Let’s pretend we’re back in school and our teacher said, “Write a story about what you did today.”
This blog is the story of my day. (Yes, yes, many blogs are stories about my day. But this one has photographs to accompany many pauses along the way. Patience, patience. We shall get to the Bubble Story eventually.)
First, I woke up at 6:10. No alarm clock. Barry was putzing in the kitchen after he woke up sometime around 4:30 a.m. The woodstove was already going. Hallelujah! That is usually my job. The coffee was already brewed.
Because of the Bubble Story, I switched around my hours at work at the school today. Drove in on dark and slippery roads–very early. Before the teachers arrived I was budgeting numbers. Very exciting. Truly. I always feel like budgeting is the equivalent of putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You get to make all the pieces fit!
You have to say hello to the fish in the aquarium as you go inside. Do not feed them. The kids feed them on the days when they are in school. You feed them in the summertime and during vacations–but not today. Today you just snap a picture as you go by. You look at the bubbles in the aquarium. You never imagine you will be writing a blog about bubbles before you return to the school at 6:30 p.m. for a board meeting in which you patiently explain how the jigsaw puzzle of budgeting fits together.
After work, I drove to town. Slippery roads. Don’t go faster than 45 mph. Last week there were several accidents on local roads. A woman just my age, from Ontonagon, died five miles south of L’Anse. One must navigate these roads carefully at this time of year.
I stopped by the “Head of the Bay” between L’Anse and Baraga to take a photo of Lake Superior for you.
Look closer through the camera’s lens. You will see where the ice ends and the open water starts. Last year I called this no-man’s-land: The Edge of the Known World.
Then I had lunch with faithful blog reader and friend, Susan D. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos to show you of our lunch date. We ate at the Lakeside Restaurant in Baraga. We caught up on the last few weeks. We re-connected.
Then I convinced her to please–pretty please!–come to the art gallery. I had three photos to deliver to Gallery 325 for Friday night’s show. The theme is Earth Air Fire Water.
You are invited. Friday night. 7- 9 p.m. 315 McGillan Street in Baraga.
I gave Karen at the gallery my three photos.
“No frames this time,” I said.
I have decided that I am a frame-less person and that my photos simply should not be framed. They must be free! Free photos with no harsh barriers, edges or limits. Yep, that’s the thought this month, anyway.
Karen barely raised her eyebrow. She showed me how they would have to hang my photos. A little clip, an almost invisible heavy thread.
“Yep, perfect!” I agreed.
“What do you want to name your photos?” she asked.
Oh no! One must name their photos? No names came to mind. I peered at the Bubble photo, which Karen liked.
“How about Bubble?” I asked.
“You can’t call that just a Bubble!” Karen insisted. “How about Spirit Bubble? How about…?” (and then she suggested about three or four different alternatives.)
But, for some reason, Bubble stuck. It had to be called Bubble. Just like it didn’t want a frame.
Susan agreed. “It has to be Bubble,” she said.
Karen just shook her head at us.
Bubble it was.
I will show you the three photos that will be in the show. Click here (the last photo), here (the last photo–you can see what it looks like without the glare from my flash) and here (the underwater rock photo–second to the last)! They are on metallic paper and really look cool. I love mpix.com! They do wonderful work in a very timely manner. Do try them, if you want to have some of your photographs entered in your local art show.
Now I shall leave you with some Words of Wisdom, from the Bumper Sticker on Karen’s car:
For the first time ever, I get to be first to tell you I love this post! Thank you, Kathy!
Pamela, I am delighted to see you! And very glad you are the first. And that you like the post. 🙂
Hi Kathy, I have to admit that I don’t always remember all photos for a long time after first seeing them but Bubble has stayed perfectly in my mind’s eye. I love this image and all that it says….
What striking and thought provoking photos you have in the show. I really appreciate your description of how they’ll be displayed and like you, have mixed feelings about frames and framing 🙂
(So good to have you back!!)
Colleen, glad you still remember Bubble. I thought these water photos were perfect for the theme of the show. But then–isn’t everything we can perceive water-earth-air-fire in some form? Hmmm… Also glad to hear you are of mixed-mind about framing. I just loved the feeling of freedom not having to frame. It feels so zen, so simple.
Yay! Some of my favorite images!!! Underwater rocks!
Oh good, Elisa…glad you liked these three images. Aren’t underwater rocks cool? Do you know Susie Q from Gaia? She has a camera that actually can go underwater and take pics. (envy…)
do YOU know how to scuba?
Ummm…no! Do you?
I did when I was waaaaay younger than I am now! I was just thinking, that to use that underwater camera, you’d have to be under water. 😛
Not necessarily, Elisa! When Susie Q took pictures, she was in shallow water. So she just leaned down and put the camera under water. Cool, huh?
That is the happiest fish I’ve ever seen!! He/She loved getting its picture taken and seems to be smiling and dancing for that lady it sees so often. Your Bubble came out beautifully! Love it! And Karen’s whimsy is just happy, happy. Thank you for lovely catch-up time today, touched with some adventure, insight and laughter. My spirit soars!
