Shades of Blue

When I took these images yesterday afternoon, I had originally intended to entitle this post "Tawny," but in looking over the images, and others, below, I decided to call it "Shades of Blue" instead.

Kali and I haven't walked in "my" preserve for several weeks because it's been so muddy.  But yesterday Kali didn't have to go to work, the skies were cloudless, and the paths had dried enough so that Kali wouldn't complain about muddy shoes, so we hit the trails for a late afternoon walk.

We've hardly had any snow this winter, so most of the native grasses are still standing tall and beautiful.

Most of the early spring birds have arrived now - especially flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and a few American Woodcocks.  Just last Sunday, a pair of American Kestrels hovered over the fields in search of rodents hiding in the high grass.  Though we may be in for a snowstorm tomorrow, spring's approach is unmistakable.

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Last weekend (Saturday, February 23), Kali and I drove 2-1/2 hours to Baltimore for the American Craft Council Show at the Baltimore Convention Center.  This is the largest fine art craft show in the country (650 craft artisans), and it was spectacular (as always).  Since Kali and I are in our de-accession stage of life, we only bought one decorative piece for the wall, a piece of jewelry for Kali, and a holiday gift for Kali's boss.  We look at the show as if we were going to a craft museum, since all of the work is of the highest quality.

In the "blue" motif - a detail from "Aspens," an etched and illuminated glass wall sculpture

And, finally, just last Saturday evening, we attended a performance by Parson Dance, one of our favorite contemporary dance companies.  The image below is from the first piece that the company performed, "In the Round" (2012), and it was breathtaking.  Even when the dances weren't as spectacular as "Round," the dancers were so perfect that they elevated the works to high art. Bravisimo!

Baltimore Booty

We made our nearly annual pilgrimage to Baltimore this weekend to the American Craft Council show at the Baltimore Convention Center. This show is the largest indoor craft show in America. Attending the show is like going to a gigantic craft museum. First, there were nearly a thousand craftsmen displaying their crafts--daunting in and of itself. Second, the work is always of the highest quality (and priced accordingly, as well).

We spent 6-1/2 hours enjoying the show and were very tired by the time we left. We bought four items, three of which are shown in the image below. They were a small glass vase, a mug decorated in a Great Blue Heron motif, a folk-artsy wooden wall hanging called "Wall Birds" that will be a gift for a friend, and a shearling wool hat (not pictured) for my wife.

I commented to my wife that I wish we were rich because I'd like to redecorate our house using some of the wonderful and beautiful hand-crafted furniture and decorative items on display. The truth is, though, that we've accumulated some wonderful pieces, and now we're actually in the de-acquisitive stage of our lives and don't really need anything else.

Spectacular Craft Show Weekend

We went to the American Craft Council show in Baltimore on Sunday, March 1. The show opened at 10 a.m., we arrived at 10:30, and we left at 4:30 p.m., just before the show closed. The ACC show is like going to a museum of fine craft. These artists are the best of the best in the United States and Canada. The piece above, Chambered Nautilus Pin #3, cloisonne enamel and diamond by Amy Ropier Lyons of Summit, NJ, was typical of the outstanding quality of nearly all the work at the show. The first three days of the show are wholesale only (the artists sell to galleries and craft stores), and the last three are open to the public. Everyone was tired by the end of the day--the artists (from having sat in the basement of the Baltimore Convention Center for six days) as well as the patrons (who try to see all 450 of the booths in nine hours or less). I bought a marbled silk tie, my wife bought some peices of jewelry, and together we bought a whimsical ornament for our garden. A really fine but exhausting day.