Up Up Up the Mountain
My love is in Brazil visiting me. His name is Orien. He is a wildly creative artist and craftsman with a great sense for adventure and good tmies. We have a lot of fun and exploring planned here together in addition to the painting and planning I am doing for The Aces of Perception with […]
The Praça Quinze flea market, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil I’ve been back in Brazil for just a few days and let me tell you, I found the spot. Up until just recently I didn’t think that Rio had flea markets or vintage stores or anything of the sort. I had just assumed that it didn’t fit into Carioca culture. But […]
Fountain Art Fair, NY
Manhattan, New York~ Alaska was another world. Where survival seems to have been the driving force for ages. Dog sleds still have their place, hunting, fishing, furs, the great outdoors. I loved it. The people are kind and friendly. Now I am headed back to Brazil. On my way to Rio I got to take […]
And she’s off!
My mother has been training for the Iditarod for four years and this will be her third race. We arrive in Willow, on the frozen lake bed from where the racers of the Iditarod start. There’s a buzzing in the air as one by one another truck full of dogs and gear arrive. My mother […]
The Ceremonial Start of the iditarod, Pt 2
(…continued) Willow, Alaksa My mother stands on the main dog sled and i sit inside it. Her friend Cindy is trailing on the back in another sled… this one to keep us from going to fast. The ceremonial start, taking place one day before the official start, is not competitive. Photo by Donna Quante We […]
The Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod Pt 1
Alaska I wake up to the sound of howling sled dogs once again. It’s the early morning rooster crow of Willow, Alaska. Today is a special day. It is the ceremonial start of the Iditarod and I get to go for a ride in the dog sled with my mother. We head into downtown Anchorage […]
The Iditarod, Why? Pt 2
(Continued) Picking the brain of vetran Iditarod racer, Bob Chupack on why he loves this race. He continued, “not to sound kooky or anything… but I feel that there’s a whole spiritual world that we’re not functioning with. When you are out running the dogs and your brain loosens up, sometimes you can pick up on […]
The Iditarod. Why? Pt 1
When my mother first told me that she was training to run the Iditarod, I have to admit my first thought was why?? Why run the Iditarod? Why spend so much time and so much effort, and a whole lot of money, to do this thing that to me seems kinda masochistic and downright dangerous… […]
Alaska… and the Iditarod
Anchorage, Alaska I am in here to send my mother off on her third Iditarod dog sled race and also have the exciting chance to ride in her sled during the ceremonial start. The Millennium Hotel in Anchorage; Iditarod race headquarters and supporter of the Iditarod for the last two decades Jet lagged but curious, […]
Preparing for the Iditarod
Willow, Alaska I wake up on the couch to the sounds of sled dogs howling in the yard. I’m sweating in front of the wood stove which has burned all night heating up the house. Wearing a double set of leggings and a fleece, i throw off the blankets and open the door to get some […]
The Viennese Flea Market
Vintage porcelain dishes, colorful plastic trinkets and toys, worn miniature playing cards, embroidered turkish clothes, big, warm fur coats, and people of all stripes; The Viennese flea market is open every Saturday from early until about 6pm. The best time to go in my opinion is either early- to get all the good stuff, or […]
Onward to Alaska!
I am on my way to Anchorage Alaska to ride in my mother’s sled at the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. The Iditarod, called “The Last Great Race” is a long-distance dog sled race from Willow to Nome, Alaska. It spans over 1,000 miles and “mushers” have to sled over glaciers, through forests, past wild […]