Linda & Opie's Burnt Offerings

The Yin Yang of a day Fishing...

went fishing with our friend Guy... he caught a shark!

me... a teeny tiny puffer fish. did I say teeny tiny! 

Oh well... both were released and lived to swim another day!

A trip to Placida and Historic Boca Grande...

There is so much to see in SW Florida - the mind boggles - and while Feb was a bit brisk, March has been perfect for road trips and excursions. Last weekend we visited Placida and Historic Boca Grande.

The Placida Art Market and the Fishery Restaurant is a beautiful way to spend an afternoon. The market takes place about 14 times during the winter season, usually every other Saturday. The art is all original, there's approximately 75 artists and they often change from market to market so it's always a pleasant surprise to see what each market brings!

In addition to the market there are several unique art galleries and shops. It's all very very colorful!

This Gator is happy to greet you and after you've seen it all there's the Fishery Restaurant... Oh My!!! I had the Calamari (of course) and Opie had the sautéed Clams. Yummo into Infinity and we look forward to returning. After lunch we decided to continue on to Historic Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island - just seven miles away over the Causeway. And we were so happy that we did since they were having an Art Show!

The show was great and when we finished we toured Historic Boca Grande to see the sights and were treated to a parade of Banyan Trees which were nothing short of amazing! This one was our absolute favorite...

It was the largest one we had ever seen in the States. For anyone not familiar with Banyan Trees, they are actually a fig tree that starts its life as an epiphyte (a plant growing on another plant) and its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree. Like other fig species (including the common edible fig), banyans bear multiple fruit n structures called syncarps. The Ficus syncarp supplies shelter and food for fig wasps and in turn, the trees are dependent on the fig wasps for pollination and the seeds of banyans are dispersed by fruit-eating birds. The leaves of the banyan tree are large, leathery, glossy green and elliptical in shape. Like most fig-trees, the leaf bud is covered by two large scales. As the leaf develops the scales fall. Young leaves have an attractive reddish tinge.

But what I find most interesting about these trees are the fact that they figure prominently in several Asian and Pacific religions and myths. In Hinduism, the leaf of the Banyan tree is said to be the resting place for the god Krishna and in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna said "There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas."

When I was a young teen I came across and purchased a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. It remains one of my most favorite and treasured books.

In any event... March was a spectacular month and this past weekend was the icing on the cake!

Valentines - Birthdays - Anniversaries... Oh My!!!

What a perfect month! The trifecta of celebrations and it all began with Lobsters! I made them for us on Valentines Day and we had them again at a restaurant on my Birthday. Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum!

 

Yesterday was our 25th & 26th Anniversary. So...  how is that possible you're asking!  Well - we originally got married in Mexico - and then again - on the very same day - one year later - in the States. There is no such thing as too much of a good thing for us!

Then last night we had the most fantastic/delicious dinner at Carmelo's with our close friends Sue & Haich...

The Calamari Fritti appetizer melted in our mouths!

 

I had the Chicken Limoncello - with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes and Capers finished in a Basil Limoncello Cream Sauce. It was divine!

 

 

And Opie had one of his favorite dishes from Italy. Pork Shank Ossobuco. It was like being transported back to Florence!

 

 

And then came the Dessert... Tiramisu... a gift from Carmelo's to celebrate our special day. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. it was like Communion from the Gods... and... the best we ever had!

If you ever find yourself in beautiful Punta Gorda... Carmelo's Italian Ristorante is a must!

 

January...what an exciting month you were!

2015 is off to a very good start. we were in two art shows at the Visual Arts Center here in Punta Gorda, FL - and won two awards!  it's such a wonderful feeling to have your work acknowledged by your peers.

it began in early January with the show The Art of Photography: Life Through the Lens -- and my piece: "A Gondola Ride" -- took 3rd place. the photo was taken in Venice, scanned into my computer, and "painted" with a pen/tablet. it's a process I call "Digitography".

 

 

The second show Wind and Wheels: Interpreting Motion opened Thursday the 29th. Opie and I collaborated for this show and entered one of our most favorite art dolls from our Who's Your Dada book: "Eight - Skate & Rotate" and she too received a 3rd place award. it was extremely exciting for our work to be recognized, as much of the art in Florida is very traditional -- and of course as you all know -- we're not!

 

It's wonderful being able to divide our time between The Berkshires and The Gulf Coast. both places are beautiful, exciting and filled with creative energy! we are truly blessed.  

 

Happy Holidays...

... and wishing everyone a healthy and creative 2015!

Happy Halloween... Here's an Oldie but Goodie...

The Mistress of the Garden: A Halloween Story… of sorts!

 

On this Halloween we thought you might enjoy this Dada and her story that we created for CPS a couple of years ago. Some things are just timeless! 

Holidays are a time to gather together with friends and family, to enjoy life, and to create lasting memories. With so many to celebrate, how can you not have a favorite?  

For Opie and me it has always been Halloween… from the time we were children putting on costumes to go trick or treating, to present-day adult costume parties, telling scary stories, and watching old classic horror movies. Not the blood and guts movies made today, but English Hammer Films, just about anything from Roger Corman, and movies that can raise the hair on the back of your neck, give you goosebumps, and make you afraid of the dark.

The movie Ghost Story comes immediately to mind, and even earlier than that was a black and white movie called Dead of Night, about a man’s recurring dream. I first came across it in the early 70’s and it chilled me to the bone. I was so frightened, I called a friend and we watched it together on the phone! I watched it again in the late 80’s with Opie and it was just as scary.

And speaking of bones and things that go bump in the night, we’d like to introduce you to our newest Dada, the Mistress of the Garden, created especially for the 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and not for the faint of heart.

She came into being as Opie and I wondered what the Mistress of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights would be like… if one existed of course!

The original triptych is in the Prado in Madrid (c.1500) and we are fortunate to have a copy as a result of a friends visit there many years ago. It’s one of our favorites and seems to be simpatico with all that is Halloween.

As we were contemplating this newest Dada, images of Witches, Vampires, Skeletons and Bats immediately sprang to mind, but something was still lacking. While She was both… She was more… She was innocence transformed and transcended.  The Mother of all nightmares who devours the souls of the wicked and the bones of the damned.

But why her and why here? Did she fall from grace or was this her destiny from the beginning. Some things are meant to remain a mystery.

What we can tell you is she started out an innocent doll that somehow came apart and was put back together with old bits and pieces that oddly enough seemed to fit like a glove. Broken toys, discarded doll parts... Frankenstein’s bride personified with the delicate wings of a bat. Eternal, nocturnal, and insatiable. Empty inside, she exists only too feed, but it’s never, never enough.

Many cultures believe that Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve is the most magical night of the year. A night of ghost stories, tricks or treats, costumes, jack-o’-lanterns and séances. A metaphysical night, when the veil that separates “our world” from the “other-world” is the thinnest, and the dead walk among us. A “spirit night” … when thoughts turn to the supernatural.

It is the one night that The Mistress of the Garden is free to roam our realm. If you are pure of heart, have no fear she will not harm you, but if you are not, then beware the slight movement in the shadows, or the faint almost inaudible whispers in the wind, or a sudden chill in the air that feels as if someone just walked across your grave. It is she and she is coming. In the dark. In the night. And she will feast on your bones and bring your soul back to her garden… for all Eternity.

Happy Halloween!

The Mighty Mini...

iPad with Retina Display -- and Keyboard

Hello Beautiful!!!

Terpsichore...The Muse of the Dance

As Summer comes to an end. II leave you with this...
Akua Ink - Drypoint - Chine Colle Happy Sunday!

All Is Well...

...and on a completely unrelated note... This is my first post from my iPad! Who knew... It just never occurred to me that I could blog from here!!! I AM an idiot...lol! This will be a real game changer.