Chaste Trees Are Blooming

 

I've seen several Chaste Trees around town lately and all of them are bursting with these pretty, lavender blooms.  This one is a small tree that I saw in the Scottsdale Civic Center Park.  

This one is the size of a bush right now but there is one closer to my house that is a full sized tree.  I posted a photo of it five years ago.

A Gallery Adventure

 

I was exploring the art along Main Street in Scottsdale when I stopped into one gallery to have a look around.  I focused on an abstract piece across the gallery when this foreboding fellow stepped into the frame.  Not really.  He was just standing there but I thought he added some mystery to the shot so I included him.

Here is a close up of that work called "Abstract Lands".  The artist is Kevin Irvin who works in wood.  The piece above is dyed and painted wood pieces fitted together like a giant puzzle.  It's beautiful. 

He had these two black and white pieces in the gallery too. I discovered that he also makes furniture and public art.  Check his website to see more amazing pieces.  His furniture is wonderful.  

Reflective Sculpture

 

I found this new sculpture in front of a shop on Main Street in Scottsdale.  The shop is one that sells pottery for plants and outdoor decorations.  You can see a few in the background.  

The sculpture has some very graceful lines that goes well with that reflective surface.  

A Brain Full of Broken Glass

 

I saw this brain shaped sculpture on a wall in front of a new building in Scottsdale and I had to stop to see what it was all about.  It turns out to be a public art piece commissioned by the city for a new building.

The building houses the Bob Bove' Neurosciences Institute.  It's located in an area of Scottsdale full of medical buildings and the Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.  The building is nice looking but just driving  past, I couldn't figure out what the raised area was all about.  Now I know.  According to the plaque near the "brain", that entire wall was created by Kevin S Berry specifically for this building.  It's called "Stream of Consciousness", 

Gone To A New Home

 

When I did the two previous posts about the "Orchid Fever" exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden, one of my followers asked what will happen to all those beautiful orchids when the exhibit is over.  I found that answer last week on an Instagram post.  

They were all donated to nonprofit organizations.

Over 2,000 orchids were donated to different hospitals around the valley and to the Child Crisis Center and to the various Hospice of the Valley locations.  It's good to know that these beauties have gone to places where they will continue to bring smiles to faces.

Is This a Mural?

 I discovered this interesting paint job on the side of building being used as a business office.  I couldn't locate a signature and I'm not even sure it should be called a mural.  Do you think it's a mural or just a fancy paint job?

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Something New

 

Just a block away from the main library on Central Avenue I discovered these brand new apartments.  Two buildings on either side of the street with a bridge to connect the two.  Such an unusual feature for the Phoenix area.  It caught my eye immediately.  

The Cube

 I posted a photo of this sculpture once before but it was a very long time ago.  I was reminded of it last week and I was curious to see if it was still on display.  I made a trip downtown to the main library where it resides just inside the entrance.  

This is a sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro, the famous Italian sculptor.  I've seen many of his sculptures on my travels.  There is one in front of the Vatican Museum, one in a park in Milan and another on the grounds of the United Nations in New York City.

I was happy to see that ours was still there.  I wonder how many people stop to look at it.

Dots, Circle and Blips

 

Last weekend, I stopped at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art to see one of the exhibits which ended up not inspiring me to take any photos.  However, one of the other exhibits was in a small dark room with lots of moving patterns and some blips, boops and bubbling noises to accompany it.  

I stayed in that room for at least 10 minutes and luckily they had positioned two comfortable chairs in there for people like me who got mesmerized by the changing shapes and movements.  

The exhibit is called Biophony and was created by Alida Sun. It's described as "hand-coded art" meaning it is a digital artwork coded by the artist.  Whatever you want to call it, I found it be relaxing and stimulating at the same time.  

Mountain Climbing Goats

 

I was walking past some condos in the Scottsdale Arts District when I spotted this painting inside an entrance to the condos.  It was one of those resident entrances where you need a key card to get in to reach the elevator and stairs inside.  

I love this little painting I saw hanging in that entrance so I took the photo through the glass door.   I did an image search on Google and found the artist is Jill Shwaiko.  

Here's a link to a gallery representing her.  She has lots of paintings that include those cute little goats. This one is called "Various Viewpoints".

A Thriving Desert Rose

 

Back in early March, I noticed this small Desert Rose Plant located in one of the outdoor spots at the Heard Museum.  I snapped a photo of it to show my friend Glenda who has one a similar size that still hasn't produced a bloom.  

Well, look at this little plant now.  I took this photo last Saturday when I was there.  This little plant is a super bloomer for sure.

Created by Employees

 

Last Saturday I attended another one of the "Artful Mornings" lectures at the Heard Museum.  On this occasion, the meeting room was adorned with artworks created by the employees of the museum.  Once again, it just proves how much talent there is among us.  The painting above was my favorite.  It's brilliant and could easily be hung somewhere inside the museum's galleries.  It was painted by a museum shop associate who just went by the initials RJD.  This is done in watercolors.

Here is a series of paintings each featuring a beautiful hummingbird.  These were all painted by Danny Bizouti a sales associate.  It's called "Honeybird".

