Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving day today! Here are a couple of quick snaps from the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum today, including the very healthy turkey above.

"Now that was a lot of food!"

"man, I really wolf'ed down that meal..."

Tucson Jewish Community Center Sculpture Garden

"Serenity" by Beth Bloch (2006, Bronze)

I really like this sculpture "Serenity" in the Jewish Community Center's (JCC) sculpture garden! Very impressive! I read in the paper that they had a grand opening of the sculpture garden last weekend, and was very fortunate have the time to be able to drop in for a visit today.

To visit, just go in the main building entrance to the front desk and ask to visit their sculpture garden (which is accessed from the inside). I was really glad I stopped by, a lot of impressive art here. Some are permanent collections, some on loan, and a number that will be there for 10 months and then replaced with others. Well worth the stop! Its free (although I left an unsolicited small donation at the front desk on by way out).

Here are a few photos I took along the way... I haven't included everything that's there so there will be some fresh sights should you get a chance to visit.

"Sharing A Story" by Marie-Pierre Phillpe-Lohezic

"Ellipsoid I" by Gary Slater (2008, Copper & Glass)

waiting to be placed in the garden, nice shadows...

"Freedom Fighter" by Robert I Russin (1990)

"Liza" by Glenna Goodacre (1996, Bronze)

"i am so glad" by Craig LeCroy (2009, pumice stone)

foreground: "Tribe of Zebulun" by Manuel Alvarez (2009, Persian Travertine)

background: "Lyrical Connection" by Moira Geoffrion (1995-98, Broze)

"Grief" by Edward Fleming (2003, Marble)

"Neith" by David Mazza (2005, Steel)

"Ryoken" by Alexander Smith (2008, Steel with Patina & Paint)

and I have to include a few pictures of the massive sculpture at the main entrance to the JCC

lots to reflect on here, very impressive

2009 Tucson All Souls Procession (3/3)

it seemed like everyone had a camera and was in the picture of someone else...

Drummers in the procession provided a strong and lively beat that added a lot to the procession, especially during times when it moved along slowly.

no doubt representing a pet that was a past family member

please, please tell me this guy doesn't miss Disco! Disco is dead. Disco get down, and stay down.


biting my political commentary tongue, ow!



looking backward at our procession going through the new 4th Ave underpass as we head downtown toward the site of the grand finale



a lot of photo ops looking out at the bystanders watching along the route...




a very photogenic couple

Looking skyward at members of the locale pyrotechnic theatre group Flam Chen performing while dangling from a large construction crane during the grand finale. [unfortunately the conditions of the finale really challenge my capabilities with my handheld point & shoot camera, so not a lot of pics to share here... sorry 'bout that.]

Remember the Urn full of remembrances? Here it is on fire being hosted skyward by a construction crane into the night sky.

I really enjoyed this year's All Souls Procession and can't wait until November 2010 rolls around. I think the non-profit organizers do an incredible job with this event. This is really an amazing event and one that is hard to describe.

[I managed to get some better pictures and a short video of last year's finale which you can find over on my blog here]

2009 Tucson All Souls Procession (2/3)

Its clear that women have an advantage when it comes to face painting...

A lot of creativity goes into some of the push/pull carts. These two really used their head.


ah, did I mention music? mixed into the crowd were a number of groups playing music such as this young group of mariachis.

every procession needs a chairman and a chairwoman

a number of people carried pictures of dearly departed ones

In memory of the Tucson Citizen, a long-time local evening newspaper that went out of business recently... Note the headline on the last issue of the the paper, another much earlier headline, and of course the coffin being carried...

in memory of "Macho B" a jaguar that died after being accidently captured in a game and fish mountain lion trap. This event stirred a lot of emotions locally since jaguars are very rare here.

2009 Tucson All Souls Procession (1/3)

What better way to resume blogging after a month off than with a few pics of one of my favorite Tucson events, Sunday night's All Souls Procession? The All Souls Procession is an annual Tucson event inspired by Dia de los Muertos. In recent years it attracts over 20,000 people downtown for a peaceful and non-commercial remembrance of departed loved ones in light hearted and enjoyable way.

