I’ve been teaching a workshop in Tucson this past week for Madeline Island School of Arts (MISA) and having a great time. I love how the students inspire me when I’m working to inspire them! Our last day today, we went for a walk-about in the Barrio Viejo, the old part of Tucson, which is buried by the surrounding sprawl of modernity. But here, the old west survives in the artful care of home owners, who paint their doors and trim different colors, put wonderful flowers outside that contrast with the wall colors, and in general add art to the neighborhood.

Yet despite the updated homes, there are a lot of places that are vacant, or in need of restoration, and our meeting spot had a wall of corrugated metal pieces that were in various stages of rusting mixed with new pieces. The patchwork was very interesting. After I got the group going and their creative juices began to flow, they wandered on their own, and I spotted this piece of metal that was dimpled and pitted. I like the way it caught the blue of sky in areas; that added a neat color design to it. From a simple piece of metal, comes art, and I love it when that happens!

Thanks for visiting,