Katsina Collection

 

Last week I had some photos from the Basha Family collection of baskets.  The Heard Museum also has a huge collection of Katsina dolls that were part of the Goldwater family collection.  

Katsina dolls (sometimes called Kachinas) are ceremonial figures created by the Hopi Native American people.  They usually represent a spirit figure or a relation in some way or form.  

The Heard Museum has hundreds of them and they are fascinating to see.

I picked out a few different ones to share to give you an idea of the wide variety of images created.

I especially like this one that looks like he's walking with a cane.  

Here is a link to a Wikipedia page about Katsina dolls in case you are interested.  The page also has a photo of the whole display case at the Heard Museum.  

Melting Ladies

 

Here is another mural on a utility box that I found in Tempe 2 weeks ago.  I'm not quite sure if the ladies are meant to look scary or if they are just melting away.  

The artist is Tara Sharpe and judging from the works on her website, she paints a lot of portraits that appear to melt away.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

The Rusty Cowboy

 

I took this photo way back in 2016 and it's been sitting in my files ever since because I couldn't find any information on it.

When I went to Tempe two weeks ago for that Tempe Blooms event, I had a plan to find the artist's name for this sculpture.  

The sculpture was still there and I circled my way around it looking for something to tell me the name of the artist and I couldn't find anything.  Then I noticed the strange sculpture just past this one.

Still, there was not sign to tell about the piece.  So when I got home I did some more internet digging and finally I found the information.  The reason this was so hard to find is that the cowboy sculpture isn't a stand alone piece.  This sculpture is a combination of 5 elements and this one with the wheels is number 3, the cowboy is number 2.  The piece is called The Progression of Transportation and it was created by David Brant.  Now I need to go back to Tempe sometime and find the rest of the pieces.  It starts with "walking"and then "horseback riding" and then "biking" (those wheels) and then "driving" and lastly "air flight".  You can see photos of all five pieces here.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Spies and politicians haunt this area.

Some Unusual Sightings

 

I saw this tall dog enjoying the view from this convertible recently.  When I was first driving up behind this car, I thought the dog was driving.  Silly me!

I saw this portrait of the Queen on a car window.  Do you think the owner is a fan of British royalty or maybe just a fan of the queen?  

When I was in downtown Phoenix for an event one evening, I passed by the lobby of one of the high-rise office buildings and saw this little tableau.  I wonder what that was all about.  

Overflowing

 

When I was at the Heard Museum last weekend, I noticed that those nasturtium plants in the decorative planters were overflowing with growth since the last time I was there.

That contrast of green and orange inspired my to snap a couple of photos.  

Three Other Discoveries

 

After viewing the baskets from yesterday's post, I wandered around the museum briefly and spotted this painting that I don't remember seeing before.  As you can see, it's part of a display inside a glass case.  The artist is Michael Chiago.  It made me smile so I thought I'd share it.

In the collector's gallery, I saw this very colorful  painting by Tony Abeyta.  It's priced at $7500 in case any of you are interested.  It would look great hanging on my wall.

This last photo is a bit of an illusion.  I walked back to where the little enclosed garden is located and I happened spot the reflection of that Allan Houser sculpture called "War Horse" in the glass door leading out to the garden.  See it over there on the far left?  I posted photos of it back in June.  I was looking through glass at a reflection in more glass.  

Many, Many Baskets

 

I stopped at the Heard Museum last weekend just to have lunch but, while I was eating I remembered that there was an exhibit of the Basha Family Basket Collection that I wanted to see.

It turned out to be an amazing collection of Native American baskets in an array of dazzling designs. 

 Eddie Basha was a very well known and well respected grocer with supermarket stores all over Arizona.  He was also a local philanthropist who could be seen supporting a variety of charitable endeavors.  I was surprised to see how large his collection of baskets had become.  

Guest Photographer: California Sunrise & Sunset

 

My friend Dave spent a week working in California recently and he texted a variety of photos he took with his iPhone while he was there.  I asked him if I could share a few of them because they were so great and he said yes.

The photo above was a sunrise shot looking south and the second shot is a sunset looking west.  I think it's pretty amazing to get a gorgeous sunrise and sunset and both be over the Pacific Ocean.  

He took the photo above after man with a large rake made some patterns in the sand.  

In the photo to the left, he captured that seagull mid-air as it jumped from the rock.

This last one was taken in the late afternoon and when there was a thick haze in the air.  

Thanks Dave!  This is a treasure trove of beautiful seaside scenes.  

All About the Egg

 

I'm finally seeing some murals painted on utility boxes.  I used to see them on other blogs but never around here.  Suddenly, I'm seeing them in different places.

This one was in Tempe when I was there a week ago.  It was painted by an artist who goes the the name "The Lady Egg".  

