max at the oregon garden

all photographs by your friendly curator

This past weekend we made a short road trip to the Oregon Garden in Silverton, where 80 acres of themed plantings include a pet-friendly garden.  The star of that garden is "Max," a yellow lab in bronze, created by Portland sculptor Jim Gion.  "Max" serves as a tribute to two Garden supporters, as you see from the plaque:

And here's another view of Max in his domain.

the muse tests a frame

image copyright and by kindest permission of the curatorial spouse

What better way for an artist to test the fancy frame he's making than. . .  by featuring the Kat Von D?  Right?  I'm right.

basil cat by florandfawn

image copyright and by kindest permission of the artists

Here's Basil the cat, surrounded by orange poppies.  You might think they're reflecting onto his fur, but no - he's a grey tortie, and he comes by those orange whispers in his fur naturally.  (There are so very many ways to be a tortoiseshell.  Ever seen this extremely well-detailed page at messybeast.com?) This delicate watercolor is by Karen Eland and Katie Daisy of Bend, Oregon, who offer their creations at Flor & Fawn.  Their bright, pretty work shows all kinds of creatures framed in stylized flowers and greenery.  It feels to me a bit like a modern take on Art Deco flowers. I liked Basil specially because of the roots stretching out under his grassy seat.  Even our house friends are connected to the greater natural world, and we are, too.

rita on a rainy afternoon

image copyright and by kindest courtesy of the artist

That's the title of this charming piece by L.A. artist Stephanie Birdsong.  Rita's looking out the window at a friend across the way - see him?  He's above the bookstore.  It's a completely plausible situation, presented as the coziest escape.  I wish I were sitting at the table with her.
"Rita on a Rainy Afternoon" and many other bright jolly scenes are available at Birdsong's Etsy shop.
Just for instance, here's a few I also loved -
Snowflakes
Radio
The elegant Sneaky Panther
Go and find some fun!

kangaroo and squirrel. really

courtesy www.rijkmuseum.nl (PD)

"Eekhoorn in een boom en een kangoroe," reads the title of this graceful drawinng by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof (Dutch, 1866-1924).  That is, it's a Squirrel In a Tree and a Kangaroo.  Not sure where Dijsselhof ever clapped eyes on a Kangoroe, but I've never seen such a curvaceous one (and that was a dead giveaway for his Arts and Crafts - era leanings).  Want to refer to the record at the Rijkmuseum?  Here is that link.

an interpretation: spiral kitty

see below for image attribution

Land art is art created in nature, with natural materials, and portrays a different way of looking at the land itself.  The term was created by artist Robert Smithson (American, 1938-73), whose work Spiral Jetty remains one of the best and widest known examples.  Made within the confines of the Great Salt Lake, it was submerged in 1972, but recent drought has brought it back to accessibility.

I've found a charming series of teaching videos from Homesession Barcelona in which works of modern art are interpreted by cats.  In the link below, educational assistants Haruki and Alvaro are happy to interact with their particular recreation of Spiral Jetty:
Spiral Kitty.
The art doesn't submerge under water, but it does go somewhere!  And you'll want to hang on to discover more with Haruki and Alvaro.

Image attribution: By Sculpture: Robert Smithson 1938-1973 Image:Soren.harward at en.wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.) [Public domain or CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons