Possibilities

Downtown Detroit is home to many things, one of which is quite a few really old churches. The architecture of the old churches is beautiful. Eventually, I would like to photograph all of the ones in the downtown area and post them so others can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the buildings that have stood through the test of time. When you enter into one of the churches, that's where "Possibilities" are endless. Faith, love, hope, etc. are all part of the magic that can happen inside of a church. All it takes is for one person to believe. This photo was taken earlier this year. It sits on one of the main roads in downtown Detroit, right next to Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers), and across the street from Hockeytown Cafe (Detroit Red Wings). Since it is the Christmas season, it seemed like a perfect time to post this photo, and think about the "Possibilities." Hope you enjoy!

Puddle Jumping!

I was looking through my many photos, and I came across this one that I have always liked for some reason. I took this last year in Florida, on one of the many shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It was near night, which always brings in the tide. In this photo, the tide would wash out and take large amounts of sand with it, creating several pockets of holes in the sand. Then when the tide rolled back in a few seconds later, the large amounts of sand would wash back up on the shore with the tide. This is one of those photos where you can actually see the sand rolling back to the shore. Hope you enjoy!

Bridging the Gap

This is another fall photo taken at one of the parks I frequent all year-round. I loved the look of this scene because of the many colors that were on display for fall. The bridge goes over the man-made lake that has fountains sprouting through it in the summer. Even in the winter, when the fountains are off for the season, I always find something interesting here to photograph. Hope you enjoy!

Detroit's Heidelberg Project

Last Thursday, I took a ride to a place that is located a few miles from the outskirts of Downtown Detroit, a street named Heidelberg. It is on this very impoverished street, that an iconic urban art display known as the "Heidelberg Project" is located. This two block area is an artistic display of old, abandoned homes that have been turned into art through recycled items, many of which were just originally tossed somewhere on the streets of Detroit. This project was started approx. 23 years ago, by an artist named Tyree Guyton, but was soon embraced by the community surrounding this area, with many contributors including children, helping to create this iconic art display. The Heidelberg Project receives almost 300,000 visitors a year, as a tourist place to visit in Detroit.

Each house that is adorned in art, has a name or theme associated with it, such as the "House of Soul", "The Numbers House", and "The Penny House", to name just a few. In May of this year, and again in October, someone burned down what was known as the "OJ" or "House of Justice" that was part of the project. On November 13th, someone then burned down what was formerly known as the "House of Soul", it's exterior decorated with hundreds of real vinyl record albums. On November 21st, the project was again struck by fire when someone burned down what was known as the "Penny House", which was actually slated to be turned into offices for the Heidelberg Project. Hopefully, this arsonist will be caught before anymore damage can be done to this expression of open-air, urban art.

I have lived in the Detroit area my whole life and love so many things about the city, regardless of the negative press that often surrounds Detroit in recent years. After hearing about yet another fire to another structure at the project, I realized that I had never been there, in person, to see the Heidelberg Project. I decided I wanted to see this iconic neighborhood display before anything more unsavory happens to it. Many people would argue that this is not art, but garbage. I think that art is, of course, always in the eye of the beholder. This project has created a close-knit community of people who love, respect and support this project. It also gives them hope for a better future, and someone is trying to take this away from them, and all who appreciate what the community is trying to create in what would otherwise be, just more old abandoned houses.

It was a really cloudy, dreary day when I went to the project. I took all of the following photos from my car, as I had my Mom with me, and she just had knee replacement surgery, so walking was just not something I was able to do at the time. Here are some of the photos I took of the iconic two block landmark. Hope you enjoy this little tour of art that is somewhat different than what we see everyday!

The Dog House

House of Numbers

Circle House

The Teddy Bear House

The Clock House

Taxi House

Cake House

Each adjacent open lawn area is also covered in some type of art, such as this example:
Noah's Ark

Remains of the houses that were burned down:

Photos of what the original burned houses looked like can be found on the internet, by searching for the "Detroit Heidelberg Project."

Washed Away

It seems like when the Fall season starts, time changes in preparation for Winter. This particular Fall seems like it is going by much faster than I can ever remember. I went back to the cider mill for the last time this fall, and was really surprised as most of the trees are already close to bare. It was cold and windy, so the river was flowing pretty fast that day. While I stood there watching the river, I saw a fair amount of leaves being "Washed Away" down the path of the river's current. In this photo, there is a clump of leaves that got stuck on a rock, and had not yet been washed away. Enjoy!

Pink Pearl

I have two yellow bushes in my front yard that produce tiny little pink buds twice during the year. These buds are so tiny, most people would not even notice them. They have been in my yard for 3 years now, and this is really the first time that I actually took a good look at them. They are about the size of a dime. When they started to bloom, I saw that they were absolutely gorgeous pink colors with pearly white strands around them. I have no idea of what they are, but up close you can see how beautiful they are. Enjoy!

Through the Path of Colors

Fall is a special time of year in Michigan, where everything changes in preparation for Winter. The air outside is crisp and fresh, the leaves on the trees change from green to golden yellows, oranges and reds, just before falling off and covering the ground with a great deal of leaves that crunch under your feet as you walk the ground around you. This is a photo I took in the park a few days ago as the winding path was a backdrop of gorgeous fall colors!