It's a rather strange combination of images.  Is that cow being beamed up into a flying saucer?  And, does that banana have eyes?  

I see a lot of questions marks displayed so maybe the artist doesn't know either.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

No River, Just Wind

 

A tiny bit of the California rain storm made its way over here this last week.  We didn't get much rain so no "atmospheric rivers" here.  We did get quite a lot of window-rattling wind.  The wind lasted two days and ended with some big, puffy clouds hanging over the mountains.  Those clouds make such a perfect frame for this mountain view.

I have anew post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm walking along the Thames.

Someone Loves Snowmen

 

I passed by this house last week and noticed that they still had their holiday decorations up.  As I was looking, I noticed that all these inflatable decorations were of snowmen.  I wonder if they are missing the holidays with snow.  

Lessons in Light Rail Travel

 

Unlike mass transportation options in major cities around the globe, the Phoenix light rail system is still in its relative infancy.  The system opened in December of 2008 and it has grown over the years but, it still has basically one route.  It just gets longer in each direction.  When I lived on the other side of town, I was in walking distance to a station so I took it often to go downtown or out toward Tempe.  Where I live now, requires that I drive to a park and ride location and take the train from there.  If I have to get in the car, why not just drive to my destination?  In the case of last Sunday, I knew that parking in Tempe would be impossible so I opted for the train.

At the Phoenix station where I started, (top photo) I waited 30 minutes for the east bound train to arrive.  I forgot that on Sundays, they reduce the amount of trains in service.  At the Tempe station, (above) I only had to wait 15 minutes.  Clearly, the cities in the valley have a long way to go to create a mass transit system that will be efficient for everyone.  I'm pretty certain that won't happen in my lifetime.  I guess it's a good thing that electric vehicles are on the rise.

Theme Day: Street Corners

 

The February theme for City Daily Photo Bloggers is "Street Corners" and as it happens I took a few street corner shots while I was in Tempe last Sunday.  

Now that I think about it, these street corner shots in Tempe are better than any I have in Phoenix because of all the people out while I was in Tempe.  There were certainly a lot more pedestrians out in Tempe on Sunday than I ever see in Phoenix.  

These were all taken along Mill Avenue, Tempe's main thoroughfare though downtown.

To see other "street corner" photos from around the world, click here.

More Flowers and a Very Tall Sculpture

 

Here are a few more flowers from the Tempe Blooms event that I wrote about yesterday.  I especially liked that tree all decorated with flowers.

I also discovered this sculpture that pays tribute to a former Mayor of Tempe, Harry Mitchell.  It's called "Above the Crowd" and the artist is John R. Nelson.  

That is one VERY TALL sculpture.

No Loitering at the Sunflower Saguaro

 

The city of Tempe had a brand new event this last weekend called Tempe Blooms.  They filled the downtown area with a variety of floral arrangements and lots of live music. If this event was designed to draw people to downtown Tempe, it was a huge success.  There were so many people out it was hard navigate the sidewalks.

This sunflower covered saguaro arrangement was the first one I photographed and I didn't notice the "No Loitering" sign on the wall behind it until I down loaded the photo.

  

There were all sorts of flower arrangements all over the downtown area.

The flowers were beautiful but the huge crowds of people made it difficult to photograph them all.

I took the light rail out to Tempe because parking in the city is a challenge and with an event going on it would be impossible.  I haven't been on the light rail for several years now so that was a bit of an adventure in itself.  

A Night at the Opera

 

I joined my friends David and Riley for the opening night performance of The Barber of Seville on Saturday night.  It is a hilarious opera accompanied by fantastic music.  As everyone was gathering in their seats, I snapped this photo of the very elaborate set.

I was admiring the set when the "projection" suddenly stopped.  Up until that moment, I had no idea the set was a projection and not real.  It was a pretty impressively designed projection.

My friend Riley is a patron of the Arizona Opera Company so when we got to our seats, there was a beautiful rose and a thank you card attached to his seat.  What a nice surprise!  And, what a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Observations Along the Way

 

I saw this great looking car in the grocery store parking lot and wondered what it was.  It turns out to be a Chrysler Crossfire.  I love the color and the sporty look.

At that very same grocery store, I saw this fellow tied up outside the door and waiting for its owner to return. 

I never know what I'll see on those common, household errands.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I found a bit of humor at the art museum.  

The Sun is Back

 

I was at my friend Glenda's house Thursday evening when the sun finally came out and started lighting up the houses around her.  

I just had to go out into her back yard to snap a photo or two.  After five straight days of dark gray skies and on and off rain, it was refreshing to see the sun light up the mountains once again.  

The one good thing about all that rain will be the spring wildflowers.  Hopefully we got the right amount of rain to make the desert bloom.