Here is another wonderful painting.  This one is called "Golden Hour" and it was painted by Nolan Lightfoot, a security officer.

I recognized the style of this painting when I saw it.  I admired another of this artist's paintings two years ago.  The artist is Olivia Barney, a collections coordinator.  This one is called "Hybrid".  

Her painting from two years ago was posted here.  Can you see the stylistic similarities? 

The Reclining Artist

 

Here is another mural from the downtown area called Roosevelt Row.  This is the heart of the "artsy" district in downtown Phoenix.  This one was created by Lalo Cota a well known muralist around town.  It's described as a "dreaming artist in repose".  I see he has his paint cans in hand.

Taking part in Monday Murals.

A Sign From the Past

 

I parked near this building to make a quick run into a drug store.  I've been near this building many times but this was the first time I noticed the white eagle emblem on the side of the building.

I recognized that emblem immediately but it took a moment for me realize it was actually from the past.  The building houses a branch of Chase Bank but many years ago it was a local bank called Valley National Bank.  That eagle over the octagon was the trademark for Valley National Bank.  That bank was merged into Chase Bank back in the 90's.  I was so used to seeing those 'eagles' that it never registered that they represent a different bank altogether.

Butterfly Sightings

 

I captured photos of two butterflies the last time I was at the Desert Botanical Garden for a walk.  I missed the spring butterfly exhibit this year.  I was never there at the right time to enter the pavilion.  However, there are plenty of wild butterflies dancing about.  This queen butterfly was enjoying a bloom on the butterfly mist plant.

And this one was taking a look at a Mexican Hat bloom.  There are several patches of these flowers scattered around the Wildflower Trail at the garden.  That trail is good one for seeing both butterflies and hummingbirds.

Horse

 

When I was at the Phoenix Art Museum, I made a point of stopping to see this sculpture called simply "Horse" by Elie Nadelman.  I love the smooth lines of the  sculpture standing on those impossibly thin legs.

Nadelman was a Polish/American modernist sculptor born in Warsaw in 1882.  

The plain background and smooth lines of the sculpture seemed to make it a perfect candidate for some creative editing.

I especially liked the color and spotlight effect of this version.

This one looks like an artist's sketch.

In this last one, I made it look like a vintage postal stamp.  

It's a beautiful piece of art that can be the inspiration for more beautiful art.  

Return of the "Black Cloud"

 

The "Black Cloud" has returned to the Phoenix Art Museum.  Those thousands of black moths that cling to the museum walls are once again making an appearance at the museum.

"Black Cloud" is an art composition created by Carlos Amorales who was inspired by the migration of monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico.  

The last time the "cloud" appeared at the museum was back in 2017.

It's good to see them once again.  

A Few More Desert Blooms

 

These late spring days have cactus blooming all over town.  These saguaro on the hillside at the Desert Botanical Garden all have blooms on the tops of their many arms.

The Organ Pipe cactus above had some pretty blooms popping out on its "pipes".

To the right, this cactus also was sprouting some large blooms.

And, this is the yucca yesterday's hummingbird was heading toward. The yucca plants all over the city are crowned with these huge white clouds of blooms. 

The Hungry Hummer

 

I was back at the Desert Botanical Garden at 6:00 AM again on Sunday.  (I have to get those walks in now before it gets too hot to be outside.). I was lucky to see a hummingbird dancing around a plant not very far from where I was standing.

I snapped a few shots and these two were the only ones worth showing. 

Then the little fellow moved over to sample the blooms on a yucca plant and I got another pretty good shot.  He was having a great time around these plants until another hummingbird came too close. They chased each other and then flew away.  Hummingbirds are very territorial.  They do not like to share.

Pretty Ladies

 

I saw this mural when I was downtown for jury duty last week.  It was one block away from the parking garage we were directed to use.  This one was painted by Isaac Caruso who has a lot of murals around the Phoenix area.

Check out that sky.  That was our weather weekend before last.  For us desert people, it was great.

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Manhole Covers

 

Remember when I did those home/garden tours back at the beginning of March?  The last house I visited had a yard full of all kinds of interesting objects like the fire-breathing dragon I posted here.  I mentioned back then that I had a lot more photos from that place.  So here are a few more.

The owner had a large collection of manhole covers from different cities around Arizona.  One of docents told us that he has a certificate for the purchase of each of these just in case there was ever a question of how he got them. 

The covers were being used like stepping stones in one section of the garden.  

I would never have thought of manhole covers as collectors items but I have to admit, they made for interesting garden decorations.   

More From the Garden

 

I love how at this time of year, the large agave plants capture the falling blooms from the palo verde trees.  Their big 'leaves' are perfect for capturing all kinds of things but I think those yellow petals are the prettiest.  

The yellow bells are blooming like crazy right now.  Those big clusters of blooms are hard for a photographer to resist.  

I also love finding a bloom on one of the many toothpick cacti around the garden.  That cactus blooms all year long so their pretty blooms can be enjoyed all year long.

The desert rose plants have once again been placed around the garden.  They are stored in a greenhouse over the winter months because they do not tolerate cold at all.  It's great to see their pretty blooms once again.