The Flooding of Oak Creek

Last week I blogged about the color of ice and this week we had flooding!  Fickle and wildly changing extreme weather is our plight during this period of global warming.  Both Spring and Oak Creeks jumped their banks with trees bravely hanging on as water streamed around them.  They were flowing very fast this morning and we took many videos and photographs.  The last time the water was this high in the winter was at least 3 years ago.

The photos became the inspiration for this weeks kaleidoscopes.

Mighty Warriors
8x8 $50 framed

Flooding in Winter
8x8 $50 framed

Here are some more of our flood pictures!

The Color of Ice in Arizona and the Granite Dells

After some very cold weather Willow Lake in Prescott was totally frozen.  In the first kaleidoscope you will see Canadian Geese sitting on top of the ice wondering what happened to their water.  Ice in AZ is blue since the skies are so blue and all the blue sunlight is reflected onto the ice.  The second kaleidoscope is of the Granite Dells in Prescott.  They are very ancient rounded granite formations which are wonderful to hike around.  I have included the original photos as well so you can see what I am describing.

We are enjoying a slightly slower pace this month which is very relaxing before the plein air season and my new renovation project in Lubec, Maine revs up.  Artist Retreat Studios and Gallery in Lubec, ME

all kaleidoscopes are for sale, please contact me

Ancient Writing and Archeology in the Verde Valley

One of the things we like best about living in Red Rock country is not the rocks, although they are spectacular, but the river systems and riparian areas surrounding our valley.  We have Spring Creek, Oak Creek, Wet and Dry Beaver Creeks, the Verde River and many other streams.  The ancient peoples also lived in this area as they had water, access to good soils they could irrigate, plentiful game and rocks to build homes with.  There are so many wonderful archeological sites such as Montezuma's Castle and Well, Tuzigoot, as well as many other sites which are still being discovered.  In fact they created many room pueblos every 3 miles or so up and down all the waterways and throughout the region over hundreds of years.

"ancient writing" 

8 x 8 $50 framed

I had the good fortune to hike with a wonderful membership organization The Verde Valley Archeology Center on Saturday to a beautiful site made of odd limestone of a surprisingly large size.  We found many interesting pottery sherds.  Then to cap off the weekend Michael and I went on a hike on Sunday and found interesting petroglyphs and a large unmarked pueblo in a completely different location!

ancient homeland sycamore and water 

8x8 $50 framed

Nice links to the Verde Valley here:  http://verdevalleyarchaeology.com/TheVerdeValley

We still have space in our paint sedona weekly workshops this winter and spring.  We would love to share our knowledge of this wonderful area.

Mandalas and Kaleidoscopes--What is the Difference?

Others have written much more eloquently than I about the difference between the two:  http://www.intlnat.com/2010/11/is-it-a-kaleidoscope-or-a-mandala-its-both.html


First, take a look at this video about how to draw a mandala:
How to Draw a Mandala from Premaspace. To me, it is the spiritual intent that is the difference between the two.

I consider my work to be both since I often go into a zen like space in my head when I am creating and choosing kaleidoscopes for this blog.  It even extends to the time when I am taking photographs with the intention of creating images for the kaleidoscopes.

I am continually drawn to water and the amazing sycamores which grow here in the riparian zone.  Luckily, in the Verde Valley we have a large number of rivers and creeks, including Oak Creek, Spring Creek, Beaver Creek, and the Verde River.  The kaleidoscopes below were created from photos of the trees from a recent trip to Page Springs Fish Hatchery with the beautiful grays and brown of early winter vegetation.

2013 A New Year and Clean Slate Day

I was speaking with a friend about how New Year's was one of my favorite holidays since you get to start over again with all your resolutions and she named it "Clean Slate Day".  So to celebrate this day, I have 2 kaleidoscopes for your viewing pleasure.

One was created from a photo taken just down the street yesterday morning when we he had a dusting of snow on Spring Creek. I have to say that I love that my experiences with snow in Arizona are usually of snows measuring less than 3 inches which is great!  The second kaleidoscope was taken at the Page Springs fish hatchery where they had many four wing saltbush shrubs which were the subject of the second kaleidoscope.

