Flowers in my Garden in Northern Arizona made into Kaleidoscopes

Less than 3 weeks and we leave on our trip North and East with a substantial stopover in Santa Fe, New Mexico this Spring.  I am getting my garden areas ready for our summer caretaker and many things are now blooming like lilacs, siberian irises, english lavender, and blanket flower.  I will have an opportunity in 6 weeks or so to see my lilacs blooming on Campobello Island.  Here most of the fruit trees have already bloomed and in the Maritimes and Downeast Maine it will be June before we see the apple trees blooming!  Also added in a few kaleidoscopes of stained glass and mosaic projects that I completed as well as cholla and other cacti!  See if you can figure out what is the original subject matter for all 14 kaleidoscopes.

Flood and Aftermath Return of Spring in Arizona

The flood on Oak and Spring Creeks came and went this past week, but what a difference in the land surrounding the creeks.  At the same time as we got our 4 inch rain the fruit trees were becoming showy and the leaves on the Cottonwoods are beginning to green.  It was an exciting week to observe the changes.  Some of the sand dunes and charred wood came from Oak Creek Canyon above Sedona where they had a bad fire last May called the Slide Fire.

Great flood sculptures have been created by the wood debris.  The green is very bright right now, bit the grass and the leaves that are beginning to pop out.

Colorful Kaleidoscopes and a More Monochromatic Seasonal Palette

Visited one of our favorite local National Monuments as a treat yesterday.  Spoke with a younger generation seasonal ranger who took out his smart phone to answer a question we had which was a first for us.  Learned he was studying "sustainable communities" in graduate school.  What more appropriate location for him to study than a native American pueblo as a posting!  They were nothing if not sustainable, except evidently the long drought finally caused them to abandon theur communities along Oak Creek and the Verde River.

I was inspired to do 2 series of kaleidoscopes.  One based on my late blooming Minerva Amaryllis at home and secondly the fantastic rock walls of Tuzigoot National Monument with it's wonderful winter palette of seasonal grasses in Clarkdale, Arizona.

Minerva Amaryllis as Subject

Tuzigoot Walls as Subject

Only 10 weeks and we begin our long trip back Campobello Island, NB  This year we will be spending over a month travelling to get there with a significant stopover in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the way.

End of Year, Beginning of New and Snow in Arizona!

We are in the midst of a fairly large snow storm by Arizona standards so I decided to do my last blog post of the year using snow scene photographs taken today in my neighborhood.  This is my favorite holiday(New Year's Day) as we all look ahead to the upcoming year with great hopes.  Let's hope it is as great as we all hope it will be...

Happy New Year!

One Photo, Many Kaleidoscopes

I had one photo of red rocks, grasses, blue sky and cloud formations from which I made many kaleidoscopes this week. I can reproduce any of my kaleidoscopes in an 8" x 8" format and provide a simple frame for $50 plus shipping.

Happy Holidays and Peace to All. Consider visiting someone who is alone as your holiday gift to humanity this year.  So many people end up being very isolated as they get older because of vision, hearing, and mobility issues, as well as the deaths of those dear to them.

balanced dark and light

rattler

rockscape layers

shine

turtle

Fog and Rain in Arizona and Time Passing Fall into Winter

Just had 3 days of weather reminiscent of the East Coast.  We are finally back to sunny weather!  Most of the Fall leaves have fallen, but some still remain on our mulberry trees.  It is time for my now monthly blog post.  At one time, I was trying for weekly, but the weeks are coming more quickly now as the aging process continues.  I feel like garbage day comes almost every other day, not just on Mondays!  It is astounding how fast time is passing, but I am not stressing out about it anymore.  I used to think it was terrible if I didn't have something concrete to point to as an accomplishment daily, but now I am happier with less in general.

Right now I am fascinated with the wonderful foliage along Oak Creek where it is still Fall.  In this climate Fall lasts nearly to Christmas which is wonderful.

If you are in the Northern or Central Arizona area, make an appointment to see our studio gallery: Pumphouse Studio Gallery.  We would be happy to show you around with a personal tour.

Waterflows and Lacy Trees

Fall is here in North Central Arizona.  Furnaces are on and wood stoves are wafting wood smoke in the morning hours and the leaves are changing color.  We are fortunate to see leaf change from mid-September to late November due to our travels from Canada to Arizona.  It's a wonderful time of year here.  Come and take a 4 day Paint Sedona Plein Air Painting Workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson.  We are also offering a Paint Sedona Intensive for those who want a one on one experience.  Lodging can be with us or at the Sedona studio that Michael uses at 220 Goodrow Lane, Sedona, AZ 86336.

I have done a series of kaleidoscopes based on Fall colors and waterflows over rocks.

Anyone who doesn't believe that Arizona has brilliant red maples in October and November needs to take a hike!