One More Stateside Practice Shoot

If these panels resemble the color of blood, there is good reason. This is the art of Jason Eagles who has created these panels using sheets of plexiglass and bovine blood set with acrylic. They are the headline exhibit at MOCRA, the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art housed on the campus of St. Louis University. One of my voice students is the assistant director of the museum and had invited me down to see it earlier this year. I grabbed the opportunity before I took flight to Europe and got in some more practice with the new DSLR camera. These are four of nine panels, the work bearing the simple title “Bar One to Nine”. Here is the entire series, each panel about six feet tall:

Jason Eagles usually works in smaller sizes, and he uses copper in addition to the bovine blood.

He also uses medical gauze for other effects, as in the artwork below, which to me resembles a bamboo forest. A combination of blood, copper, and gauze set with acrylic. Full work and detail.

The day after tomorrow I take Burnie to the kennel that will be his home while I am away. Do you think he will miss me? How much will I miss him? Please note the dog door that he chewed into my back porch screen.

So Close

My countdown now says 4 days until takeoff. It is near enough that I know the weather prediction for the day I arrive. The weather is very changeable. Today Zurich had temperatures in the low 80′s. However, on Saturday when I land, the temperature range will be in the 50′s to 60′s and is expected to remain there for several days. Cloudy with chance of showers. I will just have to pack for every type of weather.

Camera Play in Forest Park

With six days to go till take off, I decided to spend a while working the new camera today. I returned to Forest Park stopping at two sites. The first was a place I loved to visit as a small girl. I always loved the waterfall. It had fallen into disrepair, but was cleaned up and renovated in 2002. A short drive brought me to the Missouri History Museum with its new wing.

A statue of Thomas Jefferson gazes northward in the Atrium.

Arches and lights at the Missouri History Museum.

Thomas Jefferson again.

Lucky Lindy’s plane that flew over the Atlantic. I’m glad I’ll be traveling SwissAir.

My First Euros

Another step closer. I exchanged some dollars for euros today at a local bank. Here is a one-euro coin, two 2-euro coins, and a 20 euro note. Another photo shows the metallic strip on the note which shines in the camera flash. The paper money is quite pretty and has a map of the European continent on the back.

Just like Times Square

On New Year’s Eve the ball drops in Times Square counting down the seconds to midnight. My final countdown has begun. 10 more days…till Midsummer and takeoff.

One Day…Two Hikes. #2

The evening is the best time to visit the zoo, because the animals are not hiding away from the heat of the midday sun. Many of them are having dinner like this cute but elegant elephant. I hiked around our wonderful free zoo for an hour and a half this evening. Many people were out on a Friday to hear a free concert presented by the lake. I wanted to take photos and I did.  My only regret was that I left my zoom lens at home. I fell in love with this beautiful creature. I got lucky with other animals as well. The St. Louis Zoo has had a big makeover and the presentation of the animals in natural habitats is wonderful to see.

A seal showing off for the crowd.

Orangutans at dinner.

A young gorilla, or maybe it’s a chimpanzee.

A snowy egret.

I don’t know the name of this animal, but I fortunately caught a mother and baby moment.

Two species observing each other.

The Bactrian camel.

King of the Forest.

Prairie dogs are adorable.

So are the penguins.

The St. Louis Zoo has a railroad which transports visitors to all sections of the park.

The black rhino. (There are two animals in this photo. Can you find the other one?)

Hippos going for a swim.

If you are ever in St. Louis, make sure to visit the world famous (free) St. Louis Zoo.

One Day…Two Hikes. #1

Doing a hiking vacation demands that you prepare by hiking as much as possible most days of the week. I don’t work on Fridays in the summer, and I took advantage of that free time to put in some miles and practice with my new Nikon camera. In the morning I took Burnie to a local park, Laumeier Sculpture Park. It has both paved paths and wooded paths, so you have your choice. We walked both. Various odd sculptures dot the landscape in this park. Honestly, there are some that I don’t like (the giant eyeball). Some are interesting, but my favorite in the park is The Big Red Thing (my title). It is monstrous and sits atop a rise, so that you can see it from many vantage points. It is at this place several years back that there used to be a very elemental New Year’s Eve celebration called Fire and Ice. A two-story edifice of wood was constructed on the top of said hill. It was then filled with bales of hay and huge blocks of ice. At night crowds gathered around waiting for them to set the bales on fire. Then the whole thing went up in flames while the ice melted creating waterfalls and streams into the surrounding field. It felt like a true New Year’s celebration, very connected to the Earth. I was disappointed when they discontinued it, probably due to safety issues. I will never forget the time we experienced it. It is something that stays in your memory. Anyway….Burnie and I had a pleasant walk around the park, and contemplated the sculptures that we passed. Here are a few…

Near the entrance we could see The Big Red Thing in the distance.

 

Then we passed the Dancing Blobs (my title).

 

Getting closer to The Big Red Thing. Picture something this size at night going up in flames with water cascading down from it.

 

The Gordion Knot (my title).

 

The Bubble People (my title).

 

The Leaf Pagoda (my title).

 

The Ocean Salvage Centipede (my title).

 

Mini Indian Mounds (my title).

 

I did not attempt these steps with a dog on a leash. I actually want to hike in the Dolomites, not stay at home on crutches.