At this time of year when you wake up to ice and snow, you have to work hard to find the fun in it. I’ve been very crabby the last week (due to work) and boy, did the crummy weather not help. All morning I was kind of fuming about it.
YA goes into the office on Wednesdays (although starting next week, we both have to go in on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday). When she drives, she turns her car around near the garage so that she goes headfirst down the driveway. When I went out over lunch to do a couple of errands, the tracks that her car made in the ice were kind of pretty, like the work of a modern artist working in an unusual lmedium. It was just the lift that my spirits needed.
Have you seen anything that struck you as “artsy” recently?
Trail Baboon 
Not “artsy” but Art with a capital A. Robin and I were watching some interviews with fiber artists on
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The best way to get out of a feeling of gloom, is to let one’s mind wonder… especially down the avenues of the many forms of art…!
🇯🇲🏖️
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(I’m not sure what my finger hit, but to continue…) Robin and I were watching some interviews with fiber artists on YouTube recently and one of the artists was Jenny Dutton, whose work blew me away.
If you go to her website:
http://www.jennidutton.com/index.html
And choose “The Dementia Darnings”, then scroll down past the statement to “contents” you can see what I mean. All of the pieces were made with yarn on canvas.
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This time when I went into the Dementia Darnings, the prompt I got at the bottom was “Go to Darnings”.
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Inspiring and meaningful work. I hope Clyde sees this, and explores Ms. Dutton’s work, especially her series on dementia.
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Not a darn thing. (no pun intended, billinmpls).
Chris in Owatonna
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Hey Chris – I’m planning on Saturday but I’d rather buy the book directly from you than Once. Nothing against small business but I’d rather more money go to you and Little Brothers…. can I slip you a check under the table or something?
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You might have to send Chris an email with that question. Seems like most days he makes one comment on the trail and is done for the day.
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Yep….
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I was in quite a bit of despair at the end of February through much of March. It was a really cold winter and there wasn’t much that redeemed the cold endlessness of it. Very few pretty, fluffy snowfalls and not many mornings with magical frosty trees. I couldn’t wait for some warm sun and a reason for optimism. I’m a little better now. I’ve been awfully busy. We had some warm sunny days a couple of weeks ago and I spent a little time just sitting in the sun and reading. The dose of vitamin D helped my attitude. I’ve also been able to go for longer walks again, which has helped too. And I headed back to swimming at FiftyNorth and started PT for my considerable back pain. It’s all helping my mood. Except now I feel like an exercise demon and I’m not usually either an exerciser or a demon.
Works from local artists are displayed on the walls at FiftyNorth. I like to go and take my time looking at what is there. They change the displays monthly. This month’s display wasn’t as large as some months. Usually by September the hallway is filled. You have to find beauty where ever you can in this brown and gray early spring world. The sunshine will help, when it comes.
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Not sure I know what constitutes “artsy.” I tend to “see” things as creative or imaginative, and leave it at that. But I do notice and appreciate the small details that stop me in my tracks.
Our own Anna takes daily walks and records what she sees and hears along the way in writing. She shares these short written blurbs, along with a photo that doesn’t necessarily relate to what she has written about, on Facebook. I really enjoy knowing that she’s out there paying attention to small things.
Likewise, Neal Hagberg, who is an early riser, takes very early morning walks in his neighborhood and posts a photo of something he’s encountered on his solitary amble. This morning’s photo showed footprints in a fresh, thin layer of snow. Not just footprints, but footprints of a solitary walker (Neal, perhaps?) who carefully chose to deviate from a straight path. It made me smile to think of whoever it was, doing just one small thing to leave a small sign for whoever chooses to notice it.
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That brings to mind a site I like to scroll through called “I’m Just Walkin’
https://imjustwalkin.com/2012/01/
…where Matt Green has set the goal of walking every street in New York City and taking photos along the way. He started in 2012 and has met his goal, so the photos and comments are a little dated (pre-pandemic, obviously) but he has a good photographic eye and his comments are a mix of humor and historical information.
In 2010, Matt also walked from Rockaway Beach to the Pacific across America on a similar project.
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Interesting photos. I’ll have to check out more of Matt Green’s work. He sounds like an interesting character.
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Is that Neal of Neal and Leandra?
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Yes
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Rise and Shine Baboons,
There is not much shining going on here this morning. More like limping around the house trying to find my belongings.
On our trip back to MN, while in restrooms there were ceramic tiles with variations and cracks in them. I kept seeing human figures and faces in the patterns of the tiles. Was I fatigued? Must be. This morning WORDLE skunked me and it was not a difficult word. There will be a lot of resting going on today.
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Restrooms can be so entertaining! There are some really nice, classy restrooms, and some really bad ones too, but once in a while you find some that are decorated in a whimsical way or unusual way. I have a few photos of restroom art.
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Check out these restrooms:
https://www.jmkac.org/washrooms/
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The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis has a great restroom. I make a point of visiting it every time I’m there, though admittedly, at this point, it has been several years.
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The art deco restroom in the Minneapolis Dayton’s was my favorite. I trust they had the good sense to preserve it, but I don’t know if it is in use in the renovated building. Boca Chica has a very fancy sink in the ladies’ room, sort of like the Matt Nolan photos in the article Bill referenced.
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I collect comic/illustration art. I see art every day. The trick for me is finding time to make it myself.
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I thought of VS’s comments as I drove in today. The Northbound lanes were clear, while the southbound had some snow on it. And the left hand lane had more snow than the right with that extra patch between the two lanes. As people crossed over, there was just enough tracks to make it ‘art’ and I appreciated it. Not the snow; tired of the snow in general, but the tracks were fun.
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i do see art everywhere
it is one of the true joys of life
being able to see it is the trick
i wonder how much i miss because my focus has me directed elsewhere
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That is a cool pattern of tire tracks, VS. I enjoy it when I’m being conscious enough to notice things like that – and love Anna’s entries, and now I know about Neal’s.
For one, I love looking at a stone fireplace – it’s amazing how many different colors of stones there are. Even cobblestone streets. And when I clicked on Bill’s link above to Dementia Darnings, the second one had the works displayed on a stone wall, which is what reminded me.
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Icy mock orange
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I have never seen a mock orange that tall. I think of it as a shrub. Is there a tree as well?
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I battle to keep my mock orange to a rangy nine feet or so.
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Some of the train stations I encountered on my month-long trip back in ’98) were works of art. I can’t find a photo of the tiles on the indoor walls of this station, but the outside is also beautiful:
https://www.amtrak.com/stations/san?msclkid=0707b80ab16611ecb609b45c0761bd6a
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I just have to let you know that I too am so done with the winter weather and can not wait for warmer weather. Here its spring and the winter weather wishes to stay just a bit longer. I truly can not wait for it to leave for another season so I can get warmed up to paint. I feel the crabbiness.
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