Black and White: Encrypted

This artwork fascinates me. It's a cylindrical tower, about ten feet high, with no plaque announcing its title or naming its artist. It sits in the cobblestone courtyard of what was once a brewery, back in the 1800s. The brewery was converted to shops and studios years ago, but is almost completely abandoned now and is in rough shape. Below is a shot of the top half of the sculpture, taken from the elevated parking lot next door.

What do you make of it?




Posted for The Weekend in Black and White

52 Photos 17: Unusual and Uncommon

For this challenge, Bella sent us looking for uncommon things. So here's a two-fer: An advance reading copy of a novel (found at a library book sale) and a beautifully carved gourd by artist Bertha Medina, who is truly a "queen of dreams".

Here's Ms. Medina at work at the 2011 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and some of her astoundingly intricate creations.(She graciously gave me permission to take pictures.)





I sincerely regret that I purchased only this one little tree ornament. Given another shot, I'd go for one or more of those big, beautiful pieces.

I know this is a pretty late entry ... hope somebody finds it ...

Posted for 52 Photos Project

PhotoHunt: Surprise

I was both surprised and delighted to spot these "fish out of water" swimming through a vacant lot in Santa Fe.

Join the fun at the new home of the Photo Hunters: Whistle Stop Photo Hunt.

Weekend Reflections: Starlight Coupe

Behold Studebaker's 1950 Commander Starlight Coupe. It's at the National Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana and it's one of my favorites.

Isn't she a beauty? And that name ... awesome.



Bonus shot. These radiator caps came on a lot of early models. They contain an open gauge so the driver can tell if the engine is about to overheat.

There are loads of gorgeous, beautifully crafted cars in the exhibits, and the hood ornaments are to die for. Unfortunately, the place is so dark that few of my photos came out well. If you're ever in town and love cars, you'll want to stop in. Here's the website: http://www.studebakermuseum.org/

Check out more shiny things at Weekend Reflections.

Weekend Reflections: Shards

This sculpture, Shards, by Jan R. Martin stands in Beutter Park, Mishawaka, IN.

It is situated in a water race, and the reflections in the mirror surfaces are constantly changing with the seasons and time of day. Against a clear bright sky, parts of it appear to melt into the blue, to become transparent as crystal.The lower blocks reflect the swirling water, and the water in turn reflects the sculpture.

It's kind of a head trip if you look at it too long.




Check out the rest of the entries at Weekend Reflections.

Time in a Bottle

Want to see something awesome? Check out these art glass artifacts by artist Tim Tate. Go to Timtateglass.com > upper nav bar, 2008 > Slide Show.

The artist uses tiny video screens and sometimes speakers to capture the essence of common things of our time, things that will soon be no more. Then he stoppers them up for safekeeping in gorgeous glass bottles. They're like flasks full of magic.

No pictures here, because that would be infringing copyrights, a deed for scoundrels and evil-doers. You'll just have to click the links. I think you'll be glad you did.

* A Tiny Digital Arts Revolution, Encased in Glass from National Public Radio
* Tim Tate website

Pocahontas Meets Mulan

The Round Robins are exploring public art this week. My subject may not be great art, but I've always been curious about this bronze statue of Princess Mishawaka reaching for her arrows, her bow braced for shooting. I've passed it hundreds of times, but never stopped to see it.

I knew the princess was the daughter of a local chief, and that the city was named for her, but that's about it. From the plaque on the statue, I discovered that there's quite a tale to tell:



(Click photo to enlarge.)



According to legend, the Shawnee Chief Elkhart had a daughter named Princess Mishawaka. Her name meant "Swift Water." The city of Mishawaka's namesake is remembered as a proud, intelligent and fearless maiden, skilled in weapons and horsemanship.

When Chief Elkhart was severely wounded in a battle with the Potawatomi, Mishawaka rallied the Shawnee. While leading the attack, she was captured and held hostage. During her captivity, she fell in love with a young white scout named Dead Shot.

Gray Wolf, a Shawnee subchief, also wanted the princess for his wife but had been rejected. Gray Wolf rescued Mishawaka from her captors to return her to her father to gain favor.

Dead Shot intervened, and the suitors fought. Sensing defeat, the vengeful Gray Wolf stabbed Mishawaka before his death.

