James Turrell's "Joseph's Coat"

http://sarasotavisualart.com/2012/10/james-turrells-skyspace-josephs-coat-expect-the-unexpected-by-pamela-beck/

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http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/

Norman Rockwell Causes An Identity Crisis

beck/http://sarasotavisualart.com/2012/10/norman-rockwell-causes-an-identity-crisis-by-pamela-beck/

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http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/

What People Are Really Doing When They Say That They're Working

I have a very clean house here in Sarasota. There's not a drop of coffee left on the counter where I spilled it this morning. And though I have two dogs, you'd never know it by the sparkling look of things. People might say I'm house-proud but in reality, I just don’t want to get back to work.

To this end, I’ve learned who the sexiest celebrities of 2012 are according to Fandango. I’ve also been able to identify all bird life within a hundred foot radius of my house from the bird book I found under my sofa while Swiffing this morning. And if my Facebook search is accurate, my college boyfriend, who used to have frizzy hair down to his waist many years ago, has now gone completely bald.

Apropos of nothing, if you want to make how'd-she-do-it crepes, the TV talk show I watched while cleaning said all you need is hours of practice; sage advice I plan to comply with later on today.

Do I have any coffee left?  Crepes go well with coffee. Where would I be without my Keurig coffee maker? But there must be a cheaper place to buy those individual pods.  Usually I drink hazelnut but I didn't realize there were flavors like Donut House and Toffee Vanilla as Google revealed. How could these artificial ingredients possibly be good for you? Note to self: scour internet to check safety of coffee ingredients before coffee break this afternoon.

So how much time have I killed with all this already? Just terrible. I must clear my brain and get back to work. Yoga is supposed to help concentration and focus at these moments. Where’d I leave my mat?  Forget it.  I don’t feel like moving anymore.

Maybe I should try to put myself in a meditative state from which I’ll awaken refreshed and ready to go. Having never meditated, I wouldn't know.  But this is what people who do meditate hang over nonmeditators’ heads, like we’re all slackers in the feel-good department.

I’ll get back to work in a minute, but first, the effects of meditation really must be thoroughly examined. For all I know, it could be an elaborate hoax. Maybe it’s made up by people like me who just need a good excuse for napping on company time. 

People always talk about how helpful it is to meditate.  They point to reduced stress and increased clarity.  But for me, there would be another benefit.  I figure that if I could learn how to be "in the moment" any more than I already am, maybe I'd get so sick of myself I'd be dying to get back to work.

Please read my other blog: http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/

The Wilds of My Sarasota Backyard

I felt a burning sensation around my ankles when I stood in the grass with my dogs recently.  Just like film used to develop right before our eyes, bright red circles slowly erupted on my feet and it felt like I had stepped into a bed of ashes. Fire ants.

It’s not that insect adventures don’t happen up north in Ct., from where I’ve moved (although they never did to me).  And it’s not like people from down here didn’t warn me about this. (I thought they were being babies.)  It’s just that at times like this an ex northerner can feel woefully unprepared for the wilds of Sarasota County.

I never had anti-itch spray at the ready in Connecticut or topical balms of any sort. When we walked our dogs up there, we didn’t expect the finale to include flinging ourselves into the pool to save our burning body parts.  No, we thought we’d just take a short stroll and then come back inside after the dogs were done.  

How simple it all seems now.

There's another hidden danger in my backyard. Here's the Sarasota survival tip I’ve learned to avoid that one: don’t remove those dying palm fronds from your trees without gloves.  I assume that most of you reading this already know the reason why this would be foolish.  But I didn’t.  And now I do. Why?  Because when I did this without gloves and was skewered by one of those pointy barbs on the stem, the result was that my index and third fingers, (which soon resembled sausages), wouldn’t move without searing pain for three days.

Apparently, those barbs release some secret serum that enters your system only to inflict misery and swelling.  What?  From a palm tree?   These sorts of unnatural surprises are exactly why I don’t watch horror movies.

There’s none of that in Connecticut.  How dangerous is an apple tree?  A weeping beech?  If we got a scrape, we put on a Band-Aid.  Poison Ivy?  If you haven’t figured out how to spot it by the time you’re ten, you’ve got bigger problems than itchy skin.

But those fire ants were near a potted plant a few steps away from my bourgeois lanai!  It’s not like I was trekking through Myakka Park looking for trouble-  I was just out with the dogs and my morning coffee (before I was wearing it).   And that nasty palm tree is right near the potted plant, looking all “margaritas anyone?” I might add. Duplicitous.

