When I was in the car yesterday, I was listening to the evening news on National Public Radio, when “All Things Considered” came on with Ofeibea Quist-Arcton’s report on the September 28 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Conacry, Guinea.  I had heard the

My Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language says that the first definition of “Perverse” is “willfully determined or disposed to go counter to what is expected or desired”.  There are other meanings which are more negative, but I’m

We have all either heard it said, or have said it ourselves, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” This sounds a bit like admitting that we don’t know much about our favorite drinking buddy; what he is like as a husband and father, or son,

Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology, psychiatry and education at the University of Rochester, says, “We’ve found nature brings out more social feelings, more value for community and close relationships. People are more caring when they’re around nature.”  – a quote from

Until the federal government suddenly became interested in the wars between the drug cartels in the area, this seemed a completely ignored quarter of Mexico.  I made this painting after a church trip to Reynosa in the state of Tamaulipas.  Every year we go across the Texas border

Camping and Fishing on the Pedernales River A trip back in time- priceless.  Here is what family vacation meant in central Texas one hundred years ago:  brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents hitched up the horses and mules

I was with my once-a-month dominoes friends today and we enjoyed discussing important topics like the George Strait concert, the kolache recipe, the Nobel Prize committee’s choice for the Peace Prize, our creeping age, and the McDonald’s going in next to the Louvre. 

Why was and is art integral to the daily lives of people who hunt animals for their very existence ?  Why cave painting, why carved bones?  Why decorated pots?  Why temple architecture and decor?  Why artistic quilting just to stay warm?  Why lace?  Why dyes and printing?  Why

For those who are wondering about a way to get a mosaic started, here is a train of thought…   I knew I wanted to make an abstract mosaic of the hooting of a Great Horned Owl (see entry “Sounds in the Dark” from October 1) .  First, I listened to a recording of

For those who have seen the picture of my last mosaic piece, “Seafood”, and have wondered what in the world was going through my mind when I made it, here is the best explanation I can offer.  One day, when I was already working on two other mosaics, I had taken a