ANIMALSCAPES ART SHOW.

 

Hidden Giants by Lori Kelly.   The rules behind this competitive art show called Animalscapes, of Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, required depictions of animals from our area. I know we don't have elephants.

 

Chains to Flowers by Jim Sells.  A second elephant, embracing an unmistakable theme, and preciously done, reminded me that we do have elephants in Calaveras county, in the rescue acres at PAWS, the Performing Animal Welfare Society. They definitely live here.

 

Black Tail Deer by Laurie Williams.  The animals I see the most is deer.

 

Companions-Sifu Berchtold. And these pesty little beauties, the pileated woodpeckers.

 

Whee! By Juliana Tillman. Visitors can vote for a favorite. I spoke with an arts council friend who was a judge and she was surprised at the outcome. She did not reveal her choice as discretion is important in these things. None that placed would have been my picks. I find that happens a lot at art and quilt shows.  I quickly decided this one was going to be my fav. The opening event was one where you could meet the artist, and I met some of my favorite artists. Not all had an entry, but they do turn up for the arts.

 

Meet the artist, Juliana Tillman  I managed to corral the artist, I'd never met her before.

 

Spotted Owl-Forget Me Not, Diana Boyd.  There were many owls entered in the competition. Held at Kautz Winery, I learned that the Owl is the symbol of the Kautz Coat of Arms.

And, two real owls there to raise money for Wildlife Rescue organizations. This is a barn owl.

 

And this sawwhet owl is three years old and looks like a baby. She bites, the rescue worker told me. Her role in life is to tear her prey to bits and she is good at it. On an African Safari I took in 1997, that point was made so unforgettably clear, I could never again view deer as Bambi's nor lions as talking characters. The wild is something to respect and I never cross that line and feed wild animals. I love watching, though.

 

Bell Meadow Bears, Karen Nina Kling. Baby animals, no matter what specie, are adorable.

 

The Threat by Marta Magstrali.  Named the threat, huh!  The most petted piece in the show. You couldn't help but run your hands over this unique fellow.

The little mouse on his behind made me smile. What an enjoyable piece of art.


And, then I came upon the piece I voted for. This Horse Head by Larissa Stephenson. So real looking I wanted to reach out and pet its nose, even though the feel of velvet would be missing.


The show had a musician and young women passed out champagne and hors d'oeuvres. It was lovely and I'll see the show again when it moves to Amador County. I'm meeting a friend from Discovery Bay there for lunch next month.

 

I met Art Director, Susie Hoffman. I stopped her to take a picture of her feather earrings, very Native American looking. She bought them in Paris. She is director at Town Hall Arts, Galerie Copper in Copperopolis. She invited me to visit and I will get there one of these days. I love that I live in a community where the arts have such  great prominence. For the rest of my photos click the link below:

2016-1-15-AnimalScapesArtshow

HODGE PODGE

Jim and I walk everyday and I usually bring my camera everywhere I go. Some deep cleaning, Pledging cupboards, cleaning the window runners,  hand washing, and etc. yesterday, so today, you get hodgepodge. Our neighbor has a bird feeder and I managed to get a few good shots of a pileated woodpecker several days ago.


He came,he ate.


I like the way they hang on to eat. For some reason or other, the jays come and hassle the other birds, but this feeder foils them and they can't get anything out of it.


Finches have their own feeder and the jays can't get their seeds either.


The river is low, we notice a camp across the river that in past years had but a  narrow strip of gravel in front of it.


The river has such beauty and serenity.


I didn't think this picture across the river would turn out. A small deer has nothing to fear to browse during day time.


Thunderbird Thousand Trails Park has sites on the hilly side of Ben Howard road as well as  the river side of Ben Howard. We walk both. Someone planted ivy on this tree.


It will eventually reach the top of the tree and most likely kill it. Reminds me of the strangler figs we saw in Costa Rica. The tree dies and the fig remains standing in a circular shape of the tree it killed. Of course, sometimes, the fig dies too.

On the way to town, one day, I spotted a huge tree with bright red "berries". It was huge and I could never find it again to take a photo. Several smaller ones were about.


A close-up of the clusters and the leaves. It may be a kind of pepper tree. The huge one I saw was spectacularly beautiful.


The day we went to the parade, we had one of the worst lunches I've ever paid for at the Sock Eye, a restaurant with a beautiful view of a lake, but untrained wait help, slow service, and tasteless food. I can only think of twice in my life, I wrote a note and complained to the chef and manager about the food.


Late in the afternoon, I tried to read my book, but cheerful, fun voices floated up from the river as people enjoyed a Sunday river float. I got up and took a few pictures. Jim, with his impaired eyesight, took his pictures blindly, hoping for the best.  Thunderbird Thousand Trails on the Skykomish river, is one of my favorite spots to stay.

One of these time, I'm going to take this trip, "....down the lazy river, come as you please..." as it says in the song.