Dear Susan D, did you know there were fish at the school now? I don’t think they were there in “your day”. I had such fun with you yesterday. You about covered the spectrum. Adventure, insight and laughter! See you Friday night, girlfriend…
Beautiful photos, congratulations on show. I love the circular river pattern. And Bubble. I’d go for Eye of Bubble, tho your Zen approach is much more apt.
“Eye of Bubble” sounds like a wonderful title. I may have had to go with that…if it had appeared yesterday at the art gallery. Basically (except for writing blogs, lol) I love zen-like energy. Thank you!
Congrats on your show! Very cool.
I love the fish photo – that’s a plecostomus! Years ago I had a fish tank and always had a pleco to keep the place clean. Don’t you just want to touch its belly? Or is that just me? 😉
Almost anybody can be in our local art show, Karen. It’s way cool. I KNEW there was a name like that for our fish. Plecostomus. They bought it to keep the tank clean. I have NEVER wanted to touch its belly. I do now. lol!
Love the photo of Lake Superior
Thank you!
Kim, that was just for you, you know. Glad you like it! I’ll try to take more this winter. Just for you.
I remember those photos! They’re all beautiful.
Art is supposed to be what separates us from the ants. But I wonder if maybe they’re doing something creative underground during the cold winter months that we’re totally oblivious to here on the surface.
You remember the photos, too! Amazing. What an interesting thought about ants. Maybe their whole life is about creating art. Sustaining art. Sand art. Maybe if we could just read the tiny messages embedded in the diamond-like sand, we’d be enlightened.
Oooh – I remember that Bubble photo too! I think it’s totally awesome, completely cool, breath-gaspingly fantabulous that you are showing off your photos in an art gallery! Way to go, Kathy!!! Loud cheers all across the Atlantic!
Thank you, Ms. Reggie. Boy, I could hear your cheering when you wrote this yesterday. It sounded like the trees were clapping branches out there in the cold. smiling…but don’t get too excited. I think anybody in our town who wanted to show a piece in the art gallery would be welcomed with a red carpet. 🙂
Oh, I doubt that! They would have to be incredibly talented, with a photographer’s eye for the unusual, just like yourself. 😉
Awww, Reggie, you say the nicest things. 🙂
This was sooo wondeful in sooo many ways. I really like the pictures you are showing. “Bubble” is perfect, as a picture, as a title. You are so in balance. Like “Bubble” I will keep it simple and stop here, but I could go on for … (Shut up john, hit post)
Ha ha, John. You are way funny. I could go on, too, but–(Shut up kathy, hit post.) lol!
Kathy – I definitely missed my “Kathy Fixes” while you were hibernating.
“Bubble.” It’s perfect. Enough said.
I was missing my blogging fix all the way around, Laurie! Missing all of you guys, missing reading your blogs, missing creating. However, tried to keep the Mind on what was being gained. New energy! Another bubble!
I think “Bubble” is perfect. What else needs to be said? Beautiful photos, all of them.
I heart Mpix. They do great work.
You know about Mpix too, Robin? I love what you just said. I heart Mpix. I heart Mpix. Love it!
LOVE that bumper sticker! 🙂 Thank you for sharing it!
Good morning, Martha! Isn’t that cool? I saw it on Karen’s car and just had to share it with all of you. 🙂
I am so late in getting here I think it’s all been said, so all I can do is repeat: congratulations on getting your photos in a show! Beautiful photos they are!
Hi Carol! It hasn’t all been said! At least it hasn’t yet been said by YOU. Thank you. Really, I do appreciate it. It will be fun to go to the Art Gallery tomorrow night and chit-chat with everyone.
Bubble…why would it be called anything else? Geesh. Nice day!
Scott, I can’t tell you how much that means to me. That you agree! Bubble it is. YES!!! Another vote for simplicity, for…bubbles… lol…
Hi Kathy, Thanks for the mpix site – I may use it. That little fish looks desperate for a visitor. My granddaughter’s Betta Fish died this. past weekend while the Family was visiting us. When they got home, she found it and called sobbing. She got the fish for Christmas and had named it Zachary Cohen – (that name for a Christmas fish just slays me). Anyway, after a fitting fish burial, she now has another Betta which she named Zachary Cohen II (of course…). I love the photos of the Lake. Also, your Nature photos, esp. the watery ones should not be constrained – I agree completely. I think I’m so long-winded because I haven’t talked to you in awhile – or maybe because I just drank some coffee.
Oh, Barb! What a story! I feel like sobbing along with your granddaughter… (Although I don’t know about the name Zachary Cohen, either…jeesh!) I am also so supported by your unframed opinion. Thank you. We are now bosum buddies. Especially through our love of coffee. 🙂
First time visitor. You’re phenomenal, this is a true original, one-of-a-kind thing here. How terribly refreshing. . . and oh ya, “LOVE” The Bottles (I’ll be back)
Hi Alison! Oh I’m so happy to have a new first-time visitor! Welcome…welcome…come in the living room of this blog and pull up a chair often and we’ll look at bottles and Think About Life. Glad to see you!
Great choices for the art gallery, Kathy! Hope you get rave reviews.
Thanks, Marianne. People seemed to like the pictures. Not too many people showed their artwork this month, though. Maybe only a dozen or more people? One of the slowest months thus far. As spring approaches, I suspect more local artists will get revved up.