Spring Creek Snowfall

Four Wing Saltbush

Michael started the new year right by teaching today.  Make your plans for taking a plein air workshop in  Sedona or Campobello Island, Grand Manan Island, or St Andrews by the Sea, NB now!  

Michael Chesley Johnson Plein Air Workshops

A Heart for You and Holiday Thoughts

I have been busy doing rockscaping this week, but my thoughts have been on the need for gun control after the Newtown tragedy.  I am sure glad I didn't have to work in a school with armed guards.  It was bad enough when the drug dogs came through the middle school library when I worked in New Mexico!

The kaleidoscope I made first has a hidden heart shape, can you find it?

 Hidden Hearts in Sympathy of the Newtown  Tragedy Victims

Rock Formation at top of Brins Mesa

 Merry Christmas to All

We will be sponsoring an Albert Handell Workshop this summer in Lubec:  

http://alberthandellworkshop.com/ so plan on this at the end of August!  August 26th to 30th, 2013

Michael Chesley Johnson, Facilitator

Our House for Sale, Santa Fe, and my New Fabric

As I walk around our community, I am mindful that we may be relocating to Santa Fe next winter so I am going to document our natural area in kaleidoscopes this winter.  For artistic income and the possibility that I could get a meaningful job in New Mexico, we are searching for a new house.

Anyone interested in a great house in a great community:  http://sedonahomeforsale.blogspot.com/ or zillow:  http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10680-E-Oak-Creek-Valley-Dr-Cornville-AZ-86325/2135977500_zpid/  

Here are the kaleidoscopes for the week.  They are all from photographs I took of the Spring Creek Trail which is a short 2 blocks from my house!  It is amazing the variety of colors we get in our AZ fall and winter seasons.  It helps to have blue skies, brown leaves and bare limbs, and green and brown grasses all at the same time!

My kaleidoscopes in fabric are now available:  http://www.spoonflower.com/collections/37457  I have started with 30 designs, but plan to expand if I sell any!

The End of Fall and My Wonderful Hiking Group

The best thing about Sedona is all the wonderful hiking trails we have in combination with the best Fall climate I have found anywhere.  Several winters ago I joined a wonderful hiking group of women who have been hiking once or twice a week with their dogs since 1996.  This week we ventured out the Vultee Arch Road to the Secret Canyon trail.  The road is not maintained that it is probably the last time I will venture out there in a vehicle.

If you want to buy a few metal prints of some of my kaleidoscopes, please try this link:
http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/trina+stephenson/metal+prints.  You can also use the drop down menu and order cards and other items from this link also.

Isn't Southwestern vegetation great!

This one features the last red maple leaf of Fall in the center area!

the view through the arch in the red rocks where we had our lunch!

Come out and enjoy some wonderful weather and plein air painting opportunities:  

http://paint sedonapaintsedona.com/

Wonderful Vegetation at Red Rock State Park

We took an early morning hike at Red Rock State Park this AM.  I find it still hot in Sedona so we try to finish our hiking by 10 AM.  There were still some beautiful yellow cottonwood trees down by the Oak Creek, but my eye was caught by some especially large prickly pear cacti, some ancient junipers, and some sycamores which have lost most of their leaves so you can see the structure of their limbs.

Prickly Pears--Looks Like Fabric Art!

Ancient Tree How Old Are You?

Twisted Together-- a sycamore love Story

Magical Point Lobos in Carmel, CA

While Michael Chesley Johnson has been painting, I have been taking lots of photos for my kaleidoscopes.  It is truly magical here in Carmel.  If only the real estate was not so expensive....

