Local Photographers collaborate with Marriott to decorate new Residence Hotel In Colchester, VT

Marriott opens new Residence Inn hotel near Burlington, Vermont On Tuesday, September 14 Marriott opened The Residence Inn Burlington Colchester, located at 71 Rathe Road, six miles from the Burlington International Airport. With 4 floors and 108 suites this new hotel offers accommodations with separate kitchens, sleeping and work spaces. What else is new about this facility? A few years ago the President of Marriott Corp, J.W. (Bill) Marriott, Jr. visited the Burlington Marriott on Battery street and noticed the work of Bill and Bene Dodge on display in the dining room. The specialty of Dodge Studio's are breathtaking images of Lake Champlain and Vermont. Mr. Marriott liked what he saw, and suggested that for a new facility being planned near Colchester that Dodge studios collaborate with the Marriott interior design teams proposing the use of art in the hotel that would feature the landscapes and highlights of the local area with the intention that guests not only feel at home but also that they see the best of the region they are visiting. Artists and photographers Bill and Bene Dodge from Dodge Studios and Silver Maple Editions along with Sharon McDonnell of Mother-Daughter Press and Gay Bumgarner Images produced this novel "staying in place" concept for Marriott. A chance to deepen the sense of having visited somewhere and gaining familiarity with a place. The pictures are large-scale, breathtaking images of Vermont -- including Lake Champlain, the Northeast Kingdom, the animals and plants of the area and other unique aspects of Vermont that make it a top travel destination. In choosing to decorate the hotel in a way that honors both Vermont and Vermonters, the Marriott organization has made a beautiful environment for both employees and guests. See the slide show below -- it gives only a wee taste of the many pictures used. Or better yet, visit the hotel in person to experience this art first hand: Marriott - Images by Gay Bumgarner Images and Mother-Daughter Press and Dodge Studios, Bill and Bene Dodge If you like the idea, talk it up. Let the Marriott know, let the artists know. Tell the guests that what they are seeing is Vermont and even if they cannot get to all its lovely places-- soak it up-- in pictures. Hotel art is for once something to brag about. I hope the Marriott is rewarded by their "risk". The Marriott Corp may not be playing it up in their advertising yet--perhaps they should take more credit and brag. We hope it is an idea that catches on. Maybe when we go on business trips and stay in nice hotels we can expect to learn more about the place rather than see generic pictures from "anywhere" off Art.com. Art as conversation, as a guest service, facilitating a nice experience and familiarity. Wahoo!! We will try to get more pictures to share.

What does big government mean?

  Greetings I have had it! I have listened to people shout bumper stickers at each other and the other day one more person said "no more big government" and I had to start researching. I have started tables of data to show trends and yet I would really like to know.... what do you think "Big government" means and what should I count to see if it is big, bigger, less big or whatever?  Can you help. What do you think I should "count" as I try to define the size or "bigness" of government?


Thanks Please leave ideas on this blog, facebook or email. You do not have to register.

Sharon

Making news...PBS NewsHour and the effects of stories and images

See NewsHour coverage about an initiative
called Peaceworks and OneVoice

Male Peacock, Pavo cristatus, displaying

Images matter

If I cannot picture it I cannot create it

In the tangled story of something like the Middle-East
the PBS NewsHour tells me story

about how peace is kindled and possibly made

about how journalism chooses the stories we tell,

the pictures we see

These images re-form in our minds

reform our minds

they become our stories

they are possibilities

a story about

how reality starts

As the young business visionary who started the projects says "We're moving from theory into action. And the first part of the action is actually visualizing what is it that the people are going to do and then helping empower the people to actually start..."

See the clip "Hostile Neighbors Come Together as Trade Partners"

Courage applied to peace in practical measures is something I need to see more often. I want to tell the NewsHour that this journalism helps-- this type of story is important. It is news.
If you do too, you can click on their feedback page and tell them so.

Sharon

This post is dedicated to Bruce Dan MD who makes fun of me for watching PBS because, as he says, I am the only one.

More Note Card Sets-- Easy for you

New cards sets-- check them out

Many people that visit our website are astonished at the number of images --- truly lovely images --- that are all available but, too often they became overwhelmed and say "YOU CHOOSE". And so, we do sometimes and its great. Making a coherent set of cards is science and Gut Gestalt. We did an iterative process-- thanks to the committee friends Bill and Bene Dodge in Burlington, Suzanne Rhodes , Morgan McDonnell, Gib Parrish, and of course Gay Bumgarner herself.

Gay loved taking theme pictures and for many years she had a chair obsession thus, creating a gorgeous array of places to sit that were collectively called "Sitting Pretty". Anyone that had a really great or unusual chair would let her borrow it so she could place it in all sorts of settings. Her interests in the chairs, how she placed them, what they symbolized, and the story implied changed a lot over the years but... that is, another story.

