Famous Farmer's Market

There is one Farmer's Market that has a reputation all over the world and that is Pike Place Market in Seattle.  I hadn't been here in over 30 years and yet I found it exactly the same as I remembered it if not a little busier.  The market opened for business on August 17, 1907 so it will be 111 years old this coming Friday!

You can find everything at this market from fresh-off-of-the-boat fish to fresh-off-the-farm vegetables.

And, fresh-off-the-tree fruits!

There are also several places to eat within the market but, on the very busy Sunday that I was there, the wait for a table would have been over an hour.

It happened to be Mother's Day on the day I was there so the flower vendor's stalls were overflowing with flowers and even after leaving the market, it seemed like everyone I passed on the street was carrying a bouquet.

Pike Place Market is one of those places you will never forget.  It's busy and colorful and strolling it's stalls will surely whet your appetite!

A Relaxing Place at the Art Museum

When I visited Santa Fe last June, I couldn't believe that I had never visited the New Mexico Museum of Art before.  Even though it is situated right in the heart of Santa Fe, I had somehow missed the gem in this past.

The museum is in a beautifully designed, southwestern style building that encircles one of the prettiest courtyards I'd ever seen.

In fact, I spent quite a bit of time sitting in the courtyard enjoying the gurgling of the water feature in the center and admiring the beautifully landscaped garden.

I listened to the birds singing and I finally spotted this little fellow who had an exceptionally strong voice for such a small creature.  I felt like he was singing just for me.

The museum opened it's doors on November 24th, 1917 which makes it one hundred years old.

This display case full of marionettes intrigued me.  I learned that these hand carved puppets were given to the museum in 1978 by the widow of Gustave Baurmann.  He made each of them and used them to entertain his daughter and her friends in Santa Fe.  

Walking into another room, I saw this beautifully displayed set of paintings and more hand-carved figures that were parading around a town square.

The sculpture garden was another peaceful and quiet place to enjoy the craftsmanship of the variety of sculptors.

I think the R. C. Gorman sculpture called Seated Navajo Woman was my favorite.  It has such a life-like appeal.

But before I left the museum, I took one more look at the beautiful courtyard.  

I'll make sure I don't miss this place on any future trips to beautiful Santa Fe.

82 Portraits....

On my recent trip to California, I decided that I needed to spend some time in the Los Angeles area because it had been a long time since I had been to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and almost 20 years since I had visited the Getty Center.  So, I set two days aside to indulge in the Los Angeles Art scene.  My first stop was LACMA to see the David Hockney exhibit called "82 Portraits and 1 Still Life".  I had read about this exhibit and was anxious to see it and I'm so glad I did.

Hockney painted 82 portraits of people in his life and each portrait was painted from the live sitting over a span of three days.  He calls it the "20-hour exposure".  The paintings were not commissioned and were meant to be displayed all together as they are in the exhibit.  What an impact they make with their brilliant colors against an equally brilliant background.

Here is just a sample of the individual portraits.

Edith Devaney is the curator at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Each painting was labeled with the person's name and the dates of the sitting when the painting was made.

This one is John Hockney, the artist's brother who is a storyteller, writer and musician in his own right.

One of my favorite portraits was this one of Barry Humphries, actor.  You might know him as Dame Edna.


Everything about this great exhibit was visually stimulating.

A Place of Pilgrimage

I've seen dozens of paintings of this tiny little church so I decided that while I was visiting Santa Fe, I should take a drive out to Chimayo to see it in person.

I had read that the El Santuario de Chimayo was considered a place of pilgrimage for many people which I guess explains the crowds of people there on a rainy Saturday morning.  The shrine was designated a  National Historic Landmark in 1970 and the church itself was built in 1816.

This mural depicting the church and village area in earlier times was on the side of one of the buildings near the little chapel.

On the other side was another building that held offices and the gift shop.  

My goal was to see this chapel that has inspired so many artists and I wasn't disappointed.  It is every bit as picturesque as it looked in all those paintings I've admired.

Modern Addition

When I was in London the last time, back in the fall of 2016 one of the many places I made a return visit to was the Tate Modern Art Museum.  You are probably all familiar with that giant building on the south bank that used to be a power station at one time.

Since the last time I visited the museum, a new tower has been added to the back of the museum expanding the exhibit space by quite a large amount.  I got to see that tower for the first time on that 2016 trip.

The photos above and below show the minimalist tunnel-like area that connects the two buildings.

