Before We Set Sail – A Visit to the Perez Art Museum Miami

March 14, 2019 by

We arrived at the ship’s berth at noon and we were set to sail for Cuba at 6 pm. The buffet was beckoning as were the lounge chairs and the sparkling pool, but we were docked within view of the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). We grabbed a plate of food, knowing there would be plenty of gastronomical experiences in the coming week, and grabbed a taxi to take advantage of an afternoon to see some art before we set sail.

  • Perez Art Museum
  • Miami Florida

PAMM is celebrating its 35th anniversary, though they have only been at this site since 2013. A minimalist building with great views — inside and out.

For Those in Peril on the Sea by Hew Locke

Once inside the art museum’s entrance, we were greeted by an impressive array of colorful vessels, all suspended from the high atrium’s ceiling.

“… the installation creates the impression of a massive exodus taking place throughout the architectural space above the viewer. It features a broad range of vessel types, from cigarette boats, catamarans, and cruise liners to ragged fishing skiffs and timeworn cargo ships

Part of the installation For Those in Peril on the Sea by Hew Locke

“In light of Miami’s history as the site for numerous waves of immigration—particularly from the Caribbean, and specifically by sea—For Those in Peril on the Sea will have a particular resonance for the Museum’s audiences.”

~ from PAMM website
Our Reflection in art by Anish Kapoor. Untitled, 2013.
  • Man with Axe
  • Man with Broom

This is only a tiny portion of the expansive installation in miniature by Liliana Porter. El hombre con el hacha y otras situaciones breves – Venecia 2017 (The man with the axe and other brief situations – Venice 2017)


The gallery with a view. It was a popular place for selfies and too-numerous-to-count photo ops for several young women. I eventually decided I didn’t have enough time nor patience to wait and so took a photo of the view plus Bob plus strangers. There were other things to see, but one of my first views of the Atlantic Ocean was still a highlight.

Kerry James Marshall b. 1955 Campfire Girls 1995

Marshall has long emphasized the importance of creating ordinary representations of black people at leisure, representations that are largely absent from the history of painting.

from PAMM exhibit

while the dew is still on the roses . . . presents the work of Kingston-born artist Ebony G. Patterson (b. 1981). The most significant presentation of the artist’s work to date, the project includes examples of the artist’s work produced over the last five years, embedded within a new installation environment that references a night garden.

~ from Perez Museum of Art Miami website
night garden begins here

This was my favorite exhibit – a large darkened room filled with the artist’s “drawings, tapestries, videos, sculptures and installations that involve surfaces layered with flowers, glitter, lace and beads…”

Teresa Margolles b. 1963 La gran America (America the Great), 2017

Handmade cobblestones made from dirt and clay collected from both sides of the Rio Grande, fired and set into a wall installation.

Window View at PAMM © 2019 Bo Mackison
Geometrics – a Found Walk-Through-Sculpture Staircase ©2019 Bo Mackison
A View of the Harbor with Cruise Ships in the Background ©2019 Bo Mackison

Filed Under: Art Museums, Photography, Travel Tagged With: , , ,

On Our Way

March 12, 2019 by
Getting the Message… Fly to Miami. Okay!
I love flying above Chicago!
And flying through puffy clouds is the prettiest…
Chicago to Miami (to Havana)
  • Flying over the Everglades
  • What an Incredible View
Descending into Miami – look at all that GREEN!
Filed Under: Photography, Travel Tagged With: , , ,

Traveling to Cuba – The Beginning

February 20, 2019 by
Why We Planned a Trip to a Warmer Clime ©2019 Bo Mackison

February 20. There were lots of reasons to travel to Cuba this winter. The weather in Wisconsin was a big factor.

Traveling with Tom Bihn © 2019 Bo Mackison

I packed two suitcases to within a few ounces of our allowable limits. Since we were flying from Chicago O’Hare to embarkation destination of Miami, I packed our handy overnight bag with two changes of clothes, our necessaries, shoes (so we could leave our boots behind), a book for each of us, and a few art supplies.

  • First Beer
  • Always a Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza
  • Always a Salad, Too

There are traditions. Whenever we fly from Chicago, we make time for a stop at one of our favorite pizza places.

Weather? Check!

A quick check of the weather in Cuba vs. the weather in Wisconsin confirms what we expected. The weather will be about 70˚ wartmer in Cuba than back home.

Filed Under: Photography, Travel Tagged With: , ,

Camper’s Ode to Friendship

November 13, 2018 by

Squee ©2018 Bo Mackison

There’s a squee sign on my kitchen counter
and a mountain of dirty clothes still packed in my suitcase.
There’s a mailbag whose contents I’m reluctant to explore.
If I wait will the holy presence of camp linger even longer?

