Baby helicopter leaves.

I am so, so lucky to be able to feature Sara Zin’s work here. I stumbled on her stunning portraits at the Pacini Lubel Gallery in Pioneer Square a few weeks ago and had a long, wonderful conversation with gallery manager Rand about Sara’s phenomenal skill in portraying skin tone and proportioned angle. I could stare at her work for hours, really.It’s like being let in to someone’s private world — her subjects are so close and vulnerable. She uses blocks of color in a way that I’ve never seen before. And she is young, a new graduate of the University of Washington. How incredibly thrilling to find a young artist who is already so talented. My humble thanks to Sara for sharing this image with me.

Amazing street art going on here in Seattle. This is from some installments at the old abandoned Tubs in the U District. The artists had an open house a few weeks ago that I was unable to attend, but it’s so exciting to see all the ways people are coming together to keep the arts alive. With rent on Capitol Hill skyrocketing (and Georgetown not far behind), where can artists afford to live and create?

Apologies for the lapse in posts, dear readers! I am back, with more beautiful, marvelous things.

Victrola on 15th has a gorgeous new show by AJ Power. His work is infused with compelling mystery, muted tones and mythical creatures. I especially like his cherubs series — small pieces featuring intriguing half animal, half human characters. This larger work is “Temple Girl and Civet,” a lithe-bodied, catlike animal from Asia and Africa.

You can see Power’s display at Victrola through May, or venture to the Ballard Art Walk this Saturday (6-9 p.m.) and meet him in person at his studio.

Addendum: I did visit AJ on the walk, and he was lovely. He didn’t have much in-studio with the show at Victrola, although there was a wonderfully captivating killer whale stretched across the wall, unfinished. My companion and I encouraged him to leave it as is. It reminded me of a series of intense childhood killer-whale dreams I had, murky and mysterious.

So many small, interesting details!

Musicians who inspire wonder and curiosity in me:

The Shins

Björk

Yael Naïm

Eric Whitacre

Aqualung

Beirut

DeVotchka

Sufjan Stevens

Imogen Heap

Jeff Buckley

Kings of Convenience

Patty Griffin

Radiohead

Andrew Bird

What kind of music inspires you?

I found this new little park at the base of Queen Anne hill the other evening — at night, the concrete walls are lit with a morphing rainbow of color. I remember watching workers set its foundation in the rain several months ago, thinking it would just be more condos. What a wonderful surprise!

The preacher of the lilac-colored church caught me taking pictures. He walked up to me with a perplexed but genuinely curious expression and held his hand out to introduce himself. I liked him immediately. A Bluetooth in one ear and a black wool OBAMA hat settled snugly over his forehead, he stood tall and strong in a long black wool overcoat. In a city known for its reticence, it was a pleasure to meet someone on the street and laugh together right away.

The last picture was inspired by the style of Susan Bennerstrom, a fellow WWU grad and one of my absolute favorite contemporary painters. Thanks to a heads-up from local artist Ariana Page Russell, I was able to see Elements, Bennerstrom’s show at Davidson Galleries in Pioneer Square, just before it closed. I have a stunning print from her Existing Light collection that I keep in my psychotherapy office where I meet with my clients. “Expect to Wait” is Hopperesque (surprise!), with a chair in half light, half shadow, facing a window that looks out to sea. Quiet, contemplative, but not exactly peaceful. Things get stirred up when we have space to just feel and breathe. I’m grateful for her adept illustration of this experience.

I know I said I would write about fear and courage. This will happen, soon. But for now, it’s easy like Sunday morning. A good weekend with good people has a calming effect.

Hooray! I was stunned to find this in the mail from the wonderful Sandra at Smosch … until I remembered I’d ordered it a couple of weeks ago. Something to cheer myself up while the rain and fog permeate Seattle.

Sandra is my blogging inspiration. This is one of the marvelous things about the Interweb, as I fondly call it. Taking in this Swede’s photos of the small details of her life inspires me, helps me feel hopeful about this world.

Like Sandra, I need to create. I am a fumbling, utterly amateur artist, nowhere near her skill, but skill really isn’t the point for me. The creative impulse keeps us all alive. Whether we write math equations or put together engines or ride roiling ocean waves, we need engagement. We need self-expression. We need ongoing dialogue between our minds and our hearts. We need to know, over and over, that life is not merely an endless pursuit of obligatory work or money or the illusion of safety but a wild, bloody, gorgeous adventure.

Tomorrow’s post may include courage and fear and Barak Obama. Loads of good stuff on NPR and in Utne Reader, to name just two. I’m all riled up!

What do you notice about the fences in these pictures?

Why do we build fences?

What do we want to keep out? What do we want to keep in?

What do our fences tell the world about us?