Children's Art

 

I went inside the very busy Western Spirit Museum with the goal of seeing how the new addition to the museum had changed the layout.  I got stopped in my tracks by an exhibit of student art work that the museum had commissioned at schools across the state.  The talent in these young people was very uplifting to see.

The above is a colored pencil drawing by Camila Aguilar Fiedler, a 5th grade student.

To the left is a water color by Piper Frost, a 6th grade student.

The piece above is a watercolor by Adeline Solomon a 4th grader. 

To the left is a watercolor and pencil piece by Everly Askew who is in the 6th grade.

This young 11th grade artist appears to be channeling her inner " Piet Mondrian" with this color-blocked piece.  Angelica Harrison did this one with color markers.

It's a joy to see so much young talent on display inside the museum.  

Flowering Trees

 

I was at the Scottsdale Civic Center last weekend where I spotted two trees that were blooming at the moment.  This pink one I believe is called Rosy Trumpet tree.

For this one with the white blooms I used Google to identify it as an Amelanchier.  Google indentification can be hit or miss so if any of you plant experts know better, please let me know.

One More to Celebrate

 

One more artist from the Celebration of Fine Arts.  This time it's Ray Tigerman who paints these southwestern paintings with bold and bright colors.

I remember his paintings from visits to this art show in previous years.  I like his style.

He had one sculpture in his little space that I liked very much.  

There is always a lot of art on display at this annual event.  I also enjoy talking with the artists.  That opportunity makes this event pretty special.

Artistic Styles

 

Shannon Leigh has her own very distinctive style of painting her mostly western paintings.  I had to study that one to the right to see the cowgirl emerge.

I really like the style of Martin Blundell's paintings.  All those straight lines stacked up draws my eye into the painting to form such beautiful scenes.

Dale Terbush has a more realistic style to his paintings.  I admired this one with the brilliant sky very much.  By the way, that is the artist busy at work to left in this photo.

Adding a Touch of Humor

 

Bruce Marion is a painter who depicts a variety of wildlife in his paintings. This year he added a touch of humor with these two paintings of Jurassic Cowboys.  It never would have occurred to me to depict a cowboy riding a dinosaur. It looks like a life or death bronco ride to me.

Pete Tillack's paintings always contain something that is a bit out of place.  In the two paintings above  it's furniture placed in odd places.  He added a bit of humor with the small piece to the left of the lower painting.  It professes that "This is Not Art Yet it Has Appeal!"  I've seen that "banana art" joke before but I liked the way he juxtaposed it with his own art.

 This last piece is from artist and sculptor Parker McDonald.  He's added a row of brass song birds perched on a flute.  Very clever since the sound of birds is often depicted by the sound of a flute.

The Paint Carver

 

Brit Hansen is another artist I've admired at the Celebration of Fine Art.  She calls herself a "paint carver" and she explained to me what she does.  She paints a very thick layer of acrylic paint to the canvas and after it dries she carves away layer of the paint giving the remaining layer some texture.  The texture is hard to see in my photographs but it reminds me a bit of the brush strokes you sometimes see on a canvas.

These two paintings of hers really grabbed my attention when I stopped at her space.  And, I'm happy to report that they were purchased by a couple who were leaving the space as I stepped in.  I like knowing they are going to a good home.

Familiar Artists

 

Many of the artists who come to the Celebration of Fine Arts, come every year.  That makes their work very familiar to me.  Above is a painting by Barbara Rudolph.  She mixes a love of birds with a love of literature in her paintings.  She calls this one "Tall Tales Before the Flame Goes Out".  

To the left is a mixed media sculpture by Jeremy Firehammer.  This one has wood and fabric and metal and tiny lights.

Terrell Powell has very colorful paintings as well as a few very whimsical animal sculptures.  I love this polka-dotted moose.  

Seth Fairweather is another mixed media sculptor working with metal and other materials.  He's had sculptures similar to this one at the show before and I've always found them appealing.

Celebration of Fine Art

 

I went to the Celebration of Fine Arts yesterday so I could spend some time among the artists and their beautiful works.  I've posted about this show many times before.  It always happens between January and the end of March with artists spending the whole time working and showing their art in the big white tents in north Scottsdale.  Above is the work of Eric Holt a heavy metal sculptor.  Most of his work is on a very large and grand scale but these smaller pieces caught my eye.  

I cropped the top photo a bit so I could show you two of the pieces that have a sort of "other-worldly" look to them.  This one has a title, "Thorn of Crowns".

