Mindful Art

Jackson Pollock at MOMA

Walking down the sidewalk as a child often tweaked my imagination. One time I saw a bullet holes all across the front a house. I ran home and told my parents that somebody had been shot (The tales of Bonnie and Clyde were rampant in my childhood.) To my dismay that was not the truth. The truth, as my mother pointed out to me when we stood in front of house, was that those places that looked like holes were nothing more than dirt and mud splashed on the house probably by some ornery boys.  How disappointing for me.  In my mind, I had created another picture. When I see a Jackson Pollock canvas I am reminded of those mud splats on the white framed house.

As I matured my eyes still saw things that others might have missed, and I began to think of these pieces as art. When I was a single parent my daughter and I put thousands of miles on our little green Toyota driving from Western Kansas to anywhere. We chased a rainbow one day for miles and miles, just to see where it ended. We drove by an old brick factory in SE Kansas. I pulled off the side of the road and drew the smokestacks, some still tall and stately while others stood broken with bricks askew in nearly every scene.  My plan was to create a macramé hanging of those geometric structures. 

Playfully, I turned the pictures of trees and various structures, upside down to create my macramé hangings and sold them in craft shows. Now, I'm grateful to use my cell phone to take photographs, but I still believe that my most vivid memories will be those that I keep in my mind.

Traveling offers so many unique opportunities to see and imagine art in various forms. While walking the streets of Santa Fe last winter, I discovered many painted doors, and my mind gleefully recalled a trip to Marblehead, Mass that once opened my mind to beauty of brightly painted front doors. Originally, or so the lore of the ocean tells me, when ships wrecked at sea the people living near  the shore would take what items washed onto the beaches, and put them to use in their homes. Whether the story is true or not it not important. What's important is that the people found a way to bring art into their homes, no matter their situation. 

Social Media offers a place for us to share our imaginative adventures.  Susan Dragoo takes professional photos of her hikes and travels, and shares them on Instagram. With her permission I'm posting one of her photos. Looking at the shapes, colors, and textures of her photograph all help to create a story in my imagination and stimulate the "I wonder?" and the "what if?"  Playing with these 

questions creates a colorful playground in my mind. It’s inspiring to me to see the photos and places that other people share.  Without ever leaving my home I’ve hiked with Sherpas, imagined ocean waves lapping at my feet, seen art in hidden places, walked the swampy bayous, visited ice castles, and hiked the hills of Oklahoma.

As I sit here watching leaves fall, listening to Pachelbel, I'm reminded to be quiet in my thoughts, and be Mindful of Art for it will enlighten the day. 

Postcards From the Road

What fun to travel the highways across our nation.  Since retirement, the wheels of Jack's pickup have driven through many states on interstate highways and the lesser more colorful roads of America. I'm happy to drive most anywhere, but my old crooked back prefers to fly.

No argument here, we were hungry and found the perfect place.

A place to sleep in Santa Fe brought a warm sunrise and color all around. 







Jack often reminds me, "We can't stop everywhere." 
"But I may not come this way again," I meekly argue.  We may miss a few museums and noted sites, but we store plenty of memories with stops like these.










If you are driving too fast on I-10 in Arizona, you will miss Texas Canyon.  It is a natural hiccup of nature that created

these massive boulders. Rather than a full volcanic eruption it merely bubbled, causing the Little Dragoon Mountains to fold and fault.

We passed right through it before I could get a camera shot, so on the return trip we made a point of stopping, walking, touching, and remembering this unique site. 


 I only wish we had packed a sack lunch. 

Perhaps the hand of God? 

Or is this Hans Solo in the Empire Strikes Back?

When the magma cooled it crystallized into quartz monzonite.  Because it cools slowly monzonite like granite forms much larger quartz crystals that are easy to see. I imagined I was touching the belly of earth when I rubbed my fingers along these stones. 

Nature's balancing act. 

Like Mother Nature, our lives are a balancing act.  It's always refreshing to travel, to visit new places, to meet up with friends, and discover quaint beauties created by God or by the hand of man, but home is where the barking dancing dog greets us with unconditional love.  And family breathes a sigh of relief.