frost flowers...

"These are ice sculptures that grow on the border between sea and air." Near the North Pole the air is extremely cold and extremely dry, colder than the ocean surface. "When the air gets that different from the sea, the dryness pulls moisture off little bumps in the ice, bits of ice vaporize, the air gets humid — but only for a while. The cold makes water vapor heavy. The air wants to release that excess weight, so crystal by crystal, air turns back into ice, creating delicate, feathery tendrils that reach sometimes two, three inches high, like giant snowflakes. The sea, literally, blossoms."

snow art

Artist Simon Beck loves the cold weather! Along the frozen lakes of Savoie, France, he spends days plodding through the snow in raquettes (snowshoes), creating these sensational patterns of snow art. Working for 5-9 hours a day, each final piece is typically the size of three soccer fields! The geometric forms range in mathematical patterns and shapes that create stunning, sometimes 3D, designs when viewed from higher levels.

murmuration

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.

woodblock beauty

ode to snow

dear louise

singing bird pistols

Christie's - Singing Bird Pistols from Freestudios on Vimeo.

today in the kenai pennisula

The largest member of the Crow Family, Ravens average 24 inches tall, with a wingspan of 46-56 inches. Their coloration is all-black with a metallic shine of purple or violet that is noticeable in certain lighting conditions. The bill is large and stout. In flight, the tail appears wedge-shaped, which distinguishes it from crows

up.

by artist Christian Zuzunaga

visual poetry

design-the wisdom of the hand

tree of many colors

i love paul rand.

Paul Rand Retrospective from Jeremy Cox on Vimeo.

mars rover curiosity

Mars Rover Curiosity from Mutant Jukebox - Music & Sound on Vimeo.

oh what a wonderful world.

Ernst Haeckel’s stunning 19th Century illustrations  of microscopic life forms and marine creatures.

jane's journey

    the message is valuable.

endangered species

       





Endangered 
 In the time it takes to formally describe a new species, it might go extinct.

sage advice.

Artist Susan O’Malley’s ‘Community Advice‘ project features posters hung like advertisements around Palo Alto with the wise words of local residents. She interviewed nearly 100 people, asking them what advice they would give their 8-year-old self and their 80-year-old self. Using their words, she then designed ten letterpress posters. They include “Speak up for yourself, believe in yourself, be proud of yourself”, “Take more chances, make more friends”, and “Keep moving, keep playing, keep dreaming”.

Fairbault Woolen Mill

                  Drove 40 miles today to touch the goods.

Fairbault Woolen Mill

break your routine.

thinking in the Dena'ina way.

The Outer Inlet dialect of the Dena'ina language of Alaska is one of the Dene (Athabascan, Na-Dene) languages. The Kenai dialect is one of five of these Dena'ina dialects. It is spoken by the Kahtnuht'ana or "People of the Kenai River" who today are referred to as Kenaitze. The Dena'ina language is one of the endangered indigenous languages of North America and is spoken by fewer than one hundred people.

"

beauty is closer than you think

                                                    

                             Lambs Ear - a reminder that comfort comes unexpectedly.

Plan

True happiness is not found just within positivity, it is found within reality, which means accepting the fact that both positivity and negativity coexist.  Trying to be 100% positive all the time is wanting to be an ocean in which waves only rise up and never come crashing down.  However, when we recognize that the rising and crashing waves are part of the same one ocean, it is easier to stay focused.

Dirt is Good --

make it happen today.

it's a journey.

Not number one or chosen for this, or invited to that?
It's frustrating....
One choice is to spend today frustrated that you're not winning..the other choice is to focus on what you need to do today to win tomorrow.

Maya Lin

                                               Break it down. Focus on where you are going.

Time

A big part of doing your work is defending your time and your attention so you can do your work.

identify.

Minimalism is a term that has become overused and in many ways the word itself has been minimised to the point of glib.  Editing  may be a way to regain control over a life that is overbooked and feeling out of control, but before  editing - identify the essential.

1. Identify the essential. What’s most important to you? What makes you happy? What will have the highest impact on your life, your career?
2. Edit, edit. Minimalism isn’t an end point. It’s a constant process of editing, revisiting, editing some more.

connecting.

 I like to connect information.

 "keep it simple"   is my motto.

I also view myself as a reader of patterns and relationships -  and I ask a lot of questions. Why.. What.. How.. Where..

After a several year blogging break - I have once again taken flight on this personal yet public mark-making journey.  In encouragement to 'keep on going when the going gets tough' I  was reminded by one of my sons just the other day...that the most beautiful rivers are often crooked...I liked this comment..it helped me to remember that the beauty in life is found in the flows, the ebbs and the tides.

Andy Goldsworthy