I love decorating for the holidays and a good place to start is to bring the outside into your home.  Tuck greenery from your yard such as cedar, pine, magnolia leaves or spruce around picture frames or candles to begin to bring the magical feel of Christmas into your home.  Natural greenery from the yard, a bowl full of pine cones, swags, garlands and more will begin to fill the house with Christmas galore.

There once was a girl who lived in a very big house where not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  When what to her wondering eyes should appear, but the 12 days of decorating to bring her good cheer.  More rapid than eagles they all became clear, on tinsel, on lights, on candles all dear!  So then in a twinkling she began to stir and decked the halls from the outside Brrr.   With a wink of her eye and a twist of her head, the house was filled with Christmas before she went to bed.  Away to the window she flew like a flash to share with all and inspire in a dash.  So check in each day for ideas just right and hear her exclaim, “Happy Christmas to all, with decorations so bright!"

With record breaking temperatures below zero in Denver, CO and snow flying in the Aspen Valley, it seems like a good time to introduce my new Zhivago Series of four abstract photographs. Remember the scene where Zhivago and Lara break into an abandoned mansion?  The windows and the interior of the house are completely covered in ice crystals.  That’s the inspiration for these new black and white macro photographs. 

    

Images courtesy of https://girlsdofilm.wordpress.com/category/boys-do-it-too/

The subject matter comes from the historic Spiegelberg House built in the late 1800’s in Santa Fe.  Today the house is the Peyton Wright Gallery located at 237 East Palace Ave in Santa Fe.  The gallery is known for its exceptional Colonial Spanish art collection as well as works of art from some of the most outstanding mid-century modern artists.  It’s always an inspiration to go to this gallery.  

“Glacial Love” and “Always” can be seen in my Latest Images gallery.  Below are two more:  "Forever Yours" and “Crystal Palace”. 

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Shortened version of press release by WireService.co:

Denver Area Starwood Hotels participate in Denver Arts Week November 7-14, 2014
 
Local Artists Chosen For The Westin Denver International Airport Hotel To Exhibit at The Westin Denver Downtown Hotel

The Westin Denver Downtown will feature examples of art by several Colorado artists whose works have been chosen for The Westin Denver International Airport Hotel. “The Westin DIA is scheduled to open in the fall, 2015,” states Tom Curley, area managing director for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the Westin’s management company. “Exhibiting Westin DIA art during Denver Arts Week a year prior to opening is a great way to introduce the local artists to the community, as well as to generate pre-opening recognition for the hotel.” 

Westin DIA artists scheduled to exhibit are John Boak from Denver, Bonny Lhotka from Boulder, Gayle Waterman from Basalt, Robert Newman from Lakewood and Kate Zari Roberts from Berthoud. The artists are scheduled to exhibit Monday, November 10 – Friday, November 14 in the Westin Denver Downtown’s street level lobby as well as in V’s Lobby Lounge.

The Westin Denver Downtown is located at 1676 Lawrence Street. The hotel was recently recognized by Colorado Business Committee for the Arts for “Contribution to Performing Arts.”   

Read more at http://www.wireservice.co/2014/11/denver-area-starwood-hotels-participate-in-denver-arts-week/#Do9qlrB2dlrPOYxY.99

The short answer is absolutely!  The parameters on artistic style started loosening up around mid 19th century and by the end of the 19th century, artists were feeling a need to create a new kind of art that would express the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy.  The advent of the camera also played a roll in the transition of art.  By having a device that accurately recorded the world as we know it, artists were allowed to loosen the constraints on their personal expression. 

     
 
One of the things that particularly appeals to me in using a camera is the irony of using a device designed for realism to depict the abstract.  My abstract art starts with reality, an old or antique item, and with a macro lens and digital technology it can clearly represent a portion of the item in a spectrum of color and texture that beckons the abstract. 

     
 
In Eric Kandel’s book, The Age of Insight, he says that art enriches our lives by exposing us to ideas, feelings, and situations we might never experience otherwise.  It gives us a chance to explore and try out in our imagination a variety of experiences and emotions.  That’s what makes abstract photography exciting to me.  It pushes the limits of what we see and even what we know.  To me art, particularly abstract art, expands the mind and opens doors for possibilities.  Is abstract art really art to you?  

     

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