April Flying Carpet 2019

In April, 

The Flying Carpet 

had meetings with 

remarkable people in California.

moments of heartfelt elegance 

and playfulness
in the home and studio of
the most celebratory Sas Colby
 

eclecticism run amok and astounding
in the apartment/ studio of
the ever zany/ profound Susan Wick…
 

a gathering of luminaries
around the table of
intensely-admired-by-many Liza Dalby
 

attention to the 

exquisite and unexpected
in the design of Dream Team

 Yosh Asato and David Baker
 

heaven on earth
in the art/garden of Marcia Donahue
The "real" and the "unreal" intertwining

Just floating in Berkeley spring

Special thanks to Sas Colby, Susan Wick,
Liza Dalby, Marcia Donahue, 

Yosh and david, and Chere Mah

March Flying Carpet 2019

In March The Flying Carpet
galloped into the movie set of 

Tucson, Arizona.

In Truth or Consequences, 

the woman says,
“You from around here?”
I say, “No”
She says, “Well, you're arty enough!”
 

The Tae Kwon Do dragon/
ledger horses window
proves her right
 

In Tucson the air crackles crystal
and geometry 

flaunts its spines and prickles
 

succulent blossoms 

gradate like sundown

and desert sea anemones 

gobble the cumulus

with liberty and cactus for all 

On the road again
heading into Hatch, New Mexico
the locals come out to greet us
 

Bearing giant burgers
and intense nostalgia

and bizarre 
hodgepodge collage barrage
at Sparky's
 

Special thanks to Bob, Laurel, and Janet

February Flying Carpet 2019

In February
The Flying Carpet
is attached to attachments

Attachments can be 

entirely unexpected
 (Ledger of Attachments)

Some attachments 

can involve much effort

(and many C  clamps)

Some people 

are attached to attachment
 (Raymond Isidore's
Maison Picassiette
in Chartres France)

Some are attached 

to detachment
(peeling posters in Paris)

Some attachments 

last for a lifetime
(Big shot, my therapist)

Some attachments 

can be temporary
(wanna-be artists 

draw on post-its
at Sennelier in Paris)

Some people 

attach things they reject
(Shinto worshippers
tie negative fortunes 

to trees at shrines)

So whether you are

Kondo-izing your condo

and “deaccesioning”

because you feel “stufficated”

(Sun Gallery/Tea Room)

or collecting 

like a bower bird
(Evening in Paris)

The Flying Carpet
hopes it all “sparks joy”
 

Special thanks to Bonnie

January Flying Carpet 2019

In January
The Flying Carpet
makes a valentine for you.

 

It all started
with broken and chipped
mother of pearl buttons.
They are called Orphan Buttons

 

 

Then thinking about so many lives
broken apart
for so many reasons
 

 

 

Then sewing the buttons
and making a card
 

 

“Bind up the broken hearted…”
 

 

and sending it to you

 

 

 

and then playing with
all the parts left over
 

 

 

 

It's never too early or too late
to send valentines

December Flying Carpet 2018

In December
The Flying  Carpet
remembered 2018 as
The Year of Zany

We were all eyes and ears
for the news

 

waiting for
the other shoe to drop

 

everything seemed unreal

 

off kilter

 

 

and broken
 

 

We wanted to escape 

into chocolate,
 

 

outer space,

 

and/or
inner space
 

 

As we come out of the daze
and enter into the days of 2019
The Flying Carpet
sends wishes for
many intriguing doors 

to open for you

November Flying Carpet 2018

In November the Flying Carpet shares
shrines of Thanksgiving 
and gratitude
and remembrance.

The Ofrenda is a shrine
created during the 

Mexican Day of the Dead celebration.
This home memorial,
created at Casa Perea by several people
to honor the recently departed,
shows Ann Murdy and her photographs
of Oaxaca Dia De Los Muertos.

These community

Dia de Los Muertos shrines
at the Museum of International Folk Art,

Santa Fe,

are artistic translations of this tradition.

In rural Japan
families celebrate harvest
with humble but eloquent displays
outside their homes

and practical, functional and exquisite
wrappings and hangings
like these drying persimmons

These sake barrel offerings 

at Meiji shrine, Tokyo
symbolize blessings and abundance

An offering of auspicious elements
in the stall of a fish seller
at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo
magnetizes good luck.

Wandering through temples 

in Laos
our hearts are transported 

by so much glowing beauty.

Young monks are inspired and instructed
before the altar of their monastery
in Luang Prabang

The Flying Carpet

hopes these images 

will lift your spirits.