Marigold Month

October is the month of the Marigold.

Here's what I now know about this sunny little flower:
It was originally found in the Americas from Argentina all the way to New Mexico. The Aztecs called it Zempasuchitl. I am using this spelling because I also found about five other variations so I picked the one I liked. The Spanish brought it back to Europe where it spread rapidly. It was often called Mary's Gold in honour of the Virgin, and was associated with the sun and creativity.
In Mexican and Southwestern U.S. culture it is a part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, often found on their altarpieces, which usually contain each of the four elements. Marigolds represent the earth.
 When Naomi and I were at the Santa Fe farmers market the summer of 2012, we found someone selling garlands of them strung together so I had to have one.

Later I used the garland as inspiration for one of my paintings, "Death and the Maiden".

This year for a local Dia de los Muertos exhibit I am submitting a painting of a marigold simply called "Zempasochitl". It can be associated with death and grief so I added some darkness, some sense of transition, in the smaller flower images and the incomprehensible letters. I also shadowed one side of the large image to convey the passage of time, the journey of the sun across the sky.

I had great fun with all those lush yellows and oranges.
Oh and this is a wonderful little film:

Photos by Naomi

Normally I am cautious about putting others' artwork on here, never without their permission, and always aware of privacy issues or the artists' creation being re-used without their knowledge. This goes doubly for my daughter. Naomi has done some beautiful photography but she protects it very carefully, unless it is for a specific purpose. In this case I get to show off her work because she did this series for Flatlands Dance Theatre and the images are already up on their website, plus have been re-posted on Facebook by many of the subjects in the pictures.
Each image has her signature (watermark) in the corner of her photo, formed from her initials, N.E.H.

We were secretly let into an abandoned warehouse in the arts district by someone with a key, and then everyone just played for the camera for a couple of hours. It was hot. No electricity so no air conditioning, and no way to run the fan I brought, or music from my iPod and dock after the battery ran out.
There were some nice textural walls, and the great diffuse light through the dirty, clouded windows. There was also lots of broken glass and dirt and cobwebs, but the dancers were troupers. It took about three people to hoist each dancer up on the narrow, dirty window ledge to poise, then quite a bit of balance to stay there and look graceful rather than frightened of falling.
Some of the best images:

There were almost 100 photos taken, in the end, and these are just a few.

What I did on my summer vacation

A lot! Well, technically, I don't have a summer vacation. I just teach my classes all year round. But this summer was a lot less same ol' same ol', with a side of heat lethargy, and a lot more action, stuff happening. Sometimes life just rolls along and changes are imperceptible. Other times it speeds up, things happening every day, a little bit of chaos, a little bit of updating, a little bit of altering.....
First: Glenn didn't teach any classes this summer so it was time to fix and update the house. He was a man with a plan:
The roof, damaged by a late Spring hail storm, was replaced by a new one, in a tile pattern suitably named "Storm".

We went to Austin and visited my brother and family.

Plus an old friend.

A beloved shade tree had to come down due to root fungus. See photo of house above while it still had shade. Like vampires we were now cringing in the sun as we came out the front door.

The fence got scrubbed all clean and new. And we got some new fish friends in the pond.

Concrete was poured down the sides of the house and in the back weed patch. (it doesn't get more exciting than looking at a slab of concrete).

The interior of the house finally got painted all the way through (we had stopped at one spot about 2 years ago and never gotten farther)
Penny had gum surgery. But at 14 we are glad she is still healthy. (although groggy here from anesthesia)

Our hardwood floors were resurfaced,

which meant we had to move us and all the furniture out of the house for a week. First a short stay at the local LaQuinta, a staycation in downtown Lubbock, then a quick trip to Dallas to visit Andrea and Tina, which included good food, an art walk, and a visit to the Ross Perot Museum of Science and Nature.

                                                           (Andrea and Tina's back yard)

Dinosaurs! (well Glenn is not quite a dinosaur yet.....)

Minerals!

 Me!

Naomi did a photo shoot for Flatlands Dance Theatre.

Then Naomi got hit by a drunk driver and we are happy her truck got the worst of it because we love her a lot.

My art show opened at the Buddy Holly Center.

And finally my hair turned red again.

Open Windows

Such a busy summer. House renovations.  Dog renovations (Penny had oral surgery and a nice gum cleaning. Now for her summer crew cut). And I'm getting ready for my art show at the end of the month. Wow, exciting for me, but stressful. Not to mention expensive, especially framing costs above and beyond all those supplies. Freelance artist is definitely not a money making career. Hence those 24 years of teaching high school before this, and that minimum wage job at the bookstore before that.
So.......not much blogging time, but here's a small preview of the show. Hopefully my daughter can get some decent shots at the opening (my own private professional photographer). She also followed me into the freelance art business. Hence her need for employment.

The postcard. Photographed and designed by Naomi:

Some added glimpses of artwork, mostly close-ups: