Hangers | Bellevue , WA | 2014
Curators at the Bellevue Art Museum most likely don’t consider their coat room as an exhibition space. But the hundreds of hangers under overhead lights cast artful shadows that change hourly, depending on visitors’ outerwear whims: what’s hung, how it’s hung, where it’s hung. No kidding. Like digital barcodes, the shadowy designs (more…)
Clouds | Moses Coulee, WA | 2014
I bounded up the mercantile’s steps out of the blazing sun. The store owner sat in the cool shade of the building’s front porch and cuddled his sleeping granddaughter in his arms. “Jilly here just made 18 months,” he whispered, beaming with pride. “She’s a cloud baby.” I’d never heard the term, but the old man explained that Jilly entered the world while a storm raged. Now, said Granddad, the only time the toddler stops squirming is when weather approaches. And her instinct is (more…)
6 Graves | Douglas, WA | 2014
Determining the location of a cemetery must involve all sorts of factors: Acreage, availability, irrigation, soil type and, of course, a dramatic terrestrial view for all those lingering souls. In fact, I thought for decades that’s why graveyards were sited in pretty places, where the beauty of grassy dells and sky-filled hilltops stretches into eternity. But no. Burying our dead (more…)
Farmhouse | Twisp, WA | 2014
Time flutters on the overgrown trail behind the old farmhouse. The county road and parallel power lines are hidden. The whoosh of the state highway is muffled. Sounds of cattle bellowing for dinner could be from the 1890s. Pasture grass rustles on the evening breeze, but otherwise all’s quiet around the time-worn place. Legend says (more…)
Leaping Poodle | East Wenatchee, WA | 2014
The good dog Joey hesitated before jumping the creek, but not for long. Everything important to him — fetch ball, doggie treats, loving master — were on the other side and moving on down the trail. Although capable of easily bounding the narrow sluice, Joey clearly wasn’t (more…)
Illusion | East Wenatchee, WA | 2014
Decades ago in Times Square, I watched an amazing street magician make things float and disappear. On his command, a white orb rose from a table and hovered in midair. He covered it with a silk cloth and, whispering a spell, made it vanish. He did the same with a woman’s watch, an open umbrella and, unbelievably, a live pigeon. Each time, he whispered the same exact spell to make magic happen just five feet from my own eyes. I never figured out the trick. This remarkable illusionist ended his performance by folding up his table, tipping his hat, and walking through the wall (more…)
Walk | Moses Lake, WA | 2014
Walking Uplifts the Spirit, a poem by Wilfred Peterson
Breathe out the poisons of tension, stress and worry. Breathe in the power of God.
Send forth silent prayers of goodwill toward those you meet. Walk with a sense of being a part of a vast universe.
Consider the thousands of miles of earth beneath your feet; think of the limitless amount of space above your head.
Walk in awe, wonder and humility.
IrwinFoto 