Photo Friday: Best of 2007

Hello dear blog friends. I'm so sorry my posts have been rather infrequent of late. The usual holiday craziness coupled with a lingering cold has resulted a case of the "blog-humbugs". The Photo Friday challenge this week is "Best of 2007", and while the above photo is not the very best photo I've taken all year, it is one of my favorites and one of the few that is not of my darling daughter! It was taken on a snowy January morning, and was one of those snows that sticks to each individual tree branch, lasts through the night ,and into the next sunny afternoon. Snow like this is pretty rare in my part of the world. And as I sit writing this it is snowing again, making this a true white Christmas.

Photo Friday: Primitive

A few years ago, on a whirlwind trip to Albuquerque for a family reunion, my hubby and I took a wrong turn and drove past this cool building that was covered with paintings like the one above. There was something kind of mysterious about the place so had to stop and snap a few shots, plus it was right next door to a Dairy Queen (and who could resist a Blizzard in 90 degree heat). I loved all the textures on the building and the random paintings covering it. I really felt like whoever made these paintings to advertise their business really enjoyed doing so.

The word "primitive" when attached to the word "art", is kinda loaded. I really feel like it has taken years for me to shake off the art school definition of the term. In the academic world "primitive art" (work done by self taught artists using basic supplies) was something that was mostly looked down upon, and seen as "low art". I really don't subscribe to that way of thinking. In as much as I loved going to art school, the constant critiquing and analyzing ended up leaving me doubtful of something I once took so much joy in. So that's what I strive to get back to and what these picture remind me of: making art with what I have just because I feel like making it.