Mandala Musings
Stare at something long enough and you might start to see things that are not technically there. This phenomenon can be explained in several ways. One, is that our eyes are not perfect. Another, is that man lies (to others and to himself).
Here’s a third theory: what you see is inside of you.
The mandala has been used by various traditions as a conduit to enlightenment. Focus upon it, and let the magic begin. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with a circle inside of it.
The one pictured here is composed of five photographs. Can you identify the different layers? If you look at it long enough and have sufficient spiritual training, does your meditation of this mandala help you reach new, deeper levels of enlightenment?
“I don’t know, it looks like an ugly picture to me,” says the nonbeliever.
“You’re in it too,” I reply, which sends him into a tailspin.
Hell Bent
This piece was accepted at the 49th Founders Juried Awards Exhibition in the Von Liebig Art Center, judged by Diane Camber, director emeritus of The Bass Museum of Art with a long-standing involvement at Miami Art Basel.
Juice Break
One day, she will be the president or a neurosurgeon. Until then, a juice break.
This giraffe is human.
There has been a long-standing debate as to whether or not we should attribute human characteristics to animals. It’s called anthropomorphism. Many scientists, such as Pavlov, saw it as a lack of objectivity. Others, like Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, attributed all sorts of emotions to their subjects. Of course, they were studying gorillas and chimpanzees, the closest living relatives to humans. Frans de Waal wrote, “To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental, about both animals and us.”
From an artistic viewpoint, I find it very helpful to attribute human emotions to my animal portraits. I’m in good company. Aesop did it in his fables. As did Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Walt Disney Company.
As for the giraffe, which human emotion do you see in this portrait?
Warning: Do not sign your life away.
What’s next? NO SINGING . . . on the shower curtain? We should ban all signs that deny us life’s pleasures.
Free the Tiger
Photography is magic. I made the cage disappear.
I know exactly how Andy Warhol felt.
While eating a mediocre hamburger at a diner, this ubiquitous container of ketchup caught my attention. It seemed so dignified, there beside the bowl of creamers and grape jelly. Like a car accident (or a nude Brad Pitt on fire) I could not look away. Luckily, I had my camera. This, my friends, is art!
Las Vegas for Kids
What happens on the merry-go-round, stays on the merry-go-round.
Unchain My Heart
Set me free. And if I come back to you, I am yours . . . to lock up again. 
She cannot tell a lie.
Believe her when she says, “I love strawberry ice cream!” 
South Beach Neon
Give me a drink. Surround me in neon. Abracadabra, I’m beautiful. 
Magic Work Boots
The way the sunlight peppers the boots? The grass shavings? What makes this image compelling? Related question: is gardening magic work?
Full Circle
What makes you feel young again?
I wasn’t your usual kid. The carnival didn’t impress me. It was dusty and loud. The rides seemed unsafe. Except for cotton candy, the food was forgettable. But for a photographer, the carnival is a treasure chest. Neon lights. Smiling children. The scarred faces of carnies. Stuffed animals and rubber duckies. It’s all visual cotton candy! I snap pictures incessantly, hopping and skipping like the normal kid I finally have become at 46.
Don’t Judge
Which is more beautiful, the butterfly or the flower?
Friendship
The spirit of friendship lives longer.
Awesome Love
It was a chance meeting. And also destiny. A moment like any other.
Blogging Koan
It took me eight, long hours to choose a name for my blog that would sound spontaneous, thus achieving the opposite of Zen.
Enso Monkey 
