Pastel wings

Michael McGrath is an American artist living in the village of Rhinebeck in New York's Hudson Valley. And his Instagram.

Just another Tuesday

 This!

I am trying to keep this my happy zone and NOT the politics that keep me riled up all day. I mean ... Dr Oz! What cabinet position is Phil getting for kissing-his-ass-interview? But really can not ignore this Oklahoma/trump bible story (video below) ... it's just too good. We are about to enter a very interesting period in our history!

Just as a side note: Following Hitler's appointment as German chancellor on January 30, 1933, Mein Kampf's popularity soared and made the author a multi-millionaire. That year alone more than 850,000 copies were sold. Through aggressive marketing the publisher pressured the public, German institutions, and Nazi organizations to purchase copies. The Nazi propaganda machine's transformation of Adolf Hitler from a common German soldier and politician into an infallible, god-like leader greatly boosted sales as well. By the end of 1944, more than 12 million copies had been printed; most of them after 1939. 

To increase sales, the Nazi publishing house created special or commemorative editions, including ones in braille, for newlyweds, and for Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939. In addition, it authorized translations of the book into various languages, including English. 

We have battled fruit flies for months and months. The fruit flies have never left my kitchen but have morphed into this little walking, lurking bugs, loving the dog food? It is like they are turning into a new species right in my kitchen. 

 

Never did get my arm examined (Joanne -- ;). It has not gotten worse, but not better. I am not wearing the splint anymore but if I twist it just so, it really hurts. Yes, yes, I need to go to the doctor, I just don't know what they are going to do about it. 

When the Pando clone was discovered, scientists named it with a Latin word that means “I spread.” Pando is an aspen clone that originated from a single seed and spreads by sending up new shoots from the expanding root system. Pando is believed to be the largest, most dense organism ever found at nearly 13 million pounds. 

The clone spreads over 106 acres, consisting of over 40,000 individual trees. The exact age of the clone and its root system is difficult to calculate, but it is estimated to have started at the end of the last ice age. Some of the trees are over 130 years old. It was first recognized by researchers in the 1970s and more recently proven by geneticists. Its massive size, weight, and prehistoric age have caused worldwide fame. 

Image with aspen trees in yellow Located in central Utah on the Fishlake National Forest, Pando is approximately 1 mile southwest of Fish Lake on State Highway 25. In the summer the green, fluttering leaves symbolize the relief from summer’s heat that you get coming to the basin. In autumn the oranges and yellows of the leaves as they change color give a hint of the fall spectacular that is the Fish Lake Basin.

The magic of light

Paul Evans is one of our most successful landscape painters at work in Britain today. His unique and original style has evolved over an artistic career of 45 years and reflects his infectious joy at recording and learning from nature. His Instagram is worth a visit!

Dream walking

Khatija Possum Nampijimpa is a standout in a proud and prominent family of leading Aboriginal artists, all of whom are descended from Clifford Possum, the founder of the Modernist Movement in Australia’s Central Desert. She learned to paint from her mother, Michelle Possum Nungurrayi, who learned from her father Clifford Possum. Ancestral influences are profound in everyday Aboriginal life.

 The Women’s Dreaming paintings by Khatija depicts Women’s ceremonial sites surrounding Tjukurla in the western desert of Central Australia – traditional homelands to the artist’s great grandmother. Ceremonial sites carry a deep spiritual meaning, and it is where the women narrate their sacred Aboriginal dreamtime stories, through song lines, dance cycles and body paint. This painting has many secret and sacred landmarks and iconography but also includes the important fire, bush tucker and waterholes that are imperative to the women as the ceremonies can last for over a week. Though primarily a landscape painting Khatija has surpassed the basic stories and landmarks and has expanded this art of body painting and ceremonial themes into a classic contemporary composition, using modern acrylic paints.

A place of worship or a place to worship?

This is stunning! Sino-french Science Park Church / Shanghai Dachuan Architects! "In the context of France and China established diplomatic relations, a Sino French agricultural science and technology park will be built in Chengdu. It concentrates southern way of life restores the southern art scene，creates a foreign cultural experience. Think of southern France, you will think of Provence, a purple lavender field, the light of Impressionism illuminates the history of art from here. Impressionism is regarded as a period of Renaissance, The breakthrough of traditional realism is characterized by freehand brushwork. Starting from Langxiang Church, the usual pattern of Catholic churches was also broken, Implicit spirit in a peculiar distorted form. It is a ideographic architecture. It has a great influence on the development of modern architecture in the West."

Thorncrown Chapel - Nestled in a woodland setting, Thorncrown Chapel rises forty-eight feet into the Ozark sky. This magnificent wooden structure contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass. It sits atop more than 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone, making it blend perfectly with its setting. The chapel's simple design and majestic beauty combine to make it what critics have called "one of the finest religious spaces of modern times."

Santuário Dom Bosco, Brasília, Brazil - From the outside, the Santuário Dom Bosco is not much more than a bland concrete box. But the interior is truly spectacular, with floor-to-ceiling windows casting heavenly light throughout the entire space. These glassy facades are made up of 7,400 pieces of glass in a dozen shades of blue, giving the appearance of a starry sky.

 

I am floored!

I just texted my friend telling her how angry I am. How I felt I had PSTD from the previous 4 years of trump but I had David to level out my anger. But come one, no security background checks on these questionable nominees with vocal ties to putin? No releasing gaetz report on from the Ethics Committee while he saunters into an AG position? I mean what kind of fuckery is this? Just trump and his pack of shitheads throwing shade and giving this country the finger. 

Okay, I got that off my chest ... on the nicer things. 

A Spanish artist, Hasan Jasim, engraved the soul of a carpet (and her childhood) into a wooden floor.

 The 9,000 square foot mosaic will open this year. It was discovered nine years ago during the construction of a new hotel in Antakya, Turkey. Archaeologists believe that the mosaic once decorated the floor of a public building in the ancient city of Antioch, one of the most important cities of the Seleucid Empire. 

 

 

This popped up in my feed ... think the universe is sending me a message? Well, I will try.
 

Reimaged images from the past

Volker Hermes, and his Instagram 

Ten years in the making, Hidden Portraits reinterprets historical paintings through a modern lens. 

Using only elements from the original work, contemporary artist Volker Hermes visually manipulates famous Old Masters portraits, exploring expression when the face is obscured. 

By blocking the emotions expressed by the face, Hermes invites viewers to observe ancient codes of fashion as symbols of self-representation and social status. 

Then, with a contemporary perspective, great respect, and a dash of humor, Hermes layers the codes of our times over the codes of ancient times. 

It was late in 2019 when international hype materialized around the Hidden Portraits Hermes had been creating for over 10 years (though he had just begun to share them with the world on Instagram). Their visual content - figures disappearing behind masks - perfectly and almost clairvoyantly directly reflect the current era.

 

  

 

Beautiful botanicals

Margot Glass grew up in New York City, and studied art at The Art Students' League, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Fashion Institute of Technology. Her work explores the ephemeral through still life, nature and botany. She currently lives and works in Western Massachusetts.