2015 Flower Show. But, where's the paparazzi?

March 20, 2015 in art, charity, events, philadelphia

Last week, I went to the 2015 International Flower Show, put on by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. I'm not really one to understand gardening, nor do I attempt to even remotely know which flowers are which, but that's not why I go to the Flower Show. It's about imagination. It's about how you take a movie, say Peter Pan, and translate it in florals. It's art. It's not your grandmother's priceless rose bushes. That's dull. You'll see what I mean. Oh, and before I just head into the photography of it all....thank you to Green Philly Blog for the free tickets!

Everything I learned, I learned from the movies.

― Audrey Hepburn

The Art of the Brick: Why I never want to grow up

February 20, 2015 in events, philadelphia, art

When I was a wee tot, every St. Nicholas' Day (December 6), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Birthday, Half-Birthday, Brother's Birthday, etc. I would receive a brand new box of LEGOs. My parents must have been crazy and/or uninspired about the act of gift-giving. By the time I was in high school, the entire shed was a LEGO wonderland. Trains would creep along the floor. Castles would rest high on the shelves. Pirate ships would traverse the defunct ping pong table.

Now, call my crazy, but I went to the opening weekend of The Franklin Institute's exhibition of The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya. Picture it: me and about two hundred seven year olds and their parents eagerly awaiting the chance to marvel at Sawaya's creations. He took the most basic of toys and transformed them into his own representation of some of the world's best artworks and showcased his own creativity. Each piece contained anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000 pieces. I bet you don't even know how to process that information in your mind. To these children, LEGOs are probably a part of ancient history that they'll learn about in social studies class. Hopefully with this exhibit coupled with the LEGO Movie there will be a LEGO Renaissance.

I don't remember who said it, but basically the best camera is the camera that you have in that particular moment. My DSLR was not cooperating and so (to Apple's pleasure) I resorted to snapping photos with my iPhone 5S. Normally I wouldn't bother posting, but...LEGOS!

This toy became the building block of my life. From a very early age, I wanted to be an architect. I no longer hold that against it, but it is why I'm in Philadelphia and for that I am grateful. From this toy, I learned to "share" with my brother, only expect one thing on special occasions, follow directions, discard the directions, and daydream.

A Return to the Land of Enchantment: Taos, NM

January 21, 2015 in photography, travel

Like I said in my initial New Mexico post, I had been away from my home state for 10 whole years. As a young child/teenager, I lived in Los Alamos, yet never ventured north to Taos, which is probably by far one of the more well-known towns in the state. Since we traveled to New Mexico this time around for a wedding in Angel Fire (see future post), we hopped into the car and spent the day in Taos.

Taos is situated in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Christo mountains (source: this map and wikipedia). It's mostly known for its great hippie commune-type living situations and, of course, the thriving artist community. It's a small town, definitely walkable. We parked the car in front of city hall for the entire day.