Mother Nature’s Composition

Tags

composition, lake, Lake Tomahawk, lilly pad, sunset, Wisconsin, woods

The North Woods, Wisconsin are often called “God’s Country” by people who live and visit there frequently. When marveling at the beauty of nature it is difficult to believe the earth is without a creator or higher being. While on a canoe with my nephew and sister in law I noticed how perfectly lilly pads were dispersed before the reeds and pussy willows projecting vertically from the water. As if Mother Nature intentionally scattered them exactly where they were the way a decorator sprinkles candies on cakes. The compositions that contain repetition and variety with round pads and zig zagging grasses are hard to look at without thinking they were placed there by a landscape architect.

And then there were the sunsets.

During a “girls weekend” with Dora and Vero we planned to only sit on the pier with glasses of wine our last night there, but the sunset was too lovely to have blocked partially by trees so we hopped on the boat one last time and rode toward it.

Laying in the sun I glanced through the trees to where the swamp is; the sun illuminating the distance and leaving the trees black silouettes.

Vero commented, “it’s like someone turned up the high contrast tenfold on the photo edit.”

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Hodag

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Art, Gallery, Hodag, Jackelope, Wisconsin

While vacationing at my family’s summer cabin in the North woods, Wisconsin, there isn’t a great variety of art galleries to visit. About ten years ago one opened up in our little town of Lake Tomahawk. I was pretty surprised and excited when I spotted a giant metal sculpture outside of the gallery. The sculpture is an abstract bending skeletal fish and indicates more modernity than what you will find inside.
The gallery is owned and operated by artist, Rob Umlauf. Umlauf is a soft spoken man who will be happy to talk to you about his work or that of the other artists work in his showroom. The work is characteristic of what you will find in most art galleries Up North, and is probably what most people there are looking for. Umlauf paints fish, turtles and mythical sea creatures like mermaids.
My favorite piece in the gallery is a portrait of a Hodag. In 1893 a Rhinelander, Wisconsin resident, land surveyor and prankster, Eugene Shepard alerted the media to his capture of this giant beast that required dynamite to be killed.

The story grew to gain national attention and when experts from The Smithsonian began an investigation Shepard came clean about staging the whole thing. The legend of the Hodag, though, lives on and it’s imagined likeness can be found on T Shirts and other souvenirs. Umlauf’s depiction is almost exactly like the giant statue of the beast that sits outside Rhinelander’s Chamber of Commerce.

The Hodag is not North America’sonly mythical creature. Perhaps you’ve also heard of the jackelope?

Painted postcards

Tags

Art, beach, Greece, painting, postcards, watercolor

I was at my mom’s house yesterday and saw the postcard I sent her on her fridge. While in Greece I painted the postcards I would send back home. It made me feel less like a bum at the beach since I did more than just sleep there and I was being creative and true to my promise if dedicating the season to art.
My mom and my friend, Anne, have both framed cards I’ve sent to them. We love postcards because of the pictures. We love them because we are receiving a piece of someone else’s trip. When I send a card I try to limit what I write and I think about which image suits the person on the other end the best. “Mom will like the columns, the kids will like the beach scene.”
We are thousands of miles away and still we are thinking of the people back home and we want them to know it.
Consider this the next time you travel and stop at a postcard stand. Might your loved ones more enjoy something made of your hand? (That sounds like something someone else would write.)
I don’t know, collage on to a torn up map, make a sketch, send piece of a playbill. Or just pick up a postcard at a stand. Who doesn’t love a postcard?

First class flying

Tags

first class, flying, layover

I have been home now for twenty four hours but it doesn’t really feel like that long. I left Cephalonia on a 7 p.m. Flight into Athens Sunday evening. My flight home wasn’t until the next morning so I had to stay at the airport for twelve hours. In those hours I had a meal at the airport hotel and watched the final World Cup Match. Then I went back to the airport and found a couple of cushy chairs to pull together and lay on. But since I was by myself I couldn’t sleep very well.

At 5 a.m. I checked into my flight. I used miles for my round trip to and from Athens. All my miles. I had 110k and I needed all of them. The last time I used miles to get to Europe I only needed 70k. Sigh. I always check to see if I can upgrade to business or first class and it’s usually either unavailable or too expensive but for this trip I found an upgrade to first class on the way home would cost $300 so I did it. I was in a business class seat from Athens to Frankfurt and it really wasn’t any different from economy, except that the food was better. From Frankfurt to Chicago, though, I was in my own little “pod” and didn’t even feel like I was on a plane. I could barely contain myself when I saw my little “pod” and took this picture.

