UPDATE and the skies of Portland over the past few weeks

UPDATE: Slept well until around 3:15 a.m., then slept off and on until 8:30 a.m. I've been outside before the predicted rain started so that I could get in some walking. I'm walking in the building off and on now. I don't have much stamina yet, but I'm working on it. In fact, I walked the two blocks to Subway and got a tuna sandwich which I carried back home in a rain shower--I wore my hooded raincoat on purpose, y'all, so I was fine and able to rest at the somewhat wet picnic table at the Blue Diamond's back door on the way there and back. Y'all, thanks for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



I took this photo today, mid-morning, when I went out for a walk. For me, the sky tells the tale of why this flag flys at half mast--the heaviness in a lot of folks hearts and minds after the murders at Umpqua Community College on October 1. I assume that's th case, that Albertina Kerr followed the President's call to lower the American flag to half mast; however, they've not returned it to the top of the flag pole yet--the order was half mast through October 6.



Portland has some fantastic blue skies, sometimes with clouds which magnify their impact. I took this photo on October 8, six minutes after I took the next one on today's post. I was on my way home after work. I waited at East Burnside and NE Grand for a 12 or a 19 bus. That building on the left will end up 21 stories, not all visible from this position since the ground floor of it rests below the height of the Burnside Bridge, and I'm at that height here on East Burnside. The one on the right tops out at 10 stories. Both of those heights are what I found online in early stories about the construction--I assume there have been no changes.



Thirteen blocks south of the previous photo, same day, 2:34 p.m. I took this one as I sat at the Portland Streetcar shelter, waiting. I like the juxtaposition of the rust-induced-chocolate-truffle-colored public art with the blue sky. The sculpture's title is Inversion Plus Minus.



Downtown, outside the Portland Art Museum, September 26, when Leland and I had been inside at The Artisans Cup American Bonsai exhibition. I'm sorry to report that I don't know the name of this sculpture; it's in the outdoor courtyard between the two buildings that make up the PAM. The 175-foot tall church bell tower peeking between the trees and the cloud is across the South Park Blocks; it's the First Congregational United Church of Christ and is amazing in its architecture and Povey Brothers Studio stained glass windows.



One last photo of Portland skies, this one taken as I arrived at work on September 22. More of Inversion Plus Minus, the public art which also appears at the opposite end of the block and is shown in an earlier photo in today's post.

UPDATE and what I saw from the bus window on the way home from work

UPDATE: All day Tuesday I was a tad less exhausted--hooray! I slept fine last night and look forward to Wednesday going as well as Tuesday. I'd like that a whole lot. Thanks for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



Yesterday afternoon I missed the connection to the streetcar, so I took a 4 bus downtown and connected quickly with a 19 for the rest of the ride home. I got the first seat on the left as you enter the bus, one of my favorite seats because I can easily look out several windows. I noticed this new mural on SW 6th across from the Big Pink and the MAX stop. Excited to get a photo through the bus windshield! I figured it would be enough to look for it online to find out if it's one of 2015's Forest for the Trees murals, painted in August. Lo and behold, it is! Here's it's hashtag and its artists: #221SW6th BY SPENCER KEETON CUNNINGHAM, JAQUE FRAGUA as found on FFTT's Web site.

Also, here's a bit about FFTT from their Web site: Established in 2013, Forest For The Trees is a non-profit project dedicated to the creation of contemporary public art in Portland. The festival brings together local and international artists in a collaborative setting and provides them with the freedom and resources to create artworks in environments that are freely accessible to the local community.



Next, while we waited at the traffic signal at West Burnside and SW 4th, I could see this through the window across the bus from where I sat. I managed to zoom in quickly before the light changed--hooray! This lion is one of two at the China Gate entrance to China Town in Northwest Portland.




One final shot through that window, a quick one, of a section toward the top of the China Gate. Here's a bit about the area that I found online: Portland's Chinatown is the old area of town north of Downtown proper and just west of Old Town/Skidmore, although the lines between Chinatown, Old Town, and Downtown blur in reality and are somewhat arbitrary as the areas are all essentially "downtown" in character and location. The most obvious distinction is Burnside, the great north-south divider of Portland, which clearly separates Chinatown from Downtown proper.

