Shadow Shots - Downtown

Here are some shadow shots from when we were downtown in Tucson for the running event a few weeks ago. I just received a summons for jury duty, so it looks like I'll have an opportunity to visit downtown again in December. :D

Streetlights

Thumbs Up

Waiting


For more Shadow Shots Sunday visit Hey Harriet.

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Curiosity

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” ~Nancy Willard


“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” ~Lao Tzu



Curiosity has its own reason for existing." ~Albert Einstein



"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

~attributed to Dorothy Parker or Ellen Parr
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Sunrise Finale



This turned out to be one of the more colorful sunrises I observed this month. I had been watching and taking pictures of it for about a half hour and thought it was done. The sky colors were pleasant, but not very intense. I went back in the house, and when I peeked out the window, the sky looked fiery! So, I hurried out to the street again and snapped these three photos.

Thanks to the Skywatch team: Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia. To view other sky posts or to participate, visit Skywatch Friday.

Update: I posted a reflection of this sunrise here.
You have read this article colors / Skywatch / sunrise with the title October 2009. You can bookmark this page URL http://mariabelgien.blogspot.com/2009/10/sunrise-finale.html. Thanks!

Red Bug Car



I don't usually pay much attention to cars, but this little red one parked on Sabino Canyon Road caught my eye. The car has antennae to make it look like a bug as an advertisement for a pest control service. On the front it says BMW Isetta 300. Isetta microcars were made in the late 1950's to early 1960's. Some nicknames for these little cars have been: "Rolling Egg" or "Coffin on Wheels" in Germany, "Yogurt Pot" in France, "Soccer ball of a Truck" in Brazil, "Little Egg" in Chili.

For more Ruby Tuesday posts featuring the color red, visit MaryT at Work of the Poet.
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Street Scenes

"This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.” ~Plato


"A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living." ~Rudolf Steiner



"What is the city but the people?" ~William Shakespeare



"The life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects. We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it." ~Charles Baudelaire



"The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity." ~Lewis Mumford




“If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them.” ~Francis Bacon, Sr.




"The City is a perfect Mandala.
Its radiant pathways
Channel divine
Activity every direction."
~Max Reif



“When you look at a city, it's like reading the hopes, aspirations and pride of everyone who built it.” ~Hugh Newell Jacobsen



"There is no finish line." ~ Nike ad slogan



"A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again." ~Margaret Mead



"The city of happiness is in the state of mind." ~unknown



"Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep." ~Le Corbusier



"Buildings, too, are children of Earth and Sun." ~Frank Lloyd Wright



“Architecture is the reaching out for the truth.” ~Louis Kahn
You have read this article architecture / city / downtown / street scenes with the title October 2009. You can bookmark this page URL http://mariabelgien.blogspot.com/2009/10/street-scenes.html. Thanks!

Ruby Tuesday - Sonora

Sonora is a monumental steel sculpture which stands in front of the main library in the heart of downtown Tucson. Completed in 1991 by artist David Black, the piece is an example of proto-architecture that blends sculptural and architectural elements with abstract imagery from native cultures and the environment.



The pavilion-like roof and arches are designed for people to walk under and the curved benches are for sitting on.
Southwest Native American basket designs are found around the top of the structure.
The huge central ring of the sculpture rests on arrow-like columns.
Sonora also features abstractions of streams, wind and mountains from the desert landscape. The bright red color represents Tucson's mountains at sunset.

I like this reflection of Sonora in the windows of the library. You can see books inside as well as buildings, cars and a red bicycle parked outside.

The sculpture reminds me of a dinosaur. It is a coincidence that the artwork is named Sonora because in 1995 the fossilized remains of a dinosaur were found in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The genus was named Sonorasaurus which means "Sonora lizard."

Unfortunately, I was viewing Sonora when the sun wasn't right for casting shadows of the structure onto the ground. Next time I visit downtown, I'll look for Sonora's shadows.

For more Ruby Tuesday Posts featuring red things, visit Mary at Work of the Poet.
You have read this article architecture / art / downtown / metal / red / sculpture with the title October 2009. You can bookmark this page URL http://mariabelgien.blogspot.com/2009/10/ruby-tuesday-sonora.html. Thanks!

Cactus Monday - Downtown

Our recent trip to Downtown Tucson made me realize how little I know about the city's center. I'm learning that "The Old Pueblo," as Tucson is nicknamed, has many facets that are worth exploring. We did stumble upon some cactus and other plant forms on our quick trip, but we barely scratched the surface.

This is one of two matching metal basket towers on Scott Avenue at Broadway. It appears the bottom of the obelisk has information about the architecture of the area. Something to check out on on another visit.
The top looks like a Hohokam basket filled with prickly pears and some other plants.
A saguaro harvest is taking place on the lower portion of this wall treatment.
Notice the similar shapes of the basket tower and the Native American figure on the tiles.
A saguaro cactus echos the shapes of the archways in the superior court building.
A purple saguaro bus stop shelter:
This was my favorite bus stop:
At first I thought the big flower was a cactus blossom, but the trailing vines and leaves look like they belong to the rose family.
The flower's filaments are twisted steel rebar. I liked their shadows.
Another giant metal flowering plant sprouts out from the ground beside a sidewalk:
More plant forms on walls of buildings:
The artwork below is hard to see because of the busy reflection. The window has a wrought iron saguaro cactus with a bird and a human figure. It's across the street from the Chicago Store on Congress Street.
I'm kind of curious how the muscle man relates to the cactus here. Looks like they might be saying, "cheers!"
Happy Cactus Monday!

For more cactus posts, visit Teri at Teri's Painted Daisies.
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Weekend Reflections - Downtown Tucson

Because of all the buildings with glass windows, downtown is a great place to see reflections. Chris and I were there last Sunday to watch a running event. Maybe we'll go back again someday and spend more time just leisurely walking around.

It was fun looking for distorted lines and abstract designs in reflections:





And there were palm trees galore!


This is my fourth Downtown Tucson post from that whirlwind visit and I still have at least three more to go.

Weekend Reflections is a meme for any type of reflection photos. To participate or see more reflective posts, visit James at Newtown Area Photo.
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