Model Home Visit

 

Here is another set of photos discovered in the archives during my organizing project.  These were taken back in 2019 when I joined Julie to tour a model home that was on the market back then.  I snapped a few photos as we made the tour and they somehow never made it onto the blog.  I bet someone is living in the home by now.

I don't remember the price range of this place but I'm guessing it was in the vicinity of one million dollars.  It's probably jumped in value since then. 

I do remember thinking that the yard was quite small.  This pool takes up the whole area.

It was a very nice home but way too much money for such a small outdoor space.  I can't remember why we looked at this place.  I'm guessing it was just curiosity.  

Shades of White

 

I found these photos while I was working on my photo organizing project and they really jumped out at me.  I think I took these when I was experimenting with my macro lens.  I love the soft nature of all of these photos.

I decided they should make an appearance on my blog.  

So, here they are.  Flowers that are long gone but are still inspiring years later.  This demonstrates a good reason to photograph flowers.  Their beauty can be enjoyed long after they are gone.

Another Furry Encounter

 

I met another furry little friend last weekend.  I was having lunch with a friend at a local pub when this fluffy little fellow arrived with its two humans at the next table.  

This little sweetie was so well behaved, sitting patiently under the table and occasionally glancing my way.  I caught this photo during one of those glances.  This little fellow looks like snowball with eyes.  

Wild Menagerie

 

The new art show at the Shemer Art Center is called "Wild Menagerie" and was designed to celebrate the diversity of the animal kingdom.  The piece above is a photograph printed on canvas by Christy Garavetto.  It's called "Coyote Camouflage".  She describes it as a coyote hiding in tall golden grass that is lit by the sun.

To the left is another piece featuring a coyote.  This one is called "Curious Coyote" and it's a mixed media piece printed on acrylic by Theresa Poalucci.  

Here is a ceramic piece called "Proud Burrowing Owls" by Diane Delaney.

This last one is a clever piece called "Desert Cottontail" and it was created in pen & watercolor by Mikayla Hammock.  This is one you need to stare at a bit.  You see the main rabbit then there is a smaller rabbit near the tail but if you look even closer, you will see other tiny rabbits drawn in the body of the big rabbit.  Don't miss the tiny rabbit sitting right on the big rabbit's nose.  

Roosevelt Row

 

One of many murals found along Roosevelt Street in an area known as Roosevelt Row.  It is a great downtown arts district with lots of shops, galleries and restaurants.  I couldn't find a signature on this one.  I have a feeling it was a collaboration between several artists.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Furry Friends 2025

 

The Shemer Art Center hosted its annual Furry Friends event yesterday and I stopped by to have a look.  That's where I saw this very handsome Australian Shepherd dog.

He and his owner were putting on quite a show.  That is one very smart dog.

While I was at The Shemer, I visited the latest art show.  I'll have some more photos to show you next week.

The Leaf Connection

 

There was one other exhibit going on at the Desert Botanical Garden when I was there.  The Leaf Connections is a community project designed to bring awareness of our natural surroundings through art. The project was launched by local artist Mary Meyer.

The project invites the public to participate by observing and sharing images of leaf-bearing plants around the Phoenix area using the online social platform iNaturalist. Meyer uses the images and interprets them as ceramic art objects.

The ceramic "leaves" are then pinned to a map of metro-Phoenix in the location where they were found.

Each hand-carved leaf is connected to a person in Phoenix and the plant that is growing here.

Late Afternoon Garden Walk

The Japanese Friendship Garden is small with one path that circles a little lake but the landscaping is beautiful.  A walk there might be short but the scenery is worth it.

I've seen many different birds around the garden but there are always ducks.  Tuesday was no exception.  The ducks were enjoy the sunshine, swimming laps around the little lake.  

Spring Is In the Air

 

Spring is in the air here in desert.  We've had some very nice weather lately with mid-afternoon temperatures hovering around 78 degrees.  I had the urge for another walk yesterday afternoon so this time I went to the Japanese Friendship Garden.  I wanted to see if anything was blooming there and I wasn't disappointed.  There were quite a few pretty daffodils poking their pretty heads up.

There was only one tulip but it was a real beauty. Such a wonderful shade of blue. 

I saw several patches of these iris-like flowers that I don't believe I've ever seen before.  I did the Google search and came up with a name Iris Reticulata.  

Pretty spring flowers is just what I needed to help chase away the remnants of the head cold I've been working to defeat. 

More Artful Expression

 

I thought I'd show you a few more of the colorful textiles I told you about in yesterday's post. Here is another shot of the labyrinth with all the flags forming the pathway.

This one captures a moose in the forrest.

This one conveys another message about the importance of bees and how we all can work to save the environment.

This last one amazed me in just its sheer beauty.  It almost looks like a painting.

