Patti Gibbons Art

After work Karen, Cody (the dawg) and I went hiking on the Mohonk Preserve. The rail trail is lovely, but it is flat, and can be a bit dull at times, whereas we have lots of choices of hikes on the preserve. As soon as we pulled into the small lot on the farm, the most beautiful blue bird hung out a bit for me to photograph him. At first I thought it was a bluebird, but on closer inspection I found it to be an Indigo Bunting, which I have never seen in all my years of checking out wildlife in the Hudson Valley. It could be a Blue Grosbeak, but I think it a bunting. It was so fabulous, and the beauty of his color made me grin ear to ear. Part of the hike is on old carriage trails, which have some good hills, and if you go at a good pace, affords a great work out. I am in decent shape and I still found myself winded several times. The hike takes you through meadows, woods, and along the Bonticou Crag, pictured here. I have hiked/rock scrambled this crag several years ago, after my...

I have been too busy enjoying the good weather, going for long walks, rides, and working in the garden or studio to be inspired to write. The weather has been glorious, and now that I am home, there is always so much to be done after work. Yesterday evening I attended a fabulous soiree put on by The Center for Photography in Woodstock. It was a "welcome" party for the new interns who will be working there for the summer. It is always a pleasure to meet the young, mainly female college students who are here as photography and art administration interns from various colleges in the U.S. Woodstock is almost always a very interesting experience for these young impressionable students, and I think for the most part, a good one. Great food, great drinks (yumm..those Caribbean Martinis rocked) and even better still, great company. I spent much of my time talking to photographer friend Charise Isis , and CPW's Education Coordinator Liz Unterman. I thrive on the passion that t...

It has been a whirlwind, but a fabulous whirlwind. Sunday - baby shower, given by Megan's friends on base. They gave her a shower with all that they had, and I am proud that I have raised a daughter who cherishes sincerity, friendship and the love with which these girls showed Megan by giving everything they had to give her a shower. These families struggle...I have seen some things that make me even angrier about how our government treats our soldiers. I cannot say some of this publicly, as I don't want to disclose some of the personal struggles of the people I have befriended, but those of you who know me personally can ask me about it. Our soldiers deserve thanks-from us but even MORE so, from the very government who hires them. Though I don't think I would do well on a military base--it is a very different life than I am accustomed to living, I value the experiences I have had there. I left yesterday, had a wonderful flight, even though it was heartbreaking to leave...

I had a day yesterday reminiscent of a day my mother might have had 50 years ago had she not been depressed/social phobic/drunk. While other moms were outside hanging out on their front steps or on lawn chairs while their kids ran in and out of each other’s houses and lawns, my mother hid inside, doing whatever she did. She did sit outside from time to time, but she never mixed with the other neighborhood moms…partly due to the controlling nature of my father, partly due to her own personal demons. I don’t hold it against her, she was a kind mother, kept us dressed, fed, and off to school on time, only she was vacant, and a ghost in my life. She never did protect us against my father, that perhaps being her greatest fault, but back in those days men ruled the roost, women had little power in the home as a stay at home mom, and abuse and other family secrets remained locked deeply with in a closet. I lived in a neighborhood in Long Island in the 50-60’s, filled with tons of kids. I ...

My journey was as smooth as silk. On time flights, pleasant people to sit next to, and a 2.5 hour layover in Detroit where I found a Tex-Mex restaurant to get a frozen margarita (4 on my scale of 10) and a few exotic tacos. There I almost finished my Allende book...(the book that seemed bewitched...it seemed no matter how much I read it, I never got any further in it!) I also read this month's issue of Art News, which focused on artists and their contributions to being green and changing the way we interact with our environment. The coolest part of the trip was the psychedelic tunnel at the Detroit airport, which changed colors while abstract New Age music played. I heard a few people on the plane laughing about it, as I don't think they got it at all, but I think it rocked. I took tons of photos in it, and they are tonight's work. Two are touched up a bit in Photoshop, and one is posted as is. The best part of the trip was being greeted by my two girls, and Alanna came run...

I am rushing- doing laundry, scooping cat litter, packing, paying bills. It takes a lot of work for me to leave for 4 days......between house, work, and business. I am rather stressed, and am using Larry's computer as mine is fried and my laptop is packed. I am sure that once I am on the plane, and I have a glass of wine, or a Bloody Mary, I will feel better, and once I land and get picked up by Megan and Alanna, and see their joyful faces and gigantic smiles, all my stress will be erased. But that is proceeded by a day of teaching, writing sub plans, working on a deadline for a publication, dashing off to the airport (on a strict time schedule) and hoping that I have everything I need for four days, haphazardly thrown together into a suitcase and business bag. I have also had a major melt-down, but I won't go into that. Stay tuned for tales from Fort Campbell, where a liberal Yankee woman invades the Army base. It has been spring there for over a month now (here in the Nor...

Tonight's art is titled "How Green is YOUR Garden" and I should make another version, "How Green is YOUR House?". I try and be as green as possible. Ok, I did go and buy a non-alternative fuel car, but I did make sure that my EOS was one of the top in its class for MPG..and at this time I have gotten close to 30 MPG on the one highway trip I took, and 25-28 in the city. So far so good and I got what I wanted...a four seater convertible. I hope in the next four years to have a larger offering of cars that are fuel efficient. At home I do not use pesticides on my lawn or in my garden. I live in a neighborhood with perfect green lawns marked with little yellow flags. My lawn is greenish, though most of it is not from grass, rather from violets, crabgrass, dandelions, and other weeds that sort of blend in to make it green. I clean most of my house with vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. I make my laundry detergent from Ivory Snow, Borax, and Baking Soda. I...