Mosaic as Inspiration

The Getty Villa is a beautiful place. As a lover of patterns, I was in inspiration heaven. Below are just a few of the images I captured that have influenced and will continue to influence my work.

Recall the small pieces I use to begin to add texture to my paintings.

Tourist Trap for Coffee Lovers

The Royal Kona Coffee Company and Visitor Center - promises visitors a bit more than it delivers. However, they do offer free taster cups of coffee for the weary traveler.

This greets the visitor at the entrance.

What I expected was to see how the farmers take the berry from plant to roast. What I got was a 7 minute video of this process. While we could see the plant from the balcony, visitors were kept away.

View of plant.

A secondary view of the grounds.

 The "Museum" had but a few dusty pieces and no explanation.

I would have loved to smell the coffee roasting or even brewing, but that was not to be. While the Royal Kona Coffee Company has excellent coffee (they allow free sampling), their visitors center leaves much to be desired.

A Hawaii Garden Visit

Some days are not meant for work. Today was one of those days. I spent the time with my son in Hawaii.

We visited the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook. Between the two of us we took about 200 photographs. I share a small selection with you here - enjoy the eye candy. We did!

What's with the Getty?

When I think about my trip to the Getty Center in Los Angeles all of what I remember is the museum itself and not the art on display.

Getty Center view of cafe from above.

Art as Community Engagement

Pearls come from an irritant that gets into an oyster shell as the oyster tries to protect itself it grows a beautiful pearl over time. An artist that I greatly admire works with women to help them heal from an irritant in their life - domestic violence - from bruises to battery, emotionally inflicted pain, or sexual abuse and more.

Tiny Pearl.
Image from Internet search.

Human Rights - especially women

I recently visited the temporary exhibit: Women Hold Up Half the Sky at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

View of ceiling - uplifting notes from museum visitors fill the sky for the women around the world.