Dead Shot nursed the princess back to health and married her. They lived in a cabin by the Saint Joseph River, and worked for peace between the settlers and the Indian tribes.

You'd think they'd have made it into a movie by now.

The artist is Sufi Ahmad, about whom I have been able to find absolutely nothing. I imagine there's an interesting story there, too.

For more art in public places, check out the Round Robins Homepage.

Best. Present. Ever.

I don't know when I've been so tempted to snag a photo.

Absinthetic, of the blog Hall of Wreckords, wanted to make a special birthday present for his obscenely lucky girlfriend. So he created this Wonderland Expedition Kit, a field case filled with specimens and notes from the land of Alice's adventures. Every item is beautifully handcrafted, and so believable you'd swear it was the real thing.

I haven't seen anything quite like this since I discovered the books of Nick Bantock, filled with relics of an imaginary world you can hold in your hand.

So go. Look, already.

Photo Hunt: What IS That?

Coming home from a Fourth of July fireworks display, I played with long shutter speeds and taking pictures from the car. This could be fireworks, a carnival we passed, or lights from cars and shops on the street. I really don't recall which. But I do like the abstract quality of it. If you click it, it gets bigger.

For more photo hunters, go to tnchick.com.

Mist and Mystery

Letters From the Lake, Day Two: The Greenman Door

Beautiful as it is, the light here is strange, mysterious and given to fading unexpectedly into shadow. As darkness wraps itself like a sleepy cat around our cabin, the wind whispers of secrets and legends. Earlier, I could have sworn I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a little door in the side of a hill. Could that be? Tomorrow, I will climb up there and see what there is to see...

The woods around Indian Lake are thick and deep, and many are the tales of the secrets they hold. Some say there was once a black ops government installation here, where children were test subjects in psychic warfare experiments. Some say that on moonless nights you can hear the ghost of an Indian guide calling for his wife who was lost in the lake. Some swear that Bigfoot walks these hills. Once you're here, the stories don't seem so far fetched. In fact, a mere doorway into the hill seems downright plausible.

Setting out in dappled morning light, I retrace our route into camp armed with my camera and ready for adventure. Not far up the steep hill I spot my quarry, a low, dark entryway overgrown by trees and green with moss. Decades of fallen leaves form a springy cushion underfoot, and make the climb slippery. The saplings make great handholds, though, so the way up is fairly easy.

The opening seems to swallow light. Even this close, it is hard to see within. For a moment, I feel a frisson of apprehension, and I hesitate to get closer.

Smiling at my own silliness, but moving as quietly as possible, I take the final steps. Whatever this is, it was built to last. The structure is cinder brick, and the way in is flanked by high stone walls.

I peer into the inky black -- and am shocked to find a pale, old face peering back from the darkness.


The face belongs to a beautifully carved Greenman, guardian of the passageway within. I think to myself that this must be how Alice felt when she stumbled into Wonderland.




Now, here's where I face a dilemma. I could tell you what lies beyond the door. On the other hand, it might be a greater gift to leave it to your imagination.

Which do you choose?

Conversations for the Campfire

*The Indian Lake Project. A long-buried box holds clues to a government conspiracy, lost children, and mind control. (Home)
*Adirondack Paranormal. Ghost stories of the north woods.
*Bigfoot. Fact or fantasy?

Nice nuts

A couple of days ago I posted a photo of this little boat's bigger brother for the Round Robin Photo Challenge, Tiny. In that entry I guessed that the larger ship was a netsuke. It seemed to fit the description in some ways, but I couldn't be sure. In the course of my research I found no netsuke that really looked similar.

Then I found the website for the International Netsuke Society, and I figured these would be the people who'd know. Among the contemporary artists featured there is Doug Sanders, a fellow Hoosier who does beautiful miniature work in wood. (You definitely want to check out his site: Buxus Sempervirens.) I sent off an email, and he graciously took a look at the photos and sent this reply:

"Vicki- I think it's exactly as you've been told: a Chinese peach pit carving. The tiny holes top and bottom are likely original to the pit itself. There's not much netsuke-like there.

"Still, it's a fun curio to have around."

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed at first, but I quickly got over it. Doug's email sent me off in the right direction, and the more I read the more intrigued I became.

Nut and fruit-stone carving, known as Hedaio, is a Chinese art of its own with a history dating back to at least the Song Dynasty, over a thousand years ago, and are still being made today. The best are incredibly detailed and quite valuable. Boats were a popular subject, many including a figure of a famous Chinese poet Su Shi. Apparently, the carved characters in the bottom are poetry, and it is relatively unusual to find that.

In Chinese folklore, peaches are associated with longevity and good luck, and peachwood charms are thought to ward off evil spirits. Peach pits are therefore a popular material for this art form. Walnuts and olive pits are used too; a tiny hole is drilled in the end of those, and a little worm is inserted and left inside to hollow out the nut.

I want to thank both Karen Funk Blocher of Outpost Mavarin for the Round Robin topic that set me off on this little adventure and, again, Doug Sanders for steering me straight. I've gone off on so many tangents and learned so much about Chinese art and culture from this. It's been a fun week!

To learn more, check out these links:
*Nut Carving
*Small Pit Carving Brings You a Big World
*Miniature Miracles
*Himice.com (Culture)
*Chinese Mythology
*Peaches in Heaven

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Tiny

We're entering the world of the small today, so here is an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, Chinese boat-like carving thingy.



Check out the window shutters here; they actually open and close.



The characters in the writing on the bottom are only a couple of millimeters tall. I have no clue what it says, but if anyone out there can translate it I'd love to know.

My aunt gave me this years ago, but she didn't say where it came from. Members of my family served as Marines in the Korean War and in Japan in World War ll, so it may have been sent back by one or the other of them. She did say she thought it was carved from some kind of fruit pit.

I've been examining it closely for the first time and doing some research online, and I think it's a netsuke, a bead used to close a little purse worn on a kimono. It has tiny holes in the points on either end, as well as larger ones in the carving on one end, and a groove cut into the carving. It would seem it was meant to be strung on threads. I also have a smaller, less elaborate ship that may be the ojime bead that goes with it.

As netsuke go, it's unremarkable and crude, but it impresses the daylights out of me.

For lots more Lilliputian lovelies, please click over to the Round Robins Photo Challenge, OK? See you there.

Update 6-03-08: Turns out this isn't a netsuke after all, but a peach-stone carving. See this post for details and a shot of the smaller boat: Nice nuts.

Don't try this at home, kids

This is a clip of Gene Kelly tap dancing on roller skates that was featured recently on either a PBS or History Channel TV show, I forget which. I wouldn't have thought this was possible if I hadn't seen it myself. It made my evening, and I hope it gives you a smile.

Round Robins: Wooden

Our challenge this time around on Round Robins is Wooden, a topic suggested by Kiva of the blog Eclectic Granny. I chose to photograph this bowl my husband made from the base of a backyard Euonymus bush that got completely out of control.

Actually, the Euonymous bowl was my second choice. I had a great little theme going for this, wooden red cherries in a cherry wood bowl made by my husband from a tree that once graced our front lawn. Or so I thought. Hubby Dearest came home as I was wrapping things up Friday and proceeded to burst my bubble:

He: "Uh, honey ... that's not cherry." Me: "Whatta ya mean? Didn't you make this out of that tree we cut down out front? The one the carpenter ants drilled full of holes?" He: "Nope. It's from a chunk o' wood a friend gave me. I think it's maple."

Dang. Well, no matter. It's a cool bowl, and the cherries are kinda cute, and I spent hours fussing with the thing. So you're getting these, too:








As always, there are lots and lots more photos to see over at the Round Robin home page. Be sure to check them out, OK?

Snow bonnet bear

While everyone else was at the mall yesterday, we sallied forth through the snow to Michigan to check out the Box Factory for the Arts in downtown St. Joseph. It's an old factory refurbished for galleries and working studios, well worth the trip if you're in the area.

This fellow greeted us by the door, wearing his brand new hat of snow. I couldn't resist snapping a photo or two.

I envy artists. It would be such a delight to be able to spend the day in a studio, creating beautiful objects all day. Of course, that would require some kind of talent, and I haven't seen any evidence of that in myself yet. But I'm still looking for it.