Redbud

It must be Spring. Here’s a redbud branch in full bloom. Also, as I recently learned, called a “Judas Tree”.

Happy Spring!

Cool Public Art Tiles in San Antonio

San Antonio is full of little touches of art. Here are a few examples I saw as we wandered around the River Walk and the Alamo area.

The first two were New Deal-era projects. The artist, Ethel Wilson Harris, was supervisor of the Arts and Crafts division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in San Antonio in 1939. These mosaics were completed in 1941.

Tile mural at the Navarro Street Bridge on the River Walk, San Antonio

 

Tile mural, San Antonio River Walk, north of East Commerce Street near North St Mary’s Street

 

More tiles decorated the trolley station columns at East Commerce street near Alamo Plaza. There are a total of 44 tiles by artist Ann Adams, completed in 2000.

Ann Adams tile, San Antonio trolley station

 

Ann Adams tile, San Antonio trolley station

 

Another mosaic was tucked away in a little alcove on the River Walk. I haven’t been able to find the name of the artist.

Mosaic on the San Antonio River Walk, artist unknown.

There are a lot more of these, if you’re ever in San Antonio and want to explore. Here are a couple of links to further info:

List of Public Artworks in San Antonio

New Deal-era San Antonio Tile Artwork

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Break for Outdoor Equipment

I’ve been driving past this collection of equipment since December, wanting to take a picture. Finally here are a couple of images. Here are a bunch of boom lifts (I think) stored for winter at a local company.

And below, here they all are waiting for their chance to escape. 😉

Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival

The Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival is an outdoor event with gorgeous handcrafted silk lanterns on steel frames, brilliantly lit. We were lucky enough to go on a (relatively) warm evening in December, so we were happy to wander around and not feel too cold.

Some of the figures were cartoonish animals I’m assuming were designed to appeal to kids. I didn’t care much for those, but there was quite a bit of variety, and several designs I really liked.

The pièce de résistance was this beautiful dragon. (Everyone knows I’m a fan of dragons.) In this interview in  Columbus Underground, the event manager said the dragon was built in the park, taking six artisans almost a week to complete.

Dragon at the Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival

Overhead Flowers

African Animal Lanterns

There was also a display of traditional dragons made out of little glass bottles filled with colored water:

Glass-bottle dragon

Little bottles filled with colored water, used to make the traditional dragons

Here’s a link to the event website.

 

 

 

Images of the Season

Here are some of my favorite pictures from December.

Frozen Spiderweb, December 2015

Hoarfrost on the branches

Creepy Santas (store display)

Looking out the library windows at Punderson Manor, Ohio (photo by Libby Lutz)

Autumn at Whetstone Park

Leaves in the Water, Whetstone Park, November 2015

 

A crow in the branches, Whetstone Park, November 2015

Old tree, Whetstone Park, November 2015

 

Late Autumn Sedum

Sedum, October 2015

Sedum is one of my favorite plants! It goes through so many color changes, from just the faintest tinge of lavender at the end of summer to this deep red just after the first frost.

South Campus Chiller Plant

I’ve been noticing this building for ages. Honestly, I didn’t really like it for a while. But today, walking past it in the bright sunshine, something clicked. I found myself sort of entranced with it.

South Campus Chiller Building — Ohio State University

South Campus Chiller – Ohio State University

South Campus Chiller: dichroic glass box

The building is a plant that provides chilled water for the Ohio State University medical complex. The fins and boxes on the exterior filter sunlight, so the colors change with the sun. They’re made of dichroic glass.

Here’s more information about the building via New York Architects.

 

Field of Corn

“Field of Corn” in Dublin, Ohio

It’s sweet corn season! In honor of that, here’s my picture of a public art installation by sculptor Malcolm Cochran located in Dublin, Ohio. The exhibit with 109 concrete ears of corn was completed in 1994.

Here’s a link to more info on Roadside America.

 

Sculpture in the Gardens!

A friend told us about Schnormeier Gardens in central Ohio — privately-owned gardens open to the public for just one weekend a year. This year’s open-house fell on June 4-7, and the weather was great — so off we went.

There are actually nine separate gardens on the 75-acre grounds, along with water features including a lake, stream, and waterfall as well as a woodland creek. It’s a beautiful place, with a distinctive Asian influence to most of the gardens. You can read more about the grounds at this link to the Schnormeier Gardens website, but I’m going to focus on the sculpture, because that’s what I loved most.

“Affirmation of Rejection” by Michael Kenneth Smith, in the Meadow Garden

“Draco Terribilis” by Lou Ferrario, in the Chinese Cup Garden

“Evolving Sphere” by Thomas A. Yano, in the Stream Garden

One of many animal sculptures in the gardens. This one is near the woodland garden.

“Fatman Dancing” by Michael Kenneth Smith, in the Meadow Garden

There are many more sculptures scattered throughout the gardens, as well as a private residence inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. A beautiful place to visit — and almost hidden in the hills near Gambier and Mount Vernon. In fact we had a bit of an adventure finding our way out of the place without a GPS. But a lovely day regardless, and so glad the gardens are open once a year so the public can enjoy them!