Saturday, September 29, 2012

Happy Sunday: Season's Gleanings!




Grape tomatoes.
The last of the last of the last...kind of sad.
There's really nothing else in the world like a vine-ripened tomato!



Happy day to my friends.  






Drop me a line, let me know what state you read me from, if you would and a little about what you've been up to lately.

For me, it's been getting everything I can out of the garden and either canned, dried, or frozen.

Would love to hear from you...  

You've all been so quiet lately!





Thursday, September 27, 2012

Post Cards from ArtPrize!






It was a perfectly chilly fall Sunday.  I was with three really nice friends of mine and we had a day to ourselves, doing something so enjoyable.



Joni, Marti, Sue and Linda!  Wonderful times and great conversation, lots of laughs!


Not too far from where I live is a city that holds a weeks-long art fair.  It is very different from any art fair you've ever been to.

It's an art fair that's everywhere.  Literally.

It's inside buildings like hotels and hospitals and art museums, and in parks, riverbanks, bridges, sidewalks, anywhere and everywhere, hanging on walls outside of buildings, in lawns, between buildings, high up in the air.








It's in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the art fair is called "Art Prize".

You can read more about it here.






Reflections were gorgeous in the glass buildings.



I am so glad our friend Linda introduced us to this.  This art show has a fan for life in me.





Another gorgeous reflection.




Grand Rapids is a really nice city with or without Art Prize, and the crowd was, too.  But it wasn't really too crowded at all, it was just right.  Mellow!









In this post, I will introduce you to the city and to Art Prize.  I've been editing a ton of photos and will show you more in the next few days.

Art Prize was started by the DeVos family, a prominent and generous Grand Rapids family with many businesses.

Here is a podcast of Rich DeVos telling about the origination and goals for this most unique art show is here.









All I had with my was my iPhone.   However, I got some decent photos anyway.

I was actually happy for the cloud cover because it's too hard to take pictures with the sun glaring on the screen of your iPhone. 

Conditions were perfect:  jeans and a jacket and comfortable walking shoes were what we had and turns out it was just right.






Artists come here to compete from 21 countries and almost every State in the Union.  If you listened to those around you, you could hear different accents and languages.

More than 1,500 entries, 161 different venues to see it all, it's free for anyone that wants to come and view the art, and the venues are scattered over three square miles!








Who decides the winners of this contest?

What are the prizes?

Well, the winners are chosen by those of us that view the art.  We vote for our favorites online!

The prizes are huge cash prizes-- and first spot gets $250,000!  Second is $100,000 for second, $50,000 for third!  Then there are other smaller prizes.








There is no way to see it all even in a couple days.  You could even spend days, JUST ONLINE, looking at all the entries, which are here.








Good Morning America came to town to cover it, too!  It's a very unusual and unique art show and something many know nothing about.








The J.W. Marriott.  A beautiful building outside and just as gorgeous inside.  

The Art Prize has displays throughout the beautiful downtown motels!  It's an easy way to see a lot of the city's most wonderful buildings.













Several bridges had artwork displayed and were for pedestrian traffic only!




































Artwork is tucked into many unique places, this sculpture of Albert Einstein was in a courtyard of a hotel downtown!







Again, using the natural elements as a backdrop, fish sculpture in the water.



















Tomorrow I will bring you some of the actual artwork and you will be surprised, I think at the size and the quality of some of the pieces, a truly wonderful appreciation for the creativity we have to share with each other.






Today, I brought you a piece of what my loved art is:  photography and beautiful buildings.


Come back and see me for more about Art Prize!



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Contrails in the Sky @ Sunset







Tonight I was out at sunset.


But it wasn't sunset that caught my eye.









It was the contrails criss-crossing the sky, all around.









I was able to capture the most prominent one just for you to enjoy!


Autumn, so far is offering plenty of color to enjoy, everywhere you look!

 Take a little time and see what you can find.  :)





Friday, September 21, 2012

Back Road Beauty: Barn Fix









































I wanted to sneak in a few more barn pictures from the summer season.

I am making the transition at home and on the blog...changes coming soon!

Enjoy a beautiful day, I have a long "to do" list that has to be done.

I still have tomatoes left to can. (I made relish a couple days ago!)

I still haven't decorated for fall.

I have sewing to do. A birthday dress for a little red-headed beauty.

(And I should be getting a garage sale ready to go.)

And I have shopping to do:  Little Miss Audrey turns one shortly!







Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Memories of Summer






It's hard to say good-bye, but we must.







But we have the memories, the sweet, sunny, bright, breezy, carefree memories.







And so thankful that we do, as we march on into the Autumn.






Monday, September 17, 2012

A Smile For You!









I found a barn I thought you'd like.  Shot it at 55 mph on a state highway.

(Don't worry, I wasn't the one driving!)

Ha!

This pumpkin is the face of "Jack-o-Lantern" of my youth.  I love its friendly, smiling face, and I love this beauty of an old barn it smiles at me from.

Just thought I'd share a smile today, friends, we could all use it! 





Monday, September 10, 2012

In the Golden Light of Sunset









Summer eases us gently away from her...

She goes so slowly, so carefully, that we sometimes don't even realize which day it was she left...

Sometimes you remember when you feel the whisper that the warmth of a gentle wind settles on your cheek:  "A fond farewell!" she says.






There are rewards for us in the dying of summer that gives way to fall.








There is beauty for the eyes above all in the fall...









Autumn is the time for golden light and beautiful shadows, vivid colors and deep aromas of the drying crops.









The ditches are filled with goldenrod and the bright hues match the golden glow of a sunset.










And it's all there, as a generous gift given to us by summer as she leaves, in her gentle way.