I stopped at the Phoenix Art Museum last weekend and on my way in, I noticed how the gusty wind was blowing the flag in front of the museum.
I decided to take a few shots and see if I could catch it straight out.
I wasn't able to get the shot I wanted but after seeing the photos downloaded, I decided I liked them just the same. I love the way the fabric has rippled into different shapes. Watching it was almost hypnotic.
When I went to Biltmore Fashion Park on Saturday, I parked at the far end of the shopping center away from the stores I wanted to visit. I was thinking it would be good to walk the length of the center. The far end is where I found the birthday celebration and guard dog I posted yesterday. I also found an art gallery that I didn't even know was there.
The gallery was full of contemporary art pieces like the three above by Michael Gorman. The horse above is the one that caught my eye when I was walking by.
I liked this one too. It was created by Jay Kelly. It has a shiny surface so there is a bit of reflection on this photo.
The lion looks like it's composed of strips of newspaper. So, it's not a paper tiger, it's a paper lion.
It looks like some celebrating is being planned at this spot. I found this at Biltmore Fashion Park last weekend when I was there. This location is outside a restaurant and obviously, there was going to be a birthday party happening sometime soon. Whoever did the decorating did a great job.
I also saw this cute little fellow guarding the doors to this shop. I didn't see any sales person inside the shop so it's a good thing someone was watching the doors.
My knowledge of musical groups is sadly lacking. This mural was found very near the mural I featured last week. That one proved to be about the band called A-ha which I didn't recognize until it was pointed out by a few readers. This is a mural about a band called TWRP and once again the connection went right over my head. Thank goodness for Google searches that are helping to fill in the serious gaps in my knowledge of rock bands. This mural was also painted by Maggie Keene who painted the one I featured last Monday.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
Santa is in town taking orders from all the little kids.
It looks like he's having a serious conversation with this little girl.
Mrs. Claus was also there. She was telling stories while the kids waited to see Santa.
As you can see, the poinsettia tree is up at Biltmore Fashion Park.
However, the Grinch was there too. He was trying to spoil things and being his grumpy self.
Obviously, the season is in full swing.
They were right. There were some beautiful ornaments for sale with the added bonus of meeting all of the artists who had created them.
It's a good thing that I no longer put up a tree because I'm sure I would have spent a lot of money while admiring these little works of art.
I especially like these cute little kachinas and those fuzzy little lambs peeking out from behind were pretty cute too.
P.S. I bought that butterfly ornament. It will look good all year long.
I saw this small tree in the parking lot of a grocery store and its beautiful fall color beckoned me to take a photo. I think one or two people who saw me, wondered what I was doing.
It's a little early for our trees to be turning but it looks like this one didn't get the message.
It might be just a little tree but it's putting on a beautiful fall show.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers who are celebrating today. I will be joining friends for a large celebration of food and friendship. My photo today is of a cheese plate I made for the event last year. This year I'll be bringing a dessert tray with cakes and cookies on it. I'm also making a nice green salad. There is going to be plenty of food and conversation.
I hope you all have a great day!
The Biltmore Fashion Park shopping center put up the fall pumpkin pyramid again this year.
It's an interesting idea for representing the season.
I haven't been there for over a week so it might have been replaced with the poinsettia tree already. Christmas decorations are up everywhere else.
After a beautiful performance of the Phoenix Symphony last Saturday night, I exited through the Phoenix Convention Center which is adjacent to Symphony Hall. I stopped to snap a photo of this huge, 90 foot tall sculpture. The artist has placed a statement in red at the bottom of the mirror. It says "Art is a Guaranty of Sanity". The artist is Louise Bourgeois. What a great quote.
I posted a photo of this piece once before but that was in 2009 so it was time for a refresh.
By the way, I'm in the reflection in the mirror. I'm the lady in black at the foot of the stairs.
I found this mural in that alley in Phoenix that is full of murals. This one was painted by Maggie Keene. She is the artist who did that wonderful tribute to David Bowie several years ago. She painted 8 panels depicting David Bowie in his many personas. You can see them here and here.
