Hyde Park Fire Station

Like the other buildings edging Cincinnati's Hyde Park Square, the fire station was decked out for the holidays. Lights and a big wreath set off the carefully painted architectural details. A biting wind blew hard snow crystals along the street and across the tiny park behind me. Snowing or not, this meant it was time to go across the street and indulge in ice cream from Graeter's.

 

Madonna And Child With Saints

 Niccolo di Pietro Gerini painted this altar piece during the Gothic era. I love the somewhat stilted awkwardness of the figures.  Mary wears her signature blue cloak and an expression that is neither happy nor sad. Baby Jesus looks kind of like a middle aged man, not uncommon in such paintings. The saints and angels all have textures stamped into their gilded halos. Those perfect circles frame the Virgin and her child. Imagine, six hundred years ago, how this would have seemed to glow with heavenly light, telling the story of Christmas.

Roadside Picnic Table

 On a chilly, bright day, we stopped in the middle of nowhere to eat lunch. The picnic table threatened a host of hazards including splinters and lead poisoning. Its many-layered surface was a victim of baking summers and winter winds sweeping across the plains. Somehow the painted concrete blocks looked years younger, a geometric framework for the blue sky. Together they illustrated the contrast between chaos and order, just off the side of the road.

Three Young Girls

 In a dark room  in the Denver Art Museum, three sisters stand, looking straight ahead. They are mesmerizing in their identical dresses. The style of the lace, with stand up collars and cuffs folding back over the sleeve are clues indicating that they posed for this portrait sometime in the early 1600s. Historians have concluded that about 1610 is a more accurate date because the lace is yellow, a short-lived fashion that died out quickly. Who are these girls? We know they are from a wealthy family but neither their names nor the name of the artist is documented. Did they all grow up and have children of their own? Four hundred years later, they look out but do not tell.

Bridge To Kentucky

 Where there are bodies of water to be crossed, there are bridges: ancient bridges hewn from stones, precarious wooden bridges high over mountain gorges, elaborate iron bridges with decorative details. Even the most simplified utilitarian bridge can be beautiful, especially if its bare-bones structure overlays a dramatic sky. This one, near Louisville, welcomed us to the sixth of eleven states as we were on our way home.