street art in the D

 Check out this cool shout-out to street art in our fair city! How amazing is it to think that artists come from all over the country to put their mark on the D? It kind of blows my mind, but then, I think street art is cool. I think, thanks Chaos and Harsh and Omens, way to turn winter-cold-grey-brick into a riot of color...into art:)

What do you think about street art? Legit, or a menace? Does it make you happy, or mad? Do tell.

Five Gratitudes

1. It's Friday, people!!!

2. First snow of the season was this week. Yesterday, in fact.

3. I always appreciate color-coding, especially in hyperbolic proportions.

4. I love working in my building. The lobby always makes me smile.

5. I'm really digging Whitehorse, especially this song.

So, what are you grateful for today?

Audubon Birds

great blue heron

blue birds

flamingo

Aren't these prints breathtaking? 

As you can see, I've been a bit bird-obsessed these days. Maybe it's all the migrators, floating and swirling in the sky over the freeway as I drive to school. Maybe it's their hollow bones and bright plumage. Birds are just cool.

Hope your week is cool and swirling by nicely so far!

underwater dreamin'

Jason DeCaires Taylor is an underwater sculptor who combines his knowledge as an underwater photographer, conservationist and scuba diver to create these dreamy installations.

Over time, the pieces become man-made coral reefs! The longer they exist, the more coral grows on them and the more beautiful they become. 

Here's to a beautiful and dreamy weekend!

in stitches

Check out these amazing embroidered portraits!

DIA Day!

Friends, I'm having a great day. Today was DIA day for my writing classes!

My students are working on collecting readings in various genres that can inform their research proposals. We learned about how to evaluate websites, then we surfed the web. We learned about searching databases with keywords, broadening and narrowing our searches, and then we practiced in the library. Then, we learned about analyzing and evaluating visual texts, and our practice took place in the "library of visual art", the DIA.

 

A couple of my students were really interested in the Diego Rivera murals in Rivera Court. I was so geeked to talk to them about this massive, strange and beautiful work. Even cooler was when a museum staff member came up to us and offered us an ipad with all sorts of info in the pre-loaded apps about the painting process, the symbols...tons of stuff!

 

An any time I'm at the DIA, I make sure to visit the Rothko--Orange and Brown.  I try to stare at it from different angles and let my mind drain. I try to just pause and feel, as I imagine Rothko intended me to do. Today I thought to myself: wow, these colors are so warm (it is frigid and windy in the D today!), it's probably the perfect one of his paintings for Michigan...The coolest thing was that I got to introduce this piece to a student who'd never seen it, who wasn't even familiar with Rothko. We talked about the painting and you know what she said? "It's great that it's warm colors. It warms me up on a cold day."

No kidding. 

I could probably go on and on. The day was just packed with moments that made my teacher-heart sing--students asking docents for advice, asking me questions about pieces, taking notes, telling me they're planning to stay all day, exploring, smiling, absorbed in art! Man, what a great day.

How is your day going?

dreamy illustrations

How fantastical are these illustrations?! They caught my eye this afternoon, and I just had to share...I feel like I want to read a children's book filled with pictures just like these. 

thoughtful street art

Here's what I think: I really think that eco-street-artist Anna Garforth is the bees' knees...

Image source

...and I bet the bees think so, too. Check out those leaves! Wow.

whoa...

Found this via Juxtapose.

Found this mesmerizing.

Thought I'd share.



what do you think?