This set is called Rural Living -- Four gorgeous country scenes. On the back of all cards we have collected stories, facts, odd ball information and lovely poems-- each relating to the image on the front-- as a way to learn and enjoy the cards a bit more.

For the Rural living set on the back of the picture with the iron wheels we explore all the different uses of the term "re-inventing the wheel". It turns out engineers have a rich set of stories and concepts about this and many related sayings such as "reinventing the square wheel". But, not to give away too much, the wheel has been reinvented at least 2-3 times depending on your definition.

These card sets are available online or by EMAIL here or in Burlington Vermont at Silver Maple Editions in Burlington, Vt.

Next onwards to winter birds -- cardinals, birds of all type, with berries, and snow.
Feel free to suggest a card set or theme for one....

It's coming on Harvest aka autumn

Before the 16th century, Harvest was the term used to refer to the season. However, as more people  moved from working the land to living in towns, the word harvest lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and autumn began to replace it as a reference to the season.  The alternative word fall is limited primarily to North American English.

All cultures have an Harvest festival, and without exception the theme is a celebration of food (YIPPEE!) and eating.  A good food celebration included elaborate feasts and food displays. Tables, homes and even people were decorated  with foods such as grains, corn, flowers, fruit, gourds, acorns, corn stalks and cornucopias as well as the colors of autumn. 

Harvest celebrations are a time of gratitude and merriment combined with a dash of dread as the fall equinox -- a day of equal light and dark-- heralds the impending darkness and cold of winter.  This year the Autumn Equinox is September 23rd.  

We've creating a new gallery of Harvest season images and you can see them all in the slide show below.   It emphasizes images of New England and the Midwest, with stunning fall foliage as well the more subtle signs of the changing seasons.

Fall - Colors and Changes - Images by Gay Bumgarner
And, to go with the pictures here is a favorite poem for the Harvest season by Mary Oliver called

"In Blackwater Woods"

Look, the trees

are turning

their own bodies

into pillars

of light,

are giving off the rich

fragrance of cinnamon

and fulfillment,

the long tapers

of cattails

are bursting and floating away over

the blue shoulders

of the ponds,

and every pond,

no matter what its

name is, is

nameless now.

Every year

everything

I have ever learned

in my lifetime

leads back to this: the fires

and the black river of loss

whose other side

is salvation,

whose meaning

none of us will ever know.

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

~ Mary Oliver ~ (American Primative)

Take Love for instance-- A couple of birds- cardinals

A couple of cardinals -- "We" -- the cardinal couple

Gay Bumgarner prized the cardinal birds for their their flash of red color and their friendliness. She loved photographing them, particularly in winter when their presence seems festive, Christmas-y, brave and romantic. Cardinals became one of her specialties and the depth of her collection is astonishing-- illustrating every type of "emotional" moment especially to those willing to let fancy run free.

Suzanne Rhodes and I created a web-sampler of winter cardinals for the staff at International Animal Welfare to use to select their official holiday card. As we explored and then chose the collection we found ourselves easily spinning stories.

So, here is one for fun, the familiar story of the arc of romance. Its the same the whole world over-- whether we've two feet, four feet, feathers or fur. Join us...add a line or two, suggest a picture or a plot twist.

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It starts with magic. . . Everything is easier. You speak the same language. Your step is lighter and your song is sweeter. You can't get enough of each other.

Your lives intertwine you create a home and revel in the small domestic details-- preparing meals, social gatherings, entertaining the neighbors-- together.

Then come the holidays, with all the decorating and family visits. Something creeps in, you're not on the same page anymore, everything matters and feels effortful.

And then, with the holiday festivities in the past, it breaks down altogether ...... ouch. Foreigners to each other, your eyes don't quite meet.

Things that used to make you laugh aren't funny anymore. You move stiffly past each other and say "FINE!" a lot -- and silence follows.

But then, somehow, something gives. Is it hope, habit, fatigue, or compassion? You forget you're "supposed" to be resisting and in the face of even the smallest opening, you bend towards each other. The efforts of resistance seem to evaporate. You find yourselves softening, leaning in, the roaring has quieted. Its just "us" on our branch here. Relief flows in like fresh air as the normal becomes possible and humor is in reach.

Then, on that cold winter day with snow falling continuously, the photographer came and takes your picture -- the picture up on the mantle -- it's the warmth and connection you share that day that suffuses the picture and everyone comments on. There something in the color-- is it contrast or compliment? -- something companionable, even romantic again.

The well-being and simple pleasure are earned. It's no simple feat; it may be miraculous! Good to remember everything has it season. And if you are lucky you recognize the value of each season and don't panic when it isn't always summer.

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If you have never heard it listen to the song/poem "Take Love for Instance" written and read by Bobbie Louise Hawkins At the Great American Music Hall. Its free to listen once on this site, and definitely worth it. If you have problems with the link let us know.

