Monday, December 15, 2008

"A Sonoran Christmas..."

As the sun rises this beautiful mid December day

all throughout Bloggy Land...

And slowly creeps over the sleepy Sonoran Desert...

It will be my pleasure to be your "official" tour guide

and introduce
to you a bit of the splendor of the Southwest during the holidays.

We decorate with all kinds of festive things...even "trees" of glass...

Don't know which way to turn?
Follow the luminaria...
a southwest tradition, for lighting the path for the spirit
of the Christ Child to your home...

and you will find all kinds of treasures beyond your wildest imagination.
Walk with me now...
and enjoy
the festive baubles and ornaments which decorate our trek...
through the solitude and quietness of this desert garden.
As we sight some of Dale Chihuly's artistic treasures
floating in quiet desert pools...
notice the reflections...click on images to enlarge if you like...
Chilly? Why not warm yourself by the fire, in the tradition of the
ancient ones
who once lived in this area.
Continue on the path into the sun
and find more glass sculptures
Don't they remind you of enormous Christmas bulbs?
The Nature of Glass Exhibit is everywhere!
lighting our way with festive color
We love to hang lots of festive ornaments during the holidays...
...And we hang them just about anywhere we can imagine!
Let's now look for a traditional holiday tree...
Can it Be?
Ah ha!
Right here in the desert...an evergreen!
We can walk on... or...we can rest at wee bit if you like...
Lets' rest...I feel like drawing a a couple of things.
How about here?
or
maybe even
Here!
This is my favorite spot...so cozy isn't it?
How about a hot chocolate..of a cuppa..0r a glass of wine?
My treat!
Musicians are going to be playing later today...We can come back
if you like...have a bite to eat
and listen to the sweet sounds of smooth jazz.
For now...are you ready to move on? Here's another pathway...
leading us to a tower of light...
standing guard before the sandstone peaks in Papago Park.
A shady resting spot...the Arizona sun can get very hot...even in the winter...
How about some fresh cool water to quench your thirst?
Ahhh...now to my most favorite of "Santa Chihuly's" gifts...
A boat of flowers and reeds...brilliant yet serenely magical...
It's my #1 favorite of them all! Mmmm!
Eventually the moon rises on this day...and the day will turn into night...
the desert will magically transform itself into a festival of lights...

and the beauty of nature's gifts will glow well into the night
and forever in our hearts.
Pop in on the other participants and celebrate the whole day long!

And, finally,
For those of you who celebrate another tradition on this day...
Happy Cactus Monday All!

May all your holly-days be merry and bright
lit by that luminous luminaria of a light that
glows peacefully from
within! :)

"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas;
soon The Bells Will Start,
and The Thing That Will Make Them Ring
Is the Carol That You Sing
right Within Your Heart."
~Sung by Perry Como

39 comments:

Lisa Adams Reed said...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! I scrolled through like a kid on Christmas morning! Holy Chihuly!!!

Angie in AZ said...

Great tour Margaret! It was fantastic, was it not? My favorite was the hanging blue piece. But that boat of marbles was something too! Oh! And did you get into the gallery inside to see the HUGE gorgeous bowls? Phenomenal exhibit. I need to go again.

Kim said...

THis was absolutely amazing. I felt as though I was there with you...may have to rearrange our Xmas travel plans - for real!

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. You are too generous.
Kim

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Oh Margaret, how simply wonderful - I felt I was there with you all the way (loved the hot chocolate half way round!) . What a wonderful Christmas gift to all your visitors to take us on such a magical trip. I had tears in my eyes with joy and delight only wishing I could be actually walking with you. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TROUBLE TO DOWNLOAD SO MANY IMAGES.

So glad that yesterday I added my favourite blogs links so many others will enjoy it too. Currently you are right at the top.

Barely Domestic Mama said...

Wow. That was so beautiful. Makes me want to celebrate Christmas in the desert.

Thanks for sharing.

I stopped by from the Christmas in Bloggyland Tour.

Unknown said...

This same art installation came to my city, and I LOVED it! Thanks for sharing these pictures!

Nan said...

Hey no fair! You brought in two ringers for the Tour...Chihuly and the Sonoran Desert...how are we supposed to follow that!?!?!? LOL.

Beautiful tour. Thanks for sharing.

Merry Christmas!

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Absolutely breathtaking! If it weren't for your tour today, I would NOT have experienced such a beautiful exhibition! Thank you so very much. May and your loved ones have a blessed and happy Holiday season! Petra :))

stapeliad said...

Wow, I can't even tell you how much I ENJOYED this post. Thank you for being such a wonderful tour guide!

HCM!!!

studio lolo said...

Oh Margaret, I had my chin in my hand leaning closer to my computer soaking up each and every one of those magnificent photos!! UN-believable! Thanks so much for sharing. I have to send this link to all of my artist friends who don't blog!!
Oh, HCM :)

yoon see said...

