I have managed to catch a cold, and am stuck inside for a day or two here in Toulouse, feeling lousy. I’m not going to try and write much. Instead, I will show you some of the street art from Lyon, Montpellier, Arles, and Toulouse.
I don’t know how much there originally was to this poster. What she’s wearing is called a Liberty Cap, or Phrygian Cap. I think she’s fierce, there on a wall by the Roman Arena in Arles.
Montpellier has some talented collage artists running around!
I took this picture for Ruthie… Lyon really likes giraffes!
We’ve only been here in Toulouse for a few days, but I found these odd bits of cast metal window hardware. Someone has decided their clown faces needed highlighting. Weird, huh?
More for the outside world, tomorrow (fingers crossed).
We moved to Portland, six years ago now, for many reasons. One of the main ones was the quirky, artsy, never-know-what’s-next culture.
For example, this delightful tie-dye inspired picnic table at the Short Box food court by Books with Pictures. Isn’t it pretty?
Up the road, these hard working city employees were laying down some new sidewalks to keep the kids heading to Abernethy Elementary next week nice and safe. I never knew road paint got sealed with a blow torch! It’s hot work on these August days.
At the South Rose garden in Ladd’s Addition, the roses are getting near the end of their season. I love how their whole life cycle can be seen in a small cluster of flowers. The intense pinks are newly bloomed; the paler ones, middle aged; and the white ones, ready to lose their petals. C’est la vie en rose, for sure.
Here’s a twist on the “Make Love, Not War” protests of my teenage years. This one seems to aimed at social media. Make Love, Not Content.
And, getting back to art, this newly painted plaque was installed high on a power pole. The artist, who goes by @mizchaos, has a way with color that I really like. They also use bits of glass for texture, like a made-up mosaic. Nice.
In case you are wondering, yes, I still love Portland!
Portland is a very big city. There are 645,000 (that’s double Salinas), just in the city, with a few million more living in the suburbs and smaller surrounding towns. Many of those people are talented artists.
And there are only so many art galleries, museums, and shops. All the art just won’t fit inside.
So quite a bit of it is outside. This is great! You don’t have to pay to see it, or even go out of your way. It is right there on the way to store or whizzing by the bus window.
When I talk about Art Outside, I distinguish between streetart, which takes planning, care and talent, and graffiti, which just takes a can of spray paint. Graffiti people, who call themselves “taggers” usually have a signature set of letters that they spray wherever they can reach, like a kid writing their name on the wall.
To me, this isn’t art. It is vandalism. People spend their time and money to cover up the graffiti, or wash it off. Art outside is a perfect reflection of people’s ability to make their world better, or worse.
Graffiti spoiling a Gary Hirsch mural
I love returning to a neighborhood after a few months and seeing a new mural. “How long has that been here? It’s so cool!”
We have been in corona virus shut down for two months now, and we have gotten better at it. I no longer forget my mask (and have to go back for it), and I keep an eye up to avoid getting too close to folks. Most people in this part of Portland are wearing masks, but a troubling number, especially those old enough to know better, are not.
Photo credit: Kathy Williams
With Grandpa Nelson having the fevers, fatigue, and general crappy feeling that come with a touch of Covid-19, we are staying home even more. Auntie Bridgett and I get our outside time when we walk to the market for groceries. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are both taking care to keep their carts clean and folks well apart, limiting the number of people in the store.
Safeway is larger and less diligent, but has put in arrows to show “one way” aisles and big dots on the floor to remind folks to socially distance. Even our local Stumptown coffee has painted horse shoes on the sidewalk for safe sidewalk ordering.
A safely socially distanced coffee purchase
Although we can now get toilet paper most days, some things are still in short supply. Ginger root, which comes from China, has been harder to find, and most of the garlic is now coming from good old Gilroy, down by Salinas. And there are some amusing new items showing up!
A powerful (apparently) alternative to toilet paper
In the neighborhood, we are seeing the inevitable signs of spring. Giant poppies are charging out of the ground.
Poppies!
Irises up to my shoulder lean against each other like drunken friends.
Irises!
Local artists are making bits to amuse folks. This fellow, who goes by the name “Toast Ghost”, paints images on metal and attaches them magnetically to metal parts of the landscape. We found this one stuck on the bolt of a telephone pole!
Art!
Well, that’s all the news from here for now. More tomorrow!
Dear Liza 