Bleeding Hearts

April 18, 2011 by 12 Comments
String of Hearts

Hometown Hearts © 2011 Bo Mackison

“Solo in Tucson” is over.

Sherpa and I left Tucson on Thursday morning and spent the first night of our “going home” road trip at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino just south of Albuquerque. Friday we planned to drive to Wichita, Kansas before stopping for the night, but high winds and blowing dust plagued us from noon until after five p.m.

After I counted the eighth semi rollover in a two-hour period — trucks sprawled upside down in the roadside ditch — I went searching for a map and a closer stopping place. We ended up staying in Liberal, Kansas, four hours behind schedule. Fortunately, Saturday dawned calm and sunny, and after thirteen hours of driving, we reached our third night’s destination, Quincy, Illinois.

Quincy is my hometown, and as a child, I lived in a huge brick apartment house with my parents, my grandparents and my great-grandmother. I was frequently sent to pick a bouquet of flowers whenever someone wanted some spring color in one of the rooms. In April, my flower of choice was the beautiful bleeding heart. It never failed to bring a smile to the face of the recipient. Or to me.

Bleeding Heart Bush

Bleeding Heart Bush © 2011 Bo Mackison

On Sunday morning, our last day of travel, we stopped at the old house. The home is vacant and in disrepair, but I could see part of the back garden from the road, the greenery overgrown and leaning against the side yard fence. And I could see the bleeding heart bushes covered with hundreds of blooming flowers.

I grabbed my camera and quickly took a few photographs of my childhood garden. The bleeding heart plant is one that never ceases to thrill me, its many branches supporting strings of bright pink hearts. What a lovely and unusually shaped bloom.

And then Sherpa and I hit the road, and arrived home Sunday evening. We unpacked the art trailer before we collapsed in bed, quite exhausted.

My spectacular journey, “Solo in Tucson,” comes to an end.

All totaled, I spent 78 days in Tucson and Arizona, and wrote 62 blog posts about my travels, the art fairs I did in Tubac and Tempe, and the many places I explored and photographed in the Southwest.

During my travels, I was grateful to all who regularly visited my blog. Last Thursday, I announced a drawing for some of my photography as a token of my appreciation. Today, as promised, I announce the winner.

The winner of the drawing, picked using a random number generator, is Robin, a writer/photographer I often visit on her blog, Life in the Bogs.

Congratulations, Robin! I’ll be in touch soon.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She spent the last 10 weeks living Tucson while exhibiting in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art, and living life “solo” in the desert. Bo’s “Solo in Tucson” adventure is over, but the memories will last forever. And who knows — maybe there will be a “Solo in Tucson 2012”!

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Views from Kitt Peak Road

April 17, 2011 by 4 Comments
View from Kitt Peak

View from Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

Kitt Peak rises 6,875 feet above the Sonoran Desert floor.

As the road snakes up the side of the mountain, the views dramatically change from unending desert to juniper-pinion scrub to snow covered mountain peaks.

Tohono O'odham Land

Tohono O’odham Land © 2011 Bo Mackison

Kitt Peak which includes Kitt Peak National Observatory is surrounded by the Tohono O’odham Nation which covers nearly 4,000 square miles of land in several Arizona counties. The land for the observatories is leased from the Tohono O’odham.

Dusting of Snow at 8,000 Feet
Dusting of Snow © 2011 Bo Mackison

The Quinlan and Baboquivari Mountains are part of the Kitt Peak range.

When we visited in early April, there had been several days of cloudy weather and intermittent snow showers. Here the peaks still have a dusting of snow, even though the temperatures on the desert floor were in the mid 80s.

Last Reminder: I am having a drawing for one of my Arizona or Botanical photographs (11″ x 14″) or a set of photo art note cards in appreciation of the support my blog readers offered while I was “Solo in Tucson”.  To enter the drawing, here is the information about the contest and directions on how to enter. (Last day to enter is Sunday, April 17. Winner will be announced on Monday, April 18.)

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Kitt Peak Visitor Center and Mosaic

April 16, 2011 by 2 Comments
Kitt Peak Visitor Center

Kitt Peak Visitor Center © 2011 Bo Mackison

Kitt Peak Visitor Center at the National Observatory is the hub for dispersing visitor information and has exhibits and a gift shop. I must say, however that one of my favorite parts of the building is the mosaic artwork on the building. In fact, I was so fascinated by the mosaic and its amazing mix of colors and shapes, I took quite a few close-up photographs of the mosaic.

I also intended to take a photo of the entire mosaic, but there were other visitors nearby so I planned to finish after we looked at the observatories. Oops. Looks like that will have to be a next time project. I forgot about the mosaic photo until I’d driven down the mountain and was approaching the exit gate. Twelve mountain miles away.

