Ladybug Golf Balls: 1 ' 20

Bruce spotted a ladybug painted onto a golf ball  on one of  the craft blogs I follow.

 He decided that they might make cool gifts for some of our friends.  

              

He set to work on painting some of his older practice balls.  Soon he had  made enough for  both our golfing and our gardening friends ( plus a half dozen for us) .  Then he scattered them in random and unexpected places around their yards.

Hopefully they won't try to play golf with them.

2018_ Sisters Vacay: 6 '18

 So much to do and see with so little time to do it in

Friday was spent getting a tour of  Bruce and Cece's home,

 exploring Pawleys Island and Huntington Beach State Park beaches,

and, of course,

Having a beach front lunch at  the Litchfield Inn.

Saturday,  we were all up for a a visit to BrookGreen Garden's  in Murrells Inlet.

The children's garden was a big hit and brought out the play in everyone.

Of course there were lots of photo ops

Brothers

for family groupings

Sisters

Aunt and Niece

Spouses

Jeannie and Bernard Baruch

and individual  shots

Dave and Don Quixote

After several hours of  walking the  beautiful but expansive gardens,

we were all ready for  a cooling drink in the shade of the old kitchen patio

But we couldn't tarry too long 

or we would have missed our river boat tour of the BrookGreen ricefields .

The hour long boat tour  through Brookgreen's tidal creeks was not only informative, but gave us a much needed chance to rest our legs.

And then we were off and running again to see a craft show,

 followed by spending the rest of the day at Pawleys Island Beach

Mom's Day at the Zoo: 5'18

To  celebrate Mother's Day  we took a short road trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Riverbanks Zoo has the usual collection of  exotic animals 

both large  and small.

Out personal favorites were the birds  all of which looked healthy and happy.

The flamingos were so pink  and perfect they looked like animated statues,

and their King Vultures were so pleased with their habitat

that they posed for photos for their fans

But the attractions didn't stop at the wildlife exhibits.

There is really something for everyone here

For the little one there is a demonstration farm complete with a barn where the little ones can pet baby farm animals or take a pony ride 

For the middle school the is a rock climbing wall 

and a water park

And for seriously athletic big kids there is a tree high jungle gym ,

or a hiking trail that takes you across the Saluda River,

complete with historical markers posted along the way.

For  the culturally minded there is a  grassy slope which is perfect to picnic while listening to  an open air concert. 

CC's  personal favorite part of the Riverbanks Park is the Botanical Gardens

To get there you take a short tram ride a through a lush ravine along the Saluda River.  The main garden is divided into two portions:

On the right as you enter is a  cottage garden  filled with antique roses,

beautiful cut flowers,

And lots of nooks to sit back and enjoy the setting.

On the left  is a formal garden set out in a pattern of geometric plots

filled with colorful exotics.

We arrived at a time between seasons.   To keep the portions of the garden  visually interesting, while  waiting for the summer foliage to fill in, the staff utilizes a lot of colorful garden crafts,

and  lots and lots of bold foliage potted plants

In fact, art and craft  is used throughout the entire grounds of both the  zoo and gardens  to enhance  otherwise utilitarian  objects, like: 

 directional maps, and  signage,

 and as barriers to keep people from walking of the official path.

Arts, crafts, lots of exotic plants and animals.... it was CC's idea of the perfect  place to spend Mother's Day!

Gallery Hopping in Sedona: 6' 15

Having had our morning hike cut short by the searing heat had one big advantage... it gave us some much needed time to browse Sedona's Fine art galleries right after they opened in the morning and before they were too crowded with other tourists. 

CC Gallery Hopping at Tlacapaque

The entire city is dotted with far more Fine Arts and Crafts Galleries than we had time to see on this trip, but of those we did visit, our favorites were:

The Rowe Gallery

Located in the Tlacapaque Fine Art Craft Village has some wonderful western and plein air art on display

Rowe Gallery Interior

For more on this gallery go to: http://www.rowegallery.com/indexnew.html

Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art

Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art is one of the largest fine art galleries in the world. It has an impressive 20,000 square feet of art display that includes every style from classical to contemporary including amazing bronze and stone sculptures, original oil and acrylic paintings, fine art jewelry, and an array of glass art.

glass wind sculpture

It is hard to choose a personal favorite from the over 10,000 pieces of art in this gallery, but if we had to pick our personal favorites it would probably be one of the whimsical mobile wind sculptures which line the outside of the gallery's courtyard and entrance.

mobile / wind sculpture

For more a video view of the interior gallery go to http://www.sedona.tv/exposures/exposures-fine-art-gallery-sedona.htm

Sedona Art Center Gallery

Sedona Arts Center is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to nurturing creative discovery, learning and sharing through arts education and artistic development. It's school hosts over 200 diverse learning opportunities each year including community classes with exceptional instructors, and unique workshops with nationally-known artist. The Center's Fine Art Gallery showcases the largest selection in Sedona of artwork by local artists. CC loved the collection of plein air oil and pastel landscapes she invited her artist sister Maria to visit the Center's gallery with her again later in the week.

Photo Courtesy of Sedona Fine art Center Gallery

Some of CC's favorite artists who are exhibiting in the Sedona Arts Center Gallery are:

M.L Coleman

Christine Debrowsky

Dave Haskell

Julie Gilbert Pollard

Pat Stacy

For more information on the Sedona Art Center and its Gallery please go to:

http://www.sedonaartscenter.org/