Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Leighton Art Centre

Today, 23 December 2016, we are having a heavily overcast day and the snow is steadily falling. Just noticed that there is a Snowfall Warning in effect. The temperature is -6C (windchill -11C). I don't think I need to go out, though, unless to the mailbox. Wish the old days were still here, when the mailman actually put mail in the mailbox right by your front door, instead of everyone having to use community boxes. I had my Christmas yesterday, 22 December, with my daughter. We drove south of the city to the Saskatoon Farm and had a delicious breakfast. She is in so much pain that we can't go for a drive to look for Snowy Owls or old barns. She has an appointment next month and is more than ready to take the absolute earliest date for her surgery. On the way to drop her off at home, we called in at the Glamorgan Bakery - a well-known bakery that we have used for the last few decades. It always feels good to see their traditional cookies, Cheese Buns, cakes and pies. Thanks, Rachel, for a lovely few hours spent together - the best Christmas gift possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I hadn't been taking much in the way of photos for a couple of weeks and had been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Leighton Art Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful, painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

Posting just one photo again today - feel like I have 50 things to see to, all at the same time at the moment!. Thought I'd better not add another White-tailed Ptarmigan, in case you get tired of seeing them : ) I do have a few more photos of them that I will gradually add, in case I never see this species again. "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I hadn't been taking much in the way of photos for a couple of weeks and had been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Leighton Art Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful, painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

JELLYFIELDS - warning! A few days ago, I did a Google search to see what blogs have used my photos. Many of them asked permission before hand, but, needless to say, others did not. If you post photos anywhere on the Internet, that is unfortunately just a fact of life. I just scrolled down, clicking on each one in turn. When I clicked on one website in the search result list, I discovered that not only were a lot of my photos being displayed, but they were also mixed in with a pile of pornographic videos and photos. According to someone on the Flickr Help Forum, these photos were probably taken from the Jellyfields website before they disabled right-click. Not impressed one bit, I contacted Jellyfields and asked for all my photos to be removed from their site. James was in touch with me immediately and, after getting me to confirm that the displayed photos were mine, said they will remove my photos as requested. He was surprised that nature/wildlife photos would be stolen and added to a porn site, but that is exactly what has happened. Haven't yet found a way to contact the porn site, Tumview.com to demand my photos be removed. I should add that Jellyfields does refer photos back to Flickr, saying to check what the copyright is for each photo. Who needs all this hassle?!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken eight days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant and wildlife species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

Hello, winter - again! Our forecast is "Temperature deep dive, snow on the horizon for Alberta." This morning, 15 November 2016, it is -1C (windchill -4C) and it has just started snowing at 10:00 am. Looks like we should have this kind of temperature for the next two weeks. I'm so glad I went on a birding walk yesterday and did some grocery shopping. "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken five days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

"Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until yesterday, 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken four days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for this exhibit was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains (zoomed in this photo) almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This was not my first visit to the Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

This photo was taken two days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. The valley below and the distant mountains (zoomed in this photo) almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. leightoncentre.org/

I have a very early start tomorrow, as I am going NW of Calgary to spend the day botanizing some private land. We record all species of flora and fauna that we find (wildflowers, trees, birds, insects, fungi, animals), and will give a copy of the list to the landowner. Thought I'd post tomorrow's three images tonight, as I know I won't feel like doing it after a very long, hot day of walking, with a long drive home. These beautiful, vibrant yellow Gaillardias brighten our natural areas, parks and country roadsides. Found this one when three of us were botanizing a hillside at the Leighton Art Centre, SW of Calgary, on 6 July 2013. Also known as Blanket Flower because of its resemblance to brightly patterned blankets made by native Americans. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaillardia

The third rather uninspiring photo of the day, lol! Some days, I just have no enthusiasm for posting the photos I've grabbed! Needed this one for my Set about the Leighton Art Centre, showing some of the flora and fauna that three of us found and listed when we botanized the hillside belonging to the Centre, on 6 July 2013. I love seeing Gaillardia flowers that are just beginning to open, surrounded by all those fine hairs. Happened to notice this tiny Crab Spider on this one. UPDATE (9 July 2013) on the Calgary Zoo: "The Calgary Zoo announced today that it will begin to move animals to other institutions on a permanent basis beginning as early as next week. Recent flooding caused extensive damage across the zoo's 32-acre island. The South America building is one of the oldest facilities at the zoo and was one of the hardest hit in the flood. Dr. Clément Lanthier, zoo president and CEO, said the damage to the building and its systems is so extensive that it has been determined that it makes no sense to invest very limited resources in its repair. "Sadly this means we have to quickly find new homes for the 34 individual animals representing 11 species that were housed in this building," said Dr. Lanthier. Prior to the flood, the zoo was looking for new homes for one white stork, one Parma wallaby, two black swans and seven Rock hyraxes--that search is ongoing and these animals will also be transferred to other facilities as soon as possible. This brings the total of animals to be moved to 45 individuals representing 15 species." From Calgary Zoo e-mail.

