Dear ArtStyle,

I have returned from Italy without sending you a postcard as I had hoped.

I plowed through the Venice Biennale for two days, spent a week in Florence, and ended up driving around in Tuscany. I was simply too over stimulated — taking in art, old and new, by the urban and natural environment, by the way of life, the food, the people — to sit down and focus on one thing.

It is Thanksgiving weekend, and I thought I would send something that would be easily digested.

I have picked out what have become my favorite images from the trip: the clotheslines of Venice. My dream is to import this custom to Chicago!

Anna

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Technorati Tags: Italy, Venice Biennale, Florence, Tuscany, clotheslines, Chicago

Megan, a 4-year-old at our family reunion, spent her afternoons doing watercolors, a new activity for her. She’s definitely a budding abstract painter.

A Frame

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We’re having a family reunion at the Elephant Walk Cottages in Union Pier, Michigan, where you can relax on the screened veranda, surrounded by lush vegetation, hummingbirds flitting around the bird feeder, or go swimming in Lake Michigan, just down the street, or gallery hopping or antiquing. (See my blog about the reunion on Gather.com.)
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Dear ArtStyle,

On May 31st, I was honored to be invited to a Wesak Celebration, during the full moon in Taurus. In a beautiful setting at East Meets West, a store front on Lawrence Avenue, a place more temple than store, we gathered together (about 18 of us) to chant and bring in a wonderful and powerful energy for ourselves and our world.

Energy of Enlightenment, Peace, Harmony and Abundance for All

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Dear ArtStyle,

Early one morning I looked out the kitchen window, and my heart skipped a beat. On the grass, just below the window, there was everybody’s (here in Iceland) favorite bird, the Golden Plover, hopping around and poking its beak in the ground. One Icelandic tradition as long as I can remember is the media’s announcement of the arrival of the Golden Plover. The headlines are always the same (in late March or early April): “Lóan er komin” (The Golden Plover has arrived!) Why did my heart skip a beat when I’m not even interested in birds? That, I am sure, has to do with history, nostalgia, and a feeling of hope after a long, dark winter. The Golden Plover’s arrival means that spring is here, and bright days are ahead.

And the Plover has graced its presence in Venice as well. Iceland’s The Golden Plover Has Arrived features the work of Steingrímur Eyfjörð in The 54th Venice Biennale, opening this week. The artist, who was selected to represent Iceland this year, works with Icelandic folklore and traditions, like the one I just experienced.

Anna

Courtesy of Anna Joelsdottir