Sometimes it is good to remember when something seems “wrong” that it might just be different, or coming from a different world view.

I feel like I’ve been neglecting an (imaginary?) audience. (^_^)

Sometimes I feel a little down; sometimes I get busy (or simply stressed)… I’ve been meaning to post several things over the past months, but somehow it just hasn’t been happening.

Two TED talks have popped into my mind recently, so it seems like a good time to revisit them. The first is about creators & creativity, the second is about connection and vulnerability. Both are really inspiring and have a lot to share.

I recently celebrated my birthday, and my husband gave me a new camera as my main gift. It was a really lovely present, and very welcome. I dropped my camera a few years back and at first it was wonky, but still worked… but, finally, it just stopped working altogether. It was the first time I went without a camera since I had been about 5 years old (not that I took the camera everywhere with me at that age). Of course I did still have the camera on my cell phone, but that could hardly compare to a DSLR! I feel a bit out of practice, but my new camera certainly has some interesting features—the one I’m most obsessed with at the moment is the “miniature effect” which lets you turn a “normal” scene into one that looks like a picture of a model/diorama.

This is my favorite "miniature effect" photo so far, which I took at Millenium Park.

There is still much to learn about this camera, but I am looking forward to it. At Easter I will practice portraits and try out the video features (if all goes according to plan).

"Cloud Gate", by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, affectionately called "The Bean" by locals.

While people will always argue what is the best of something, I have to say that this sculpture/work of public art by Anish Kapoor is the best public art I have experienced. It is immensely popular, and people look very happy when they see and interact with it. Children, of course, love it, but so do adults of all ages and backgrounds.

It has international, dare I say universal, appeal. Perhaps on some level, it speaks to our own vanity, as we enjoy seeing our reflections on its surface, but in doing so, it appears to speak to us at a very basic, spiritual, level as well. The sky and surrounding buildings are reflected on the surface, and if you move to the underside, you get a real fun-house effect with multiple versions of yourself and others on all sides.

Every time I have visited, I have seen wedding parties (or styled photo-shoots for magazines), countless tourists, and local children posing and playing around the sculpture. I never fails to fill me with a sense of joy and wonder, whether I am in the mood for people or not, as there are different aspects to focus on.

Sculpturally, it is beautiful, but in execution, it is also brilliant. The Bean makes me happy. ♥