I didn't see a name for this one. It's quite unusual looking too.  This artist was new to me.  I have more photos from the show.  In the next week or so, I'll show you more from some of the artists I see every year.

Posterity

 

I saw this shiny new McLaren parked in the valet spot in front of a new fitness center.  Valet's love to park the fancy cars right out front.  I can tell it's new because it still has the temporary license plate on it.

It appears that the car has been named "Posterity 44".  Actually, it turns out that Posterity 44 is a real estate agency.  A profitable one I'm guessing.

Celebrating Human Form & Mother Nature

 

About two weeks ago, I took a walk in the Scottsdale Arts district and wandered into a few galleries.  That's were I found the work of Estella Fransbergen.  She works in clay to make torso shapes that mimic the female form.  She then uses natures elements to create unique sculptures like this one that looks like a ballerina's tutu.  

These two look like ball gowns.  She uses things like feathers, branches, gemstones and rare stones to enhance the torso form and turn each one into something new and surprising.  

Estella was born and raised in South African, studied art in the Netherlands and is now living in the heartland of the United States.  

These are such interesting  sculptures unlike anything I had seen before.  I love discovering new things.

In Honor of the Roadrunner

 

There is a brand new set of Apartments on McDowell Road in Scottsdale called Roadrunner on McDowell.  The last time I drove past them I notice that there was a giant mural on one wall depicting a desert scene and a single roadrunner studying the situation.  I didn't see a signature so I don't know who the artist is.  It's a nice addition to the the otherwise 'brown' walls of the building.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

SantaLand

 

Scottsdale Fashion Square may be shifting toward the ultra-high end shops but it still had a SantaLand available for those who want photos with Santa.

Every year they put up an elaborate Setting for the Santa photos in the food court area of the mall.  This year Santa has a gold "throne" to sit on for the photos.

I did snap a photo of one of the shop window displays that I liked.  That's a very cute polar bear playing with those ornaments.  

A Silver Christmas

 

I stopped at AZ88 for lunch yesterday and was interested in seeing how they decorated for the holidays.  This year they have a silver tree put together with petal-like pads that are covered in sparkly and reflective material.  

They have two projectors that are shining light on the tree from two sides so at night it must send sparkly light all over the restaurant.

Maybe I should stop by at night to see how it looks.  

A Balanced Look

 

Commercial decor that has a balanced style catches my eye.  I snapped these two examples recently.  The one above is in an entrance to the Nordstrom store.  The one to the left was in an alcove at the Canopy Hotel in Scottsdale.  

They both are aesthetically pleasing.

This little waiting area at my chiropractor's office also caught my eye.  There is a certain appeal to the layout.  

Just some of my silly observations.

The Season is Upon Us

 

Going to the mall on Friday made me aware that the holiday season is open for business.  I only stayed in one little section of the mall but there were holiday signs everywhere.  

This tree with the oversized Christmas lights was just inside the door of the Coach store.  

This tiny little glass Christmas tree was in the window of the Swarovski store.  It goes nicely with the little glass Christmas presents on the right.  

I didn't venture into the main part of the mall so I probably missed a major portion of the decorations. I'm sure I'll see plenty more decorations before the season ends.

Fashion Design Students

 

I went to the mall yesterday and saw this display of some of the fashion designs created by Arizona State University students. 

I saw one of these shows once before at the mall but it was 6 years ago.  I posted photos here.

To me these fashion look a little wild and crazy but in the grand scheme of things, they aren't much different than what we see on the Oscars red carpet or Project Runway.

When Did All This Screaming Start?

 

On Thursday evening, I joined friends to attend a performance by Jeremy Jordan at the Scottsdale Center For the Performing Arts.  Jordan is a Tony-nominated Broadway star with an incredible voice and excellent stage presence.  The show was excellent and beautifully staged.

The behavior of the audience is what troubled me.  The constant screaming caused me to cover my ears multiple times.  It seemed like every song he sang spurred many audience members to scream as though an alien creature had just grabbed them.

I'm used to enthusiastic applause and loud, exuberant  cheering but screaming at the top of your lungs seems a little much.

I've noticed this phenomenon probably over the past 4 years.  In fact, it's one of the reasons that I gave  up my season tickets to the Valley Broadway series.  I've had those 5th row/center tickets for over 20 years but lately I've been finding it hard to enjoy the performances when the audience pierces my ears with their constant screams.   

The photos of the plants above were taken near the Scottsdale Civic Center.