The Beauty of Age

Last weekend, a little town next door had an outdoor flea market called "Vintage Down South."  I'm hoping it will turn into something like Round Top in Texas, or The Polka Dot Flea in Florida.

They had a great location for a starter show, with lots of big, shady trees.

Converted trailer for selling t-shirts. Cute!

Don't we all love our outdoor chandys...

...and old pickups?

And now we get to one of my favorite things to photograph -

RUST!!!

I'm thinking out loud now, why do I love to photograph rusty objects? Maybe it's what they represent - wonderful and useful things of bygone days. Days that were simpler, safer, at least in my memory. You know how in our mental photo album, childhood memories are gaussian-blurred & bathed in that warm light that Steven Speilberg uses? Maybe photographing them preserves them in some way, gives them respect; a redemption of sorts.

I also love the texture of rust. Most definitely the color! Rust is the color of October, my very favorite month of the year. While we're strolling down memory lane, I'm reminded of my senior year Homecoming outfit - a rust colored body suit worn under rust-plaid hot pants with matching jacket! It was quite an original ensemble and to my knowledge, no other Court member had ever worn hot pants before or since :)

My brother & I had little cars just like this when we were kids. My grandparents' house had a porch that ran the whole length, with honeysuckle vines climbing one section. We would pedal like mad up & down the porch, stopping at the bank to get "money" (as far as we were concerned, money did grow on vines!) Then we would pass each other, wave & shout "Hi Pal!!"  It became a game called Let's Play Pal.  We still call each other "pal."  Mmmmm, one of those warm, glowy memories. Makes me smile just to write about it.

I did buy a couple little things for future crafting (not pictured).

I liked how the sunlight played on this array of bottles.

And these baskets. Makes you want to pick apples, right?

There was live music all day, both days. I really enjoyed the mournful mountain sounds of local band, "Bandelier."  [I am shocked that this Pink Floyd/Bowie girl is liking this particular sound lately. Never saw that one coming!]

I have to applaud musicians who will provide background music while people shop, eat, talk, etc. You know everyone is enjoying it but it must feel like playing to an empty hall. These repurposed church pews made a neat display & seating area, but they were right in the sun. I hope in the evening they were filled.

Here I merged two photos and will leave you with a fabulous quote I just found last night:

More Art

This weekend was Tulsa's MayFest & Blue Dome Art Festivals. I went to both two years ago since they're conveniently close together downtown. Yesterday was a pleasant weather Sunday, so I thought I'd hit up Blue Dome for some artsy pix.

I prefer BD over MayFest. It's grittier and, I think, more interesting. This end of downtown just gets cooler every year!

Nice weather brought out huge crowds. Pretty much shoulder to shoulder.

This converted little bus was just too cute. They sold t-shirts & accessories.

He caught me lining up the shot and was so sweet to toss this big smile my way. I would've preferred to show him intently weaving, but still appreciate his good humor.

There were tables set up for visitors of any age to participate in the creative process.

And a whole street intersection dedicated to chalk art.

Love these colorful bird feeders.

Another artist at work.

This guy was so groovin' to the live music with his own harmonica. The two bands I heard were quite good, especially Daniel Jordan.

Tons of artists' booths, food trucks, and people!

My only disappointment - I missed the Art Cars. They were on display Saturday. Note to self: check the website next year. If you wonder what an "art car" is, click here to see the photos I took last time I was there.

I think my next post might feature some of Tulsa's architecture. Check back soon :)

Crystal Bridges: Part 1 Buildings Exterior

(There are 5 posts here about Crystal Bridges. I've manipulated the publish dates so you can just keep scrolling down to view them in order. Be sure to click on "older posts" to read #5. Thanks for visiting my blog!)

2016 started off at warp speed. It was time for some shore leave! Even just a weekend out of town would give some much needed refreshment, but where to go with a limited amount of time (not to mention, $)

Heading south or west means a long drive of pretty much dreary scenery to reach any destination of interest. North isn't much better. Done the Kansas City thing. Been thru St. Louis a zillion times and actually stopped twice. There's always Branson, but been-there-done-that a few times, too.

No matter the jokes and negative image of hillbillys & Clintons, my favorite direction for a quick getaway is East - to our neighboring state of Arkansas. Lush greenery, rolling hills and actually, many things to see & do.

One place we hadn't visited was Bentonville, home of Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. I'd heard about it on our last visit to the state (Little Rock).

Bentonville? you say? As in, birthplace of Walmart? Seriously? You took advantage of a weekend away and went to Bentonville, Arkansas?

Yes. And we had a great time! The little town is cute & quaint. It's surrounded by the usual suburbia of freeways, shopping centers, chain restaurants and hotels. But the museum is world class.

In this post, I'm just showing the exterior of the buildings. The grounds are beautiful and I'll post those next.

My only disappointment was the buildings aren't really sparkly and the bridges weren't actually crystally looking. (I knew this ahead of time but still sort of live in a Rivendell-Lord of the Rings kind of imagination).

I couldn't get high enough to show the whole picture of how these connect together, so please Click here to visit the website.

Crystal Bridges: Part 2 Grounds & Trails

The grounds of the museum is as much a world of art as the inside. Wildflowers line the entrance road.

This cardinal was so cooperative. He stayed around til I got my shot, then he was there when we left too! I would've gotten an even better photo then, but some ya-hoo in cowboy hat loudly said, "hey, lookit that cardinal!" (read with heavy hick accent). All I could think was "Idiot!"

We weren't sure, but think this was part of the bike trail. We saw a couple variations of this wavy thing on the dirt path that runs parallel with the paved one. Actually, we saw one grown woman wipe out on one. Her friends ran towards her while she shouted, "I'm fine. I'm fine!" So we pretended not to notice.

This trail connects with Compton Gardens. We stopped there Sunday morning. It was chilly & overcast. The Gardens is pretty walk. There's so many varieties of trees & shade loving foliage, but not too much that was especially photogenic.

Next post: the outdoor sculptures.