Cross-Pollination

 I stopped at the Shemer Art Center yesterday to see the latest exhibit.  There were two shows on view.  

The two pieces I've pictured here are from an exhibit called "Cross-Pollination" and it was solo exhibit featuring the photographic art of Linda Enger.  Her photos are a "conceptual still-life series shaped by cycles of planting, harvesting, painting, gathering, repurposing, photographing and editing."

I was totally mesmerized by the images all of which were printed on very glossy metal. 

This one to the left is called "Multi-tasking Can Get Very Messy, Like Life".  

  This one to the right is called "Committed to Peas and Calm, A New Hope".  And, "peas" is not a typo.  

I took this photo from the side to avoid reflections on the shiny surface.

I love all of the prints in the show.  I'm feeling some inspiration to do a little photographic experimenting myself. 

The London Silver Vaults

 

I spotted the London Silver Vaults on a trip to London a few years ago and I wondered what they were.  However, I promptly forgot all about it.  When I was there last August, I walked by the building again and decided to check it out.  I had no idea what it was about or if I was even allowed in but, a kindly guard said "of course" and pointed me in the direction of an elevator

That elevator took me deep down into a labyrinth of individual vaulted rooms that I discovered were individual shops where one could buy or sell silver pieces of all kinds.

It was room after room of more silver than I've ever seen in one place.

So after returning home, I did some research to get more information on this unusual place.  They boast housing the largest selection of fine, antique, modern and contemporary silverware anywhere in the world.  It is estimated that it contains 24,646 tons of silver valued at 30.7 billion dollars. The vaults contain 30 shops over 2 long corridors.

The site dates back to 1882 when the vaults were built 2 levels below ground with 3.9 foot thick walls lined with steel.  It was where the aristocracy stored their silver and other valuables when the left London to stay in their country homes. By the 1930's, silver dealers began buying and selling silver from the location.  During the London Blitz, the Victorian building above ground was destroyed but the vaults remained safe.  During WWII, a lot of silver was sold to military officers stationed in London and that started the sales trade from the vaults. A replacement building was constructed in 1953 above the vaults and it became a shopping destination ever since.  The vaults have never been broken into and judging from all the thick vault doors I passed through to get there, I can see why.

I enjoyed learning all of this almost as much as I enjoyed visiting the shops and seeing all that silver. I saw several shoppers negotiating purchases while I was there.

A Fistful of Colors

 One other exhibit at the Western Spirit Museum is called A Fistfull of Colors and it features a large variety of paintings that contain a lot of bright colors. 

This painting by Paul Pletka is a perfect example.  It's called "Danza Mitote".  Its depiction of people dressed in an array of bright colors seems to fit the theme perfectly.

I also liked this painting that was included in the same colorful exhibit.  It doesn't have as many bright colors but I love the canyon country image.  This one is by Marcia Molnar and is called "With Me There is Beauty".  

No deep thoughts were needed for this exhibit. Just pure enjoyment.

Ballet For Billy

 

I can tell from some of the comments to yesterday's post that many of you were as conflicted as I was when I saw the exhibit about Billy the Kid at the Western Spirit Museum.  The exhibit's description material talks a lot about how the history of Billy's escapades has been a blurred through the years.  Some see him as a murderous outlaw while others think of him as a folk hero making his way in a lawless land.  

Thom Ross's paintings depict Billy's life as a feverish dance.  The painting above is called "Escape from the Burning McSween House" and represents one of the stories of how he escaped a burning house and evaded the authorities who were pursuing him.

This painting is called "Arrest at Stinking Springs" which is a place near Ft. Sumner where Billy was arrested.

This last painting is called "Midnight at Fort Sumner" where Billy was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett.  He was only 21 years old.  His life was short but his legend lives on and on. 

This whole exhibit got me to thinking about how history views people who have made a name for themselves either doing good things or by doing bad things.  A good museum exhibit should make you think and this one sure did for me.

Billy the Kid

 

I went to the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale last Sunday to see a new exhibit they were featuring called "The Resurrection of Billy the Kid".  The museum and True West Magazine combined forces to bring the west's most notorious outlaw back to life.

The exhibit contained the works of Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross to reimagine the "kid's" short life.  

The painting to the left was created by Bob Boze Bell and is called "Charming Billy".  It's based on the only surviving photograph of Billy taken around 1880.

One thing I didn't expect to see was this little memorial to Billy the Kid complete with a guest book for people to sign.

An even bigger surprise was opposite the memorial where I saw this statue of Billy laid out for a wake with candles and flowers.  The death-bed statue was created by Buckeye Blake.

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the art works created by Thom Ross for this exhibit. He reimagined the "Kid's" life as a fevered frontier dance.

Oxford Mural

 

I found this mural inside Blackwell's Book Store in Oxford back in August when I was there.  It was so well done I couldn't resit some photos even though it was in a difficult spot. It was on a wall next to a staircase leading down to the lower level.

The mural depicts historic scenes from Oxford's past.  It was created by Edward Bawden in 1979 and still looks like new.  Bawden was known for his book covers, posters and prints of historic places.  This was his last major work.  He passed away in 1989.  

Taking part in Monday Murals

Whiskers!

 

My friend Glenda was babysitting her neighbor's dog Pepper last week and when I stopped by her house I couldn't resist a photo or two.  

This photo gave me a chuckle with all those whiskers flying about.  

Did you know that the word Schnauzer comes from the German word for "snout" or "whiskered snout".  

Pepper is displaying his whiskered snout for all of us to see.

Floating Blooms

 

I saw these pretty flowers growing along a pathway and I decided to take a photo with my iPhone using the "portrait" mode.  I like the way that mode blurs the background.  This time it blurred the stem on the flowers so that it looks like they are actually floating in the air.

Here's another photo of the plant.  Google says this is called a Mexican Petunia.  I have no idea if that is right.  The Google AI bots get it right about 40% of the time.

Bibendum: The Michelin Man

 

Yesterday I mentioned that we had dinner at Bibendum inside the Michelin House and that the restaurant closed  two days after we dined there.

Today I'll show you some of the things that will be greatly missed.  

First up we have the two stained glass windows that adorn the dining room.  

This window depicts Bibendum as a kick boxer.

This window shows him riding a bicycle with no hands and smoking a cigar.  

The tributes to the rotund fellow wrapped in white did not end with the windows.  Some of the serving pieces also featured him.  This egg-cup contained one of the delicious courses for our meal and you can see Bibendum holding up the cup while standing on a Michelin tire.

The butter dish also depicted the fellow this time sitting on a Michelin tire.

In the background you can see the Michelin Man salt and pepper shakers.

My favorite depictions came on top of the Bibendum Double Chocolate Soufflé for dessert.  It was a shame to dip my spoon into the jolly fellow but in the end, I ate every bit of that dessert.

This last picture is  my "arty" shot of my champagne glass with one of those wonderful stained glass windows glowing through it. 

I sure do hope that something new goes into the building and that all these fun tributes to the Michelin character will be put back into use.

Timing is Everything

 

 On August 24th when I was posting from London, I posted about the day's activities which included dinner at a restaurant  called Claude Bosi Bibendum.  Claude Bosi is the chef and Bibendum is the name of the round fellow sometimes called the Michelin Man.

The restaurant is housed in this historic building called the Michelin House.  In 1911 when it opened, it was a one stop place for all things needed by motorists.  

In 1985, the building was sold and from that time on it housed fine dining restaurants.

On August 23rd, we had dinner there and on August 25th, the restaurant closed permanently. 

We had no idea that was going to happen but upon reflection, there were only two other dining groups in the restaurant while we were there.  

The news stories about the closure all state that it was because the landlord and restaurant partners could not agree on the future of the Michelin House building.  Hopefully, this old Art Deco building will be saved.

Tomorrow I'll show you some details from inside the restaurant.  There was an amazing amount of tributes to the Bibendum character. 

Theme Day: Glass

 

We have turned another page on the calendar and are starting a new month.  City Daily Photo Bloggers post a photo based on a theme on the first of every month and the theme for October 1st is "Glass".  

I decided to use a photo I took in London back in August when I was there.  I visited the Southwark Cathedral and spent some time admiring the history of the place as well as the beautiful stained glass windows all around the church.  This particular window caught my eye because of its abstract nature.  

I did some research and learned that this window was commissioned to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 2012.  The artist creating this beautiful window is Leifur Breidfjord from Reykjavik Iceland.  It was designed to reflect the progress of Her Majesty's reign as "Defender of the Faith" for 60 years.

The motto at the base reads: "Vivat Regina, Defender of the Faith Diamond Jubilee 1952-2012"  

Vivat Regina means long live the queen and indeed she did!

To see other "glass" photos, click here.

Framed in Green

 

I took a drive through the Encanto Historic Neighborhood recently and saw this pretty house that has some shrubbery trimmed to frame the from window.  I like the way that looks.  

I haven't done much roaming in these old neighborhoods lately.  Now that the weather is starting to cool down, I'll have to make a point of visiting them more often.