Artful Expression

 

After spending 5 days stuck at home nursing a nasty cold, on Sunday afternoon I decided I needed some time outdoors so I headed to the Desert Botanical Garden.  That's where I got to see a new installation I had been hearing about called TOWARD 2050.  It's an exhibit led by textile artist Ann Morton that invites the public to craft handmade artworks that express their views on the environment.  The little textile works of art are arranged in a labyrinth that visitors can walk through and study the different panels or flags.

People had all kinds of ways of expressing their concerns. This one is straightforward.  

                                                                                                                                                                     

The one above is subtle but scary especially given what recently happened in California.

This last one adds a touch of humor to the serious issue of plastics and other debris in our oceans.  

It's an interesting and thought provoking exhibit.

Time For a Fist Bump

 

Here is another of the "I am Black History" murals.  This time we see a gentleman greeting us with fist bump, a sign of respect and friendship.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

In case anyone is wondering what that is on the roof of this building, it's an evaporative cooler, used to cool a house or building using a water evaporation method.  It uses less electricity than air conditioning but it really only works in a dry climate like ours.  This one looks like someone has been working on it.

Furry Friends

 

I featured Pepper two years ago on my blog. He's a neighbor of my friend Glenda and he has a sort of ritual of visiting Glenda for a little while every day.  He was at her house recently when I stopped by and he looked so cute with a colorful ribbon/flower tied to his collar.  I could resist another photo of that cute face.

Okay, so I couldn't resist two photos of that cute face.  

Pepper is a true sweetie.

Short Art Walk & A New Photos Feature

 

When I was in Scottsdale two weeks ago, I took a quick peek at some of the art in the galleries that line Main Street.  

I shot this photo through the window of one of the galleries that features pottery.  There is a  lot of skill that went into painting this pot.  

One of the galleries was still open so I stopped in to take a look around.  I loved that colorful abstract paining above.  The colors just reach out and grab you.  The artist is Gail Morris and she calls it "They Have a Pool" and at $16,000. it was way out of my price range.  

The same can be said of the little sculpture to the left.  It was created by Holly Wilson and is called "Hope in the Eyes of a Fawn".  ($7,200).

What I liked most about this sculpture was the shadow it was making on the wall behind it.

I used a new editing feature that Apple Photos added recently called "clean up".  It's easy to use and it got rid of the gallery sign completely.  The old "retouch" method wasn't anywhere near as clean as this new feature. You would never know there was anything on the wall next to sculpture at all.

Valentine's Day

 

I haven't seen anything Valentine related recently so when the day popped up on the calendar, I wondered what to post.  So I searched through the archives and found three photos that will represent this day perfectly.  First up is a bouquet of roses that I photographed way back in 2011.  I remember that I liked that bouquet because it combined so many colors.

Roses go well with Valentine's Day but so do sweets.  A nice box of chocolates is always welcome but every now and then I indulge in this wonderful chocolate cake topped with a cherry compote and a big dollop of whipped cream.  I had this Valentine treat in 2023.

Of course champagne is another indulgent treat that appears on this day.  Well, actually it appears a lot more often than that at my house.  I do enjoy a nice glass of bubbly champagne.  I treated myself to this glass just last October.

The nice thing about all three of these treats is that you can enjoy them anytime.  No special day is required.  

Happy Valentine's Day.

Starving Artist

 

I spotted the sign above as I was driving past on Indian School Road.  Then I glanced over and saw the portrait of Vincent Van Gogh  clinging to the side of the building.  So, of course I had to stop to get a closer look.

It's a new casual restaurant serving pizza and sandwiches and drinks.  I checked the menu and found all the normal things with the exception of a dill pickle pizza.  That is very different.

To the right of the entrance is a little patio hidden behind the trees.  I peeked into the patio and saw that it contained two pool tables and that rather strange message spray painted on the wall.  

It's an interesting new place that I might have to try one day but I think I'll pass on the dill pickle pizza.

More Beauty at the Gift Shop

 

I took a few more photos when I was at the Heard Museum Gift Shop last weekend so I thought I'd share these beauties too.  These two "Kachina-style" sculptures are actually woven like basket weaving.  I had never seen anything like them.  Unfortunately, I didn't catch the artists name but I certainly admired the work.

This is a wood carving by Stetson Honytumtewa, from the Hopi tribe. When I first glanced at this piece, I saw the animal climbing onto the rock and I thought it was made of real fur.  It's not, it's carved wood.

This is a doll made by Rhonda Holy Bear.  It's called Ghost Dancer Doll.

This last piece is a bronze statue created by Larry Yazzie.  It's such a beautiful piece.

I love browsing around the gift shop and this last weekend I was there earlier in the morning and had the place all to myself.