Being a creative, I've always loved Art. Fine Art, Casual Art, Indigenous Art, Nature Art...you get the picture.
Needless to say, finding "new" Art in our new home has been fun. Sharing some pics from some must see places in the greater Phoenix area we've visited since we've gotten here.
If you come in the Winter, Spring or Fall, a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden is worth the time. You can of course go in the Summer but you need to be appropriately prepared for the heat!! Hat, water, etc. It's filled with native desert plants, more of which bloom than people think, and has all the varieties of cacti and succulents from the Sonoran desert.
But this is about Art, and it was wonderful to see a bit of the Northwest in the Southwest with this Dale Chihuly installation at the entrance. Consistent with what Chihuly does in using natural elements as inspiration, glass was blown into these giant cacti that blend right in to the garden.
Selfie time!
Right now the Garden also has an exhibit by artist Jun Kaneko. We went just in time since the exhibit ran from October through April.
“Kaneko’s sculptures challenge the physical limitations of the ceramic firing process and are meant to spark interaction with the natural environments,” says Director of Planning and Exhibits Elaine McGinn. “His bold forms and dynamic colors will be stunning juxtaposed among our desert landscape.”
The attraction of Kaneko’s ceramic art is that it can be viewed without much contemplation. The gently shaped forms are glazed with colorful stripes, dots, spirals and squares. Kaneko uses the surface of the large shapes as a canvas for painting. Included in the exhibition will be artwork of his most recognizable Dango, (Japanese for “rounded form”) and Head sculptures, which range as high as 11 feet tall.
Naturally, I loved this black and white sculpture. My signature colors!
In the heart of a lovely residential neighborhood in Paradise Valley, you'll find the studio of
Paolo Soleri, an Italian Architect who moved to the area in the 1950s and began Cosanti which is parts working studio, art exhibit, experiment, kind of hard to describe. What they make there are ceramic and bronze bells that are beautiful in their organic nature and are both perfect and imperfect at the same time. They also have olive trees throughout the property and the olives are pressed into oil by another local place we're going to visit soon. The bells range from small to huge ; inexpensive to "art collector prices".
You can see in the background how art is incorporated into the structures that house the studio. No surface is left untouched.
The day we visited , there were no artists in residence but you can often see them actually making the bells.
I love how nature is incorporated.
Selfie time again!
