Hold Up High
(photograph taken in Barcelona, Spain)
Build Castles in Spain
(photograph taken at el Palacio Royale in Madrid, Spain)
Don't Look a Gift Horse
(photograph taken in east Chatham County)
The Language of Flowers
“Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?”
(photograph taken in northeast Chatham County)
Black Double-Crested Cormorants
These seabirds, distant cousins of frigatebirds and boobies, skim Jordan lake swooping for small fish. They settle on docks and bobbing markers, spreading their wings to dry.
(photographs taken at Jordan Lake in Chatham County)
On the Street
(photograph taken on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill)
Blue Moon
Local artist Michael Brown's moonlight mural coats the the east side of the former Yates Motor building on West Franklin Street, which at one time also served as a stage for public art. These days, the building houses the Carolina Ale House, which serves up burgers, barbecue and baby backs -- during warmer months, al fresco.
Springing Back
Carrboro's year-round Farmers' Market features locally farmed or produced goods sourced within a 50-mile radius. Starting next week, the market will open from 7am-noon. Prepare to stuff your sacks AND your stomach.
(photographs taken at Carrboro Farmers' Market in Carrboro)
The Buskits
(photographs of the street performers The Buskits taken in Asheville, NC)
Built the Biltmore
George Washington Vanderbilt constructed the opulent Biltmore Estate between 1889-1995 in Asheville, NC. At nearly 179,000 square feet of floor space, the expansive home boasts 250 rooms including a gym, indoor pool, and bowling alley. It remains the largest privately owned home in the United States, and is open to the public for tours.
Standing left to right: Edward Burnett, Richard Morris Hunt, George Washington Vanderbilt (original owner of the Biltmore Estate). Sitting left to right: Frederick Law Olmstead (landscape architect who also designed New York City's Central Park) and Richard Howland Hunt (architect). Details here.
(photographs taken at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC; historical photos are images displayed at the Biltmore Estate.)
In a Twinkle
(photographs taken in Chapel Hill, Chatham County)
The Moments: Festifall 2016
(photographs taken on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill)
Paperhand Puppet Intervention: The Audience
(photographs of Paperhand Puppet Intervention taken at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Forest Theatre)
Paperhand Puppet Intervention: Backstage
(photographs of Paperhand Puppet Intervention taken at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Forest Theatre)
Paperhand Puppet Intervention "The Beautiful Beast"
(photographs of Paperhand Puppet Intervention taken at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Forest Theatre)
Framed
(photograph taken in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro)
Catch Eye
(photograph taken at Spence's Farm in Chapel Hill)
L'artista
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
(photograph of sculptor Siglinda Scarpa was taken at her home studio located on a several-acre propery in Pittsboro)
Indefatigable
Siglinda Scarpa is founder and primary benefactor for the non-profit cat sanctuary The Goathouse Refuge nestled on her several-acre property in Pittsboro, NC. The unflagging animal activist provides a safe haven for cats that were dispossessed or scheduled for euthanasia by public shelters. A team of dedicated volunteers work year round to provide care regardless of age, medical issues or disposition until a permanent loving adoptive home is secured.
The Italian-born sculptor landed in Chatham County in the mid-1990s after emigrating from the foothills of the Italian Alps to New York to pursue her work. Her home studio is peppered with storage sheds used for work spaces and a towering hand-built outdoor oven to fire the intricate pieces. Her collection includes shelves lined with punctilious vessels reminiscent of sea anemones and sculptures perched on stands evocative of fragile pleating coral. (images of her work will be appear in the next post)
(photographs taken at the Goathouse Refuge in Pittsboro, NC)