More Lights

"I haven't taken my Christmas lights down.

  They look so nice on the pumpkin."

                                                     --Winston Spear

Happy Holidays

Signs of the Season

La Flor de La Noche Buena

"Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall,

the genial flame of charity in the heart."

                                                                                                                 --Washington Irving

Lights at Night

"I wish we could put some of the Christmas spirit

in jars and open a jar of it every month."

                                                   --Harlan Miller

Spread Some Cheer

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try

to cheer somebody else up."

                                                   --Mark Twain

First Snow

"Kindness is like snow -- 

It beautifies everything it covers."

                                                                --Kahlil Gibran

Holiday Exhibit Opens

This delightful collection of art is on display now until January 23, 2017, at the Dubuque, Iowa, Carnegie-Stout Public Library.  Listed on the image above are all the featured artists with works in several mediums, from sculpture to textiles to woodcarving and many more.  Be sure to stop in and have a look.  My images are shown in a photo below.

Take a Load Off

"Adopt the pace of Nature.  Her secret is patience."

                                                                                                                          --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Doodle Time

                             

Want to make a meaningful, unique holiday gift for that special friend?  How about trying a little doodling.  Look for patterns anywhere -- in nature, online, in books at the library -- or simply create your own.  With just a black marker and a small piece of paper, the materials are easily accessible and won't break the bank.  Have fun and remember that when doodling there are no mistakes.

Thanksgiving reflection

"Be yourself; 

everyone else is already taken."

                                          --Oscar Wilde

Gratitude

Lost in the Woods

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees."

                                                           -- Henry David Thoreau

Crunchy Underfoot

"The rustling of the leaves is like a low hymn to nature."

                                                                                          --James Ellis

Fall Mosaic

"It looked like the earth was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon."

                                                                           --Sarah Addison Allen

Dock in the Bay

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."

                                         --Henry David Thoreau

Stunning

How fortunate I am to live in an area where the fall foliage is stunning.  Annually most Iowans look forward to the cool nights and mild autumn days when Mother Nature works her magic and creates beautiful forest tapestries of reds, oranges and yellows.  Although many leaves have now fallen, just a few days ago I snapped this photo as I walked along a stretch of the Maquoketa River between Manchester and Delhi.

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

                                                      --William Cullen Bryant

Halloween

                       

Have a creepy, crawly Halloween.

Autumn Splendor

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

                                                                 --Emily Bronte

Featured Artist

Stephanie Funke is Now in the Gallery's Artist Showcase

Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery is extremely please to announce that is the gallery’s latest featured artist is Stephanie Funke and she will now have her photography featured in the Artist Showcase section of the gallery.

Stephanie Funke is an artist living and working in Iowa. With no formal training in the arts, Stephanie has relied on friends in the photography world, informal classes, books, monthly publications, online resources and experience to help her navigate the world of digital photography and editing software. As an outlet for sharing her images, Stephanie has a blog with bi-weekly posts that contain her photos and some description of and/or a reflective statement about the pictures. Look for her Monday and Thursday posts at funkephotos@blogspot.com.

As a teenager Stephanie had an interest in photography and was thrilled to receive her first camera as a birthday gift – a Kodak Instamatic that used a 110 film cartridge along with a flip flash...Read More Here

Take a Hike

Just a few miles from my door is Backbone State Park, and, at this time of the year, it is a visual paradise.  This photo was taken at the trail head for a popular path that meanders along the bluffs high above the Maquoketa River.  Some stunning views await visitors.

Take a few minutes.  Step outside and away from any digital device.  Have you noticed any colorful fall foliage near your home?  In these parts of Iowa, the leaves are beautiful and the forests are full of highlights that Mother Nature has created just for us.  Enjoy.

64 Arts

                        

Currently at the Buchanan Center for the Arts, in Monmouth, Illinois, is the 2016 national juried exhibition of 64 Arts.  As seen in the photos, two of my images (I C U! and Gaudy Gobbler) were selected for this collection by juror Lonnie Eugene Stewart.  The exhibit contains artwork of all types and is open through the end of October.  If you live in the vicinity, be sure to check it out.

