New Year in N Y

 The line outside the women's bathroom at the opera was a better show than the show:  Die Fledermaus.

A wonderful spread for late dinner on New Year's Eve.

 Dumplings, pies, balls, buns, twists and other goodies at a Chinese bakery.

Below, the looming rebuilt World Trade Center tower.

January, 2014: Warm to Cold

The first two  weeks of January 2014 were not particularly cold.  There was even warm days with lots of fog.

Around the middle of the month, began a series of 'polar vortices' or 'Alberta Clippers,' bringing a total of over 36 inches of snow, biting cold, and lots of salt on the streets.

It is hard to show cold.
Images were taken at sunrise.

Poster Art and Holiday Greetings

Alan and Cyane's holiday greeting card to left.
It is based on the poster shown below, which was put up to auction at Swann Galleries in New York in December.

The poster to right is by Josef Hoffmann and was done for the Wiener Werkstatte workshop in Vienna around 1905.  The colony of artists had as its objective 'the fabrication of exquisitely wrought and wonderfully designed everyday objects.  Envisioned as a close collaboration of artisans and craftsmen that would champion handmade work over machine-made mass-produced items."

The poster below was one of our favorites at the Swann Gallery sale.  http://www.swanngalleries.com/3dcat/2336

The Beit Company was started by Ferdinand Beit Sr (1817-1870), a Hamburg Germany chemist, entrepreneur and import-exporter from a Jewish family.  He started a number of businesses, including fertilizer, paints and book and stone inks.  His son Ferdinand Beit Jr (1858-1928) carried on the business; this poster is from 1901.  Ferdinand Beit Jr was also active in local politics on the left and working against anti-Semitism.  This advertising poster is interesting as the colors are those of the German flag and the lady is looking to the left!

Christmas Contrasts, December 2013

 Homemade Christmas Pine Trees with an 'outcrop' of paper and leaves.

To right, the Met Life building dolled up Christmas tree.

Above, the Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble from Brooklyn, NY.

Below, the grand stairs at the Metropolitan Opera.

Winter Weather: December 2013 in Philadelphia

These photos show a spectrum of light and precipitation conditions (often fluctuating around the freezing point).  The first shot was at night after freezing rain, the second and third shots around sunset after a real snow.  The last picture is of bubbles frozen on road ice on a cold and slippery morning.  

Clouds in the Landscape I

 This photo was taken on the last day of November, 2013.  
While artful in its way, it is unsettling.
All the clouds on that morning were caused by jet condensation trails.
It is a modern skyscape.

 Charles Sheeler, 1931, Classic Landscape

 Hendrik Willem Mesdag, 1894, Sunset at Scheveningen

Gustave Courbet, 1865, The Black Rocks at Trouville

Eugene Boudin, 1864, The Beach at Villerville

Clouds in the Landscape II

More great paintings from the National Gallery of Art, still on the theme of clouds.

 William Turner, 1844, Approach to Venice

John Constable, 1816, Wivenhoe Park, Essex

William Turner, 1807, The Junction of the Thames and the Medway

Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, 1782, Study of Clouds over the Roman Campagna

Philadelphia Thanksgiving 2013

Philadelphia City Hall from Broad St looking north

Standing Room Only at Reading Terminal Market

Cheese steaks are very popular.

A little quieter and more elegant...

October Colors, Philadelphia

There are still Sugar Maples growing in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, planted decades ago.  The photo below shows a Sugar Maple bravely displaying its October colors, despite a hard life evident in the shape and form of the tree.

There are many gardens all through Philadelphia.
Below, late Chrysanthemums and Callas at Morris Arboretum:

And, here is a planting that I created with Red Abyssinian Banana, Hot Peppers, Lantana and Leonotis/Lion's Head

Quote for the month, from Ray Bradbury:
"Treasure this day and treasure yourself.  Truly, neither will happen again."

October Skies

To continue the theme of skies, these sunset images offer reminders that stunning beauty occurs in passing moments, even at home.  
In this first photo, the condensation trails from planes are so frequent as to become one of the cloud formations.

The series below was taken at sunset in the same area, just a few minutes apart.