It was my first ever first class experience and it seemed the same for all people up there because we were all taking pictures of our “pods.”
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At one point during the flight I saw the guy in front of me raise his camera above his head so he could video tape the entire circle of space around himself. (He will see me waving at him when he looks back on that video.)
Right after that I took this picture:

The food was phenomenal and my wine glass was never empty. I fell asleep before dessert but woke up an hour later to find my tray was gone and the need to use the bathroom before reclining my seat fully flat to get some real sleep. On the way to the bathroom I found everyone asleep. We looked like babies in basinets. Giant babies with the proportions used by iconographers under down blankets and sleeping soundly while the flight attendants did their paperwork. It made me giggle a bit. I remembered the flight to Athens where I awkwardly tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in while the kid next to me would wake me with his occasional rancid farting and the kid behind me bumped into my seat. I remembered the stupid woman who woke me when she opened her shade to peer into the obscenely bright sun lit sky. This, I thought, is probably what everyone back in economy must be experiencing and I didn’t feel one bit guilty. I slept like the baby I resembled in my fully flat seat. I had enough room to lie on my side or my back, however I wanted. This is how everyone should be able to fly on trips more that a couple of hours. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go economy again. I will need to save another 110k miles before I return to Europe and you’d better believe I’m going to look for that upgrade.

I used my Global Entry status on my passport to bypass the long lines at passport control, found my luggage easily and got out of customs speedily to find my mom waiting for me to welcome me back. It’s nice coming home to your mom no matter how old you get. First class love.

iconography

Tags

Cephalonia, Greece, Icons, monastery, painting, Religious Painting

My cousin and her family are Greek Orthodox. Friends of hers from her church back in Illinois were visiting at the same time that I was and we all took a trip up the mountain to the monastery of Cephalonia’s patron saint: Moni Agiou Gerasimou. Because he is the island’s patron saint many children are named after him, which is why “Gerry” is a popular name here.

Gerasimou was a bit of a hermit and hid in caves below what was the monastery’s original temple. You can climb down some stairs and see the caves. Also, the body of Gerasimou is held in a crypt here and may be visited and honored.

The temple is beautiful but a newer, even more extravagent, church is built next to it and has been in the process of being completed for over thirty years. Inside are golden chandeliers, white marble fixtures, and icons painted in a rainbow of bright colors and embellished by gilded backgrounds that depict every story of the Bible. The iconographers explained that they only paint in spring and summer when the weather makes it possible for the paint to dry properly.

Of interest to me, as an artist, was the traditional style in which the icons are painted. The building and artists are modern but the figures are painted in a style that ignores what modern painters know about proper figure proportions and accurate portrayal of the human form. Regardless, the site is a must see for any visitor to the island of Cepahlonia.

Aqua Magic

Tags

Aqua, Greece, painting, Travel, turquoise

At the beach today I took note of the turquoise waters and was reminded of a group of AP students I had the pleasure of working with a few years ago. This group was very skilled, funny, clever and  talented at the art of critique.  We had a running inside joke that if your piece had any issues or you felt you needed to add something the answer was always, “aqua.  Add some aqua.”  It was funny but it was also true.  Aqua is a magical color.

 

Have you ever known anyone that didn’t look good wearing the color aqua?  Have you ever met a person that didn’t like the color?  I was on a plane, once, seated next to a woman who read cards and was into people’s aura’s and all that.  You know the type.  She took note of my turquoise ring and earrings and said, “ahhhh…turquoise.  This stone is known to attract men when women wear it.”  Well guys, we have something in common.  Because I can’t walk away from turquoise jewelry when I see some.  

Do we love this color because it reminds us of waters that beckon our visits in far away lands?  Or is it just plain universally beautiful?  

All the postcards I painted have aqua in them, but my favorite is the one that is almost all aqua.  

Which style capital are you?

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Athens, column capitals, columns, Corinthean, Doric, Greek, Greek Architecture, Ionic

Which of the three Greek capital styles do you prefer? Take this little quiz to see.

If you are going out with friends what do you wear?

a. I dress casually but nice, my clothes are pressed and clean. Maybe jeans but a nice stylish pair.
b. I like to step it up a notch when I go out but I am no clothes whore.
c. Whenever I go out I always wear the most fashionable clothes and I never forget to accessorize.

When ordering at Starbuck’s what do you get?

a. Starbuck’s? Nah… I get Dunkin Coffee or make my own.
b. An Americano or Espresso.
c. A frappeccino, cappuccino, a mocha, or anything with whipped cream on top.

Which painting below do you prefer?

a.

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b.

c.

Where do you shop for groceries?

a. Aldi
b. Whole Foods or an organic supermarket
c. Treasure Island

Which church interior is your favorite?

a.

b.

c.

Where would you prefer to dine?

a. At home, with or without company.
b. I like to frequent cafes and trendy restaurants.
c. I prefer white table cloth restaurants with a sommelier on staff.

Which actress knows how to red carpet the best?

a.

b.

c.

What is your favorite slogan?

a. KISS: Keep it simple, stupid.
b. Namaste
c. YOLO!

If you chose mostly “a’ as your answers you are Doric. Doric is the most simple of column capitals. This style is elegant and is concerned mostly with creating a balanced transition into the architrave.

If you chose mostly “b” as your answers you are Ionic. You like a little bit of flair but you mostly are concerned with symmetry and order. You prefer organic to geometric design and probably practice yoga.

If you chose mostly “c” as your answers you are Corinthian; the fanciest of all capitals. You like a party at the top of your columns and you like the party to have all the bells and whistles and you’re not afraid to say so.

Politics and Street Art

Tags

Greece, Nazi, politics, stencils, street art

Before going to Greece a friend asked me if I had heard how the government was turning to the extreme right and the nazis were taking over. This was not completely true but had he mentioned it I would have been made aware of the situation just by observing the street art. My favorite image was of a PAC man eating the Nazi swastika, unfortunately I was in a car when I saw it and unable to find it again on on foot.

Disappointed with the government after the recent economic crisis the party, Golden Dawn, has earned power from the citizens of Greece. They have earned votes with lies and impossible promises to solve the crisis told to the uneducated who are, in many cases, unaware of the party’s full history and beliefs. The symbol of the party is a new twist on the old swastika so their racism and history is cloaked.

Artists have long played an important role in educating the illiterate with the use if simple images and public art. I for one asked questions after seeing these simple street stencils so I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Making Decisions

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Chania, Crete, decisions, Goddess worship, Greece, ruins, Travel

I have a decision making problem and I’m finding it gets worse as I grow older. It’s usually fueled by fear and doubt. I was very unsure of which town to book my hotel in on this island before I came here and it was all based on past mistakes I’ve made while traveling. The thing is, you can never know enough before you go and that’s actually part of the thrill of it.

I used my membership on Couch Surfer to try and find some friends in Crete before I arrived. l sent out about ten emails to other members asking if they’d like to meet. I sent messages only to people close in age to myself, though many surfers are much younger. One woman responded that she was sorry but she would be out of town and one man responded that he would be happy to meet with me.
I am always a bit careful about men because, well, they are men. This man worked at the Chania airport and made time to greet me when I arrived and welcome me to Chania. I thought that was very nice. He directed me to where I could find the bus and then we made plans to go to the beach the next day. It was perfect because I was exhausted from ruins trekking in Athens.

My friend, Dora, is a huge Crime Tv fan and has fantastic ideas about what might happen to single women traveling. The next morning I had coffee with my new friend, which he paid for, and afterwards I promptly sent her a message describing him so she could let Gideon know the details of how we met should I come up missing.

At the beach I met a friend of his and we had plenty of time to get to know each other. He is a very nice man but I was getting the feeling that maybe he thought I was using Couch Surfer as a dating site. I told him that I wanted to go see Knossos and he said he didn’t think it was worth the long bus ride. I mentioned going through the Samarian Gorge and he explained that he felt it would be too difficult. I mentioned visiting Rethymno and he said his town was the most beautiful and that even tourists said so.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine back in Chicago hooked me up with a friend he met here in Chania ten years ago. Her name is Anna and we hit it off right away. We went out for drinks and her boyfriend met us also. When the check came I tried to pay my share but he would not let me. This was like what happened with my couch surfer friend spin was a little perplexed. Anna explained that it is customary for men to pay for women they are with no matter the relationship. Maybe some remnant of the history of Goddess worship on the island, maybe just plain nice.

When I mentioned any of the things I wanted to do in Crete Anna responded with encouragement. I sent text messages to my girlfriends back home about hiking the gorge and they too encouraged me to go for it.
With this I realized I was letting the words of a man I had just met influence the entire reason I came to Crete in the first place. So, yesterday I spent about seven hours on buses just for a few hours at Knossos and it was completely worth it.

I took a risk in meeting a man I found on the internet and it turned out I had a nice time with him. I learned from him and from Anna and from myself.
In the end we must go with our gut and know who we are, what we are capable of and trust in our own selves to know what will be best for us.

Knossos

A Lil Dalí Surprise

Tags

Art, Chania, Crete, Dalí, Salvador Dalí

On my way to the Archaeological Museum I saw a banner up high promoting a Salvador Dalí exhibit. so I followed the arrows, climbed a few stairs and found a little collection of Dalí prints, tapestries, cards and jewelry. The prints were lithographs on silk, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

In the middle of the gallery space was a bronze casted sculpture by Lorenz Quinn, the fifth son of Actor Anthony Quinn. Anthony Queen starred in the popular 1964 film, Zorba The Greek, which was filmed on Stavros Beach, Crete.
Another interesting artifact in the exhibit was a Jackie Gleason album that featured a Dalí design on the jacket cover.