Merry-Go-Round, and Round…

Merry-Go-Round, and Round

Prior to the salad spinner, there was the neighborhood merry-go-round. Being spun at a nice speed could be a very relaxing experience. You could lay down and look at the trees and blue sky above. Unless your brother was the spinner. Or anyone else, for that matter! They would start holding the bars and running with the merry-go-round. You would just beg “stop” “slow down”!  Like a tag team, they would take turns gripping on and giving it a good push. You were at their mercy. There was no stopping it. You might be left on for five or ten minutes while everyone else got on their bikes and peeled out! Eventually, you would be able to stick your feet out to drag them into the dirt to stop it-if you had sneakers on. If not, it would simply spin, slow, spin, slow and finally, you would stop and then the whole earth would start spinning!

The Sprinkler

The Sprinkler, 6″ x 6″ Oil on gesso board

The Sprinkler

There was always the sprinkler. On super hot days, the sprinkler was seen more as an “at home” amusement rather than something to use for watering the lawn. Of course you could run through it, but the most fun was the dare to see how long you could stand under it while the freezing cold water fell  on you. There is something about the sound of a “good” sprinkler that evokes all the magic of childhood, even though the sprinkler I painted made no sound, unless it would hit a metal roof, or a wheel barrel, or the pavement  in making its arc of water. For watering the lawn, a sprinkler is a fine piece of suburban artifact-but for hours of sheer joy, a sprinkler deserves a top ten rating for its enjoyment factor!

Growing Clouds

Growing Clouds, 6″ x 6″ Oil on gesso board

Growing Clouds

There is something mesmerizing about watching storm clouds form. They percolate upward as if trying to reach the top of the sky. Saratoga County is filled with wonderful fields and farms sharing the big sky with its travelers. Growing up here, I was very aware of the sun setting. It seemed to linger longer than anywhere else I have ever lived. Now, living here again, I have become a storm chaser…anything for the glow of late day sun.