UPDATE and a quick look at the southernmost piece of public art across the street from work, with me also in two of the photos

UPDATE: I woke up at 5 a.m. and went back to sleep! I didn't wake up again until the alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. I cannot remember the last time that happened, y'all! Pleased as punch! I nibbled while at work--Ritz crackers, green grapes, Cacio de Roma sheep cheese from Italy, Sun-Maid Raisins, Mariani Prunes, and water. So, since I knew I'd be pretty hungry after work and that the food I had cooked last night ended up tasting all wrong although in the past it had tasted very good--chemo-induced-taste-changes rampant this time--I decided to stop by Subway after I got off the bus near home. I walked in and ordered a six-inch tuna on wheat with shredded lettuce and tomato, an individual-sized bag of Lays Classic chips, and a cup of Coca-Cola. I walked on home and enjoyed every single bite! Then, I had two milk-chocolate-covered-dried cherries for dessert. Now, almost five hours later, I'm not hungry again. Anyway, it's too late to eat anything now if I want to be healthy about it, right? It's after 8 p.m. So, I've had a pretty good day. I'm making sure that I stay awake until a decent hour because I'd like to experience another great night's sleep.



When I got off the 6 bus near work, I decided to take some photos of myself with the public art in the background. I've grown to like this controversial work named Inversion Plus Minus. I thought it would look good behind my gray, oh-so-Portland-hat, that Lamont bought for me the last time I had chemo. He walked from Kaiser on Interstate over to Mississippi Avenue in NE Portland, ate lunch, and then noticed a boutique. He found this very soft hat. Surprisingly, it is made of bamboo and spandex and gets more comfortable every time I stretch it over my big head. In this photo, I've stopped on the traffic loop that has a sidewalk alongside it--it rises some feet from below where MLK runs south, so I'm facing north and standing below street level for SE Grand which is the street on the west side of my work building and is the street where the public art stands at the corner of SE Grand and the eastbound exit ramp of the Hawthorne Bridge.



Another shot so that you get an idea of the height of this sculpture. I'm standing up on SE Grand beside it now.



So you get the picture, here's one that I took of the southernmost piece of public art back in August, 2013. You can see the railing alongside the traffic loop I stood beside to take that first photo. You can see the Hawthorne Bridge which crosses over MLK, the lower street I mentioned when trying to let you know what I meant when I said that the traffic loop rises some feet from MLK. The traffic loop continues in a circle and takes traffic straight onto the westbound ramp onto the Hawthorne Bridge which is not visible but is to the right of the photo, in real life.



See, there's the westbound ramp going onto the bridge, as well as the northernmost piece of this public art installation, Inversion Plus Minus. I took this photo in October, 2013.



And one more that I took in May, 2013, showing where I get off the bus down there near MLK which is the street with the two vans, the car, and the pickup on it. The sidewalk is up against the outer edge of the curve, along that wall which gets progressively shorter until it is waist-high when you reach the sidewalk seen at the base of the public art.

UPDATE with a video - Public art at Kaiser--I like it and what I believe it says about my current situation.

Today's video and a new hat! Lamont will be here in less than 30 minutes, ready to take me on this latest field trip, y'all! Thanks for the continued prayers, love and concern. I'll need them today since I've been awake since 2:30 a.m.--it's 6:40 a.m. as I typed. However, I did take all of my prescribed pre-chemo meds, including the Decadron which oughta rev me up like well-tuned muscle car engine! Hey, I've got lots of photos of those that I can share, not that I will know what sort they are, unless I took a photo of the windshield placard at the vintage vehicle event. I have a new goal as I search through my photos at Flickr. I love it!



The sign that explains the public art in the courtyard at Kaiser Interstate. I had to read the quotation twice to really get it, so I'm typing it here, just in case you're having the same difficulty - Anchored in the Future: I always have to dream up there against the stars. If I don't dream I'll make it, I won't even get close. Henry J. Kaiser. This interpretive historical sculpture commerates Henry Kaiser and his family, the physicians and countless others who have contributed to the health and growth of Portland and Vancouver.



The sculpture itself. The sign is on the leftmost rust-colored tip of what looks to be a ship aground. I prefer to think of it as a ship that has arrived for refurbishment, which is exactly what I'm doing at Kaiser Interstate, first at the Oncology Center and after that at the Radiation Center. I don't know if those are the official names of both, but you get my drift.

Sun rise and public art at my work building.

One January morning I walked my usual route from the bus shelter across the street, up to the corner to await the walk traffic signal, crossed and walked toward the building's entrance. Then, I say this lovely sight.



Here's the reason for the rosy glow on the brass panel and the brick wall.



This is the same bronze panel, photographed from across the street on February 20, 2009, during another swell sun rise.



Here's the reason for the golden light on the panel--I took this photo four minutes before as the bus headed across the Hawthorne Bridge towards my work building.