Meanwhile, inspired by the last cardinal image we have created official holiday postage stamps If you would like to purchase these custom stamps (or others with images by Gay Bumgarner and Mother-Daughter Press) please send an EMAIL request. Same goes for cards or small mounted prints-- give someone an image that makes them smile.

Be well and tell us if you "recommend" the post (it's similar to the "like" on facebook except we could only get the word "recommend". Love to hear just that... did you "like" or enjoy it-- no heavy sign in, no justification, just sign of life response. Thanks!

Just say no: NIH director Francis Collins asks us to tweet for a festival about biomedicine and medical care.....sigh

I shall start first with an announcement and a request that I received tonight. It goes like this....

"The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival will be the country’s first national science festival and will descend on the Washington, D.C. area in the Fall of 2010. The Festival promises to be the ultimate multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary celebration of science in the United States. On this blog, you can keep updated on Festival events and scheduling, and follow along as the Festival's organizers and presenters further discuss the ideas and themes that shape the agenda.

NIH Director Francis Collins' 5 Critical Pathways for Science

Category: shout out • social media

We need your help to get the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Social Media cannot be done in a vacuum so we continue to ask those of you who are listening to help us get the word out through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogging. I think this is just another great example of how to help us get the word out. This blog was posted on Forbes Wolfe blog, Josh Wolfe is one of the Festival's Nifty Fifty Speakers as well as Francis Collins. Dr. Collins then gives insight into the role the USA Science and Engineering Festival will play in inspiring the future of science in the up and coming generations.
Thanks for helping us get the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival"
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What follows is a short article in which Dr. Collins names "5 critical pathways for the future of health sciences"
you can check it out....
This is where I want to put my head in the water like the ducks above.

Instead I write back to them about their request to tweet or facebook or social network on behalf of the conference.  Is it just me....that is getting tired of the language and the tone?

So, here goes ..... Dear .....
With due respect to Dr. Collins I would like to disagree about some of the points made in the announcement of this conference.

In the 3rd point he stresses the need to develop a science of health care reform by measuring outcomes, assessing efficacy, and developing "personalized" medicine.  In fact, the science of health care reform would be much more important and effective if we would act on and expand the  research about what determines health and more emphatically explore the connections between social and community influences on human health.

Health reform has two main elements first, quality improvement and cost-effectiveness efforts directed at our current medical system and second, improving access to this  system for more people.  However, the five biomedical and technological areas Dr. Collins suggests in this post will not improve quality, access or reduce costs of medical care, the cannot.
We have obsessively spent our time, money, and intellect on the uni-modal biomedical model and we have tweaked the medical system enough to demonstrate that:
a. The health care system as described includes only the formal medical system and thus, includes a very limited set of places and activities. We can keep fixing the formal system and rearranging its elements but it will not produce health in the population or the individual.  Health reform efforts that  ignore community-based inputs and impacts will be limited in their reach-- in fact, the working estimate is that the health care system is responsible for only 10% of the "health" experienced by the American population although it garners 97% of health resources (dollars).  We indeed know a lot about the individual but too little about their context and how that context interacts to create or undermine "health". 
b. human health is intricately and demonstrably associated with social and psychological factors that have more "weight" than many of the traditional risk factors we are so fond of emphasizing. I think the health care reform we need is first conceptual.  What is happening in the homes and streets is more important than the hospital. If we simply improved high school graduation rates in the US we would have a more sizable and lasting effect on the health of Americans by any standard measure than any of the activities suggested in the post above. 

The health care reform needed is transformational and should include a demand by health workers and the public for a system that that produces health, promotes well-being, prevents disease, cares for illness, and assists in rehabilitation and comfort. 
I have worked with Dr. Collins and I know he appreciates that population and community forces are critical components of the "health system" and to creating health. However, what is described here is limited to the commodity of health care delivery and I fear the entire conference will be a festival celebrating genetics, the biomedical model, and simply more of the same.
Finally, I am concerned that the global health strategy of "de-risking" thus, encouraging private sector engagement assumes profitability that may not be true or good.  Some activities are investments and will not bear profits for some time if ever.  Educating children, clean water that is tested and widely accessible, fire stations, and libraries are all activities with benefits that far exceed the individual and will not likely be profitable business ventures.  In fact, I am not aware of them being profitable anywhere.   Investment in communities may sometimes require more than the profit motive and the "de-risking" alluded to-- recognizing that there was not enough space to adequately define the term-- could also come with great harm.

The announcement asks the recipient to share it through our social networks however, unless I was reassured that the conference had a more balanced and innovative plan I would actually encourage people to miss it. Thus, my twitter feed will remain quiet for now.

Respectfully,

Sharon McDonnell MD MPH
Associate Professor Dartmouth Medical School and
The Dartmouth Institute