Two for Tuesday: The Futility of Fall

This twosome is an invented one. I am piecing together a collage that celebrates the futility of fall and the endless dumping of leaves in this leafy world I live in.

It seems odd to place this lighthearted image up on a day when Super Storm Sandy is roiling and ruining so much. Nature always has the upper hand, try as we might to sweep those facts aside.

Make It Last

I don't want this week to end it's been so dreamy and demanding and just as beautiful as can be.  On Monday I made this image come to life thanks to lots of good people and some pink grasses clipped from beside Exit 140, off I-40 West.

Two for Tuesday: Heading Out

The pre-election political intensity coupled with some recent hardships landing at the doorsteps of people I love has made me crave an image of escape. This twosome caught my eye. A pair of strong men standing on the sandy shore, surfboards in hand, seemed like the perfect palliative.

I love this pair scoping out the surf, looking to get lost in the waves and wind and rush of it all. Sign me up. Time to climb into the ocean and paddle out of the here and now.

Two for Tuesday: A Part of the Universe

I dedicate this twosome here to my friend Cathy, who suggested I needed to have breasts featured in my weekly series. Good point. The body is full of pairs, and this one is especially fun and fundamental to the human race.

The cleavage is a detail from a painting by Mickalene Thomas, a feminista who grew up in NYC moved to Portland, OR, came back east and professes to be a precocious late bloomer; she definitely has the drive of a person late to the game. In this massive exhibition, about ten of her enormous works were made in 2011. A mind boggling feat considering each one is the size of North Dakota.

Anyway, I was taken with her massive glittering and textured portraits. Each one celebrated African American women who shared a love of color, big earrings, and serious lipstick.

Mickalene seems up for the big, the grand, the razzle dazzle. The audacity of her exhibition title - Origin of the Universe - matches the strength of her bold work that's fun, gaudy, and almost beautiful in a 1970s kind of way. If you can, go to the Brooklyn Museum and check out a hometown girl.

Anticipation

A lot happened this week and my heart is getting stronger and more open. I'm never sure how I'm going to react to the extreme stories circulating in my little love nest, but I'm thinking the heart is cracking open, ready to do its work.

Two for Tuesday: Off Beat

Bucket drummers always draw me in but what caught my attention with this Chicago twosome was their quiet disconnect. Why is the guy with the dreads looking at this partner this way? An interruption in the beat seems to be just the beginning of a longer conversation between these two musicians parked on their matching black crates.