A Day Away part 3

The entrance to the Inuit Gallery permanent collection.

This one is for my daughter, Karen

Some of the work was behind glass, and there was no way to avoid catching the reflection of the lighting.  Amazingly, when one views these in person, our brains eliminate the lighting artifacts, but the camera just can't.


This artist worked mainly with spiritual themes.  If this were my dream....

Senaktok (Dream) by Agnes Nanogak Goose 1979

Here's another for Karen and my granddaughter, Katelyn.  I love the title. It took me back to when I had two little cubs who wanted to follow me wherever I would go!

Wherever She Goes by Andrew Qappik 2007

I needed to capture this one for Sylvia, an artist friend who weaves as one of her art forms.  It is a wall hanging woven of wool and cotton.

Nesting Owls by Malaya Akulukjuk and Igah Etoangat 1984

And these little guys were especially for me.  I love sculpture; three dimensional art. I delight in all the carvings I saw, most in stone or antler.  Wonderfully smooth, shiny.  Thank goodness they put them in cases.  I don't know how I'd keep from touching and caressing them else-wise.

Birds on a Branch by Mary Iqaqrialu

And this picture is from the website because mine didn't come out.  I've seen the dancing Bear on other trips to the museum, and he/she just looks so happy and full of life that I can't help but check in on him/her at every visit!

Dancing Bear by Pauta Saila 1985

So, again, thanks to all the artists and all who make a space for others to enjoy the fun and beauty!

A Day Away part 2

More from the museum...

However by Clement Meadmore 1998

The children's section is a permanent part of the museum, and I just love it. It is bright with colors and shapes and lots to touch.  Right up my alley!  There are pictures from the Hubble Space telescope, a sound wall where every shape you touch plays a sound, some whimsical, artistic dinosaurs, and a harp with no strings that plays music when you pass your hand through laser beams!

My absolute favorite was the "Elastic Surgery" machine.  You sit in front of a camera, and it produces a "warped" picture using computer to generate the image.  It's a lot like the old fun house mirrors, but you can capture the fun.  Are you ready to laugh?  Say "cheese!"

 But more frightening than all these aliens.... Pregnant at 60! And flat chested to boot!

From "Elastic Surgery" to "Recollections."  This is me...sort of.

 

Here's the explanation:

I had some great videos, but blogger didn't like how big they were, I think.

Part 3 tomorrow...

A Day Away part 1

The weather forecast for Monday was no snow, no impending snow, and clear roads!  So I got up early, blew the snow that had accumulated on our road and parking areas, changed clothes, and WENT AWAY!

First stop was Oryana in Traverse City for a scrumptious lunch of vegan chili and a spicy peanut tofu wrap, all freshly made at the Lake Street Cafe located within Oryana Natural Foods Market.  Sorry, no pictures because I was too hungry!

Next, I was off to an art museum, but it's been a while since I'd been there, and I didn't turn on the right road, so I ended up in Acme along Grand Traverse Bay.  What a wonderful accident!

The snow is starting to recede along the beach.  How fabulous to see sun and sand, even if the open water is way far, far away!

After basking in the few minutes of sun that appeared, I headed back toward the Dennos Museum Center on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.  They had two temporary exhibits and their two permanent exhibits. I was allowed to take pictures without flash throughout the museum, so, woo-hoo! I get to take you along!  First, Japanese Bamboo Art, a temporary exhibit.

This wall hanging is about 2 feet in diameter.  It has the illusion of motion.  This was a theme I noticed in the whole of the collection: a sense of movement.

Wind Vessel by Uematsu Chikuyu 2010

Here are two other wall hangings, again with motion woven right into them!  This one is about 5 feet wide and 3 feet tall.  Its inspiration is from the ridged patterns created when wind blows across sand.

Pattern of Wind by Uematsu Chikuyu 2002

And this one, "Sound of the Cello," has the joints of the bamboo carefully placed to represent notes on a musical staff.

Sound of the Cello by Uematsu Chikuyu 2000

The Japanese title for this sculpture in bamboo literally translates as "Sea Crossing."  The information plate told me...I don't speak or read Japanese!  I love how it looks like a sail, yet also makes me feel as if I am moving on the water under the power of the wind.

Sailing by Sugiura Noriyoshi 2010

Here is an unusual fruit basket.  The inspiration was "the image of something flying gracefully through the sky."

Asuka by Tanioba Shigeo 2002

And at the entry of the exhibit, this wonderful arrangement by Elinore Yard of the Ohara School of Ikebana in Tokyo, Japan. It feels so clean, crisp, and meditative to me; so much like the Spring for which I am longing. I sat in front of it for a long time and just breathed.

The other temporary exhibit finishes this week.  It is called: "THEM: Images of Separation" and is a traveling exhibition on loan from the Jim Crow Museum on Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI. It showcases items (t-shirts, license plates, postcards, photographs, posters, signs, games, costumes, souvenirs, toys) from popular culture and history that are and have been used to stereotype people who are different from "us."  I didn't take any pictures since I didn't want to proliferate that content, but I highly recommend checking out the museum at FSU.  It was eye opening for me how much negative imagery is still being produced and sold which, as the exhibit stated, "promotes stereotyping against such groups as African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and poor whites, as well as those who are 'other' in terms of body type or sexual orientation" and also women, people from the Middle East, and those of varied religions and ethnicities.

