Nose Art and Paintings and Sculpture, Oh My!

The Husband enjoys the heck out of the Palm Springs Air Museum. I admit, usually I zip through a few exhibits and go read in the café. But since we hadn’t been there in quite a while, I was a little more engaged because the set up had changed a bit and there were some new things. We ended up together in the café for lunch. Aside from the 105 degrees we braved to see the planes outside, it was a good visit.

Here’s some of the fun nose art on display:







This is a painting on tiles that local school children contributed their skills to. It’s a beautiful piece and I saw the image on t-shirts in the gift shop.

Doesn’t this sculpture make you want to go outside and leap around barefoot in the grass??

And here is the Tuskegee Airmen mural by artist Stan Stokes. I didn’t think I’d be able to get it all in the photo!

Here’s his blog, detailing the unveiling of the mural, attended by 7 of the Airmen themselves: http://stanstokesredtails.blogspot.com/

 

You can see a passel of Stokes’ murals and painting at the Palm Springs Air Museum, as well as the Ronald Reagan Library and the George HW Bush Library. Military art is his specialty but he also paints sailing ships and cool cityscapes with cats.

Do What You Love!

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I’m Back~With Artful Things

So, my creativity has been at low ebb for a while. I guess we all go through this, at different times in our lives. The Day Job zaps energy and the will to create. I feel like I’ve been in a library-shaped cocoon, reading and avoiding the world. But lately, I’ve been jotting notes for things I want to write, create and, gasp (!) sew. While texting with a friend a few weeks ago, I looked up a cameo company online and bought a bunch, which will be showing up in my Etsy shop soon as necklaces and earrings and even pins (!). There’s a stash of fabric in my workroom and patterns I got on a super sale at JoAnn. And I’m even thinking of starting classes toward a general ed degree.

 

Right now, I just want to get blogging again. Expect to see art around town, book reviews (I’ve discovered a lot of new mystery series lately), new jewelry and just things I find interesting and think you might, too.

 

Last week, The Husband and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary in Palm Springs. Today, I’m going to post some art from around PS and their great art museum. The next blog will have nose art and some other paintings and sculpture from the Palm Springs Air Museum. Enjoy!

 

Here we are, posed beneath Marilyn Monroe in her iconic pose from The Seven Year Itch. This great gal, a huge sculpture by Seward Johnson, is quite a draw!

I knew you were wondering!

We saw this sculpture a few years ago and we’re still amazed by it. I keep expecting her to blink!

Full length

Her feet are so dang lifelike!

This is a performance art piece on a 12 minute loop. It mesmerized me. So simple--a woman holding a container of milk--but so fascinating. I think because it was presented as a piece of art on the wall, the fact that you could see her breathing and working to keep the container steady but dribbling on the floor and her black dress, it was like watching through a window. And she never looks up, never tries to make contact. Hmmmm, that does make me a voyeur?!

Here I am with Your Dog, in the front lobby of the musuem.

No explanation--just fun! I posted this on Facebook with the caption, “I’ll never get these dishes done!”, contributed by The Husband.

Loved this Glass House

Loved this Glass Man. His pants are concrete, I believe, but the jacket and the head are glass. The jacket and hood seems to have been painted, but the back of the shoulders and the face were left raw, creating the glow of light. Beautiful!

Face detail.

I was taken with these ornaments hanging above the second tier of the museum, even before we discovered that each of the 100 pieces holds a note or piece of artwork from artists all over the world.

And here’s The Husband, with a driftwood horse he admired.

And just to show that art and beauty are everywhere, here's a beautiful flower we saw on our way to the museum.  So bright and happy!!

Coming soon, The Palm Springs Air Museum!

Do What You Love!

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Palm Springs Art Museum

I always find the beadwork! A few weeks ago (yes, I'm a little behind…), The Husband and I ambled through the wonderful Palm Springs Art Museum. One of their exhibits, Comic Art Indigene, showcased Native American comic book art and related subjects. Here are two colorful examples of amazing beadwork:



I don't do a lot of work with seed beads, the little tiny beads. I don't have the patience to work with something that small, so I appreciate the talent and amount of work that went into these pieces.

Unfortunately, Comic Art Indigene ended it’s run last Sunday. But here's a couple of favorite artworks from our visit:

Woo hoo! Neon paint, scads of texture and, oooooooo, glitter!

Bear Chick, herself, posing with her favorite Dale Chihuly glass sculpture

Even the chandeliers are works of art!

I'd love to have a small version of this~it makes me smile!

The Husband and Bear Chick~part of the art!

The Husband loved the artwork and I love hearts

Do What You Love!

 

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Palm Springs Reunion

A few weeks ago, The Husband and I took a trip to Palm Springs to see my cousin, Paul, visiting from Massachusetts. He and His Dean (since The Husband is also named Dean, this seemed a good way to differentiate The Dean’s…) had come out to Ventura for an anniversary party and drove over to Palm Springs (about a 2 ½ hour journey) on their own for some gambling and visiting. I hadn’t seen Paul in 28 years!! We had such a fun visit!

My Dean, Paul’s Dean, Paul and me

Here we all are at the buffet at the Spa Resort Casino. Four thumbs up for the buffet! Really good food and since it was mid-week, we were able to linger a couple hours at dinner and another couple of hours for breakfast the next day. We gabbed about everything under the sun and The Dean’s have music in common, so they spoke their own language for a while :-)

Did I mention it was over 106 degrees when we got there?! Nobody really wanted to spend a lot of time outdoors but I got The Husband up at 7:30 in the morning to take a walk before the triple digits took hold again. Here we are in silhouette. I’ve been inspired here by Angela Cartwright, who does a whole series of her shadow.

I’m happy to report that downtown Palm Springs seems to be reviving. When we were there last, about a year ago, so many storefronts were empty--so sad to see. This time, we noticed a lot of new stores and restaurants. Of course, I had to snap a pic of the French themed shop!

We caravanned to the Agua Caliente casino the next day and did a little gambling with Paul and His Dean, then said our goodbyes. I hope they come back again, maybe in the winter, when it’s a bit cooler! On our way home, we stopped at the Palm Springs Air Museum, one of The Husband’s favorite places on earth. Here he is, peeking through a plane engine.

And me, at the end of a miniature of Doolittle’s Raid.

That’s what I did on my summer vacation. How about you?

Do What You Love!

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