I was pleasantly surprised today by the artful shadows on the large round table in back:

Yep, more blurry photos. I can’t blame these on my Panasonic Lumix ZS1. I took these (and the accessories photo from the other day) with my Palm Treo 850. There are a lot of things I love about my Treo – it’s a great phone and handheld (palmtop?) computer – but photo quality isn’t one of them. (My Treo’s a couple of years old, so I’m not including a link.)

*I might try to get some good interior shots of Caffe Fiore one of these days.

(An auto shop at 20th Ave. NW and Leary Ave. NW in Ballard.)

(Souvenir, 5325 Ballard Ave. NW)

and took some test shots around Ballard this afternoon. As you’ll see, I need to spend some more quality time with this camera. Some of the shots are a bit blurry. That might be because I was juggling an umbrella as well as the camera, or because I was more focused on being damp and cold than on taking pictures, or because I need to increase the image stabilization option.

From the Ballard Farmers Market:

I took these pictures from the same spot, using the zoom feature for the second one (obviously).

As a follow up to this post, here’s an exterior shot of the new Jhanjay Vegetarian Thai restaurant:

And here’s a shot of the beautiful cherry blossom light fixture in Moshi Moshi Sushi (taken from outside of the restaurant):

And, just for the heck of it, a cabbage in a bicycle basket:

Here’s the brand new QFC grocery store on 24th Ave. NW, just north of NW Market St.:

I love the functional art — the rain gutters drain into a glass bowl supported by two metal hands, then the water zig-zags onto two big glass leaves, then into a huge spoon, and finally into a ceramic pot.

Check out My Ballard for an interesting article about the artists who designed the art for this store.

Farther south and east in Ballard, here’s what the Kolstrand Building looks like at the moment (see also this post):

And finally, a reminder that spring is on its way and will be here … eventually:

Blossoming Lotus, an all-vegan restaurant located inside Yoga in the Pearl, 925 NW Davis St.:

Landscaping by Dennis’ Seven Dees; photos taken near NW 10th Ave. and NW Glisan St.:

“No fur. No paws. No service.” D’tails dog salon, 416 NW 10th Ave.:

Residential building at approx. 633 NW 11th Ave.:

Photo taken from NW 11th Ave. and NW Hoyt St.:

Bike rack at approx. 700 block of NW 12th Ave.:

A couple of weeks after reading about Burien Press, I read about a sculpture currently being exhibited in Burien: A nude, squatting woman. And predictably, some people have their panties in a wad over the nudity and/or the squatting.

So last weekend, The Boyfriend (TB) and I took a short road trip to Burien.

Burien Press (423 SW 152nd St.), in addition to the fabulous coffee, has a funky, eclectic atmosphere.

And they have a lovely deck in the back:

(They also have a Web site, which, as of this writing, consists of the logo, name, and tag line. No hours, no phone number, no address.)

Naked Sculpture
The controversial sculpture, in the company of a variety of other sculptures, squats in the Burien/Interim Arts Space across 152nd St. and a courtyard from Burien Press.

The sculpture, by Seattle artist Michael McGrath, is very detailed and very realistic. Folds in the skin on her abdomen are clear; so are the muscles in her legs and the wrinkles in her ankles as she perches on the balls of her feet. One hand hangs casually, perhaps even modestly, in front of her crotch. I thought I saw evidence of sculpted pubic hair, but I really didn’t look that closely. Because it doesn’t matter. To make the determination whether she is completely anatomically correct, I think you would have to lie on the ground and place your head between her bronze legs. Or the artist would have to exhibit her on a pedestal, with the base of the sculpture at the “average” person’s eye level.

When I first saw a picture of this piece, I thought that the woman seemed to be focusing her gaze on something; TB said she appeared to be contemplating something. When I saw her in person, I thought she looked sad or in pain. From the perspective of standing behind her, she seems to be looking at two other figures – perhaps mother and daughter. Maybe the squatting woman is feeling regret over a strained relationship with her own mother or child, or maybe she’s feeling sad over the end of a relationship. Maybe she’s ill and in physical pain; looking at her back, her ribs are clearly visible, and she seems a bit too thin.

I think it’s sad that the power of this piece – the emotion, the detail – is being completely overlooked.

And to parents who are concerned about their kids seeing this sculpture: Hmm, maybe this is a good opportunity to teach your kids about nudity in an artistic context versus nudity in a sexual or inappropriate context; give your kids actual, age-appropriate information about nudity. And squatting. And art. (Yes, written by someone who does not and will not have kids.)

And by the way, whether you want to think about it or not, a teenager is probably more than capable of finding free p*rn, actual p*rn, on the Internet. And/or has found daddy’s stash of “girlie” magazines and/or DVDs.

Warning: The park in which the sculpture squats is located behind the library/city hall building. If you don’t know what a library is, it’s a collection of reference materials such as books. Books which may depict works of art, with or without nudity. Texts which may have drawings of the human anatomy, or detailed, medically accurate, non-judgmental information about sex.

And one last thing: What does your reaction to this sculpture say about you?

Here are some scenes from Pioneer Square tonight.

Other neighborhoods have different schedules for their Art Walks. In Ballard, we have the Second Saturday Artwalk. Greenwood and Phinney Ridge have the Second Friday ArtWalk.

Any art walk, on any day of any month, is an excellent opportunity for people-watching.

Photographer/artist Michael Bosanko creates “light graffiti” using flashlights, a digital camera, and long exposure times.

Check out this article in London’s Mail Online for more info and some great photos.

Bosanko also has his own Web site.

Amazing find #2: Esref Armagan, whom I found about thanks to Fark. Armagan, a Turkish painter, has been blind his entire life — he was born without eyes. This link goes to the site in the Fark snippet; this one goes to a Web site about Armagan.

The garden at Kirsten Gallery, 5320 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle.

(Taken with my cell phone camera. At least now I know not to use the zoom feature.)