Here are a few kaleidoscopes.  The titles explain the subject mater:

Sea Lion Salute

Point Lobos Lace

Coastal California

The Beginning of a New Season--Fall in Arizona

We are fortunate to enjoy Fall weather and colors from September well into November by travelling from Canada to Arizona.  My last blog was a month ago in Acadia National Park where the maples were rosy red.  Here in AZ, everything is colorful now from willows to cottonwoods even to maples.  Most people think it is just a desert here, but we have lots of familiar deciduous trees at well.  Below is a kaleidoscope done from a photo taken today on the Chuckwagon Trail in Sedona:

Yesterday we took a walk on a trail we have always called the "landing pad" since a helicopter could easily land there, but which now has been named by the Forest Service as the "Secret Slick Rock" trail.  It has everything that I love about the the Southwest:  beautiful rocks, interesting vegetation, distant views, sunny skies, and absolute quiet.  Here is my "landing pad" kaleidoscope tribute:

If you are from a Northern climate, the Sedona area is just becoming nice with temperatures declining from the 80's during the day only to the 50's in the coldest time.  Winter hiking and painting are ideal.  By March, it is becoming way to hot for me, but we tough it out until early April since most of Michael's students seem to like the heat.  If you enjoy 50 and 60 degree sunny and warm weather, come to Sedona in December, January or February and take a http://paintsedona.com/ workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson.

A few random images of the season in Bernard, Maine

The french easel and the blue gloves

 One of my favorite Fall flowers:  the hydrangea  

The older ones are large bushes and this one happened to be drapped across a beautiful fence

The mussel diver

She dove for mussel's in her wet suit along with her companions in the late morning, then she set up a cooker and ate them with melted butter for lunch outdoors!  It looked like a nice lunch to me.  Something that is not so uncommon in Maine, but you would not see everywhere....

A Few More Mushrooms

The first frost has not yet arrived, but it is coming soon.  The air is cooler and since we have gotten over 7 inches of rain in the past few weeks, the mushrooms are having one of their best displays in years!  One of the best places to view the mushrooms is in Herring Cove Provincial Park on the trail from the campground to the beach.

Mushrooms and More Mushrooms

After over 5 inches of rain this week, the mushrooms have exploded.  I took lots of pictures this week, but one particular picture led to a series of kaleidoscopes.  I actually only used the top one, but the hidden colors were amazing.  You will be seeing mushroom kaleidoscopes for a few more weeks as I explore all these interesting shapes!

mushroom with green center

mushroom with blue center

mushroom with cream center and brown star

mushroom with brown center

Fog and Reflections

I took a trip on the Lubec-Eastport Ferry this week to support the Ferry.  I did learn that they will be running at least another year so let's all support them in this effort.  In fact, there may even be an Eastport-St Andrews Ferry next year if all the security details can be worked out.  This will help the area tremendously although I really would like to see a St Andrews-Campobello Ferry some day!  It would help Campobello residents immensely with banking, getting to the mainland and other necessities of living in a country without having to go to another country to get back to the country of residence, and the tourists would enjoy it too.

The trip over featured wonderful reflections in the water and the trip back featured tremendous fog.   The weather changes quickly in the Passamaquoddy Bay and Bay of Fundy regions which is part of why I love it here.

Fog Surrounding Pirate Ship HMSBounty

The day we went to Eastport was the first day of their pirate festival so this ship was docked there.

Fog at the Pier

Reflections Before Fog Settled In

Maine Rocks

I took a mini vacation for two days this week and went with my parents to the Schoodic Peninsula which has a small part of  Acadia National Park. We looked at lots of rocks and I found out  that my fascination with rocks must be hereditary.  My parents and my grandparents all collected them!  I created the 3 kaleidoscopes below from pictures which featured the beautiful rocks of that area!

Today is our last official day of the season in the FriarsBayGallery.com.  After today's open studio tour, please call us for an appointment to view Michael's work.  Michael heads out on Tuesday for a painting trip to the Grand Canyon called Plein Air on the Rim which is part of the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art.  Last year he did well with painting sales which benefit the Grand Canyon National Park in their effort to establish an Art Museum on the Rim.  He will certainly be seeing lots of rocks in the next 2 weeks!