Arizona and Back

Last week's visit to Arizon was Magic. For the names alone...  

 

Madeira Canyon

  Sonoran Desert

(Fallen )  Saguaro

Cholla

Ocatilla

A Shell of What?

Prickly Pear (mystery hole)

Muggsi and Me (on Henry Moore rocks)

The desert was in full bloom the week I visited.  Mexican Poppies, Lupine, Mariposa Lilies....flowers I'd never seen before.  All the cacti were flowering or beginning to flower.  According to the residents of Tucson this has been a banner year for the wildflowers, due to the large amounts of rain they've experienced this spring. 

Speaking of things I'd never seen before, how about 25 life birds!!  Vermilion Flycatcher, White Throated Swift, Mexican Jay, Canyon Towhee, Flame Colored Tanageer (a rare bird from Mexico), Pyrrhuloxia, Yellow Eyed Junco...to name a few.  And of course RAVENS galore!  Love 'em!

My apologies for my blogger Faux Paux!  A big oops :)

I started posting a few days ago, got sidetracked, posted briefly, then decided to redo the post...it got late, I got tired, and no post.  It's not you, it's me!

Art in the Garden

Today was a good day.

At long last, time was spent painting and being with other artists. The Geauga Council for Arts and Culture sponsors an annual event called Art in the Garden which entails the gathering of many artists (visual, vocal, musicians) at local garden centers in Geauga County throughout spring.

Today the event was held at Urban Growers, located south of Burton, Ohio in the rolling hills of southern Geauga County, an area that is a mix of Amish residents and Yankees. (sounds like a tourist guide and why the heck they are called urban growers when its in a rural setting I don't know)

There were rug hookers (called the happy hookers!)-- a group of retired women who make beautiful hooked rugs and are great conversationalists to boot. A man selling birdhouses of all shapes and sizes. An herbalist. Musicians (bluegrass), a barbershop quartet, a caterer (culinary arts), stained glass artists, a beeswax artist with varied products. and me--the painter.

It was sooo good to be amongst flowers, other creative souls and lots of people stopping to talk as they shopped for some of the best things on the planet-----flowers and vegetables.

I started one painting, didn't like it. Did a quick oil sketch (not posted), it got muddy because I forgot my turpenoid. Then my husband saved the day by bringing me the turpenoid, plus he was able to shop for our veggies for planting--not a wasted trip on his end! I cleaned my brushes and...

produced a small oil of the farmhouse and barn across the road. A quick little painting that I don't even know if I like.
But it was being there that was so good. I've been starved lately for art interaction that is non school, non job related.

It was a goooood day!!