The Cheesman Park Art Fest - Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's Blog, I went to the annual Cheesman Park Art Fest Saturday afternoon to check out the art, and was happy to find that there was a lot of photography on display.  In one booth, I noticed a really nice photograph of Haystack Rock, off the coast of Cannon Beach, Oregon, taken from almost exactly the same spot where I spent the 4th of July weekend.  I got to talking with the photographer, Kathi Jensen (seen in the photograph above) about Oregon and what we liked and didn't like about the place.  Kathi had some great photographs on display, especially the ones from Oregon.  She and her husband Gary live in Idaho, but made the trek here to Denver to exhibit her work.  Thanks for the chat, Kathi! Be sure to check out Kathi's photographs at http://natureartgallery54.photoshelter.com/index.

The Cheesman Park Art Fest

I drove over to Denver's Cheesman Park yesterday afternoon to check out the annual Cheesman Park Art Fest.  It is only a few years old, but is becoming very popular, with artists from all over the country displaying their work.  I especially like it because there is a lot of photography on display, and their work gives me on ideas that I can incorporate (i.e.steal) for my own work.  Cheesman, by the way, along with nearby Congress Park, were Denver's first parks.  They were originally cemeteries, and the city paid a contractor to move all the graves to cemeteries on the outskirts of the city.  He made a mess of the job, desecrating many of the bodies and leaving many of them still on the grounds,  which is why it is reputed to be haunted, and why it is a good thing the art fest ends before dark.

In any case, I enjoyed looking at all the art work, and ran into Joe Higgins, my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore colleague, and a full time artist and teacher at the Art Students League of Denver.  Joe was not displaying his work at this festival, but was visiting some of his art students, who did have booths there.  Joe is still working 2 days a week at the DU Bookstore, teaching 2 days a week, and spending the rest of the week working on his own artwork.  Joe is pretty happy with that schedule, and I must say it sounds like a great routine. Good to see you, Joe! Be sure to check out Joe's artwork and website at  http://www.joehigginsmonotypes.com .

As I was talking to a photographer from Idaho displaying  her work, none other than my friend Darrel, another  former DU Bookstore colleague, called out my name and said hello. Darrel and his wife Linda,  who are now both retired, decided a year or so ago that spending the weekends doing yard work and upkeep on their house was getting a bit old, and so sold their house and moved to an apartment right next door to the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Talk about a great location.  They can now take daily walks through some of the nicest areas of Denver, and are only a car or bike ride from downtown, not to mention just a short walk from the bookstore where I work.  And just for fun I decided to take a photograph of Darrel with his apartment building (the tall white structure) in the background.  As you can see, Darrel and Linda are also very close to Cheesman Park.  Just don't walk around there after sunset, guys.  Good to see you, Darrel!

The Summer Is Going DAM Fast...

I went to the Final Friday event at the Denver Art Museum (the DAM) yesterday evening.  It seems like I was just at the previous event, and proves that time is accelerating at an ever increasing rate, something I have suspected ever since I turned 50.  It was not as fun an event as in the past - the 7th floor of the North Building (where the photograph gallery is located)  is still closed, and the big Fazal Sheikh photography exhibition will not start until next month.  The Degas exhibition doesn't start until February. Even the guided tours last night were a bit on the thin side.  There was a tour of the European gallery given by two girl scout leaders, allegedly linking the landscapes of Monet with girl scout activities, but the link was tenuous at best. The rest of the museum had the same work that has been on display for months.  I am beginning to think the museum blows off the summer months in preparation for the fall, perhaps because they think many people are gone on vacation and won't show up anyway.  Oh well, now that time is accelerating, fall and winter will be here before you know it.  Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

A Wash Park Kind Of Sunset

Yes - I am back to posting sunset photographs, this time ones I took in Denver's Washington Park this past weekend.  I know they are cliches, but as I have said before, I don't care.  They are pretty and I like them.  Washington Park is a great place to hang out, and is located just a few blocks away from my condo. Granted, the Wash Park neighborhood is north of Interstate 25, and my building is south of this imposing barrier, but like I said, time-wise it is very close.  As you might have guessed, Wash Park is a very affluent neighborhood, and like other desirable neighborhoods these days, the wealthy buy older, very lovely homes, tear them down, and put up huge mansions.

I know I am getting off the theme of beautiful sunsets, but once again, I don't care.  What do people do with all that space?  Rent rooms to University of Denver co-eds?  That is what I would do, but I don't think that is what is happening.  It must be some sort of statement about their place in this world, a class thing.  Who knows?  All I know is that I think the sunset photograph on the right is pretty darned good, and cliches be damned.

My Parent's Anniversary

If they were still alive, today would have been my parent's (Nelson and Mary's) 77th wedding anniversary.  And in honor of this day, I am posting a photograph I found in a family album taken of them at the Indiana Dunes back in July of 1937, three years before they were married.  They look so young there, much younger than the parents I knew growing up.  That they seemed much older to me as a child I attribute to having to deal with my sister Susan, who was born 11 years before me.  I think she gave them all they could handle.  Miss Collins, one of Susan's teachers at Fort Dearborn Grammar School, in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, referred to her as " a piece of work," and when she was a child, she used to go around the tables at a local beer garden, while everyone was dancing, and kill off their beer bottles.  I don't mean any of this in a negative way. I understand completely.  I'm just sayin'.  Happy Anniversary Mother and Dad!  And keep on keeping on, Susan!

One Likable Cheetah...

As regular Blog readers know, I have taken many photographs of the cheetah in the photograph above. Every time I go to the Denver Zoo, it is there, observing everyone and everything.  As you can see from the above portrait, it looks you right in the eye, never flinching.  The cheetah is supposed to be a very fast animal, traveling up to 75 miles per hour in short bursts.  It definitely can't attain that speed in it's current environment, which begs the question - is it better to have these animals in zoos to preserve their existence, or should they be left in the wild to either survive or disappear?  I am hopelessly divided on this question, and so am no help at all.  Hopefully wiser minds than I can answer this important - and critical - question.

Sorry Kids - There Is No Escape...

I went to the Denver Zoo Saturday afternoon to take a few photographs, and as usual, I tried to get some good photographs of the zoo babies.  I took the photograph on the left of the baby giraffe, looking out at the wide open spaces of City Park beyond, dreaming of life on the outside. The older giraffes know they are there for life, but the baby still doesn't know that it will be in a cage forever. Eventually it will learn.

As will the gorilla baby in the photograph on the right.  Gorillas are very similar to humans, and so their babies grow up in stages very similar to us.  The little guy on the right has no conception of where he is, or what his future will be.  Like the giraffe baby, he will find out.  As you can tell, I have mixed feelings about the zoo. Going there gives you the chance to see animals you would never otherwise see, and the zoo's mission is to make sure these animals do not go extinct. However, they are indeed serving a life sentence, and will never live as nature intended.  What is the answer?  Damned if I know.