More on my day away next time!  I am so grateful for all those who create and present their work to the world and all those who make that possible.  It energizes my creativity to see others' work.

I Hear Spring Breathing

I Hear Spring Breathing

by Joyce Rupp

I hear Spring breathing softly,

her quiet respiration

rising and falling

through the heavy snow banks

gurgling in the sunshine.

I hear the slow, steady intake

of mid-February air

stirring the awakening crocus.

I hear the sigh

of the oak tree’s terminal buds,

warm wind stretching them out

beneath the turquoise sky.

I hear my own lungs

inhaling and exhaling

with renewed hope,

ready for the coming

of green and the shedding

of all that is grayed

with Winter’s feigned death.

From:  My Soul Feels Lean: Poems of Loss and Restoration

Available March 11, 2013

Joyce Rupp, a sister of the Order of the Servants of Mary (OSM), is an author I have long appreciated.  This poem is from her newest book of 106 meditative poems on loss and restoration.  Though I've only seen the preview, it's on my wish list, and I recommend it from what I've seen.

I have 6 of her books, probably more than any other author, and have worn two of them, Praying Our Goodbyes (c) 1988 and The Star in My Heart:  Experiencing Sophia, Inner Wisdom (c) 1990, to the point of pages falling out!  I have also really used and enjoyed The Cup of Our Life:  A Guide to Spiritual Growth (c) 1997.  My most recent purchase was May I Walk You Home?  courage and comfort for caregivers of the very ill (c) 1999.  I so appreciated it when I cared for my father as he neared death and while I worked as a physical therapist with the elderly.

Now, admittedly, that purchase was a while ago, but I have so many books that if I never bought another and read all day every day, there would still be some unread when I made it to 104 years old! And by then I could probably start all over again, and they would all seem new.  So maybe I'll wait a while before making this purchase.  :-)  Or not...

Recycling at its Finest

I was out walking and noticed this old dead Tamarack Larch tree on my land.  When I had first moved here, almost 9 years ago, it was still alive.  I remember it turning bright yellow that first fall, but already it had many dead branches.

As I approached, I was delighted to see shelf fungus growing on its trunk...

...delighted because I know our fabulous Earth is at work recycling!

 

As I looked even more closely, I noticed a scad of tiny shelf fungi as well.

And some flattened ones, too.  Go, Mother Nature, Go!

Looking around, I actually found 5 dead Tamaracks all at the edge of the swamp.  It's possible they simply lived out their lifespan.  Or the swamp may have encroached on their space making it too wet for their roots.  Or it could have been bugs of some sort, I suppose.  I do miss their bright fall color and just appreciate their different-ness at being a tree with needles, but not an evergreen. But while the Mother is busy recycling these dead Tamaracks, she's also making new.

I took a picture of this sweet baby in October when her needles had turned.  She's about 18 inches tall and growing out of an old Red Pine stump.  Again... Go, Mother, Go!

Oh, Deer!

You may recognize this Young Visitor from my post of December 30, 2012.  Well, he/she startled me this morning.

I had run downstairs to get the fire going in the wood burner, and as I ran back up the stairs, I glanced at something unexpected through the small, dirty basement window that peers out onto the desert under the deck.
He/she waited for me to get my camera and even posed for a couple of portraits.

Well, Hello!

Later he/she checked out the compost pile a little more thoroughly than usual.  The deer was standing completely INSIDE the compost frame I've made from old pallets.  Sadly, I couldn't get a picture.  What a little character!

Winter Window Surrender

Surrender

Julie Palestrina

Sit down

Let go

Breathe in deep

Exhale slow

Unclench

Unwind

Ease up

Free the mind

No rules

No goal

Light heart

Quiet soul

Spoil the child

Spare the rod

Give up

Rest in God

Source: written for a Servant Leadership School class

Snow Designs

This winter we've had many storms of varying types: wet and heavy, dry and fluffy, blowing and drifting, rain turning to snow turning back to rain...

This caught my eye.  The snow was just damp enough to stick well, and it was just windy enough to make a design, and then just cold enough to freeze it into place for a morning picture.  Very nice!

Be Here Now 2

Well, really,

Be There Then!

 

This is a half minute video of Hersey Creek taken on February 17, 2013. Turn up your sound.

For those of you who can't play the video (I know it happens), here are a few stills of the creek where it intersects my property.

ENJOY!

A Crispy Morning with a Warning

"Red sky at night,

Sailor's delight.

Red sky at morning,

Sailors take warning!"

7:42 am

7:55 am

10:13 am

But, yes, it did snow later in the day.  But it didn't matter since all the sailors were wearing ice skates, snow shoes, and skis!

So Long, Christmas...

This Christmas cactus was given to me by a client about 5 years ago.  At that time it was a small cutting from a plant that had belonged to this 60 year old woman's grandmother.  She figured the original plant was over 100 years old. This was its condition on December 4th. Note the Laughing Buddha and sleeping Buddha Cat enjoying its energy!

December 4, 2012

During the months of December and January, it had over 50 blooms! And on February 1st, it was down to its last one.

February 1, 2013

Exquisite! But as with all of life...

February 6

February 8

February 15

February 16

This amazing plant has often bloomed twice in a year, both at Christmas and at Easter. But with all the beauty it exuded this year, I'm not expecting another bloom until next winter.  Certainly, if I were this plant, I would need a rest!