For this Art About Town post I bring you the newest installation, next to Pier 14 in San Francisco, "SOMA." It comes by way of Burning Man, as have most of the works of art that have stood in this place over the last few years. I have enjoyed all the pieces, especially "Crouching Spider," but this one brought a happy little smile to my face because I will have return to photograph it at night, when all those little bulbs light up in different colors! "SOMA" was created by the artist collective, Flaming Lotus Girls, most famous for their flaming sculptures at Burning Man. I did this photograph in early October, and I plan to go back, sometime in the next couples weeks, in the evening, to see it all lit up in it's colorful glory. I can't wait!
Walton Lighthouse
Santa Cruz, California
July 11th, 2014
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." ~Confucius When I was in Santa Cruz, a couple weeks ago, I was so thankful to be surrounded by all the beauty of the place. It is always fun to visit there, but my favorite part is to just sit on the beach and relax and enjoy the sun. I am thankful for where I live. California is beautiful! And Santa Cruz is definitely one of my favorite places!
"Each day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can." ~Douglas Pagels
"The road of life is filled with sunshine and clouds, black and white, triumphs and tragedies. As we continue down the road, we decide which things we bring with us, and which we leave in the rear-view mirror."
~Julie-Anne
It's time to take a look back at the people, places and things that caught my eye in April. I had fun! I dunno, I think it just felt amazing to be able to get out of the house, after being sick in March. In any case, I found a lot to be inspired by. :)
Enjoy!
And now how about a little music?
The Beatles "The Long And Winding Road."
"All great roads are paved with uncomfortable memories."
"I was a little excited but mostly blorift. "Blorift" is an adjective I just made up that means 'Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.' I have been blorft every day for the past seven years."
~Tina Fey,Bossypants
If Only I Could Have Found My Blorift...
I read Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, and couldn't put it down. She is amazing! Truly, she is this generations Lucille Ball! Can you imagine if she and Lucy could have starred together? Wow, it would have been comedy GOLD! Recently, I saw her in her latest film, Admission. She impressed me yet again with her ability to entertain. This time, she took a bit of a break from her usual comedy escapades, to show a different side, her dramatic ability! She had me in tears at one point, but in a good way.
As I was mentioning in my post yesterday, movies give us a chance to shake off the stresses and distractions of everyday life, and when you can find a movie that is so good it actually makes you forget your cares for an hour or so then it's a not just a fun way to shake off the stress, but a smart one as well. Stress is a bad thing for the soul. I know of what I speak, because this past week was really stressful. For me it began last Sunday, when the current owner of the property I live on decided to help herself and walk right into my home. I have warned her before that under our contract that I am to have 24 hours notice, but there she was, once again, trespassing, and this time she brought friends!
People I have never even met!
As I said, this happened last Sunday afternoon, and the stress from that resulted in the headache from HELL! Then Monday came along, and well, we all know how the week played out from there. Compared to what some went through last week, my petty problems seem just that... PETTY. And in the grand scheme of things I suppose it doesn't compare, but that's just it, can you really compare problems with other folks, or can you just do the best you can do with the problems you own? Most of us are just doing what we can do to get by, for me that means explaining one more time that not only are my landlord's actions annoying... they are illegal! And remedying things by purchasing a decent little security system and installing it so it will be able to document the illegal entry.
I wish I didn't have to do that. I like the lady very much.
She doesn't want the fact to be true, that she can't walk into my home just because she owns it.
Stress happens... right? And with each new event, my headache seemed to pound harder. What can you do? I did what I could to get rid of it, but didn't have much luck. My usual coping mechanism, in lieu of a day at the movies, is watching General Hospital. It was preempted several times last week, so there went that! LOL. I get the news needed to report about the the terrible things that went on last week, but after a while the wall to wall coverage became downright horrifying and several times I found myself rethinking what leaving the house means. I hate that! I want to just live my life, but who knows what living in America is really about anymore. Things have changed so much from when I was a child. Sometimes it doesn't seem like America. Like it's something different, but I don't understand how to feel or think about it or who to trust.
Like I said. Stress. It was the word of the week! But like with everything, the stress did pass!
After the capture of the Boston bombing suspect Friday night, I went to bed happy and relieved for the people of Boston, and slept deeply for 7 straight hours, which seemed to be just what the doctor ordered! Of course it didn't hurt that Dylan cuddled into me, and Hendrix bit my toes all night, in that cute little way he does when he wants to play! And when I woke up yesterday morning, the sun looked a little prettier, and I actually felt like working in the garden! The headache had moved on, and my body was ready to play. Since there wasn't any movies I wanted to go see, I thought it would be good to finally get the Heirloom tomatoes planted, and start our newest project of growing Yukon Gold potatoes!
And if all that wasn't enough to put a smile on a stressed out girls face, look who fluttered by to say "HI"...
It was a sunny day! Don't you love sunny days and little blue butterflies?
"Here Comes The Sun"
The Beatles
Here Comes The Sun Here Comes The Sun And I Say It's All Right...
"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."
~Leopold Stokowski
The Bay Area is full of magnificent artists. Painters. Sculptures. Writers. Dancers. Filmmakers. Performance Artists, and of course Musicians. But every once in a while the natural beauty of the landscape, or seascape in this instance, come together to create a moment of art, that if you are lucky, you will still be thinking about years later. I am pretty sure I will remember what I saw yesterday, on a small cliff in Half Moon Bay, for a long time.
Meet piano liberator, also known as Mauro Ffortissimo. He calls himself the "piano liberator" because of his vision for this particular grand piano. He recently acquired the piano when the new owners of a house in Half Moon Bay found that a past occupant had been left behind... a grand piano. The piano was said to be too rusted and old to be properly tuned, so the new owners gave the piano to Ffortissimo who had a vision for it's last days.
The artist, and a some friends of his, moved the piano to a small cliff at the end of Kelly drive in Half Moon Bay, and that's where it has been since the beginning of February, becoming a part of the landscape, as the artist plays music ranging from the classical to the Beatles. While I was taking the photos for this post, I was lucky enough to enjoy what will be some of the last notes from the piano, and how could I not smile when one of my favorite Beatles songs, "I Saw Her Standing There," met in the air with the sound of the ocean for accompaniment.
Thursday, February 14th, Valentine's Day, will be the last day the piano will be played by the artist on that small cliff in Half Moon Bay, as that is the deadline posed by the city for it's removal due to environmental concerns. As with each evening for the last couple weeks, the piano will embrace the sunset as it's life comes to an end. It is the plan of the artist to set the piano ablaze, perhaps Viking style, at some point soon, but it's it isn't as sad as it might seem, because if I shut my eyes, and think of the music I heard today, I can almost imagine it crossing over into Valhalla.
The Artist And The Piano...
And The View
Whoah, we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Since I saw her standing there
