Kiva.org

photo by Kieran Ball

Kiva is a web based organization that connects lenders with people in developing countries (and more recently some US cities) who need fairly small amounts of money for a variety of uses. Each loan is given in increments of $25 per lender, so many people fund one loan. I am not sure what the maximum amount is for a request, but most are in the $1,000 – $2,000 range. The loans are not considered a charitable donation – borrowers pay them back over time and lenders’ accounts are credited. That money can be withdrawn or loaned again once $25 accrues. You can add funds to your account as well. The administrators of Kiva do ask for additional funds to cover costs, which are considered a tax-deductible donation. This is a great organization that gives lenders the opportunity to see exactly where their money is going and the profound impact it can have.

Check it out:
http://kiva.org/invitedby/ted8720

River Scene

We took a walk along the Wisconsin River today – temps were in the 40s and the skies were mostly clear. More panoramic photos, this time of Ferry Bluff, patterns in the sand, ice, and the scenery in general. We saw a couple of Bald Eagles, lots of Canada Geese and several gulls, unfortunately too far away to photograph.

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to an unexpected snowfall this morning – heavy wet snow that clung to the branches and turned everything white, giving the world a monochromatic touch.

Science Museum of Minnesota

The Science Museum of Minnesota was directly across the street from the convention center and conference participants were able to visit for free. Again – a photo using the panoramic app. One of the things I especially like about taking pictures like this is the irregular shape of the image. It really bends the space.
There is a Pterodactyl(?) skeleton suspended from the ceiling and a world map in the floor of the entrance.

After leaving St. Paul, we drove to Marine-on-St. Croix to visit the St. Croix Watershed Research Station (SCWRS). I was an artist in residence there in 2008 and last year at this time delivered the piece I created as an interpretation of my stay at Pine Needles, the cabin designated as the “residence” for this program. I hadn’t had the chance to photograph the piece before delivering it to the station, so I took the opportunity on this visit. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
The pieces I create as interpretations of residencies tend to be more complex than my other work. Hopefully, the story of the two or three weeks I spend immersed in a new place become well integrated as a snapshot of that time. Once in a Blue Moon combines images I obtained from the research done in the river directly outside the door of Pine Needles – diatoms and discs used in Lead 210 testing of sediment core samples – with the plants and animals I observed during the three weeks I lived there – Great Blue and Little Green herons, the blue moon that occurred, and of course, the pine needles.  The SCWRS is part of the Science Museum of Minnesota.

The Other Side of the River

I just returned from St. Paul, Minnesota (work related trip) and had a chance to attend the first in what will be a monthly Minnesota Public Radio Program called Real-Phonic Radio Hour. The show took place in an amazing space – the James J. Hill Reference Library in downtown St. Paul. I took lots of photos with my iPod using an app called Photosynth. This is a free panoramic photo stitching app from Microsoft that actually works pretty well!  Click on the images for a larger version.
This view was taken from one end of the room and ends pretty much where it began. In the real world, the columns are parallel to one another and the walls behind the columns are filled with books.
The Real-Phonic Band – Erik Koskinen, Paul Bergen Frankie Lee and JT Bates; Bo Ramsey and Ashleigh Still performed along with a wonderful poet.
A fun result of the way these frames are stitched together is the disappearance of portions of previous images – notice the bass player in the red shirt – or what’s left of him.

The scene after the performance from a perch atop the opposite end of the room – the walls of books were so high that narrow open walkways were constructed for access to the library. I was on a wider balcony which still seemed pretty scary! But this gives a more realistic  view of the room. Keep in mind that each of these images is composed of many frames – probably no fewer than 2 dozen for this one.

Time Traveler

I was just asked to be in a show by Richard Moninski, owner/artist of Green Lantern Studios in Mineral Point, WI and a lecturer at UW- Plateville. An opportunity was available for the gallery at UWP and he asked another fiber artist and myself to exhibit. I met Richard and his wife, Carol Spelic – also an artist, years ago through a mutual friend, and have had some pieces in shows at their gallery. This venue is much larger, though, and he asked for everything I could spare, the larger the pieces, the better. I was just starting a new Sandhill Crane piece and fortunately got it finished the night before I had to deliver the work. It’s 65″ wide and is a life size crane in flight.  I will take more photos of the piece hanging at the gallery in the next couple of weeks, but for now you can at least see a portion of the bird. The crane is hand painted and screen printed with the plants and animals present in its environment – both good and bad. It’s appliquéed to a piece of silk jacquard that was shibori dyed, and I’ve done the free motion stitching between the images with silk thread. The eye is fabric paint and powdered mica, giving it a golden shimmer.

The exhibit, Nature, Explained, will be up from October 31 – November 22, 2011. Pat Kroth, a fiber artist from Verona, Wisconsin, will also be exhibiting.

Time Traveler - Sandhill Crane

Heads Up

A trip to the Platte River, Nebraska in March included a stop at the Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha where our group was treated to a behind the scenes tour. It actually turned out to be an “in the scenes” tour as we were lured by our host into the frozen world of penguins! They have no fear of people, and often got too close for me to focus my camera.

This last photo is of a King Penguin. I’m not sure of the other two species, but all were in the exhibit together and got along very well.

Heron Moon

I recently learned that my piece Heron Moon, was purchased by the University of Wisconsin – Madison for one of the greenhouses on campus. Again, a purchase through the Percent for Art program administered by the Wisconsin Arts Board. Unfortunately, the Arts Board will be unrecognizable after the new fiscal year begins. It’s budget has been slashed by 75% and the remaining positions will be absorbed into the Department of Tourism. This is an enormous loss for the State and will impact the quality of life to which we’ve become accustomed. To learn more about how WBA is changing go to: http://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/

This piece was created by folding and dyeing in fiber reactive dyes, then silk screening the images with a chemical that removes the dye. The moon is silk screened using illuminated vat dye – a process that removes the base dye and replaces the color with the new reductive dye. Reductive dyes oxidize as they’re exposed to the air and the color can become quite intense. The green heron was screened onto a separate piece of silk and handpainted – again using fiber reactive dyes. Then he was cut out and appliquéed onto the background fabric.

The inspiration came from my residency at Pine Needles in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. The cabin was situated on the high bank of the river and I was able to look down to the Wisconsin shore line where I often observed juvenile green herons. All of the other animals on this piece also visited the cabin during my stay.

Homasassas Springs

Homasassas Springs is about 1.5 hours northwest of Orlando in Florida. I was there in February after visiting the Whooping Cranes that ICF was monitoring in Chassahowitzka National Park. There are so many birds at HS – many appeared to be injured to the degree that they couldn’t live on their own in the wild. Here they were fed and became quite used to the large numbers of people standing just feet above them as they fished along the banks of the stream below the boardwalk.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Several years ago I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. I was in the area for a conference and added a couple of days to my trip to explore. MBA quickly became my favorite place to be and I spent 2 full days wandering around the former cannery. So I knew I had to include another visit this January when I traveled to northern California for work. The Jellies exhibit was new when I was at MBA last time.

Lots of Jellies

This year brought a new exhibit on the Secret Lives of Seahorses. They’re equally fascinating creatures, but a little harder to photograph.

Leafy Sea Dragon, Monterey Bay Aquarium

According to the MBA website, there are only two (known) species of Sea Dragons which are found off the coast of Australia. The Weedy Sea Dragon and the Leafy Sea Dragon, pictured above. The “leaves” provide the animal with very effective camouflage and, on the Leafy, can grow up to 13″ long.