woops

What has happened to this blog? I have recently been chastised by a friend for neglecting this blog.
Spring suddenly turned to midsummer in the blink of an eye.
I need to focus and get my act together (more to follow).

Spring in the hills of Upstate N.Y.

The first day of Spring and the winds are howling, temperature dropping, and the air filled with snow. Ah, March.
The picture above is actually from several days ago. About an hour before guests were to arrive for a fancy dinner party, a violent ice storm descended on us, complete with thunder and lightning. The power went out and it looked like the party was doomed.
But we improvised, brought the movable feast to a friend's house in town, and all turned out quite fun (if not a bit strange).
The next day was cold with brilliant sunshine. The hills gleamed with silver-white, and every vista was amazing. I took many wonderful pictures. But I am seriously ready for Spring.

succulents

This Friday night is the first gallery night of the year. I had a piece accepted in the State of the Art juried photo show. It is shown above. The title is called "succulents".
It is a bit of a departure from my usual collages. Most of my work has photographic elements, but much of the image comes from my own drawings and paintings. In this case however, this show was a photo show, so my work is entirely derived from a single photograph.

geese riding north

I love to get out into the winter woods and cross-country skiing is one of my favorite winter activities. This year hasn’t been very good for skiing with thin, icy snow. But this weekend the snow was excellent and I went out often.
Today was bright and sunny, and a warm wind was blowing so I went out on my skis early while the snow was still cold and firm. While I was enjoying the woods I suddenly heard the call of migrating geese and barely had time to look up to see them rocket by. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, but then I realized they were riding the strong south wind that was bringing unseasonable warmth, and not some new super species. I saw several more large flocks heading northward while out on skis.
I am looking forward to spring,. But March brings fickle weather, even more so in times of climate change. And the forecast is for ice storms, so it is time to savor the sun and mid 50’s.

Leo's toy

Yesterday was bitter cold but the sun was out and the sky was an intense blue. This time of the year it is usually cloudy, so I hadn’t raised my expectations to see the total lunar eclipse. But after a crimson sunset I was hopeful.
Sure enough, around 9 PM a little bite appeared on the moon. In the clear cold night air (9 degrees), the light of the moon was so intense that it was hard on the eyes to look directly at it. And that made the nearby stars difficult to see.
But as the eclipse reached totality the moon appeared as a glowing red-orange orb. It was easier to see details and get a sense of the moon as a sphere, rather than a bright source of light.
Suddenly the surrounding stars were much more apparent, and I recognized Leo. The moon was right at his feet, as if the giant cat was playing with a ball. And next to the moon was Saturn shining bright yellow.
The beauty of the night sky takes my breath away (as did the bitter cold). The phases of the moon dance in my dreams, and I am bringing their images to my art.

Light in Winter

Ithaca has a fabulous winter festival called Light in Winter. It is all about combining science, music, and art, and exploring the synergy when they interact. I find this very exciting because I have spent my life going between science and art, searching for ways to bring together these passions.
The first Gallery Night of the new year coincides with the festival. I have a piece accepted for the invitational show in the Clinton House Artspace. The theme of the show is “identity”. The work is shown above, and is titled “Helliconia Nights (self with flower)”.
This piece originally started out as a self-portrait (since ‘self’ is one of the ultimate forms of identity). However, I noticed that when I shrank my image, made it fainter, and moved it to the side, the piece seemed to improve. This process continued until I am barely visible as a tiny (but recognizable) dot.
The basic theme remains, with images of science and nature interwoven to reflect my interests. And, of course, art.

Solstice sunset

OK, so I'm a bit of a druid. About 20 years ago I made a sculpture and placed it so that the sun sets right above it on the winter solstice (from my kitchen window). And it does it every year! I monitor the southward progress of the sun as the days get shorter. And finally, on this night it reaches its most southern point and begins its slow trek north. That means the days are getting longer (though it will be a few weeks before it is noticeable.)
Sometimes the sky is cloudy on the solstice sunset, but I have always been able to see it within a day or two, and the sun is very close to the position over my sculpture. And I always toast the sunset with a wee dram of bourbon or single-malt.
Today was bright and sunny, so I was looking forward to the sunset. But alas, the sky clouded up an hour before sunset. I had pretty much given up on having my celebratory drink, but around 4:30 a sliver of clear sky appeared on the horizon. Immediately after, a brilliant red gold orb dropped under the clouds and hung for a moment over my sculpture before setting. I took that as a good omen as I enjoyed my bourbon.