Houses

Houses fascinate me. I like nothing better on a pleasant Sunday afternoon than to ride around in different neighborhoods looking at houses. If there is an "open house", all the better.

It's amazing how many different styles there are from Italian, French and English knockoffs to original architecture by degreed architects and by owners out of necessity.

The house above was built in 1774 in a small town in Connecticut and looked quite different than it does in this picture. It did not have the sun room but had an open porch when it was originally built.

The latest picture was taken in 2007 and shows that the side porch was converted into a sunroom and many other changes were made.

Another house in the same area was originally built in 1791 by the son of the family who built the first house. On the property the owner had a tinware shop where he and his father made pots and pans.

The house as it is today with a sunroom added. Both houses have been continually occupied since they were built.

My house was built in 2001, actually started in 1999 and finished at the end of 2001.

These three pictures are shots of my house. The first is a shot of the house from across the street. The second is a picture of the back of the house taken from the side lower yard and the third was taken from my library looking out the window, across the courtyard and into the dining room. It was designed by the architect, Norman Ward and is a very modern style with Japanese aspects to the landscaping. Of course I live in the South where the weather never gets too cold for too long and we are outdoors a lot of the time.

If the weather is nice this coming weekend, I think I'll take Tinker and we will drive around the area looking at houses and the spring flowers in the yards and on the trees.

Yard Art?

Another favorite piece of art is a sculpture by artist Otto Rigan. It is made from green granite and glass. The cut-outs from the original large granite piece contain thick slabs of glass stacked together and look like windows.

The edges of the glass mirror the color of the granite. As the sun sets, the left side facing West glows brightly against the darker sides backed by the granite.

As you look at the back you can see the front window in my house and notice that this sculpture, quite by accident, resembles the angles and mullions of the window.

What I love most about this second image is the figure in the background looking out of the window!

Black

This piece in my collection is by artist Joe Guy. It is cleverly constructed of wood and rice paper (think shoji screen). Hanging separately from the large piece is a mirror that has been blackened out. After the piece was constructed the artist covered all of it with graphite powder and then slowly and thoroughly burnished it with a river rock. You cannot see the sheen from this picture the piece glows as if from within.

Joe Guy's inspiration was the controversial artist Balthus (b. 1908) and his Japonaise au miroir noir or "Japanese girl with black mirror". As a matter of interest Balthus was married to a Japanese woman and she posed for many of his paintings. Balthus was greatly admired in his day by the Surrealists for his fascinating images of young girls. He was reclusive and as a result his life has been the subject of much intrigue and conjecture.

In this photo you might be able to see a slight sheen to the burnished graphite. The mirror that hangs above the main piece is actually a mirror under the graphite.

Joe Guy is a contemporary Texas artist. He is represented by William Campbell Contemporary Art in Fort Worth. If you would like to read about this artist look for "Balthus" by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, his son. Unfortunately there is no website for Joe Guy. I hope he gets one soon so we can see more of his work.

Getting to Know You

At the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 I decided to get my art works appraised. Taking pictures and really looking at things sparked my interest in them again. Tracy Hicks is the artist who devised this installation of specimen jars with frog molds in them. These jars fascinated me when I first saw them at an art gallery and knew that I needed to have it in one window in my house which faces East and gets the morning sun. As the sun rises the glow from the colors in the jars fill the wall with rainbows.

The larger jars are laboratory specimen jars and some are filled with oil, some are filled with colored resin and some have both along with whatever Tracy put in the jars. A few have pieces of glass, colored resin and oil.
Some have spiders and dragonflies, molds of extinct frogs, jars and other found things. The small jars inside the large jars are from the Smithsonian Institute and originally had other specimens in them years ago. The jars were given to Tracy and he envisioned them in this way.


I had a ceramic ewer made by artist Peter Beasecker that had gotten broken when a picture fell on it. Tracy wanted a few shards and we managed to get the top in one piece. He made a jar with the top of the ewer in it for me in exchange for the shards which he then put into other jars I imagine. Peter is a friend of Tracy's and he wanted a momento.
This window has been brought to life with all the colors of the rainbow reflecting on the wall and as the sun moves around the colors intensify. This is one of my favorite pieces in my collection.

Generations

My grandson Matthew got engaged New Year's Eve! We are all so thrilled that he is going to marry Ashley, a truly wonderful girl and a perfect match for Matt.

We went to the house they moved into on New Year's Day to celebrate and met Ashley's Mom and Dad and her sister Noel.
Here's Matt, Ashley, Mary Ann and Paul with Ashley and Matt's little dog Roxie.

Blink

In the blink of an eye the weather changes in Texas. Two days ago I awoke to find the icy trees outside looking like diamonds in the light.

The evergreen shrubs in the backyard look so 'southern' somehow against the frozen branches of the trees. Compare these pictures to the sight of my orchids glowing with color, warm and cozy just on the other side of a clear pane of glass.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day after everyone has eaten, my family plays board games and does puzzles or sits around and talks. At this table playing "Boggle" are grandsons Mason and Cameron, son David and daughter Chris looking on.
From left to right with his back to the camera is son Tommy, Jackie, Mari's daughter, granddaughter Ryann, daughter Kathy and Mari's other daughter Mariah and son Dave.
Daughter Kathy and granddaughter Ryann, Chris' daughter. My daughter Chris
My son Tommy. His son Andrew had to leave early and isn't in these pictures.
My son Michael and Mari's daughter Jackie
Michael's girlfriend Mari
My son Dave and daughter in law Marie along with son Tommy who is still concentrating on making words in "Boggle".
My granddaughter Elena, Kathy and Clyde's daughter.

My son in law Clyde, who always seems to be taking pictures instead of being in them.
And Tinker watching the action.