Magpie Pie Tales-Points of Life



Wheat Field with Rising Sun, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

Resting on a mountain top
A cool wind moves across
The valley
Revealing a field of color
Alive and moving
A patchwork of light
Memories
Float through my mind
Max jumping over a fence
My nephews laughing 
A first glance from the man I love 
Red hot

Canyonlands

Zion

Bryce

Blue Sky

New Mexico

Dust and grit

Of the trails and life

White cool 

Smooth genius of

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne

Rustling of olive leaves in Tuscany

A gondolier's oar as it moves

Through the Grand Canal

Like a wildfire

Moments of time

Speed through my mind

So many

Points of light

Life

Eagles cry

As I descend

The future before me.

 

C.M. Jackson 2011

 

 

 

 

This is a Magpie Tale----paint your way here for more color!

 

 



Magpie Tales-Blown Away

This is love
Gondolas rock with the tide
Your hand resting on my shoulder
As the pale morning sunlight rises
Parting the curtains revealing
A city suspended in light
Art and arias
Waiting to be discovered
As we walk hand in hand
Our continuum revealed
Like molten glass
Murrine and millefiore
Fiery red
Azure blue
Venetian gold
Reflected in our eyes
Sipping wine
Frozen in time
Always there
Rocking
Glistening
Never forgotten.

C.M. Jackson 2011


This is a Magpie Tale---drift on over here to read more flights of fancy!

Focus

for those of us who love photography there is a new technology and camera that makes all those photos we wished were better but aren't..this is amazing and yet,scary...focus on the possibilities...love to hear what you think.....

A Room with a View-Los Angeles Part II

Museum and libraries have always provided me with a sense of peace and hope---Peace because they are so quiet, it lets my overactive mind slow down, just look and absorb. Hope because once my mind slows down and absorbs, I am in awe of the possibilities that exist in this world.


So in November 2010, I found myself in Los Angeles on a business trip and truly a stranger in a new land. Thankfully, a dear friend was there to guide me though the wilderness and bring me to a place that I could feel at home. The Getty is perhaps the best way to comprehend all that is Los Angeles, impossible, improbable, large but approachable and just perfect in its imperfection.

Magpie Tales-Food

Magpie Tales 67

Linseed
Turpentine
Oil glistens 
Brush resting
Painting speaks
Of possibilities
My dinner and
Fate awaits
Grinding
Cadmium red
Vermilion
Silver white
Cobalt blue
Risks taken
In hope
Of a feast
For the eye


C.M. Jackson 2011

This is a Magpie Tale----Fly here for strokes of creativity

A Room with a View...

in Chicago of the John Hancock Tower from the Sofitel Water Tower. This was my fifth or was it seventh visit to Chicago?  Hard to remember because Chicago is an annual business trip which means that I don't get to do much other than work....

With the exception of a trip eight years ago with my niece and best friend to visit American Girl and the tremendous museums the city has to offer, it is always been "fly in and fly out" within two days.

Due to the increased airfare for short term business travel this year (e.g $900.00 for two nights vs. $250.00 for a three night stay), I decided to stay and walk about for an afternoon and evening before I made my way back to O'Hare and home.

My first wish was to re-visit the Art Institute of Chicago and say "hello again" to the O"Keefe's there. However, as I got closer, I realized quite a bit had changed. Millenium Park, built over railyards and abandoned land, had been completed while I was flying in and out of Chicago over the last six years. Frank Gehry not only designed the concert pavillion but also a winding bridge that connects the park to another pavillion and the waterfront.

Chicago's motto "Urbs in Horto" (City in a Garden), evident in the numbers of trees and plantings throughout the city, continues with the thoughtful design of green space and public spaces throughout Millenium Park.

I can say I've been to the Bean! .... a curious and enormous stainless steel sculpture named "Cloud Gate" that looks like, yup, a bean.

Great place to people watch as they gaze at their reflections and the city skyline reflected back at them.

Continuing on, I found Lurie Gardens and Gehry's walkway which I could probably spend days gazing at and photographing... 

The Art Institute of Chicago, guarded by this fellow,

has added a new Modern Art wing since my last visit. So not only did I get to see Georgia's Sky above Clouds IV again, gaze at Van Goghs and some Hoppers but I also walked through the new wing and viewed a great selection of photography, paintings and sculpture. This museum is one of the great ones that should be on everyone's 'must see' list. 

Chicago is an amazing and beautiful city. On my last night the streets and public places were abuzz with the upcoming marathon. I haven't even mentioned the architecture, the food, the neighborhoods, the river tour and the people that make it delightful and unique. Next visit.

Monday Morning Wake Up Call-King Tut

Mr. Jackson and I visited the King Tut exhibit in Times Square and had almost as much fun as Steve Martin did doing this bit. An extensive review of King Tut's family and antiquities, the exhibit made me want to learn more. If you can, check it out. Until then, dance along with Steve and have a great week!

Poetry as Music

In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought this might be of interest. From my favorite radio station, NPR, an interview with Natalie Merchant talking about her latest work, Leave your Sleep, and how she sets poetry to music--a lovely listen! Enjoy!

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

If you look at zero you see nothing; but look through it and you will see the world.

- Robert Kaplan

A Raven's Call

Mr Jackson and I traveled to New Mexico last year for Indian Market and were very lucky to stay at Casa De Las Cuervas.



Located in the historic Guadalupe/Railyard District of Santa Fe, this amazing adobe was close to the Plaza so we could walk to and fro but not be in the midst of the madness that consumes Santa Fe during the market.



What made our stay extraordinary was not only the presence of Mercede Velarde's art and the collection of American Indian antiques but the presence of Mercedes and her partner, Mary Leonard checking in on us to make certain we were enjoying our visit. We spent many mornings and afternoons talking about Santa Fe, life, politics and the hope we had for the future.



Since then we have continued our garden talks via email keeping tabs on the happenings in Santa Fe.

Mr. Jackson and I hear the call of the raven and are working our way back, looking forward to experiencing the enchantment and wisdom we felt during our stay.

But is it art?

The Gates.

As promised, I am posting a few more shots
which give different perspectives. Having spent the day watching the Gates move with the wind, viewing them as the sun warmed the material to deeper shades of orange, I found myself inspired to write. The creative synapses were recharged and firing away. To me that's point of art, it is an experience that creates energy and emotion.

Let me know you think--what does art mean to you?