There’s a fire flickering in my fireplace
but no monster-costumed campers are leaning in
warming their hands and chortling
at the ineffectiveness of paper products as kindling.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Story Tree, Oh Glory Be © 2018 Bo Mackison

There’s a red maple stretching into the sky just beyond my window
but its branches are a stark silhouette against the gray November sky.
Not one leaf remains; no blaze of glory yellow foliage,
no story tree sign, no campers rolling in the leaves and laughing.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Rocking Chairs, Cabin 38; Site of Shenanigans ©2018 Bo Mackison

There are no forever friends rocking on my back porch
sharing stories of struggles and victories; telling jokes to shrieks of glee.
The only sounds are the shuffle of the wind through tall grasses
and the squawk of Canada geese flying overhead.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Camp Mail Bags Filled with Love ©2018 Bo Mackison

I try my hardest to fill four days of camp with memories enough
to last a year, a lifetime even. I memorize your smiles; I recall our conversations.
I hang your art on my studio walls and pin your notes on my bulletin board.
I treasure my horde of 20 thingies as if they’re gifts from the gods — they’re that precious.

All ways to see you, to hear you, to know you all are with me still.

Make a Wish ©2018 Bo Mackison

This year I make a promise to myself– to keep in touch
and not through mental telepathy which leaves a lot to be desired.
No, this introvert will text and pick up the phone. I’ll send postcards and write letters.
I’ll keep the spark of connection shining, oh, so bright. So bright.

Tribute to Lynn Buckler Walsh  (1956-2018) ©2018 Bo Mackison

This year I’ll leave nothing to chance; I’ll not take for granted that we’ll
be together again. My Life-is-a-Verb [life-saver] Camp friends,
I treasure your presence. And no matter how we connect in the future–
across a table, over a phone line, or simply by gazing into a starry sky…

I see you, I hear you, and I know you all are with me still.

~~~~~

We celebrated the life of fellow camper Lynn Buckler Walsh at this year’s Life is a Verb Camp. Tears were shed and our hearts both ached with grief and filled with love in community.

Amazing friendships develop at Patti Digh’s Life is a Verb Camp. Connections with community last a lifetime and more. If you have ever considered LIAV Camp, now is the time to act. Registration is open and discounted registration is available through November 15, 2018.

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Creativity, Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: , , , ,

Autumn Color in the Blue Ridge Parkway – Cherokee to Asheville, NC

November 11, 2018 by

Driving the Blue Ridge Pkwy ©2018 Bo Mackison

The idea is to fit the Parkway into the mountains as if nature has put it there.
~ Stanley Abbott, Landscape Architect for the Parkway

What a grand day for an autumn color drive! The sun was bright, the trees were in peak colors at the lower elevations, and, surprisingly, the traffic was minimal on a Monday in late October. We were heading to Hendersonville, North Carolina, en route to Patti Digh’s Life is a Verb Camp. (More on camp coming in later posts — it’s my annual recharge!)

We left the Cherokee Visitors Center in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park around noon and headed south towards Asheville.

Groundbreaking for the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was in late 1932, but it was officially dedicated on September 11, 1987, fifty-two years after construction began.

After President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Virginia’s first Civilian Conservation Corps road building camp where they were building the Skyline Parkway through the new Shenandoah National Park, he approved a similar CCC project, with the intention of creating jobs in the rural areas of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Blue Ridge Vista ©2018 Bo Mackison

Plenty of opportunity to pause and gaze at the scenic mountains in the distance. It makes for slow travel, but every stop is worth it.

Log Hollow Overlook ©2018 Bo Mackison

Trees! Shades of oranges and reds, yellows and browns, with a scattering of evergreen green. Log Hollow Overlook offers a stunning view of Looking Glass Rock, one of the largest masses of granite in the Eastern United States. This rock gets its name from the shimmering mirror effect when sunlight hits its surface after a rainfall.

Blue Ridge Parkway ©2018 Bo Mackison

Nearly 200 parking areas and overlooks were incorporated into the Parkway’s deisgn so that motorists could enjoy a leisurely ride through the mountains. The road rises to 6,000+ feet at Richland Balsam Overlook in North Carolina. Up and down and around every curve — beauty!

Blue Ridge Autumn Glory ©2018 Bo Mackison

We only drove about 70 miles on the Parkway, but it was a leisurely drive — is it possible to have a drive too leisurely on this scenic road? — with many stops at the overlooks and a desert and coffee break at Mt. Pisgah Inn. This inn, at nearly 5,000 ft elevation, is the highest place for lodging on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Imagine how gorgeous is the view from the motel rooms’ balconies! (Sorry, no photos of the Pisgah Inn — we were in a hurry to get to our cabin in Hendersonville by night fall!)

Filed Under: Photography, Travel Tagged With: , , , ,
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