Texture || Boxelder Bugs

J and I were walking over to pick up some dinner last night when this maple tree covered in clusters of boxelder bugs caught our attention.  At the time, there were clusters twice the size of these at every branch/trunk attachment all the way up the tree, but after the glorious thunderstorm we had yesterday evening they must have been all washed out.  I went back today, and this is what I found.

Texture || Fungi of the Pacific Northwest

Yes, that is my post title.  This gets its own entry because I have so many photos of fungi from our trip last month.  As I was looking through the camera's playback in our hotel room in Portland, I told J that 20% of my photos were of trees, 15% were buildings/landmarks/other scenery, 5% were of food, 15% were from our friend's wedding, 5% were of J drinking beer, 10% were of my fiber art installations, and 30% of my photos were of some type of fungi in the woods.  So here you go, a showing of my favorites.  If you would like to see the rest, take a look at my Flickr stream.

Texture || City Stripes

While in Kansas City we checked out the Performing Arts Center and some of the art around the Grand Ballroom.  I couldn't help but be impressed by the combination of textures between these beautifully designed buildings along with the artwork on display around them.  The sculptures below were done by Jun Kaneko, an artist out of Nebraska that J is a fan of. From the City of Kansas City's press release about the project:

"The courtyard's surface is designed to represent flowing water, referencing the building's aquatic motif. To achieve this, the artist produced a design that incorporates tinted concrete to create a banded pattern that is mirrored in the head-shaped sculptures."

It was interesting to look across the courtyard and see the same banding pattern in the architecture of the  performing arts center across the way.  It doesn't tie into this textures post, but I wish I had gotten some photos of the landscaping surrounding the PAC.  In addition to trees and prairie grasses on one side, the parking garage was also designed with a green roof.

Texture || Oak-Hickory Forest

One of the new features (or categories, anyway) that I have decided to introduce on my blog will cover textures or patterns from every day settings and objects. I am inspired by texture on a daily basis whether it's involving an art installation that I came across on the web, a tree that I am working around during the day, or the combination of urban textures that complement each other in a unique way.
I believe it would be over ambitious to say that this will be a weekly feature. At least for now, let's say it will show up when the mood strikes... Hopefully more often than not.
I decided to include Texture on my blog on my trip to the Ozark National Forest this past weekend. The other new features will include Hues and Light. While I may post on Light less often, I felt that it deserved its own category.
From here, I will leave you with the textures that stood out to me in the oak and hickory forest of northwestern Arkansas. Please let me know what you think about the new content, I'm always looking for ways to improve the blog.