Read about the public art at my work building when you click here.

Public Art, outside the Moda Center which used to be the Rose Garden--it's where the Portland Trail Blazers play NBA basketball

I took this photo at 3:06 p.m. on March 9, 2013, a particularly nice blue sky day for us. That's I-5 you see there behind The Little Prince. Those buildings are in an area known as the Lloyd District which is in Northeast Portland. One of these days I plan to be in good enough shape to walk there from my apartment. I'll take my camera and take photos to share with y'all!

In the past I've taken several other photos of this public art and have posted them on the blog. Click here to see four of them. In case you don't have time to click there to see the photos and read about the sculpture, I've copied and pasted the info for you here.

Bits I discovered online about the sculpture.

• The Little Prince, by Ilan Averbuch. Copper and steel, 1995.
• The Little Prince is a partially buried copper crown located at the south end of the arena in the Rose Quarter. It is a piece about imagination, desires and aspirations, conquests and struggles. It is the job of the viewer to create the story that goes along with the crown. Is it a victory and position of honor waiting to be claimed, or is there another story? Only the viewer can say.
• Ilan's inspiration for this piece was the "Little Prince" by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, in particular, the first chapter where he talks about his drawing of a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant being misunderstood as a hat.
• Ilan Averbuch's "Little Prince" and the Portland Trailblazer's Rose Garden Arena. Portland, Oregon . . . legend has it that the crown will be stood upright when the Blazers with their next championship.
• The Little Prince, 1995, is a gigantic fallen crown, an image of a ruin of ancient majesty, of one-time splendor, and a version of another recurring theme in Averbuch’s work: the obsolescence of the monumental, former monuments in the soil, like ancient relics.
• The Little Prince (Ilan Averbuch, 1996) is a copper crown, standing 15 feet tall in front of the Rose Garden. Inspired by the French children's story by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, the artist asks that you use your imagination to think of a story behind the crown. The crown is resting on its side perhaps waiting as a prize to be claimed or as a symbol of a triumph to come.

One more view of Running Horses, Tom Hardy, 1986, Bronze SW 6th and Madison, part of the Public Art on the TriMet MAX Green Line

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While looking for more public art photos to feature, I came across this one of Running Horses. I took it on Feb. 20, 2009. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why the sun was shining like this and that flowering tree is blooming, plus the bloom on that shorter plant--I think it is a camellia--in February?

Confusing. So I've looked back at my blog and found a completely dry photo that I took on Feb.5, another one where a lady's sitting outside at an ice cream place, bundled up in her coat, but it's sunny, no rain. So, February 2009 must have been a less wet month than I would have thought, with enough sunshine and warmth to bring on the blooms.

Public Art on the TriMet MAX Green Line: Running Horses, Tom Hardy, 1986, Bronze SW 6th and Madison

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I took these four photos on October 5, 2009, because this sculpture fascinated me. I found online that the Running Horses sculpture originally stood on the SW 6th Avenue side of Pioneer Courthouse Square, near the gate from the former Portland Hotel. I found one photo of the sculpture, taken in 2005, when it was still there. I like where it is now much better.
 

After I crossed the street, I took this photo as I walked north on the west side of SW 6th.
 

Then I stopped and took this one before continuing northward to catch my homebound bus.
 

A bonus sculpture, Hilda Morris's Ring of Time, the onion ring-shaped artwork across SW 6th Avenue at the Standard Building.

Constellation, three sculptures by Tad Savinar, 2000, Bronze -- No. 1, Isolated Molecule for a Good Neighborhood

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Constellation: Isolated Molecule for a Good Neighborhood. From the plaque at the park: "These three sculptures are a visual representation of the connections between our civic gardens and our neighborhoods, and of the pivotal role we have as stewards of those relationships." This project was funded by the City of Portland's Percent for Art Program, administered by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

First, photos of the atoms in the molecule, followed by a wide shot of the sculpture in Holladay Park, NE 11th Avenue & Holladay Street. At the end of the post you'll find historical information about the park and more details about the sculptures, from the City of Portland. I took these photos November 6, 2010.
 

Milk carton.
 

Milk carton and school building, front view.
 

School building, back view.
 

Garden spade and house, back view.
 

House, front view.
 

Family. Has something been broken off in the center of this group of figures? It's the turquoise color showing at the top of those structures that makes me wonder.
 

The entire sculpture, not the best angle for seeing it clearly, what with the nearby tree trunks being almost the same color. And I missed a few of the atoms: An enlarged structure of a molecule featuring atoms in the shape of a garden tool, a milk carton, a coffee mug, a bagel, a house, a school, a family, and trees --all the things that make a good neighborhood. Now I have a reason to go there again someday and take a longer look, see what else I can photograph.