                                    

Got Corn?

In Iowa the corn and soybean harvest is underway.  Most locals know that as many of these slow-moving vehicles are all over the roads.  Best wishes to everyone involved in the process.

"Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest."

                                                                                     --Douglas William Jerrold

Dynamic at Dusk

                          

"The earth has music for those who listen."

                                                                                          --William Shakespeare

Downtown Dubuque

If you are from these parts, this photo is easily recognizable as downtown Dubuque, Iowa.  How many steeples do you see?  At least five; however, as locals know, if you stand on the bluff overlooking the downtown, numerous steeples are in view.  And, yes, if you were wondering, the Hotel Julien is slightly visible in the bottom left corner.  Anyway, soon Mother Nature will paint the Mississippi River bluffs with all sorts of autumn hues and delight leaf lookers from near and far. Take a day and enjoy.

Ready. Set. Go.

"Your wings already exist.

All you have to do is fly."

                                    --Unknown

Early Autumn

"The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August,

and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst

the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many."

                                                                   --Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Of all the paths you take in life, 

make sure a few of them are dirt."

                                       --John Muir

Autumn Arrives

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

                                               --William Cullen Bryant

Things with Wings

Featured in this post are two more outstanding LEGO sculptures that can be seen (through October 2016) in the Nature Connects exhibit now on display at Reiman Gardens on the Iowa State University campus in Ames.  Several delightful LEGO brick creations, made by the talented LEGO Brick Artist Sean Kenney, are located throughout the 17-acre plot.  Regarding brick counts, 39,708 were used for the monarch and milkweed and 61,107 for the hummingbird and trumpet flower.  Early autumn would be the perfect time to visit this little piece of paradise in the heartland.

Yin & Yang

"What good is the warmth of summer,

without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."

                                                                                  --John Steinbeck

Toothless Grin

Tomorrow my nephew celebrates his seventh birthday.  In the last year he and his five-year-old sister have kept the tooth fairy busy.  And, although I delight in celebrating another one of their birthdays, losing baby teeth also signals that these beloved little folks are growing up very quickly.  Anyway, if you know this sweet boy, be sure to wish him a happy birthday.

"Other than a dimple in a cute little chin,

What's more adorable than a toothless grin?"

                                        --Terri Guillemets

Music in Mind

        

Recently I created this doodle for a band teacher but the sentiment applies to all.  Of course, the quote is not my original statement but something I found in multiple online sites; the rest of the artwork I designed.  As I've suggested before, find a quote you love and put pen to paper.  Don't worry about the outcome as there are no mistakes in doodling.

Before & After

Photo taken in late June a short while after the gates were closed.

As many in these parts know, July 24, 2010 there was a period of heavy rain and the dam just southwest of Delhi, Iowa failed leaving the area upstream with a greatly reduced flow of the  Maquoketa River.  After six dry years, the gates on the new dam were closed and water now flows over the newly constructed spillway.  As a result, Lake Delhi is once again an area in which to recreate and many folks, including myself, are thrilled.  And, on this Labor Day holiday, one expects the river to be full of boats as people enjoy the return of the lake.

Photo taken August 27 with water now flowing over the new spillway.

Photo taken just after sunrise on September 3 as fog still hovers over parts of the river.

More LEGO Designs

As promised, here are more images featuring LEGO sculptures that are currently on display at Reiman Gardens on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa.  Along with several other pieces, LEGO Brick Artist Sean Kenney created the dragonfly and a few backyard visitors for the Nature Connects exhibit that runs through October.  Finally, regarding the brick count, 27,788 and 14,802 -- obviously, the dragonfly was designed on a much larger scale than the scene at the birdbath.

Foggy Path

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked,

in which you can walk with love and reverence."

                                                       --Henry David Thoreau

Cats

"There's no need for a piece of sculpture 

in a home that has a cat."

                                                                    --Wesley Bates