Impressed my GLASS off

I've been wanting to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens and see the Dale Chihuly installation since I first read about it. This weekend, my friend Matt and I finally went. Man, it is impressive! Not like the Arizona landscape isn't beautiful enough - and they do such an amazing job at the DBG at presenting all of nature's desert beauty with some educational features and in a cozy park setting - but then you juxtapose that landscape with the amazing colors and shapes of this glass installation - pretty darn cool. (Those aren't the right descriptive words - but that's all I got right now!)


Most people are familiar with Chihuly's work from the Belagio lobby in Las Vegas (at least us commoners), but he's been stirring things up in the art world since the 60s - taking something that was often played with in small art shapes (glass scultures and such) and making it grandiose and colorful and with botanical shapes. I've always wanted to dabble a little in glass art (so many "I want to"s in my short life!) and want to visit a glass studio in Jerome one of these days and watch it.

All I know is I want to see MORE. I want to learn more and am in search of a documentary so I can watch the creation in process. But really, my unmet desire was - I WANT TO TOUCH IT!

Especially the blue crystal-shaped orbs in the pond. I'm pretty sure they were floating - or were they fastened to something and the water around them made it seem like they are floating?? Big pieces made of glass - floating? If you read in the paper some week about some crazy chick caught breaking into the Desert Botanical Gardens in the middle of the night . . . that would be ME in wading boots touching those darn things! I want to KNOW!


Anyway - some more pictures for your enjoyment . . .



P.S. My backyard is BORING! I need some color!!

P.P.S. I posted this - then went to NetFlix and VOILA! TONS of documentaries!! Which to start with . . . ?

Free Arts for ME (Thanks, Brian)

I love the viral internet. It's amazing to watch a good idea grow. And yes, it also can be SCARY what people will do with the internet as well, but let's pretend those freaks don't exist for now . . .

I hungrily watched for every One Red Paperclip trade to see if one guy could start a blog and trade a paperclip up for a HOUSE (yup, he did and now he's selling a BOOK based on his experience!) And look what happened to one shopaholic and an idea: Save Karyn! (Yes, of course she has a book as well)

And now, with the help of my friend Brian - the KING of the Internet - I'm now part of the growth of an artist.

Artist Ali Spagnola is an art school grad seeking to find her way in the world O art. Her online gallery of paintings that she has created and given away already shows more than 400 images. And she says she has 400+ MORE people waiting for paintings from her.

Her concept - she wants to continue to paint and build her portfolio, but she doesn't want to have to STORE all of them. So she's giving away her paintings for FREE.

She DOES accept donations to "support the arts" - I gave her $14 for Valentine's Day (I wonder who else did?) She also does commissioned paintings as well.

The potential: "The more people that request paintings, the better I get at painting and the more famous I get, the more my paintings are worth. Everybody wins!"

Keep your eye out for this one. A smart girl with a cute concept, fun style and some cans of paint.

Here's MY painting that is on its way to me - go Charity Chicks!