is in the north and northeast. Growing up in Illinois, the trees were bare for at least three months before they showed signs of new growth. Here they will barely have lost their leaves when new buds appear.
In the past few days, I've had two encounters with food that almost looked too good to eat. The first was at a grocery store when I spotted this fruit tart. I've seen a lot of very pretty fruit tarts but there was something about this one that made me stop to snap a photo. Sheer perfection!
The next happened when I met some friends on Sunday afternoon for a light bite to eat. One of my friends ordered a vegetable platter and when it arrived, I was amazed at how beautifully it was arranged. It certainly makes "eating your vegetables" a lot more fun than it sounds.
This is just a simple view from my last walk at the Desert Botanical Garden with a little added splash of color from Chihuly's Neodymium Reeds. The desert is looking very lush in this photo. Maybe it's because of all that rain we got two weeks ago.
This is a photo from a recent walk at the Desert Botanical Garden. My attention was on the hanging planter in the above photo when I saw all the purple flowers on the shrub behind it.
They are the blooms on a purple potato plant. I must have a real affection for purple flowers. I'm always drawn to them.
I wonder if this plant ever produces any potatoes.
I was driving north on 16th Street when I spotted this building with a lot of colorful murals. I stopped to check it out and I found Frida on one side.
And I saw Marilyn on the other side. They both seemed to be touting the benefits of the Certified Juice Therapist.
The place was closed when I was there so I didn't try any of the juices. I wonder how many they sell in this place. They certainly have made the place stand out with all that color.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
