Pointing My Camera at Plants

 

I have a few more photos pulled from my archives today.  Above is a date palm laden with fruit in the khalal-stage of maturity.  I learned that the fruit of date palms go through four phases of maturity, Kimri, Khalal, Rutab and Tamar.  This photo was taken in Tucson several years ago.

I photographed the big patch of black-eyed Susans when I was in Oregon in 2022.  I can't help but smile when I come across a sunny group of flowers like this.

I took this photo when I was in Santa Fe last year.  I think this might be a flowering plum tree.  It was too pretty to pass up.

This one was taken in Oklahoma City just two months ago.  I saw hydrangea plants blooming all over the city center.  Since I never see them here, they were a treat for my eyes.

It was ten years ago when I was in San Jose California to go to the Egyptian Museum there.  That's where I saw an abundance of papyrus plants growing all over the grounds of the museum.  They fit perfectly into the Egyptian atmosphere.

Earth & Sky Mural

 

This is another mural I found while I was in Oklahoma City.  This one is by two Native American artists, Chad Nish Earles and Rhiana Deck.  It is another one painted in an underpass.

It was hard to photograph so close to it so I had to take several shots.  It represents the traditional coiled Codda pottery and feathers that morph into an evolving human figure.  It depicts Native American creation myths while also encouraging the preservation of Mother Earth. 

I had to do some research to find that description.  I wasn't sure what was happening in this mural until I read more about it.  Now I can see the coiled pottery design and it looks like the feathers make up the human-like forms.  

Taking part in Monday Murals. 

Abstract Passages

 

Here is another mural from Oklahoma City. I found this one when I was walking toward "Bricktown" a historic area of OKC.  I loved all the colors and shapes and the southwestern look.

The artist is Kris Kanaly and you can read about him and this mural here.  This mural would fit in perfectly here in Arizona.  Maybe someone local will commission his talents. 

Garden Wildlife

 

While I was walking around the botanical garden in Oklahoma City, I spotted this brown squirrel perched on a rock and looking like he was posing for me.  So, I obliged and took his photo.

Then he scampered over to a tree and was peeking out from behind the tree as though he was looking for me.  But, when I raised the camera he turned his head and looks straight up the tree.

A few minutes later, I saw him again and this time he seemed to have found something to nibble on.  He appeared to be used to having people around.  He was a born "ham".  

Will Rogers Airport

 

The airport in Oklahoma City is called the Will Rogers World Airport so it's understandable that there would be some type of tribute to Will Rogers.

In this case it's a bust of the man. The little plaque below says that it was created by Jo Davidson.  

For those who haven't heard of Will Rogers, he was a vaudeville performer and actor and later in life a social commentator.  He was born on the Cherokee Nation and is known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son".  

Also found in the airport was this Allan Houser bronze statue called "Prayer".  

The airport is small by today's standards.  It has only one terminal and 17 gates.  

It might be small but it was a pleasant place to wait for my flight.

History Mural

 

I saw this mural while I was in Oklahoma City.  It plays out some history of the state. I noticed when I was in an Uber for the ride to the airport that this mural ran quite a long way along the side of freeway.  I wish I had gotten a better look at it. It looks interesting.

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Botanical Garden Art Exhibit

 

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I took a breather in the air conditioned part of the Crystal Bridge to cool down before I returned to tropical forest.  In that part of the bridge they had the requisite gift shop and they also had a gallery space for art exhibits.  The theme for the exhibit I saw was "Wings and Wildflowers: An Oklahoma Pollinators Art Exhibit". There were some great art pieces in this exhibit. These two above were my favorites of all of them.  The artist is Gina Alusi.  I think they are beautiful. They would look great hanging just about anywhere.

These two were very nice too.  I liked the thickness of the paint and iridescent colors.  The artist for these two is Nichole Montgomery.

I liked the brightness of these two.  They were painted by Paige Busick.

These two are the work of Kyna Burnett.  These two are digital illustrations full of different patterns and textures. The reflections in the glass were impossible to escape.  

