Gallery Juana - photography & art

I sneaked my camera in behind the curtain to get a photo of Sputnik on the window sill.   She was curious what foreign object was entering her space and moved up to check it out. The delicate pattern from the window screen streams across her feline nose and below her cat eyes. Hope you're having a good weekend. Visit Hey Harriet's blog to see more shadow shots.

Summer mornings in central California mean cool breezes with lots of sunshine.  Sputnik usually escapes to her lookout on the windowsill. Hubby has been reading " The Great Escape " by Paul Brickhill.   Lately, I've been wanting to escape into another world by reading a book at night, and I found the incentive to do so.  While in the Etsy forums today, I learned about a book club that just started.   The idea is to create a piece based on a book that members have read, then upload the artwork to the Flickr group.   For more information, visit The Crafty Book Club blog. What is your favorite way to escape into another world?

We took a walk in the old part of town. This statue by Varaz Samuelian has fascinated me since I was a kid.  The copper " David of Sassoon " sculpture weighs two and a half tons. To see more images from around the world, visit the  MyWorld  blog.

My husband introduced me to this cool video. In this video, you're counting how many times the white t-shirts pass the ball to each other (white t-shirts only).

Sifting through things that I had saved over the last 35 years and left in storage has actually been fun and cleansing.   I've thrown most of my stuff away.   The photo above is just a sample of what's gone into the recycling bin, the trash bin or to charity. I am keeping only things that hold memories dear to me.  I did this "cleansing" before I left Japan, fitting 7 years of life there into two suitcases and two boxes.  Now it's about fitting 45 years into as few boxes as possible.  I am a bit of a nomad right now ... staying in California to help my Sister take care of Mom, while my Husband prepares our future home in Mexico.  Like a nomad, we are keeping our possessions limited to what we're willing to move around with us. I got this neon box when I was 7 years old.  My father and I were in a second-hand shop. The colors caught my eye and I had to have it.  The bottom has the initials "R.A.W." and is stamped with the word "Japan."

In my previous post, I asked if you had to choose, which would you be?  A vegetable or a Fruit? Going along with that theme, lets talk California grapes .  The Spanish Friars planted grapes in California in the 1700's.  The average American enjoys about 8 pounds of grapes a year. My Father was an avid gardener. I've been lucky to grow up with having plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in the house  for every season, either from the garden or local growers. Every summer we would make the 40 minute drive to the local Japanese produce farm to buy a box of kyoho grapes. One time my father saved some seeds from the grapes we had bought and planted them. This kyoho grape vine is the testimony of success. Kyoho is my absolute favorite.   I look forward to these grapes every year.   The skin is too thick and bitter to eat.  The flesh is super sweet and mild in acidity. I never paid much attention to the garden, but lately I have gained a larger interest in watching every

Image "Burgandy Carrots fine art photo" courtesy of  PrairieGardenStudio at Etsy . I have settled in California and have been spending a lot of time going through my stuff in storage.  It's been fun going down memory lane. I came across a passage I had written as a university student: "I thought about whether or not I would be a vegetable or fruit?  I think I'd be a carrot.  The main part of the carrot grows underground, hidden, visible only to the person who picks the carrot.  Then there is the green, leafy part which grows above ground, visible to everyone."   What would you be?  A vegetable or a Fruit? I'm looking forward to hearing your answers.