Civita di Bagnoregio

As promised, here are a few of the photos I took while I was at Civita di Bagnoregio. The picture above is of myself and a woman that I met while exploring the village. She invited me into her yard to see her "museum," at the cost of a small donation. I was skeptical at first but she wouldn't let me go. I gave her a few dollars and she walked me around her yard. She had paintings, sculptures, beautiful terracotta pots, old trinkets, and the most amazing view ever. I could not stop smiling. Unfortunately the photos of her museum are missing from the pages of my photo album. I'll have to dig a little deeper to find them.

Costa Rica {Part 2}

I am finally getting to this post and I can say, with out a doubt, that unlike my last entry I am ready for summer. I wish I was back in Costa Rica laying on the beach, driving on the dirt roads or watching the cute Brahman cows roam freely. Just like this one...

I also loved these little guys...

Maybe not so much loving these guys...

Let me explain this one. In case they don't look familiar they are called coatis and they are part of the raccoon family. They are super cute but just look at the claws on these coatis! Picture about twelve of them charging your jeep in the middle of the forest. Still think they are cute? Well that's what happened to Peter and I in Arenal. Our little jeep was literally surrounded by hungry coatis. It was insane watching them charge down the road toward us. I'm laughing just thinking about their little bobbing heads and hungry, beady eyes. I almost thought they were going to jump through the window at me. That's about when they stopped being cute, the window went up, picture taking halted and beeping of the horn ensued. Don't worry we didn't hit any of the little guys during our escape. They are very smart.

The landscape in Arenal was pretty much, the polar opposite of Playa Negra. It was lush, green, rainy and cold. It was still beautiful, regardless of the weather. What do you expect from a place also referred to as "The Cloud Forest". It's safe to say that I expected the rain.

We stayed at Lomas del Volcan in these sweet bungalows just outside of La

 Fortuna.

The town of La Fortuna was one of my favorite places. The people were really friendly, I had the best meal of the entire trip there, the scenery was beautiful, and the stray dogs were extremely entertaining.

This trip was amazing and I can't wait to go back and experience more of the country. It really has a lot to offer in the way of beauty and adventure!

Nikki De Saint Phalle

I can tell already that the last post is going to turn into an all out Italian tangent! Just roll with it. 

The research I'm doing is bringing up so many memories from my last trip to Italy in 2000. Since I'm feeling that my return is far over due, writing will have to suffice for the time being.

Let's talk about Niki De Saint Phalle, shall we? 

She is amazing! Her sculptures are so magical. Her use of color illustrates a woman after my own heart. My memories of walking around her Tarot Garden are charged with wonder. I didn't know where to go or what to explore first. I must admit that my first impression wasn't one of interest. I was consumed with the Renaissance then and I wasn't really sure what to think of her outlandish, childlike sculptures. But the more I walked around and  read the poetry in her work, felt the mosaics and let myself be consumed by her world; the more I submitted and fell in love.

Like most works of art of  this scale, photos will just not do it justice. However, here are some pictures I took while I was there.

Justice & Death

The Emperor & The High Priestess

The Empress

The Empress (detail)

Nikki lived alone inside the Empress, what she nick-named the "Sphinx, while finishing the garden. You can view interior photos of The Empress here. In her book  The Tarot Garden, she writes, " This garden was made with difficulties, love, wild enthusiasm, obsession and most of all faith. Nothing could have stopped me. As in all fairy tales before finding the treasure, I met on my path, dragons, sorcerers, magicians and the angel of temperance."

Exploration

So much of what inspires me comes from nature. Whenever I'm out exploring I always take pictures of textures, landscapes, color studies, people and lighting, so that I can pull from these images when I return to my studio. Here are a few photos of the Oregon coast that have inspired me over the summer...

Dunes & CloudsDriftwood TexturesLight Photographs copyright Marisa D. Green 2008