Thursday, December 10, 2015

Tidying Up



Until yesterday I thought the trunks of palm trees had notched bark like the one below -- that this was their natural state. Then I saw a truckload of palm branches roll by. Ah, all those palms take major work and have to be tidied up. When they are cut off, the bark looks notched all the way up. If they aren't fixed up, they'll end up looking like the young palms trees below.


Today at the untamed wilderness of Pinellas County Park.


              And outside our condo.

At our second jaunt into St. Pete's and the Museum of Fine Arts, we found a palm tree completely encased in aluminum foil.  It is, apparently, a work of art, an outdoor sculptural installation called "Curiosity." 


The MFA says, "Artist Piotr Janowski brilliantly captures the unique light of Florida while also drawing attentioin to the complex forms of natural vegetation." 

I say that art comes in many forms. Janowski has also covered his whole home in aluminum foil. The name of this piece of art (below) is (inventively) his street address in Tarpon Springs. "Different strokes for different folks, " as the saying goes."



        Opening windows would be a challenge.

The Guerilla Girls

The Guerilla Girls are exhibiting in Marks Made: Prints by American Women Artists from the 1960s to the Present, an MFA exhibition celebrating the pivotal role women have played in contemporary American printmaking. Printmaking intensely collaborative between artist and printer. It is also very physical needing strength, stamina, and technical prowess.




We fly home tomorrow morning and so have been tidying up around here too. Being on this long Florida Island south of Clearwater was a wonderful sequel to the island of Florianopolis and after these weeks away, home will seem strange. It was fun posting and I'm looking forward to seeing you again at the end of February when we leave for three weeks in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Until then, enjoy a wonderful Christmas. We've just heard from our daughter, Susan, that Nelson's Whitewater Ski Resort has a base of 200 cm. and is officially open. I see from Environment Canada that we don't have even a flake of snow at home and there won't be skating on the Rideau this year. So Ontarians will have to dream of a white Christmas.

Bob and I are sending you wishes for a happy holiday season with your friends and family -- wishes for lots of enjoyment, fun and laughter and the time to rest and relax.

Lynda



Photo by Brian Noppe    noppephoto.com








Monday, December 7, 2015

The Toy Run






We were cycling baclk from breakfast at Caddy's on Treasure Island when a police car turned in front of us stopping with lights flashing at the corner. What's going on we wondered. Then a fire truck rumbled by and police officers on motorcycles making a lot of siren noise.

"Something big has happened," I said to Bob. Then the motorcycles started to pass by, the drivers waving, blowing their horns and some shouting. Maybe it's the Florida version of the Santa Claus parade. But no, only a few adults were hanging around to watch. Odd. After the first 100 or so rolled past, I was getting the sense that it had only just begun. "What is happening here?" I asked the police officer. "it's the Annual Toy Run from Clearwater to St. Pete's. Last year there were 3500 motorcycles and it took an hour to pass." Good Lord, I thought.


A Harley Davidson store in St. Pete's organizes the event to raise money for the Pinellas County Schools. Thousands of dollars are collected. 


On the beach outside Caddy's, the ubiquitous snowman with a rowboat fitted with an outrigger passing behind him.


And over our heads, a sign reminding us to be on our best behaviour.



Gulf Shore Blvd. is the hurricane and storm surge evacuation route.


Lots of large private homes and condos still underconstruction on the evacuation route.


Sometimes if's best to escape to a world of fantasy.


We hope all is well at home. As nice as it is here, it will be nice to be home at the end of this week. Hugs to everyone.



Sunday, December 6, 2015

Shore Birds For Your Sunday Morning

There are at least six types of birds along the shore. The smallest are the Sandpipers whose little feet make them go faster than we can walk if they are running from a wave or a person. They seem to prefer running to flight which might take up more energy. They eat in the morning and evening and usually aren't around during the day. 

We're off on our bikes to Treasure Island for exploring and breakfast a 15 km. cycle one way. There are super bikes lanes here but also lots of traffic. Buses have bike carriers so lots of options for getting around here.

It will be 80 here today. It's not cold at home though.

Cheers to all.


Saturday, December 5, 2015

On the Beach


Many of the condominiums along the beach are bullt on stilts with open parking garages at sea level. So when a storm surge comes, only the cars will go if the supporting structure is sound. But there are also buildings with living arrangements on the ground floor and still quite a few bungalows. The building we are in has enclosed parking at sea level. We are close to the beach. 




This sign wasn't here two years ago. Bob said, "I wonder how many Canadians would purchase here if  they saw a photo of this warning in Globe and Mail?" We look around as we are walking and imagine the affects of a surge.


