I think Life with a capital L can be a work of art if it is a Life well-lived.  So, how do you define a well-lived life?  Well, for me it means my days include something that feeds my soul and my hunger for beauty.  This can be looking at a painting by Vermeer, a glass installation by Dale Chihuly, or a natural sight such as Lake Washington.  I can get all of these without going very far from home.

Or, for me, it could also be watching a ballerina rehearse.  I’ve seen a fair number of ballerinas rehearsing lately for the Pacific Northwest Ballet company and I marvel at how beautiful they are to watch.  Their young, gorgeous, attenuated bodies don’t hurt either.

It could as well be reading a great book. Or, eating an incredible meal or drinking a nice wine. Or, walking under a tree in autumn…

It has been almost a year since I was motivated to write here.  Darn.  So much has happened. Some good, some bad; c’est la vie.

So, l wonder if I can recharge this blog.  Let me see, I left off with the alphabet from z to a using art.  I’ll try to get started where I left off.  I’ll think for a few minutes to see what I can dream up for the next letter.

Georgia O’Keefe

Violet Oakley

A masterpiece by “Jack the Dripper”

Many people, when confronted with paintings by Pollock and the New York School, can’t understand what the artist was doing or why.

The best way I can explain early modern art is to paraphrase one of the artists working in the style: Traditional painting techniques just didn’t jive with contemporary life.  Realism, perspective, and all of the aims of the western painting tradition from the Renaissance through the mid-19th century, just could not be used any longer to express the developments and atrocities witnessed in the 20th century.  Who wants to look at a perfectly captured painting of an atomic bomb blowing up?  A photograph can capture it.  Leave those subjects for photography and begin to explore other ideas.  Dive into the deep end of your subconscious.

And the winner is:  Erikeno who recommended the Rialto Bridge!  What a great idea!  You can collect your prize in person in September!

Honorable mention goes to JBragg with the suggestion of Raku ware from Japan.  Thank you JBragg! Here’s a picture for you:

But, back to dreamy thoughts of the Rialto…

It turns out that early versions of this beloved, gorgeous ponte di rialto were made of wood and it kept collapsing.  About 1585, it was decided to build the bridge in stone and a Swiss-born engineer/architect known as Antonio da Ponte (1512 – 1595) (Anthony of the bridge, are you kidding me?), helped design and build the bridge that has since become the symbol of Venice.

Check out this link for the latest and greatest information.

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000461

 

1588 – 1591

Oh my goodness, I have been delinquent!  Sorry, let me get back —pronto— to the reverse alphabet of art. Last post was for the letter T and now I’m ready to move on to the letter S.  Andiamo!

Wouldn’t you love to be passing a summer afternoon with these ladies?  I would!  I bet they are discussing their beaus.

Or, taking a summer afternoon nap to escape the heat in this little outbuilding in Corfu?  I would!

Or, gliding in a gondola over the waterways of Venice?  I would!

Or, observing some exotic ceremony in some Middle Eastern country?  I would!

Or, playing some board game with your friends on some pretty bank of some lovely, cooling stream?  I would!  But I do wonder why all the women have their heads wrapped up in filmy cloth.  Too many insects, I presume.

One activity from which I…

What’s not to love?

I have loved Thiebaud’s paintings since the first one I ever laid eyes upon in the 1970s.  My love is still going strong.

Plus it is summertime!

Get your tan on, people!