My Ode To Georgia O’Keeffe - Week #1

While in Taos I visited the historical mission church at Rancho de Taos. Georgia O’Keeffe painted this church while in Taos as did many other artists before and after her. Only when she painted the church she painted a fragment of the mission wall silhouetted against the dark blue sky - capturing the essence of the church in a new way.

“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could ...I had created an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at .... not copy it”.
Georgia O’Keeffe



Here is my interpretation of the same scene.

The Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Christmas was spent in Taos, New Mexico this year. We had a truely unique experience by staying at the The Mabel Dodge Luhan House. This house is filled with the history and stories of many past and present artists and writiers that have found both beauty and their creative muse here. Click on the link above to read all about the history of this special place.  It’s a pretty humbling experience to know that you are inhabiting the same space that the likes of D.H.Lawrence, Willa Cather, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

This is called “Mabel’s Gate and is the opening onto the property.

Detail of a rain gutter

Window and door by Mabel’s room

Bathroom window

The main part of the house

Ordinary Magic

To me beauty appears when one feels deeply.
Dorothea Lange 

Abandoned But Not Forgotten

The Start Of the New Year

I pass these old buildings whenever I walk down to the park.  They represent days long gone when houses were small and land was large.  The property is for sale so it won't be long before they are bulldozed down and multiple house will be crammed into the same space. What stories these walls could tell if only they had a voice. 

Time marches on .................

Week #52

Looking In

Well I've completed another year of the my 52 week photo challenge. Looking back on these 102 pictures, I can see how I have progressed in my ability to "see" what is around me and in my ability to capture it with my camera. 

One of the elements that I love about photography is that there is always something new to learn. One of the photographer/teachers that I owe much of my growth to is Miriam Hall. Miriam is my instructor for my Nalanda Miksang classes.  Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates as "good eye." It is a form of contemplative photography that brings together the art of photography, the discipline of meditation and the Dharma Art teachings of the meditation master and scholar Chogyam Trungpa. Miriam is wise and gentle and has been instrumental in my inner growth as a photographer.

Week #51

Winter Tree With Bird

This week, on December 21st, we will experience the winter solstice. The winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun and is an important turning point in both the natural and spiritual world. It marks the shortest day when the hours of daylight are at their least. But it also starts the increase in the hours of daylight and darkness becomes ascendent once more.

The natural world shares this reminder to all of us - light will always come back to us and illuminate even the darkest night.

Week #50

Don't Let the Rain Stop You

"Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."

Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country