YELLOW

Yellow by LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya

LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya created YELLOW and several other amazing sculptures with LEGO bricks.  As pictured below, YELLOW includes over 11,000 pieces.  In the artist's explanation he states that this is one of his best-known pieces, and personally it resonated with me.  First, it's stunning, very life-like and the actual size of an adult.  In addition, for me, several things immediately came to mind, including the fact that artists truly expose themselves as they construct the art and then make it available for public viewing and all sorts of reactions.   This I've experienced on multiple occasions with my photographs.   In addition, I also thought of my work as an educator and how I pour myself into that -- navigating the daily interactions, keeping pace with endless preparation, constantly adhering to curriculum mandates and on and on...whew.  Anyway, I love this piece.  

THE ART OF THE BRICK exhibition runs through May 28 at Union Station in Kansas City.

Around & Around

Artwork by Stephanie Funke, CZT

"This world is but a canvas to our imagination."

                                                                   --Henry David Thoreau

A Unique Take

Sculpture by LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya

 Open through May 28, 2018, at Union Station in Kansas City, THE ART OF THE BRICK features amazing sculptures created by LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya.  Hurry!  If you haven't been to this exhibit and have the opportunity, it's one you don't want to miss.  All ages are attracted to Sawaya's 110 incredible works that are all constructed with LEGO bricks.  And, as a native Iowan and admirer of Grant Wood's originals, this American Gothic remake immediately captured my attention.  The information below explains more about the artist's process, experience building the piece and numbers of bricks/pieces used -- 8,303!

Sculpture by LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya

Time for Spring

So, another reference to the ongoing cold and wintry weather in Iowa.  If you live in a locale that often enjoys the sun, blue skies and more moderate temperatures, perhaps I need to visit as Mother Nature seems stuck in a pattern of cold, clouds, wind and snow....ugh.  Anyway, as we take it all in stride and remember that warmer and brighter days WILL return, I also used this post to feature a favorite image of an old, beat-up clock that gives a glimpse of yesteryear.  The photo makes me think of a beloved neighbor who had a similar alarm clock on her night stand  -- as a youngster I thought it was really cool.  Also, when I look at this clock, it seems to represent all of us who have endured a long winter and appear a bit tattered by this cold, snowy, gray season.

"The beautiful spring came;

and when Nature resumes her loveliness, 

the human soul is apt to revive also."

                                                                                  --Harriet Ann Jacobs

Mother Nature Confused

Again today and yesterday, like so many other days in the last while, the weather in Iowa is far from anything that resembles spring and looks like the dreary winter scene in my photo.  And, yes, most Iowans were over winter ....by the end of January.  To add a little levity, the following quote sums up our cool and snowy landscape:

"I don't know about where you live, but the weather here is somewhere between bipolar and downright psychotic this spring."

                                                                                                            --Unknown

Sea Creature

Artwork by Stephanie Funke, CZT

"The world's finest wilderness lies beneath the waves."

                                              --Wyland, Marine Life Artist

Color

Artwork by Stephanie Funke, CZT

"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."

                                                            --Claude Monet

Vintage Look

Artwork by Stephanie Funke, CZT

"The minute you think that the past was better, your present is second hand,

and yourself becomes vintage -- it's okay for clothes not that great for people."

                                                                    --Karl Lagerfeld

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair.

We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."

                                                                       --Pope John Paul II