This little cactus is starting to bloom and you can just barely see the pink blooms among that rather thick coating of thorns.
The little cactus pictured in the top photo is the one all the way to the right in this small cactus garden in a bowl. I thought this perspective would give a better idea of just how tiny those little pink blooms are.
You might remember that last year around this time, I found a mural similar to this one featuring three very talented and accomplished people who I had not heard of before. You can see it here. I recently found another similar mural, this time featuring three very well known and loved people. February is Black History Month here in the U.S. It's a perfect time to reflect on the many accomplishments that are sometimes overlooked.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
Not cocktails on the rocks but ducks on the rocks. These fellows were enjoy the day perched on the various rock formations around the Japanese Friendship Garden.
This pair have a good view over the little lake.
This one is hiding behind some plants growing in the water. They've all found a dry spot to observe the water and the people walking around.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I have some iconic Santa Fe views.
Many of you have probably heard on the news that the Washington Football Club officially changed its name this last week to the Washington Commanders. For many years they have been criticized for their clearly racist former name and finally it has been changed. I saw this art piece at the Heard Museum recently. It was created by artist Steven Paul Judd in collaboration with filmmaker Donick Carey. Carey and his son Otis traveled the country working to undo the racism of their favorite football team and they created a film called "Hail to the Breadsticks" about their adventure. The film premiered last November. As you can see, the piece includes a mound of souvenirs and memorabilia depicting the old name. The artist has arranged it so that the light shining on it spells out the word "Change" on the wall behind it.
Scattered around the Taliesin West property are a variety of small sculptures. The dragon above actually breathes fire. We didn't get a demonstration but the guide said she had seen it with fire on several occasions.
To the left is a sculpture called "Presence of Mind" by Heloise Crista.
This one is also by Heloise Crista but the name of it has been worn off of the plate below it.
Ms. Crista was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright but she joined the Taliesin Fellowship not to become an architect but to "work in an atmosphere of such ideas and such people."
She also created this sculpture of Frank Lloyd Wright that is located inside the main house. She was a talented artist who left behind a number of interesting sculptures.
Back at the beginning of January, I went to Taliesin West to see the Chihuly glass sculptures that were placed there. At Taliesin, you have to join a tour group to explore the grounds and buildings. It's an interesting tour that I've taken at least twice before but I always see something new. Today I have some photos I took on the tour. First up, this scene from the room where Frank Lloyd Wright used to work to create some of his designs.
In this room, he would have meetings with clients and other architects.
While I was listening to the tour guide, I noticed this little arrangement on a wall near me. I thought it make a nice "still life" arrangement.
The tour always ends up in the little theater or entertainment room. When Wright lived here, he used this room to show movies or listen to music. It's still used today by teachers and students studying architecture here.
The City Daily Photo Bloggers theme for February 1st is "Power," a word that can be interpreted in many ways. I chose the "electrical" interpretation. I actually photographed this power pole at the first part of January when I went to Taliesin West to see their part of the Chihuly in the Desert exhibit. We don't see many power lines like this around the city. Almost all local power lines are now under ground. However, Taliesin sits in a sort of rural island so these power lines appear to bring power to the place. It's quite a contraption, isn't it?
To see other interpretations of power, click here.
I recently spotted this very colorful Tattoo parlor. The entire outside of the building is covered with exotic murals.
I didn't see an artist's name on this one so I can't say who the talented person was who painted this big mural. I do see an advertisement for "Placebo, Mersey Productions" a local record and concert producing company. There must be some connection.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
As you enter the indoor Chihuly glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens, you are greeted with a selection of colorful glass bowls....or baskets as Chihuly calls them. They are on really tall pedestals so they are difficult to photograph especially for someone as short as I am.
There was a room similar to this at his museum (Chihuly Garden & Glass) in Seattle. I remember that they were also on very tall pedestals.
I especially like the colors in this one. Chihuly and his team of glass artists sure create some gorgeous things.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I've got some more Egyptian art from the Met.
It took about a year and a half to build this building but it is finally done. It's the new headquarters for Helios Education Foundation an organization that operates in Arizona and Florida. The Helios organization studies inequities in education and develop solutions to overcome those inequities. They collaborate with other educational organizations with a goal to increase college enrollment for all children in the two states.
The building is so large that at first I thought they were going to have classrooms in side. (That white space behind the copper building is also part of the building.) I was wrong, they use the space as meeting space in order to collaborate with other organizations with the same goals. Some of those organizations might even be housed inside this facility. Check the link if you want to know more.
On one of my visits to the Heard Museum, I was standing in the little sculpture garden and there was something about the light that appealed to me. So I snapped this photo of the sky over the wall and then....
....I snapped this photo in another direction looking toward the Art Deco condo building near the museum.
Just two quick photos that I find appealing for some reason.
I didn't remember that the lobby had niches with busts in them. I believe there were four altogether.
At one end of the lobby is the "peacock" staircase. It's called that because of the beautiful peacock that is located on the underside of the stairs.
It's such a beautiful place. I'd love to explore it more.
Saturday evening, I went to another Phoenix Symphony concert and this time it was at The Orpheum instead of Symphony Hall. I hadn't been inside the Orpheum Theater in a long time so it was nice to see it once again. I featured some photos of the outside of this historic theater back in 2019. You can see those here.
The top photo is looking forward toward the stage and this photo is looking toward the back and the balcony above the theater. I love the lighting they use to light up the ceiling.
This photo just concentrates on the details above the proscenium arch. I love the seven rows of ribbons that frame the stage. Each one has a different pattern. They don't build theaters like this any longer.
Tomorrow I'll show you some details from the lobby area. It was exciting to once again be inside this historic building.
I was looking at my photos from the most recent Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden and I found myself drawn to different glass pieces in shades of purple. I've photographed these "Neodymium Reeds" on several occasions since the exhibit went up. This one shows them framing a giant agave plant.
In the indoor part of the exhibit, shades of purple are also expressed.
The one to the left looks like pulled taffy.
Looking at the photos prompted me to go back and look at the photos from the two previous Chihuly exhibits at the garden in search of shades of purple. And I found a boat full of blues and purples that were from the April of 2009 exhibit.
From the 2014 exhibit, I found these pretty fan-shaped glass sculptures with the Neodymium Reeds behind them. Chihuly uses all colors in his art work but since purple is a favorite color of mine, these really appeal to me.
I mentioned yesterday that some of the aloe plants were blooming when I went for a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden. My favorite of all the different aloe plants is the Cape Aloe. It has luscious, tall orange/yellow blooms.
I'm not sure if it was the house that caught my attention or the two bare trees in front but for some reason, I stopped to take a photo. The house did stand out a bit on this street full of older, single-story homes. This one looks like it's either brand new or been totally remodeled. I also liked those trees in front that have lost all their leaves. I'm guessing that in about three weeks, new buds will start to appear and soon after we won't be able to see that house as well as we can right now.
Here are two more of my Art Challenge Club projects. These two are both from 2019. For the one above, the challenge was "Melting". I took a photo of a cactus bloom and used some editing software to make the flower look like it was melting.
For this second one, the challenge was "Sticks". I used this photo of a bamboo grove and used software to enhance the edges of each 'stick'.
This one has a different look with four buildings in a row. These have an interesting look to them with those big windows facing the street. However, I wonder about the windows on the other units in this row. I'm not sure they would have much a view.