Zorro!

 

It was the first opera of the season on Saturday night and my friends and I enjoyed a brand new opera called "Zorro".  It was about that historic, sword-wielding, masked man of legends.  It was an excellent opera and production.  I was riveted to the words and music.  

Some audience members really got into the spirit of the night!

Sunshine and Rain

 

I snapped these two photos yesterday morning when the rain was coming down while the sun was shining.  It was just the remains of that crazy storm that happened on Friday. The top photo is looking northwest where the rain was coming from. The second photo is looking southwest where the skies were clearing.  Both photos were taken minutes apart. Rain and sunshine at the same time happens quite often in the desert.

The rain only lasted a few minutes and then things dried up until late in the day when I poured down rain again.

I copied this photo from the AZ Central online news.  This is what it was like on Friday when I was driving home.  Desert cities aren't built for rainy weather.  When we have storms like Friday's, the water accumulates quickly and floods streets and yards and causes flash floods in normally dry washes.  

I heard that flights were grounded in Phoenix from 11:00 AM to almost 7:00 PM.  It must have been chaos at the airport.  Friday was one crazy day in Phoenix.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

 

It had just stopped raining when I left my house to go to Scottsdale.  While I was in Scottsdale it started coming down like crazy.  

When I got back to my car, the street where I parked was flooded and I wasn't sure how I was going to get into driver's side without wading through a river of rushing water.  I finally got in the back seat, slid across to other side, got out where the water wasn't so deep on the street side and then got into the driver's seat.  

However, getting into the driver's seat wasn't the end of the trials.  It was raining so hard it was hard to see anything and the streets were flooded in all directions.  It was very slow going but I made it home unscathed.  Then I got completely drenched in the short distance from my car to the covered walkway.  It was kind of like someone threw a bucket of water on me.

I haven't seen a storm like this in this area in a very long time.  It warranted four emergency alerts like this one.

A Roadrunner Visit

 My friend Glenda captured some great photos when this friendly roadrunner stopped by her garden for a visit.  She shot all of these photos through a window and with her iPhone and they turned out so great that I just had to share them.  Above he was looking toward the window.

In this shot he spread his wings and flew over to that chair.  What a great action shot.  It's rare to see a roadrunner taking flight.

And here he is after he landed on the chair.  

These are some very impressive photos especially considering they were taken quickly and through a window.  Great job Glenda!

Books I Found in London

 

I love London book stores so while I was there, I visited several of them.  This one is Foyles and I even had a very tasty lunch in the cafe at this store.  

While browsing, I spotted the book to the left called "Capital Christie."  It's a collection of Agatha Christie stories all based in London.  I decided I wanted it and thankfully, we have Amazon so I can buy it when I get home instead of loading up my luggage with books.  So, click, I snapped a photo to remind me.

I also stopped at Hatchards book store and seeing the display for the book on the left, I decided I wanted it too.  It's called "The Artist" by Lucy Steeds.  Once again, I took a quick photo to remind me.

Those photos worked to remind me to place the order and I did the following week after I got back.  That's when I noticed that the delivery date was over two weeks away.  I think they might have had to find a vendor that could get the books from London.  "The Artist" arrived last Saturday from a place in New York City and with a different dust jacket and "Capital Christie" arrived just yesterday from a place in Rochester New York.  It took longer than expected but I'm happy to have them.

I think I will enjoy these two.

Yellow: The Color of the Day

 

Last Sunday I saw a lot of pretty yellow blooms everywhere I went.  

It started in the morning when I saw the yellow blooms on a canna lily plant in a planter in front of where I live.

Around noon, a friend and I had lunch at AZ88, that unique Scottsdale eatery that always has changing art displays.  These gorgeous yellow gladiolas were decorating the dining room.

The pretty gladiolas were matched by the equally pretty yellow Peruvian lilies on the tables. 

All those yellow blooms brought their own form of sunshine to an overcast day.  

Sunrise Beauty & Noise

 

Early yesterday morning around 6:30, I heard some scraping and banging noises coming from outside.  I went outside to investigate and before I could spot the noise maker, I was struck by the beauty of the rising sun lighting up the mountains north of me.

After admiring the view, I noticed that there was some type of construction going on in the street below.  Could it be the start of the job to fix our electrical problems?

Just an hour later, our parking lot was full of heavy equipment and the noises of trucks, jackhammers and diggers. Yippee!  They have started to work to lay new underground cable.

Three big spools of cable are sitting in the parking lot waiting.  It looks like we are going to get the electricity outage problem fixed.  That makes me very happy.