This mural is more sketch-like which seems appropriate since Ms. Keene is a professional sketch artist. There is a dreamy sense to this one. Is that young lady dreaming about meeting her favorite rock star?
Taking part in Monday Murals.
Saturday morning was a wet one here in the desert but that didn't stop me from taking a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden. It was my first visit to the garden in several weeks and I wasn't going to let a little rain stop me.
I got lots of photos of plants and blooms dripping with raindrops but not one single bird or animal. They were all hiding away somewhere trying to stay dry.
I didn't expect the garden to be busy on such a rainy day but, I was wrong. It was very busy. The parking lot was full of cars and most of the trails were full of people.
This is the south side of the Phoenix Art Museum building. The parking spots here are for employees of the museum. Guests park on the other side. I wanted to show this little over-hanging room. I've used it many times to take photos toward downtown Phoenix.
This is the view from that little room. It's not quite high enough to catch all of the downtown high-rises but you can spot that revolving restaurant on top of the Hyatt Hotel in between buildings on the far upper-right of this photo.
It's also a good spot to get a photo of "Julian and Suzanne Walking". This is the digital art piece by Julian Opie. I love seeing this couple on their never ending walk. They are so graceful.
After posting those photos of pampas grass yesterday, I realized that there are a few decorative grasses right here where I live. This plant was found near where I park my car and it is looking full and healthy. I believe this is called fountain grass.
I especially like seeing these when there is a breeze blowing. They swing and sway beautifully when the wind is blowing.
I spotted this very large pampas grass plant in a side yard of a local house and I decided to stop and get a photo....or two. I haven't seen a lot of pampas grass lately so this one surprised me.
Many years ago, I cut some of the stalks and used them to decorate my living room. They stood in a tall vase that I had purchased in Mexico.
I wondered why I don't see these plants very often so I did a Google search. I guess it's considered an invasive plant and is in fact banned in Hawaii and New Zealand. That must be why there are so few of these plants around these days. This one appeared to be contained in the yard.
Most of you know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn't miss an opportunity to visit the Gift Shop at the Heard Museum. That's exactly what I did last Saturday when I was there for the Veterans Day event. And, I'm glad I did. Just look at what I found.
This gorgeous sculpture is by Kim Obrzut. It's called "Moon" and the price is $12,800. That's way out of my price range so this photo of it will have to do.
To the right is another of her sculptures called "Polimana" and it's only $7,800.00. Of course, that's still way out of my price range.
I might not have the big bucks to buy these gorgeous pieces but I have these two photos I can look at anytime I want.
When I was in London a few weeks ago, I made a visit to my favorite sculptural fountain, Waterfall. I had heard some disturbing news that it had been moved so when I rounded the corner and saw it there, I was thrilled.
It was great to see it surrounded by a new set of benches and planters. That makes me think it will stay put into the future.
The fountain/sculpture was created by artist Antony Donaldson in 1991. The first time I saw it was in 2005 when I stayed at an apartment near here. I can't tell you how happy I am that I got to see it once again.
It is not the best time of year to photograph a north facing wall. The southern position of the sun doesn't light up the wall very well. However, I lightened this shot up the best I could. I didn't see any signature so the artist is a mystery to me but I do like that floral design. It's very tropical.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
They talked about the Code Talkers and their role in WWII. This sign shows the variety of tribes across the country who participated as code talkers during the war.
They also featured a few art works by veteran Native American artists like this painting by Navajo Narciso Abeyta.
After the event, my friend Glenda and I had lunch at the museum cafe where we were entertained by a lively group of Apache crown dancers.
It was a perfect day for the event.
Earlier in the week, I went to the Heard Museum for lunch. I love the cafe there and even if I'm not going to the museum, I'll stop at the cafe for lunch. The gardeners at the museum keep the planters around the courtyard full of colorful plants. On this occasion it was a patch of pretty peppers dominating the planter.
Back in June, the planters were full of these purple blooms that were tumbling over the sides of the planter.
Three months earlier in March, the planters were dominated by red. Red geraniums were everywhere.
And, before the red there was a combination of colors.
Those gardeners keep these planters full of beautiful blooms all through the year.