Te prickly variety can be found in the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S.
Showing posts with label southwest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southwest. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 14, 2010
Georgia O'Keefie Cat
Georgia O'Keeffie-Cat was a feline who began her art career in the city, doing sand paintings in litter boxes. She embraced an abstract style that was considered very avant garde at the time. Her stark abstract still lifes of hairballs soon attracted the notice of the already-famous photographer Alfred Steigkitz, who invited her to show her work in his famous Mousehattan gallery.
Steigkitz was taken with O'Keefiee-Cat, as well, and quickly made her not only the darling of the uptown set but the subject of his photographs. His many nude photos of the young O'Keeffie-Cat, including a series of her bathing herself, soon drew the attention of critics, who quickly pegged O'Keeffie-Cat and her art as erotic.
This upset O'Keeffie-Cat to the point that she changed her style of painting. Though still using clay litter as her medium, she turned to more representational paintings of scratching posts, mice, and catnip plants. The critics saw sensuality in those, as well, which drove the already shy O'Keeffie-Cat farther away from both her admirers and her critics.
She sought solace beneath the open skies of New Mexico, where she changed her medium to desert sand, rendering images of dried cat skulls found and desert morsels like cactus wrens found on her walks.
Steigkitz quickly followed her to her retreat and eventually married her. But Steigkitz was a legendary hypochondriac who could never be more than 50 miles from a veterinarian. He spent brief sojourns in the desert with O'Keeffie-Cat and the bulk of his time in Mousehattan.
This freed O'Keeffie-Cat to develop her style further. Steigkitz died a few cat-years later, but O'Keeffie-Cat continued her desert sand paintings. She loved nothing more than to stroll the desert looking for natural objects of beauty - a dessicated vole, a petrified lizard... She continued to paint her surroundings until her death at the advanced age of 14 (or 99 in human years).
Her paintings and her unique view of the southwest endure.
This Georgia O'Keeffe-like painting is available for purchase here.
The bracelet is available for purchase here.
Steigkitz was taken with O'Keefiee-Cat, as well, and quickly made her not only the darling of the uptown set but the subject of his photographs. His many nude photos of the young O'Keeffie-Cat, including a series of her bathing herself, soon drew the attention of critics, who quickly pegged O'Keeffie-Cat and her art as erotic.
This upset O'Keeffie-Cat to the point that she changed her style of painting. Though still using clay litter as her medium, she turned to more representational paintings of scratching posts, mice, and catnip plants. The critics saw sensuality in those, as well, which drove the already shy O'Keeffie-Cat farther away from both her admirers and her critics.
She sought solace beneath the open skies of New Mexico, where she changed her medium to desert sand, rendering images of dried cat skulls found and desert morsels like cactus wrens found on her walks.
Steigkitz quickly followed her to her retreat and eventually married her. But Steigkitz was a legendary hypochondriac who could never be more than 50 miles from a veterinarian. He spent brief sojourns in the desert with O'Keeffie-Cat and the bulk of his time in Mousehattan.
This freed O'Keeffie-Cat to develop her style further. Steigkitz died a few cat-years later, but O'Keeffie-Cat continued her desert sand paintings. She loved nothing more than to stroll the desert looking for natural objects of beauty - a dessicated vole, a petrified lizard... She continued to paint her surroundings until her death at the advanced age of 14 (or 99 in human years).
Her paintings and her unique view of the southwest endure.
This Georgia O'Keeffe-like painting is available for purchase here.
The bracelet is available for purchase here.
Coyote Steals the Moon
Long, long ago, the moon was always in the sky, not just at night but during the daytime, too. Coyote loved the moon. Each night he stood before it and looked for his reflection in its surface.
And each night he thought about how beautiful he was, silvery like the moon, as he ran swiftly past the trees and rocks.
Every day, early in the morning, Coyote would venture out.
He would walk down to the lake and see his reflection there. And Coyote would think again how beautiful he was.
But then the time of great coldness came. Snow covered everything. And while Coyote could admire himself at night, during the day, the lake that was his mirror was covered in snow.
Not only was there little to eat. To make matters worse, Coyote could not see himself in the shimmering waters. Finally, with hunger gnawing at him, Coyote made his way toward the place where the sun set every night, looking for the warmth from its rays, and for the crystal lakes that would show Coyote his image once again.
Still the ground was frozen, and still there was little to eat. At night, Coyote would pause from his hunting and his travels and would still look up at the moon to see his reflection.
Coyote passed frozen prairies until he reached a new place, with soaring mountains of red. At last there was less snow, and an occasional rabbit to eat. Coyote thought about staying in this new place. It was a warmer place, but there were no lakes in which he could see himself each morning. That night, as he looked at the moon, he thought: if only I had the moon each day, I would not need the lakes I left behind. And so a plan was hatched.
That night, when it was almost morning, Coyote climbed to the top of the highest mountain he could find, as close to the moon as he could reach Then with a mighty leap he snatched the moon down. It slipped between the yucca plants and the pinon trees until it landed on a wide flat space.
Coyote looked at the morning sky. The moon was no longer there, but it was not needed, for the sun took over the sky in the daytime. Coyote looked down, and there was the moon, his moon, shimmering and placid like a lake. Coyote stared into it and once again, saw his reflection and once again thought how beautiful he was.
That night, when Coyote went out to hunt, the moon quietly slipped back up into the sky to shine.
But each morning, when Coyote returned from the hunt and came to admire himself, the moon was there, ready to reflect for him.
The bracelet that goes with this story can be found here.
Though this happened long long ago, Coyote still admires himself in the moon's surface every day.
And each night he thought about how beautiful he was, silvery like the moon, as he ran swiftly past the trees and rocks.
Every day, early in the morning, Coyote would venture out.
He would walk down to the lake and see his reflection there. And Coyote would think again how beautiful he was.
But then the time of great coldness came. Snow covered everything. And while Coyote could admire himself at night, during the day, the lake that was his mirror was covered in snow.
Not only was there little to eat. To make matters worse, Coyote could not see himself in the shimmering waters. Finally, with hunger gnawing at him, Coyote made his way toward the place where the sun set every night, looking for the warmth from its rays, and for the crystal lakes that would show Coyote his image once again.
Still the ground was frozen, and still there was little to eat. At night, Coyote would pause from his hunting and his travels and would still look up at the moon to see his reflection.
Coyote passed frozen prairies until he reached a new place, with soaring mountains of red. At last there was less snow, and an occasional rabbit to eat. Coyote thought about staying in this new place. It was a warmer place, but there were no lakes in which he could see himself each morning. That night, as he looked at the moon, he thought: if only I had the moon each day, I would not need the lakes I left behind. And so a plan was hatched.
That night, when it was almost morning, Coyote climbed to the top of the highest mountain he could find, as close to the moon as he could reach Then with a mighty leap he snatched the moon down. It slipped between the yucca plants and the pinon trees until it landed on a wide flat space.
Coyote looked at the morning sky. The moon was no longer there, but it was not needed, for the sun took over the sky in the daytime. Coyote looked down, and there was the moon, his moon, shimmering and placid like a lake. Coyote stared into it and once again, saw his reflection and once again thought how beautiful he was.
That night, when Coyote went out to hunt, the moon quietly slipped back up into the sky to shine.
But each morning, when Coyote returned from the hunt and came to admire himself, the moon was there, ready to reflect for him.
The bracelet that goes with this story can be found here.
Though this happened long long ago, Coyote still admires himself in the moon's surface every day.
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