This last one also had glass over it.  This watercolor was painted by Leslie Waugh Dallam.  I just loved those Ladybugs. 

Viewing all this art gave me something fun to do while I cooled off after the heat of the tropical garden.

Inside the Crystal Bridge

 

Inside the Crystal Bridge, I found a lovely waterfall and a lot of tropical flowers.

It was a treat to see all these wonderful plants.  Though, I will admit it was hot and humid inside this space.  I had to take a break in the air conditioned part and then go back a second time.

Heat and humidity aside, it was worth it to see all these wonderful plants.  I never get to see bananas actually growing on the tree!

Another Botanical Garden

 

Once I decided to go to Oklahoma City, I began looking for other things I might like to see in the city.  I discovered they have a botanical garden and it sits right in the heart of downtown.  

It's called Myriad Botanical Gardens and the beautifully landscaped gardens are free to the public.  However, there is an admission price to go into the "Crystal Bridge" pictured in these two photos.

I did go inside and found some very interesting plants and other amazing things.  More about that tomorrow.  

Five Buffalo and One Penguin

 

One thing I noticed right away upon arriving in Oklahoma City was an abundance of buffalo roaming the streets of the city.  Well, not exactly 'roaming'.  More like standing at attention in a variety of places.  This one was in front of an office building.

This one was standing in front of my hotel.

And this fellow was standing in the water feature in the lobby of my hotel.

This colorful buffalo was standing in front of the Sheraton Hotel across the street.

The Buffalo nickel was found in the historic entertainment district called "Bricktown".  All of these fellows were part of an art project called Spirit of the Buffalo and sponsored by the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy.  The project went from 2004 to 2006 so these artistic buffalo have been standing around the city for a long time now.

This colorfully painted penguin was not the least bit intimidated by all the buffalo.  He stood proudly showing off his colorful design.

He waddled all the way from Tulsa where he was part of a "Penguins on Parade" project  sponsored by the Tulsa Zoo.

Tall Buildings & Lots of Art

 

I wasn't thinking of Oklahoma City as being as cosmopolitan as it is.  There were lots of beautifully designed high-rise buildings and there was lots and lots of public art.

It seemed that everywhere I went there was always a piece of art to admire on every street.

Besides the grand Chihuly exhibit at the OKC Museum of Art, the museum also had a very, very tall Chihuly sculpture in its lobby window.   

Beauty was everywhere I turned.

Chihuly: Master of Artistic Glass

 

I made a quick trip to Oklahoma City last Friday specifically to see an exhibit at the OKC Museum of Art.  I had read that the museum had the biggest exhibit of Chihuly glass works outside of Seattle.  I saw the exhibit in Seattle several years ago.  I love his work so much I decided that a trip to Oklahoma City would be an adventure.  

My only past views of OKC has been from the freeway while driving through the city on trips to my home town in Illinois and back to Phoenix.  I've never actually been in the city before so this was a new experience. I was only there for two days but I saw quite a lot and enjoyed my time there.  The city was impressive in many ways.

The Chihuly exhibit was well worth the trip.  Once again I got to enjoy his artistry with glass and bold colors.  This is just a peek at the pieces on view.  I'll show some of the other things I discovered in OKC over the next week.

I think this was my favorite display.  So many wonderful shapes and colors piled into this boat.  I sat in the room for a few minutes to soak up the magical beauty of it all.

I'm Not in Detroit

 

I was in Oklahoma City for two days last weekend but the first mural I observed happened to be in a pizza place where I stopped for lunch on my last day.  This very busy "Detroit Born" mural was up high on one of the walls.  The place served three types of pizza, Chicago style, New York style and Detroit style however, this was the only mural so Chicago and New York lost out.

The pizza slice I had can best be described as mediocre but the 90's music playing in the place was right up my alley.  When I heard Kate Bush singing, I wanted to sing along.

Taking part in Monday Murals.