Inside the Magic Circle

This incredible sculpture garden, Queen Califia's Magic Circle, by Niki de Saint Phalle, is in Escondido, California. Our grandsons, Noah and Charlie, had a blast in this most unusual playground!

Watercolors at Water's Edge

Landscape painting in its natural context, the source of its inspiration, is a joy to see... so different than framed and hanging on an indoor wall. I happened upon this plein-air class of the San Diego Watercolor Society on my morning walk,and was grateful to have my camera with me. It was fun making it into a video!

Bumper Sticker History

This video collage of sticker images is a snapshot of an era of history, as well as telling the story of our personal lives over the last fifteen years. I couldn't bear to scrape them off the cupboard doors without a way to remember the layers that slowly accumulated. Soon the doors will be painted white, nice and bland for prospective buyers, as we get ready to move.

The Arc of a Journey

The arc of a journey, both inner and outer, is embodied by Helen Redman's exhibit at the Women's History Museum in San Diego. The venue couldn't have been more appropriate for this history making pioneer of Feminist Art. The generosity of her spirit as she shared fifty years of experience as an artist with women of all ages, and the dialogical nature of the salon talk's discussion was a paradigm of the Feminist Art Movement itself...and testifies that it's history is still unfolding.

I'm happy that I was there and captured some of the flavor on video. I'm even happier to have been Helen Redman's friend over the years!

WomenArts!

Want your socks knocked off? Check out http://www.womenarts.org, a non-profit dedicated to helping women artists be seen, celebrated, and compensated. They also organize and support SWAN Day (Support Women Artists Now Day), a world-wide celebration that builds awareness of the power and diversity of women's art. This statement by Martha Richards, the Founder and Executive Director of WomenArts says it all: "We dream about what will happen as more and more women artists gain the resources they need to express their creativity fully. We are convinced that they will change the world."

I am delighted that my blog has been added to the list of bloggers on their website: http://www.womenarts.org/news/bloggers.htm. It is lot of fun to see the range of blogs on this site. I am honored to be in such great company!

Mozart Aids AIDS

The first time I heard Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik I was a one person fan club of my big brother's high school string quartet. I never imagined I would one day arrange for it to be played at his memorial service.

Years later, when my brother died of AIDS, we gathered at chapel in New York City. A Julliard student string quartet were to play Eine Kline Nachtmusik. "We're grateful to play" said the young violinist, her eyes brimming with tears, "because so many of our classmates have died of AIDS and the school doesn't allow us to honor them." The quartet played their hearts out - for my brother and for their classmates whose names I don't know, their destinies woven together on the strands of music, of history, and of Mozart.

Music speaks when words can't, just as my photo of a Dia de los Muertos altar above resonates for more than one unknown violinist.

Greenwich Village Reflections

Stumbling on the unexpected is part of the fun of walking in New York City. This one-minute video captures the discovery of my last morning in the Big Apple before returning home.