A ridge created by strong waves. Every seven years the federal and  the Florida state and municipal governments fund a beach restoration from Clearwater to North Reddington Beach. Sand is brought in from out in the gulf and spread out on the beach.

                      sea sponge

                        sandman

         watching and waiting

                      coral

                nature's art -- a landscape
                             bone

We walk along the beach for at least an hour every day, cycle for and hour or two and I have yoga and Pilates sessions twice a week. I'm taking Ibuprofen for the pain. If we were here longer life would be a breeze in another week or so.

                     Yoga Tree Pose

And they don't get tossed over in the waves.

Bob is almost back to normal now. 

Still trying to upload videos to Blogger.  See you soon. Yesterday it felt like only 60 F in the morning.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Life is Full of Ironies


I've lagged on posting because we slid in and out of bed most of Monday with the "bug." But here we are yesterday in St. Petersburg all back in shape again.

The irony was seeing a sign for "Snowfest" on Beach Dr. as we walked past people staying down here from the north to get away from the stuff.


What happens on December 5? Well sixty-five tons of snow will somehow fall on North Straub Park so folks can slide on toboggans, fall down a giant slide, do moonwalks and practice “glice” ice skating. Last Christmas in downtown Puebla, Mexico we watched holiday makers slide down a giant ice slide in the balmy air. It seems that people here in the south yearn for what we escape. How odd. What do they say in France? "The soup is better in the other man's kitchen."

We went to St. Petersburg to see the M.C. Escher exhibition at the Salvador Dali Museum. His work and life documentary was mesmerizing. His passion and intense focus reminded me that to be successful at anything does take those 10 000 hours and more. Escher's intensity was at the expense of his family life.

Oddly, the exhibition comes from the Herakleidon Museum in Athens, Greece, which has one of the world's largest collections of Escher works. 



                       Drawing Hands

               Escher's Scarab Beetle work

                        and mine.


        The Dali Museum.

   Rocks outside the Dali. Can you find the gecko?

But what made St. Pete's really special yesterday was stumbling into the Chihuly Collection and discovering that the beautiful “Fiori di Como,” glass sculpture hanging from the ceiling in Las Vegas' Bellagio’s lobby is by him.


We've been awed twice by its brilliance and both times were so caught up in the crush of people, we missed the name of the artist. The piece cost $10 million but the Bellagio's executive director says it's paid for itself many time over. Every day, 15,000 to 20,000 people come to the hotel-casino’s lobby to see Chihuly’s sculpture.


    The steel armature

Here it is -- 2,000 hand-blown glass blossoms weighing altogether 40,000 pounds and supported by a 10,000-pound steel armature. Every morning between 2 and 5 a.m., a team of eight to 10 engineers cleans and maintains the sculpture. The immensity of such an effort is impossible for me to imagine. Bob and I had a long talk with an employee in the Chihuly Collection and discovered that the ROM is hosting an three month exhibition of Dale Chihuly's work this June. I can't wait.


"CHIHULY to open at the ROM in June 2016 


Internationally-renowned artist Dale Chihuly recently visited the ROM
CHIHULY to be displayed at the Museum from June 25, 2016 to January 2, 2017
Exhibition will feature breathtaking works of art 

Image of Dale Chihuly(TORONTO, November 5, 2015) — The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announced today an exhibition featuring the extraordinary work of Dale Chihuly. On display from June 25, 2016 to January 2, 2017, CHIHULY will include several astonishingly colourful and dramatic works of art. Acclaimed for his site-specific installations, the Seattle-based artist was in Toronto recently, touring the Museum in preparation for the upcoming exhibition.

“I’m pleased to be able to bring an exhibition of my work to the ROM,” said Dale Chihuly. “Having been on-site at the museum, I’m really looking forward to presenting my work in this uniquely designed space.”

Chihuly has explored the potential of blown glass for over 50 years and his massive installations defy the apparent fragility of the material, astonishing and inspiring his audiences. CHIHULY at the ROM will be an immersive, visual experience for visitors of all ages. CHIHULY will be displayed in the Museum’s Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall. Tickets are expected to go on sale in January 2016.

About Chihuly:

Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the glass medium from the realm of craft to fine art. He is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens. 

Chihuly’s work is included in more than 225 museum collections worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995-96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), Garden Cycle (2001–present), de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2012) and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal (2013).Chihuly Garden and Glass opened at Seattle Center in 2012."

Chihuly is blind in his left eye, the result of a serious car accident in 1976 in England. Because he lost hi depth perception then, he directs an army of glass blowers in his studio.


These glass sculptures for sale in the store are priced at $7,000 -- 8, 000.






Downtown St. Petersburg, especially along Beach Dr. in the area of the Museum of Fine Arts is lovely and funky at the same time. Only a block away are stately homes and trees from the past.

Funky sculptures along Beach Dr.




and Canadian lobster served in restaurants.

                A tree next to the MFA




      and skyscrapers only a block away from the house below where we parked. 


It was a heady day.

Here is the completed Indian Rock's beach sculpture I wrote about and its back story.



I hope all is well with you. We think of you and home.