I love living here and have now learned to avoid certain dangers that just come with the territory.  After all, it’s a veritable paradise out there in my Sarasota backyard, when it’s not a battlefield.

Please read my other blog:  http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/

"Art Appreciation Without Meltdowns or Money" for Sarasota Visual Art

http://sarasotavisualart.com/2012/09/art-appreciation-without-meltdowns-or-money-by-pamela-beck/

"Not a Good Enough Painter? Or is She?" for Sarasota Visual Art

http://sarasotavisualart.com/2012/09/not-a-good-enough-painter-or-is-she-by-pamela-beck/http://sarasotavisualart.com/2012/09/not-a-good-enough-painter-or-is-she-by-pamela-beck/

"A Ringling Museum Docent's Story: When a Tour is More than a Tour" for Sarasota Visual Art More than a Tour for Sarasota Visual Art

“A Ringling Museum Docent’s Story: When a Tour is More than a Tour” by Pamela Beck

ARTdart: There are as many ways to think about art as there are to create it. Join Pamela Beck in her column, ARTdart, as she explores and considers the different perspectives that define the art world.  Written For Sarasota Visual Art

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by Pamela Beck

To a young and sensitive child, artistically inclined, a trip to the dramatically beautiful John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the stuff of dreams. Recently a docent who works there shared with me an unusual experience she had while giving a tour. She had taken her group, which included a thirteen year old boy visiting the museum with his parents for the first time, through the elegant unfolding of exquisite and ornate rooms that comprise the Renaissance, Old Master, Baroque and Modern painting galleries.

“This young boy caught my attention right away,” the docent told me. “His eyes sparkled with intelligence and his excitement was contagious. I usually pose questions to the group as we walk through the galleries, as a way to explore the collection further. That boy, Michael, was always the first to answer them. “

Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472-1553). Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St. Jerome in his Study, 1526. Mixed media on wood. 114.9 x 78.9 cm (45 1/4 x 31 1/16 in.). © John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota

Michael liked Lucas Cranach the Elder’s “Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as Saint Jerome.” When the docent asked the group to find the decorative element that appeared in both this painting and the gallery, Michael quickly pointed to the mermaid chandelier with the antlers overhead.

When the docent asked the group which painting best embodies the Renaissance ideals of harmony, symmetry and perspective, as shown through architecture? Michael gestured animatedly towards Piero di Cosimo’s “The Building of a Palace,” where the two wings of the building are identical.

Cosimo, Piero di (1462-1521), “The Building of a Palace”, Renaissance, (Early Italian, “Quattrocento”), Oil on wood, © John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota

When the docent explained the concept of “vanitas” (painted images symbolizing the transience of life, pleasure and inevitability of death) and asked which elements symbolize a transition from one state to another in “Still life with Parrots” by Jan Davidsz de Heem? Michael immediately pointed to the falling lemon peel and upended platter of food spilling to the floor.

The museum’s elegant loggia similarly inspired Michael, who noticed and wondered why the antique columns lining the garden courtyard were of different sizes. “The Ringlings shipped them back from Italy to be incorporated into the museum in some to-be-determined manner,” the docent explained. Michael was fascinated by how this was eventually done: designing bases of different heights and connecting them by arches on top, both of which allowed the columns to balance out their discrepancies and look the same at first glance.

It wasn’t just the docent who was surprised and impressed by the enthusiasm and intelligence of such a young boy. As the tour continued, the docent noticed that the group began to wait and see what Michael would say and where he would point, as if their own appreciation was amplified by witnessing Michael’s curiosity and genuine interest. In this way, the group not only had the pleasure of viewing the art collection, but was also reminded of why people visit museums in the first place: to feel the excitement, pleasure and sense of discovery that Michael did while looking at art and learning about it.

After the tour came to an end, Michael approached the docent by himself. “Thank you so much for such an interesting tour. I’ll never forget it.”

“Thank you for being such an important part of it,” the docent replied, moved by both Michael’s manners and earnest comments. “Have a good life, Michael; I’m sure you will,” the docent added, looking into the clear eyes of someone who was well on his way.

Please read by other blog:http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/http://whatdogsreallythink.blogspot.com/

For Sarasota Visual Art, visit http://sarasotavisualart.com/