The World of Wearable Art at MoPop

World of Wearable Art exhibit at Seattle’s MoPop

I recently wrote about the Yves St Laurent exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, but there is another fashion exhibit currently showing in the city at the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly known as the Experience Music Project).  A friend and I went to see the World of Wearable Art show which features winning looks from New Zealand’s international design competition.  The fashions all were constructed using unconventional materials — fiberglass, wood veneer, plastic, old tires, etc.  These artists’ imaginations are off the charts!  I loved the hybrid offerings, a marriage of art and fashion.  Here are a few samples:

The venue, a building designed by Frank Gehry, is as stunning as the exhibits in the show:

The Museum of Pop Culture is on the grounds of the Seattle Center.  Just look for the Space Needle, which stands as sentry over the grounds.

Space Needle

 

Fourteen Views of the Seattle Space Needle

Seattle Space Needle viewed from Kerry Park

The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World’s Fair, is still one of Seattle’s icons.  I didn’t intend to have this image dominate my sightseeing spree around the city with my sister and her husband, but once I noticed its reflection in the glass creations in the gardens of Chihuly Garden and Glass, I was captivated by its presence.  Here are 14 photos of the Space Needle out and about Seattle:

Space Needle from the glass house at Chihuly Garden and Glass

Space Needle from the fountain at the Seattle Center

Space Needle from Calder’s Eagle at the Olympic Sculpture Park

 

 

Being a Tourist in Seattle: Chihuly Garden and Glass

In the garden at Chihuly Garden and Glass

I’ve spent the past 10 days taking my sister and her husband to some of my favorite places in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.  Audrey’s vacation priorities were family and National Parks, but before heading off on a couple of road trips, she wanted to spend the first day after their arrival in Seattle recovering from jet lag.  The highlight of our day out and about Seattle was our visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass, which showcases the work of glass artist, Dale Chihuly.  It is located at the base of the Space Needle at the Seattle Center.  When we arrived, workers were cleaning up from the annual Bumbershoot Festival.  (Bumbershoot is another name for umbrella.)

Bumbershoot Alley at the Seattle Center

Two of my favorite spaces are the Persian Ceiling Room and the Glass House inside Chihuly Garden and Glass.  My sister liked the gardens outside, where glass sculptures are artfully placed next to a diverse selection of colorful plants.

Sculpture in the Sealife Room

Persian Ceiling with reflections on the wall

Detail, Persian Ceiling

Mille Fiori Room

Chandelier

Macchia Forest Room

Glass House

Garden outside

 

The North Shore of Lake Superior: Gooseberry Falls

Gooseberry Falls State Park, Minnesota

Camper truck

The North Shore of Lake Superior shows off the beauty of the northwoods of Minnesota.  Someday I’ve love to drive the entire perimeter of Lake Superior.  The views of the lake a few miles north of Duluth grant long vistas in what must be fifty shades of blue.

Lake Superior

We stayed a couple of nights at Gooseberry Falls State Park, sleeping in a tent and truck camper.  We hiked the park’s trails along the Gooseberry River, which were lined by a mix of mostly deciduous but some evergreen trees.  The trails offered peek-a-boo glimpses of the multi-tiered Gooseberry Falls.

Rocky and wild shoreline of Lake Superior

View of the Gooseberry River from the trail

River reflections in green

Deer track along the trail

View of Gooseberry Falls through the trees

Tree roots

Gooseberry River

Lichen on tree bark

From our campsite we could walk a short path to bluffs overlooking Lake Superior.  I loved the natural beauty of this Minnesota State Park.

Watercolor sketch from my Minnesota travel journal

“Up North” in Minnesota: My Taste of Living on Lake Time

Plaque hanging on the wall of my sister’s cabin

To Minnesotans, “Up North” is a state of mind.  For me it evokes fantasies of hot summers on cool lakes, vacation cabins nestled in the woods, contemplative fishermen watching their bobbers.  During my childhood I would overhear people talk about going “Up North” and it stirred longings to escape our land-locked farm with its interminable chores.

On my recent visit to Minnesota, I finally got a taste of living on lake time Up North.  My youngest sister and her husband have a new cabin on Big Turtle Lake near Bemidji (which is about 5 hours north of our family farm in southern Minnesota) — and it has a guest room!  Staying in this quiet, peaceful place for the first two nights after my arrival was the perfect start to my vacation.  I couldn’t help but unwind listening to the lapping of the water against the dock, watching the ever-changing clouds move across the sky, hearing the haunting call of loons across the lake.

Sunset over Big Turtle Lake

Sunset reflections with reeds

My sister and I went kayaking on the mirror smooth lake in the early hours before breakfast and again near sunset.  This was my first time kayaking, and although I couldn’t seem to paddle in a straight line, I loved it!  In the heat of the day, we waded into the reedy lake and swam to cool off.

Kayaks, Big Turtle Lake

Watercolor sketch in my travel journal

The cabin itself was set back from the lake, but a wall of windows gave a view of the lake through a line of trees.  To get down to the lake, we walked across a marshy patch on a wooden boardwalk.

View from the cabin windows

My watercolor sketch of the view

Boardwalk down to the lake

Watercolor sketch of boardwalk

Dock and boat

My experience living the lake life was almost exactly as I had imagined it all these years.  Even the mosquitoes stayed away for the most part — a few bites couldn’t mar my enjoyment.  I hope to be back!

Still Pouring, Only Worse

“Still pouring, only worse.  Poor world, she looks so desolate and depressed, as if she did not know what to do with all the wet.  The earth won’t hold anymore.  The sea is full and the low clouds are too heavy to hold up.  The sky leaks, earth oozes, so the wetness sits in the air between and grumbles into your breath and bones . . . ”
— Emily Carr, from Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of an Artist

“Everything broods today, the sky low and heavy.  Was there ever a sun?”
— Emily Carr, from Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of an Artist

Winter wetness

Puddles at Green Lake

Rain-soaked path

Moonset on Monday

Moon over Green Lake

Yesterday when I went for my morning run around Green Lake, the super moon was getting ready to set, and the sun was getting ready to rise.  My husband and I had gone out Sunday evening when the moon rose to see the final stages of it’s blood-red eclipse, so the moon was on my mind when I ran out the door — grabbing my camera — Monday morning.  It was a lovely, late summer morning.  Fall is in the air.

 

Today is the Greenwood Car Show

2015 Greenwood Car Show

Today is the Greenwood Car Show and I wandered around an hour or so before starting work today at the Greenwood Library.  The cars on display were polished to brilliant sheens, and I was captivated this time by their reflections.  Here are some photos from my morning at the car show:

1938 Lincoln Zephyr hot rod

Properly dressed for the day

Self-portrait

 

Wordless Wednesdays: 12 Views of Contrails

 

Wordless Wednesdays: 12 Views of Puddle Reflections