Hi! What a great sharing Margaret!
Thanks. All these photos are so beautiful and unique! I love to join in the tour...how i wish...
Happy Cactus Monday!
At least the cactus creative post will get us going until Sunday...
How great!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous photos. I wish I was there right now! I just posted a quote I found here on your site to my blog, and I also mentioned your amazing Chihuly photos and included the link to here. Thanks for sharing! Serena Pia

marianne said...

Thanks for the glass of wine in this amazing ambiance!
And thanks for these wonderful pictures!!!!!!!
I would love to visit that place!
Happy cactus Monday!

Teri said...

Absolutely stunning!! I am 'almost' tempted to take a trip to Phoenix!! Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful wonderful pieces of art.

MuseSwings said...

What an AMAZING tour! Chihuly rocks. Oh I probably shouldn't say rocks anywhere near Chihuly. Thank's so much for the wine! Merry Christmas!

steviewren said...

This post should be titled "Through the Magical Looking Glass Christmas" tour! What a beautiful place! I love the ornaments on the traditional tree.

Love your bit of art commemorating the tour. Sublime Serendipity!

Kat Mortensen said...

My comment didn't go through, so here I go again.

I was totally confused by that first shot - thought it was some new type of tree that I'd never heard about. Wow! That was one wild trip through your desert oasis of colour, light and form! Thanks!

We welcome you over to our place, The Hyggehus for some interior decoration, a comic take on an old favourite Christmas carol and some more traditional music selections.

Kat

Cora said...

Oh my goodness, what GORGEOUS pictures! I'm a big fan of Dale Chihuly's work too. WOW! Thank you for sharing these. :-)

Tara Bennett said...

I am in AWE. Thank you for sharing this with the rest of bloggyland! Merry Christmas!

Ann said...

That was glorious! Thank you for taking me there :)

WhisperWood Cottage said...

Amazing! I am still in awe! Thank you for the wonderful tour! Thanks also for visiting my blog and leaving such a kind comment! I hope you'll come back!

Amy

Aimee said...

I enjoyed the tour! Very Unique! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

That is SO AWESOME!
Beautiful!
Merry Christmas in Bloggyland!

Linda said...

BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING and BREATHLESS!!! TYVM. Blessings to you.

Alex and Alicia said...

Wow- words escape me in describing how I feel while looking at all of your amazing photos!

Being a born & bred New Englander, I always wondered how people celebrated the holidays without snow - it seems like such a foreign concept to me! But my, it truly is beautiful the way your area gets ready for the holiday season. The colors are extraordinary! Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us. :)

Hope you'll stop by and see us from time to time in Vermont!

Merry Christmas! :)

Kelly | Fabulous K said...

How pretty! Merry Christmas in bloggyland! :)

Jane In The Jungle said...

OMG!! Girl what an amazing tour!! As you can imagine, we don't have anything like that down here in Tn.!! Can't wait to show the kids in the morning! Thanks for stopping by my "Tour"!

Julie said...

Happy CM, Margaret! What a great photgraphic tour of the Chihuly event. Gorgeous!!! I big highlight of all our days to even get to see it all online!!! :)

Annelie said...

AMAZING tour! I am absolutely mesmerized! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful photos!

Happy holidays!

larkswing said...

What a great tour!! Is this or are you in the area of Arizona getting snow today? I wonder what some of the sculptures look like with a frosting of snow! :)

Jane LaFazio said...

wow indeed. Gorgeous photos and a magical place! You make me want to fly to phoenix today!! beautiful beautiful pics. I'll be doing a sketching and watercolor class in those gorgeous gardens for art unraveled...in August...no Chihuly, and a tad hot, but still gorgeous.
thanks too for listing me on your side bar!
xo

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

This is absolutely wonderful, just delightful. Thank you so much for sharing, gosh, I need to put this on my travel list of must see things!
Thanks also for stopping by my blog.

ChaChaneen said...

I'm back! yahoo! I missed out on so much yesterday during the tour! I paid $50 to tech support to find out that my monitor cable wasn't plugged in all the way. Oh Vey! Oh well, at least it wasn't worse.

Wow, that was beautiful! Great photos too! I felt like you guided me through each photo! That must have taken a long time to put together and I really appreciate it!

I'm off to finish the tour now! Better late never cuz this has been a blast!

joanieART said...

What an exquisite journey....thank you soo much!

Serena Lewis said...

What an amazing collection of pics, Margaret....I can only imagine that, up close and personal, the impact of the glass art display would have been incredible!

Robert A Vollrath said...

Loved the photos thanks.

Marva Plummer-Bruno said...

Oh how cool! I love your sketch! It captures Chihuly perfectly! I was wondering if that was his work, he certainly has his own style. I hope you don't have hail storms down there, that would be a bummer! Marva

Vickie said...

Thanks for the tour Margaret. I'm a big Chihuly fan. I'd love to see that display in person. Your photos are great. Your illustration is very nice. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

japochine said...

A beautiful feast of unexpected color. Aiko