Kat Eye Studio

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Walking through Time

Brandon walking on a Roman road in Nice, France. Two thousand years ago, other kids walked on this same road. People came and went on their daily lives. So many people, so many stories, so much time.

There is such a different concept of time and history here in Italy and Europe. When we see and experience things like this road first hand, it makes me feel like we are such babies in the US in a historical sense. Makes me wonder what will last of our country and culture that we have today. The Romans were such a mighty empire, and now all that is left is the remnants and rocks. When you think about it, we wouldn’t even have that much left of our everyday lives. Our building materials are much less permanent. The knowledge that has been gained through generations of human history could easily be lost completely, if some gigantic natural or human disaster occurred across the globe.

We are but a blink in the eye of time. Isn’t it interesting, what a different perspective just walking on an ancient rode can give?

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Colors of Nice

Apartment windows in the old city of Nice, France.

As I sort through my photos from Nice, I’m seeing a trend. My photos of our short time in Nice are all about color… the blue of the sea, the warm pinks and yellows of the buildings, the green of the palm trees and the plants, the bright colors of the flower market, the shades of the special soaps, the deep blues and bright yellows of Chagall paintings. So many brilliant colors, all in one place! Not gaudy overwhelming color, but natural, like the plumage of a parrot. All tropical and sunny. Maybe it was the sun and the spring feel of the weather that drew me to the colors, but I think maybe it’s just the personality of Nice.

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Illumination

If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know this is a photo of Nice. But it is.

It’s a photo of the flower market. The “famous” Cours Saleya Flower Market, so the guidebooks say.

It’s a photo of the light in Nice. Light so wonderful that Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse spent much time here painting and creating.

It’s a photo of the flowers, so beautiful and just waiting for someone to take them home. I wish we had gone on Sunday, so we could have brought some back home with us.

It’s a photo of me. What caught my eye in that moment, on a short visit to the French Riviera. Me, enjoying the light on the flowers and capturing a certain look and feel in my photo.

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Evening Window

Evening comes slowly on, the light fading to a beautiful glow over the palm trees. The city, the sea, the trees.

We were back in our room at the hostel in Nice early on Saturday because Brandon wasn’t feeling well and wanted to nap. I was trying to capture the view and evening light from our window but couldn’t quite get the angle I wanted with the palm tree and cityscape and sea all in there. Until I noticed the reflection in the window, just perfect. With a window to frame it all and give it a sense of place.

Sometimes it takes a problem to come up with a creative solution. You don’t think you want the problem to begin with, until you see the solution and realize that you would never have gotten to that place any other way. That’s what I see in this image, a much more interesting story than if I could have lined up the palm tree just right with the city and sea. Lucky me!

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The Blue Coast

We just got home from a weekend in Nice, France with a little side trip through Monaco on the way home. (Sometimes I get a kick about the things I write here, do we really get to do all of these cool things?) It is clear how this region gets it’s name of “Cote d’Azur” in French, or the Blue Coast. Just look at that water! This is of the Monte Carlo hotel overlooking the Sea in Monaco. More pictures to come this week!

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Art Expressing Spirituality

All around Europe, there are religious images. It would be impossible to live and travel here in Europe and especially Italy without seeing religious art. From a street corner niche to the vast cathedrals, we are surrounded by it. Much of it, while impressive and beautiful and historically significant, falls flat to me in terms of actually touching something inside my soul. It’s no reflection of the belief system itself – they just aren’t me; they don’t reflect my beliefs.

For me, it is often the everday images that reach out and touch my soul – as evidenced by the things I share here. But once in a while I run into something that is both of a religious nature and I feel some connection with – that is this piece of art, in this chapel of the Bled Castle in Bled, Slovenia. I love the simplicity of the sculpture, the light on it, the location it was placed, the surrounding chapel. There is something more real to me about this religious art than a perfectly executed Rennaisance painting. This would be a place I could sit and ponder the nature of the universe or the nature of myself.

Perhaps this is the reason why I keep ducking into churches or chapels, just looking for the one or two pieces of art that speak to me. That give me a greater understanding of why art is so important to spirituality. And maybe a little better understanding of myself.