A horribly blurry photo of this tiny beetle, but that's all I managed to get, unfortunately. Also, I saw it just as we were hurrying back up the hill, as it looked like we were going to get a thunderstorm. I needed to get it "edited" as a record of what was seen when three of us botanized the Leighton Art Centre, SW of Calgary, on 6 July 2013. Wanted to add it to my Set about this Centre. I'm not sure of the ID, but I think it's an Orsodacnid Leaf Beetle.

The hillside at the Leighton Art Centre, SW of Calgary, had so many of these beautiful wild Roses. Some, like this one, were such a lovely, deeper shade of pink. Three of us spent a few hours there, searching for and making a list of all the flora and fauna (known as botanizing) that we came across. We were there something like a month ago, doing the same thing, so we needed to note any new species. We pass on all these lists and any photos that are taken to the Centre, for them to use in any way that they would like. A very definite win-win situation, as we have an enjoyable time doing what we love (apart from having to climb back UP the hill, lol!) and the Centre receives valuable information. I'm so late (just after noon) posting my photos - again! - today. I discovered late last night that the later it got, the faster my photo files were being transferred (more people obviously fast asleep in bed and off their computers). So, the temptation was there to just keep going. Did not enjoy what I saw when I opened my blinds, though - it's raining and sometime during the night it rained really hard. Oh, the thousands of poor people who have already suffered tremendous damage from the Flood of the Century during the last two weeks! I feel hesitant to check online or my TV to see if anywhere has new flooding. On Friday evening, one of our communities called Sunnyside had flash floods. Really, enough is enough!

Haven't had time yet to see what general kind of moth this is - I don't usually see them and when I do, it's not easy to photograph these very small, narrow insects. Should be a good enough photo for ID, though. Taken while botanizing the beautiful hillside at the Leighton Art Centre (SW of Calgary) on 6 July 2013, when three of us went there to record all the flora and fauna that we found. Later: this appears to be some kind of Plume Moth, but that's as far as I have got so far. The closest I've been able to find so far is Platyptilia carduidactylus. "The Pterophoridae or plume moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. Though they belong to the Apoditrysia like the larger moths and the butterflies, unlike these they are tiny.... The usual resting posture is with the wings extended laterally and narrowly rolled up. Often they resemble a piece of dried grass, and may pass unnoticed by potential predators even when resting in exposed situations in daylight." From Wikipedia.

Yesterday morning, three of us spent a few hours botanizing at the Leighton Art Centre, recording (i.e.listing) all flora and fauna found. We did the same about a month ago, so it was important to note any new species that had appeared. The staff and volunteers are then given this extensive list and any photos that are taken, to use in any educational way they wish. Couldn't resist photographing this worn totem pole that was maybe 5' tall. This Centre lies in an absolutely beautiful area of rolling hills SW of Calgary. We were so lucky with the weather - overcast and not good for photos, but thankfully the rain held off till we had finished. After this hilly walk, I decided to drive the backroads in the area, finding all sorts of familiar but neat things to see and photograph. Three or four hours later, I arrived home in thunder and rain. This morning is beautifully sunny, thankfully. On Friday night, one of the communities in Calgary (Sunnyside) suffered bad flash floods after newly fallen rain. As if the Flood of the Century two weeks earlier wasn't enough! www.leightoncentre.org/about-the-centre/philosophy www.leightoncentre.org/about-the-centre/history

This is where a few of us walked yesterday, on the land at the Leighton Art Centre (SW of Calgary) and recorded every species of plant that was seen - also a Two-spotted Ladybug (banded form), Mountain Bluebird, Moose and Elk droppings, etc., etc.. I hadn't been out there since my daughter was either in Kindergarten or Grade 1 and her class went there for an arts and crafts trip - something like 33 years ago! The leader of our group will then give the full, detailed list of everything, and any photos that some of us took, to the people at the Centre, to use in whatever way they want. Our trips are always a win-win situation - the owner of the particular land gets a detailed list and we get to see places that are often new to us and sometimes species that are new to most of us. I am always totally exhausted from the walking/hiking (I am so unfit, ha!!), the heat and the fresh air. We finished just after lunch - and I was already too hot and too worn out, lol. Don't like to think what state I'll be in when we go on the typical full-day trips! Afterwards, I decided to drive a few of the nearby backroads before heading home. Didn't see much, but was thrilled to see a Sora (small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes) down in one of the sloughs amongst the reeds. These are not usually seen. Also enjoyed a pair of Mountain Bluebirds. I already have two other photo projects that I need to work on, so I will be breathing, eating, sleeping images!

I always enjoy taking a macro look at a dead Wild Bergamot seedhead. So beautifuly designed, reminding me of the inside of a Wasp's nest. Taken at the Leighton Art Centre, SW of Calgary, on 17 May 2013.