Chicago Cloud Gate

Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, USA is the home of the  sculpture "Cloud Gate" designed the British artist Anish Kapoor. 

This sculpture is huge - 33 feet high and 66 feet long, and weights 110 tons.  The "gate" in the middle is 12 feet high.  The sculpture encourages you to interact with it - and your reflection in it, which includes the Chicago buildings around you in with your reflection.  As you walk through and around it, you wonder how the sculpture was transported and assembled.  There are no visible seams in the highly polished stainless steel plates.  This was the first public installation of Anish Kapoor's outdoor art in the USA. 

I'm sometimes disappointed with modern sculptures, but this artwork appeals to all ages, and I rate it a 5 out of 5 stars.  A cool and fun hi tech sculpture to welcome in this millennium.

This is a view from the North end of Cloud Gate.  
 

Click on the images to see them larger.
This is my contribution for the 'meme' Scenic Sunday. (I was entry 12 of 70+)
This is my contribution to the 'meme' Outdoor Wednesday. (I was entry 50)

 

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Misty Morning post with another covered bridge photo from Cedarburg



Another Covered Bridge View in this post.




My 1st Scenic Sunday post Elves Chasm, Grand Canyon, USA

Africa collage

When I heard the I Heart faces challenge this week was going to be a collage image, I thought of this poster I created for an exhibit about three years ago.  

In fall of 2006, six members of Crossroads Presbyterian Church from Mequon, Wisconsin, USA, traveled to Swaziland, Africa to meet children they sponsor through World Vision and Crossroad's church.  Crossroad church members individually sponsor over 200 children in Swaziland, an area that has one of the highest rates of children orphaned by AIDS in the world.   

I had the privilege of curating an exhibit from the over 6000 photographs taken by the travelers.  It was a huge undertaking, and I loved it.  I felt like I could have been a National Geographic editor sorting through all the photos, selecting and editing and cropping them with a photographer's eye.   

Because I find faces so fascinating, I created this poster for the exhibit.  I spent hours arranging the individual faces for what I hoped would be the best impact, composition, and balance.  I tried to make the faces face in toward the center, or have eyes of some people interact with other people.  I look now and can see some areas I would change...  Oh well.  That is the process of learning.  Color correcting was a challenge, but in the end I was really happy with my collage accomplishment.  I hope you enjoy it. 

The poster was 24x36 inches, but it seems to display fairly well in this web resolution.  Click on the image to see it larger, then click on the image again to zoom in. 
 
The exhibit's images and stories are available via the web so that others may learn more about Swaziland and the opportunities to help and/or sponsor children in Swaziland and other areas where great need exists.  More information and images from this exhibit can be viewed at www.selepimaging.com at The Swaziland Africa Exhibit 

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Family Portrait

Fun Outtakes

Bundled Up

I am participating in these memes:

I Heart Faces (I was entry no. 20 out of 522).
Mosaic Monday.  (I was entry no. 118 out of 126).

Chocolate Delight

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is actually "I Heart Desserts".  (I was entry no. 24 out of 303).