I was impressed by how well this area blends with the architecture of the older building.  The connection between the old and the new spaces has been done in a very modern and aesthetically pleasing way.

What I enjoyed the most about the new wing was the grand observation deck on the top of the tower. The views from up there were simply spectacular and they were available in every direction.  The view above looks toward all the distinctive buildings that make up the business district of the City of London.

This view takes in "The Shard", one of London's newest skyscrapers.  As you can see it was a beautiful day to take in the view.  We could see all the way out to Canary Wharf and all the tall buildings out there.

In another direction we see more buildings, some of them under construction.  That one that sort of leans a bit must be completed now making me wonder what the completed building looks like.

This view takes in some of the varied buildings along the Thames and the dense city structures behind them.

The famous Tate Modern now has one more feature to make it a must see stop for every London visitor.

Iconic Seattle

I don't think anything screams Seattle more than the iconic Space Needle.  Seeing it will immediately identify the city.

So when I traveled to Seattle back in May, it seemed only right to once again take the elevators to the top and take in the view.

It's hard to believe that the Space Needle was built way back in 1962 for the 1962 World's Fair.  It's currently undergoing a 100 million dollar renovation that is scheduled to be completed this summer.

None of that construction got in the way of our trip to the top or the views from up there.

We couldn't have asked for a better day for taking in those fabulous views.  The air was clear and the sky was blue.

We could even spot some cruise ships docked in the harbor below.

Out in the distance, we could see snow on the top of the Mountains.

Being a city girl at heart, my favorite view was toward the center of Seattle and it's gorgeous skyline of high-rise buildings.  I could even see the monorail tracks below.  We took the monorail from downtown to make our way to the Seattle Center where the Space Needle and many other attractions are located.

Canyon Road Art

Last week I posted that I made my very first trip down Canyon  Road in Santa Fe New Mexico on my most recent trip to the city and I discovered a plethora of art works and creativity.  Today I'll show just a sample of a few of the pieces that caught my eye.  Such as, this big brown bear relaxing in a garden.

Or how about "Hog Heaven" by Robin Laws.

Chief  Joseph by Doug Hyde was tucked away in his own niche inside a gallery.

A handsome portrait called "Blue Monkey Friday" held a special place in another gallery while the standing bear called "Hide and Seek" by Joshua Tobey stood guard.  

These happy ravens found the perfect perches in the garden of one gallery while the very large gentleman to the left seems perplexed by all that he sees.

Baby elephants were frolicking at a watering hole.

In another location, a pretty blue bird named "Halcyon" by Paul Rhymer was enjoying the attention. 

This is just a sample of the wonderful art that can be found in such a short distance along Canyon Road in Santa Fe.  The amount of talent represented in this small area is incredible.  

Experiencing Canyon Road

I've visited Santa Fe several times in the past but, somehow on those previous trips I missed out on what Canyon Road has to offer.  I guess I've always stuck to the city center and the museums and galleries clustered there.

I corrected that omission on this latest trip and I've discovered a new mecca of art and culture that almost overwhelmed my senses.  How could I have missed this half mile of creativity in the past?

There are over 100 galleries and shops on this short stretch of road so exploring them all would take days.  The best I could do on a Friday afternoon was park the car, start walking and take in as much as possible before closing time.

I stumbled into the gallery of Barbara Meikle and was enjoying her colorful works of art when I paused in front of this painting.  I turned to the artist and asked "was this painting in the Cowgirl Up show in Wickenburg Arizona?" She seemed surprised and said "Yes, it was.".  That's when I told her that I had featured this painting in a blog post I did about that show in Wickenburg.  What a coincidence that I would have picked her gallery to explore by pure chance.

In addition to gallery after gallery, the area also had a few shops where all kinds of southwestern clothing, housewares and other items could be found.  This shelf of colorfully painted chickens attracted my attention.

But it was the art works that truly inspired me.  I saw magnificent paintings and brilliant sculptures everywhere I walked.  This one by Robin Laws called "Buddies" was particularly endearing.

I was also impressed by how beautifully the area was landscaped with colorful flowers mixed in with all the sculptures and artwork.

A few of the galleries were having special events to introduce new art collections so while strolling the galleries we were serenaded by talented musicians.  It was certainly the perfect way for this first time visitor to experience this patch of imagination and creativity.  Canyon Road will be high on my list of priorities on any future visits to Santa Fe.