Historical Information This park is named after Benjamin Holladay (1819-1887), known to many as "a sharpster, a con man, and a rake." He stirred things up wherever he went and was a bit of a dandy, dressing like a riverboat gambler. He was said to be "wholly destitute of fixed principles of honesty, morality, or common decency." In 1868 Holladay sold his stage coach business in California to Wells Fargo and moved to Portland to get involved in the railroad business. His goal was to build a rail line to California along the east side of the Willamette River. In order to do so, he spent a total of $55,000 in bribe money to help secure his company's endorsement. He also built two large hotels in the area where the park bearing his name is now located. Known as an extravagant spender, Holladay owned numerous mansions on both coasts and had over extended himself financially. He lost his railroad in 1876, and died in Portland in 1887.

Commissioned by the Lloyd Corporation and Pacific Power & Light in 1964, a concrete fountain featuring music and lights was installed in the park. Designed by Jack Stuhl, assisted by Ted Widing and Phillips Electrical, the musical fountain was favorite gathering place for park visitors. It was replaced in 2000, in conjunction with a major renovation of the park, by a spouting fountain designed by Tim Clemen and Murase Associates.

Three cast-bronze sculptures by artist Tad Savinar were added to the park as a percent-for-art project in 2000. Entitled Constellation, the project illustrates the connection between the personal front yard garden and the civic park garden through three distinct elements: a vase of cut flowers, an abstract molecule containing elements of a good neighborhood, and the figure of a home gardener, shears in hand. The objects in the molecule were selected by the Sullivan Gulch Neighborhood Association and the gardener was modeled after Carolyn Marks, a longtime neighborhood activist.

Public Art - a vivid mural on the corner of NE Grand Avenue and NE Broadway Street

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I took this photo on Saturday, April 27, while waiting for the Portland Streetcar so that I could go to the Farmers Market at Portland State--I decided to take the scenic route on it instead of a couple of buses. I got off the streetcar for a quick stop at Walgreens, looking for a wristwatch. They don't sell wristwatches at Walgreens! Gosh! Anyway, while I waited for the next streetcar, I finally got to take a photo of this mural. Next time maybe I'll have enough time to walk across the street and try to get one without parked vehicles covering up a bit of the lower border.

Naturally I'm curious about the subject of the mural, so I went Googling.

Found on another photographer's Flickr: Sponsors of this mural are the Portland-Mutare Sister City Association and Africa Aids Response. It was hand painted by the people of Portland in 2007. It is located at NE 6th & Broadway.

Also found on the Internet:

• Hope is Vital, 2007 Artworks: Mural (painted) 
•  Artists Matt Bellingham, Heidi Schultz 
• Collection City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council Materials 
• Latex paint on concrete 
• Dates: Installed, 2007 
• Description: This mural's purpose is to create global solidarity and educate the Portland community about Portland's sister city, Mutare, Zimbabwe, and humanitarian efforts there. Underneath the inspiring message, "Hope is Vital," the sun shines on a yellow medical clinic Portland helped build for its sister city. In a show of support, persons from both Portland and Mutare hold hands, dance, and drum to celebrate life, above the text "it takes a planet to save a village."

Seen from the Portland Streetcar

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Public art #1, wide shot from MLK, looking east at the recently installed public art on the corners of SE Grand and SE Hawthorne--to the right--and SE Grand and SE Madison--to the left. The art is the brown metal structures through which you can see the sky.



Public art #2, close up of public art at SE Grand and SE Hawthorne, seen from MLK. It's supposed to make the viewer think of a building which used to stand here.



Public art #3, close up of public art at SE Grand and SE Madison, seen from MLK. I have to admit that I find the public art in Portland rewarding, and this new one very near where I work has grown on me until I now enjoy looking at it from all sides. What you're seeing in these photos is the public art at Hawthorne Boulevard. See below what I found on the Internet about it.

Information found about this public art online:

Inversion: Plus Minus (below) is a set of towering site-specific sculptures created by artists/architects Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio. Using weathered steel angle iron, the artists are presenting “ghosts” of former buildings at two similar sites along SE Grand Avenue. One site, at Hawthorne Boulevard, will feature a matrix of metal that almost appears as a solid building. . . . In the artists’ words, “The sculptures reference the outer shells of ordinary industrial buildings found in the Central Eastside Industrial Area like those that once existed on the project sites.”