Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

I had a wonderful time at the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit. I was more fascinated by her photography, a significant part of her art than I realized.

She took photos of everyone and everything with her Leica 35 mm, just as I do with my Mirrorless camera (which didn’t exist in her time), and had some important lessons for me: photographing what I see, not what people tell me to see, and looking for new and more modern ways to capture the beautify of things, flowers, rocks, hills and especially landscape. I’ll be writing about this as I get along.

The visit broadened my ideas about photography, lifted my confidence, and widened my idea of a good photo. I’ll talk more about that as I go on. You can only make art for yourself, not for what other people tell you to make.

Today, I’m absorbed in trying to get my computer and flower work syncing. It’s a bit messed up and is taking me hours. Bear with me; I’m finding some ways to get around it while Apple is working with me to repair it.

These photos will give you an idea of what I saw at the museum.

Please bear with me; the next few days will be a little chaotic here, and I put my creative art structure back together.

Maria soaks up the air in museums; seeing how much she loves to look at art is touching. Like O’Keeffe, she is an artist every minute. She has introduced me to the world of museums.

Skulls don’t represent death to O’Keeffe; they speak to her about life.

My America: I loved this artist’s interpretation of what America and “we the people” mean.

Maria always gets close.

A flower painting from O’Keeffe.

Her work got me spinning about what a landscape is. I love landscapes but am just beginning to realize how to photograph them.

This oddly striking statue is in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. I couldn’t stop looking at it. The museum show has my head spinning. I loved the 30-minute video of O’Keeffe explaining her work.

“I kept waiting for someone to teach me about landscapes,” she said. “I finally realized I had to teach myself.” Amen to that.

(I always take the monochrome to museums.)

Maria got up in the cold dark to get her Good Monday Morning video; she hadn’t missed more than one or two in years.  It’s almost a sacred ritual for her. I’ve added it to my Monday morning blogging; it’s a beautiful way to start the day.

We’re going to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to see a Georgia O’Keeffe art display. I hope to learn something and perhaps get an idea or two for my flower photos, which are an increasingly important part of my life.

I’m only taking the monochrome camera; black and white work well with museums, in my own experience. Maria loves museums, and after a while, I find a place to sit and meditate while she prowls around the museum; it’s fuel for her.

Georgia O’Keeffe has been an important inspiration; I look forward to spending time with her. I love her idea that flowers are a kind of sculpture.

We got a great deal on a motel outside of Boston, where I’ve worked, lived, and loved. We needed a break, for sure. I’ve posted the pantry request for today below; it’s pretty inexpensive.

Please help if you can. I can get away, but hunger stays.

Happy Belly Cranberry Juice cocktail, plastic bottle, 64 fl. oz, Pack of 1, $2.61.

Lemonade from Concentrate, 64 Fl oz, $2.79.