My, oh, my! Today was an artist's dream (OK, I really don't consider myself an artist - I just love to take photographs of interesting things...)I went to the Quady Winery to check out the art exhibit - it was a judged event and I was very honored to be a part. That's my barbed wire photo - submitting that photo was an afterthought - I had submitted my florals, but at the last minute I thought this is an agricultural area, why not submit the rusty barbed wire. A couple weeks back, I mentioned grabbing onto that brass ring and now I'm adding to that "hold on tight" and "let go of the outcome" because the surprises that come your way can be soooo incredible.
The artwork was absolutely outstanding! The dress is actually bronze. I bought a Raku piece that's stunning - in addition to the colors used and the beauty, it had my "symbol" on it - a butterfly. I chatted with the artist quite a while because he had used a Duncan ceramic glaze on one of the pieces. He told me about the interesting process of Raku and the amount of work involved and how you have to alter the temperatures - it's not done in a traditional kiln so the process was fascinating to me.
The Quady Winery sign is all mosaics - it's beautiful up close.
So back to the day - the wine was awesome (that's really strange for me to think about since I'm not a wine person), along with decadent chocolates and finger food. I was admiring an interesting photograph - it was of the Sierra wilderness and was 12" x probably 60". The artist started talking to me and after a few minutes of chatting about photography he invited me to be a guest artist at an upcoming Arthop - it's a monthly event where a ton of galleries are open across town to the public - the name, Arthop, means to check out the art in one gallery and hop (not literally - but that could be interesting to watch!) on to the next gallery. Where I'll be exhibiting is an old church - I can't wait! Now, to think about what photos I want to exhibit.
While I was on the wine trail (there were 9 wineries participating), I took the opportunity to get some vineyard shots, some 'paint peeling' shots on an old building and a couple shots of leaves on some moss. Opportunities are out there every minutes - not only in photography, but life in general.
Now, to get to some crafting...
Welcome to LOVESONG...that's the name of the gallery you are speaking of in your above blog. LoveSong is an exciting new venue...the first month we were visited by just a couple of people.....BUT THE SECOND month...we had a ton of people! It's at 263 N Cedar in Fresno.
ReplyDeleteIsn'tQuady exciting!!? Your barbed wire photo was stunning! I was the artist right below the purple Sunset (which ,by the way was done by Purple Hat). My first time at Quady also and it was quite a show!!
What great art...hope to see you again today.
Linda Pitts
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and thanks for passing on the info about the gallery. It was fun chatting with you and Purple Hat at the Quady Winery. (BTW, he wasn't wearing a purple hat yesterday, but he did have a purple shirt on and was writing with a purple pen!)
Quady was awesome! The dinner, the honor of it all, the excitement... I'll contact Purple Hat soon to get going on the guest artist thing.
Joan
Joan, your barded wire photograph is simply stunning in it's simplicity. You have an artist's eye for beauty, and a heart that is open to the emotions that exude from new findings. I am so pleased and proud of you for this amazing accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteYou are taking your first steps into a future filled with exciting new experiences.
Enjoy every moment,
you deserve it!
Pattie
Joan!
ReplyDeletePurple Hat here!
When I finish an image, I always write a poem for it, which I attach to the back of it. Here is the poem that goes with the image you referenced, "Purple's Sunset."
"PURPLE’S SUNSET"
So my buddy
Joe,
Joe Bag,
Joe Bag A Donuts,
called,
and said he wanted to go to the Sierras,
so he could shoot the full moon from atop Leavitt Peak,
the next night,
and before you could say ghiardia,
we were on our way,
making,
it seemed,
at least as many stops
as Hunter Thompson did in smell A,
before he left for Vegas!
We ever so slowly progressed up highway 108 to Sonora Pass,
where we engaged in our normal pre-hike carbo and fluid loading
at least until we ran out of chips and beer,
and blurrily went to sleep,
I think!
Anyway,
that's my story,
and I'm sticking to it!
The next morning,
we couldn't believe our eyes,
for a van showed up,
and a woman with a backpack got out,
and then the van took off.
At Sonora Pass,
you can either hike north,
or south,
which gave us
pretty good odds
that our adventure might get significantly richer!
But alas,
Sarah,
a retired former professional triathlete,
from Switzerland,
was going north,
all the way to
Canada!
Not only was Sarah doing the PCT,
but she was doing it fast,
30 miles a day,
and she was doing it heavy,
with a 70# pack.
"Hey," she said to me,
"I like your purple hat.
Can I have it?"
Making another of my monumentally really stupid decisions,
I told her no,
but she gave me my backpacking handle,
"PURPLE HAT."
It was tough to leave such an accomplished backpacker,
let alone head in the opposite direction,
but we did,
heading south six miles,
literally along the very top of the Sierras,
until we got to the base of 11,550' Leavitt Peak,
where our adventure kicked into high gear!
Somehow we got to its rocky top,
just before dark,
and to our west,
owing to all of the particulate matter in the sky
from all of those forest fires that year
was an,
no,
was the,
most incredible sunset
I'd ever seen,
Grabbing my camera,
I snapped "Purple’s Sunset."
Others had made a low three sided shelter
out of the dinner plate sized rocks
and while it was only 2' high
it kept the wind off of me
as I pondered,
in my nice warm bag,
the ying of the destruction of trees and the death of animals,
and the yang of the beauty that I'd witnessed!
Poor
Joe,
Joe Bag,
Joe Bag A Donuts,
stayed up all night in the cold and wind
trying to get his shots.
On awakening,
I was reminded of my thought,
for to the east,
the rising sun struggled through all of the same
particulate matter,
which again acted like a prism,
separating the light into shades of black,
then blue,
and then white!
Grabbing my camera,
I snapped "Blue Sunrise."
When
Joe,
Joe Bag,
Joe Bag A Donuts
awoke,
he told me he'd gotten nothing,
but cold,
last night!
"Well,"
I said when he asked,
"I got a couple of nice shots."
Purple Hat
"Purple's Sunset" will be down at City Hall on the fourth floor, along with 9 other of my images starting Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007, through Friday, Feb. 23, 2007 for those who might like to see it!
PH