Kitt Peak Mosaic IV

Kitt Peak Mosaic IV © 2011 Bo Mackison

Here are a sampling of the close-ups of the mosaic. You’ll have to do the interpreting.

Kitt Peak Mosaic VII

Kitt Peak Mosaic VII © 2011 Bo Mackison

Love all these blue shades. Full of symbols, too.

Kitt Peak Mosaic I

Kitt Peak Mosaic I © 2011 Bo Mackison

And all these marvelous shimmering layers of color.

Kitt Peak Disc Art

Kitt Peak Disc Art © 2011 Bo Mackison

One last photograph of another piece of art I photographed on Kitt Peak, this a welcoming disc in the visitors’ parking lot.

I haven’t found any info about the art or artists, but when I have better access to internet research I’ll add whatever I find.

(Last post from Kitt Peak is next — the scenery from the mountain peak plus the inner workings of a gigantic telescope.)

Reminder: I am having a drawing for one of my Arizona — or Midwest — photographs or a set of photo art note cards in appreciation of all the support my blog readers offered while I was “Solo in Tucson”.  To enter the drawing, leave a comment on the April 13 post — check out the contest information and directions on how to enter.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has been living in Tucson for the last ten weeks, exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” Bo is on her way back to Wisconsin, but will do a few more posts from her last days in Arizona.

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Leaving Arizona With Thanks and a Give-Away

April 13, 2011 by 15 Comments
Follow the Rainbow

Follow the Rainbow © 2011 Bo Mackison

Tomorrow the trip home begins. I am almost packed, the condo has been cleaned, the trailer that holds Seeded Earth Studio while we are on the road is hitched to the car. And Sherpa flew in last night so he could immediately turn around and accompany me on the drive home, half way across the country. If all goes as planned, we will cross nine states in the next four days and be back in Wisconsin sometime Sunday.

It’s hard to believe I have been in Tucson for the last ten weeks. What an dream come true! I have learned much on my “Solo in Tucson” adventure – I’ve had many new experiences, been well-introduced to the Sonoran Desert, and grown in totally unexpected ways. These months in Arizona have provided me with a great beginning. Now it is time for me to return to Wisconsin and continue the work at home.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my blog readers who have followed me on my adventure. Many of you returned day after day. And many of you left wonderfully supportive comments. Once in awhile, I even heard you cheering! While I loved being in Arizona, some of the time it was difficult to be alone, to face work I needed to do, to stay with the plan. Your visits, either quietly or with comments, were greatly appreciated.

As a way of thanking you for your support, I am having a give away contest. One lucky commenter will receive either an 11″x 14″ photograph from either my Southwest or my Midwest collection, or a set of five photo note cards. Your choice. (Details will be sent to the winner.)

To enter the random drawing for one of these prizes, just leave a comment on today’s post. It would be great if you would mention one of your favorite Arizona posts from my “Solo in Tucson” experience, but to be in the drawing, any comment will qualify.

I will randomly choose one winner from the comments left on this post between Wednesday, April 13 and Sunday, April 17, 2011. The winner will be announced on the Seeded Earth blog on Monday, April 18, 2011.

Now it’s time for me to finish the last minute details before Sherpa and I watch one last Arizona sunset!

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Organ Pipe Cactus — Another Visit

March 22, 2011 by 8 Comments
IMG_1781

Organ Pipe and the Whirling Cloud

I’m feeling quite a lot like this organ pipe cactus–all askew on my base of support, a bit in disarray, not knowing which direction I should be heading next. And in my tangled chaos, I need to pull out some organization and steady work habits.

The Tempe Art Festival begins this Friday, March 25 and goes through Sunday, March 27. I was notified of a recent booth change for Seeded Earth Studio which appears to be to my benefit. I am now located on Mill Street between University and Seventh and I have a corner booth. Now I am imagining a number of corner booth set-ups, both in my head and on paper. Of course, I never really make the final set-up decision until I am there, rearranging the panels like it’s a giant toy puzzle.

I’ll be pre-occupied for the next few days–putting the finishing touches on my hand crafted cards, assembling the sets, and making a card insert for each set. There are five new sets, all with an Arizona theme — desert botanical, desert landscape, Arizona National Parks, Mission at San Xavier del Bac, and Tumacacori Mission.

I also need to check each of my new prints and photo canvases–part of my quality control. There will be  first-time-exhibited photographs of Arizona at the Tempe show. I will probably keep checking them–a bit compulsively–until they are safely hung on the booth’s walls or placed in a print bin. But I want my booth to be perfect when the clock strikes 10:00 a.m. on this Friday and the first visitors come into the Seeded Earth Studio booth. I’m quite excited!

Now…back to work!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson through the first week in April, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts,  and blogging about “Bo goes solo”. She is also scrambling to get everything in top-notch order for her upcoming show.

Filed Under: Nature Explorations, Travel Tagged With: , , , , ,
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