Ok, on to the pictures, starting with the clown above -- I guess birthdays do bring us one year closer, don't they?


This year's Urn, where people can place a short note of remembrance about a departed loved one. The Urn will be lit on fire and lifted skyward by a large crane during the grand finale later in the night (post #3 of my series).

Lots of people of all ages starting to gather at the starting area of the All Souls Procession. The Procession is held on a Sunday night and later than Dia de los Muertos to put some distance between the very different, more commercial, gore and party centric Halloween holiday).

There was a fairly large group of Andean instrument playing, colorful, and energetic dancers which we followed for much of the procession.

definitely a people watching people watching people watching people event!

Its never too early to learn how to play the pan-flute!

beatles seem attracted by the crowd for some reason...

a parasol? even with all that sun block? *smile*

not in control of their own destiny...

GLOW, unplugged (3/3)

While wandering around the GLOW festival looking at all the illuminated art, it was easy to miss some of the year-round art sitting in the dark along the path. Time to turn on my camera's flash and take a few snaps into the surrounding darkness to see what lurks out there. Turns out, some pretty cool stuff...

"found art" / "found junk?", lit by my flashlight, sitting in the dark next to a building

more a GLOW in Oracle (2/3)

An unfortunate choice of night for this saucer to land and attempt first contact with earthlings. We didn't realize it wasn't part of the GLOW festival until it lifted off and went skyward... No doubt they thought us rude.

A GLOW musician playing fiddle by the light of a headlamp.

These were spinning wheel lamps, "cycle delic"

Looking up into the sky at the ranch windmill. Looked like it was intercepting a night rainbow!

GLOW 2009, Oracle, AZ (1/3)

I had a fun time last night at the Triangle L Ranch in Oracle attending GLOW with friends. GLOW is an annual multimedia art event held during a full moon in the town of Oracle (north of Tucson). Dozens of artists set up illuminated art out in the desert and people wander around enjoying the art and live music under the night sky. GLOW is being held October 2 & 3rd this year.

This was really cool, stained glass and cut out metal, about 6 feet tall. This would make a striking entrance to a house entryway!

wine bottle electrics...

the way a tea party should be held...

This Mad Hatter's Tea Party looks small in the picture, but was really quite large extending back maybe 20 feet or so into the desert. The stack of tea cups might have been 4 or 5 feet high.

Strange things out in the desert... This large creature was quite tall, kind of looked like a cross between a cat and a man. Quite impressive.

and it was made out of cardboard

3-D faces

one of several propane fueled fire artworks along the path

a ranch shed lit up nicely

abandoned refrigerator with lava lamp

a blacksmith was still working into the night at the ranch

one building had several interior illuminated art exhibits

a large bird along the outside path with a microphone that would convert your voice into twitters and tweets played out of a nearby speaker.

fun little shadow puppet show

another propane fueled piece of art

oil & soap & water

A quick experimental photo: top down shot of a little vegetable oil and dish soap in a blue plastic tumbler, lit from the side.

reflections on water

I escaped town today with a short drive up Mt. Lemmon (one of the mountains surrounding Tucson) to listen to bands perform at Music on the Mountain in Summerhaven. The forest was wet from morning rains -- very pleasant for walking around and taking a few snaps before the music began. The rain droplets at the end of pine needles looked like blown glass ornaments.

No passing this puddle in the center line strips of the road. I decided to try my luck at "working the angles" of pothole water reflections. This angle gave a surreal reflection of some pine tree trunks along the road.

A puddle pines for time it will return to the sky.

my muddled leaf image is all wet...

Footprints from the sky

Time to walk back and catch some tunes!

Back up in Summerhaven it was time to kick the shoes off with the rest of the crowd and listen to some great groups perform, such as the Nathan McEuen Band (above). It was very relaxing sitting under the large tent listening to the tunes, raindrops hitting the tent, and thunder in the sky. Nice.