Museum of Fine Arts: C. Paul Jennewein and "The First Step"

This bronze statue is called The First Step. It captures a mother lovingly guiding her son as he begins to take his first step. The statue was created by American artist C. Paul Jennewein (1890-1978). The statue is approximately 30 inches high and is located in the north courtyard of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. We went across Tampa Bay to see the current exhibition of photography on display from the museum’s collection. There were images from the earliest years in the mid nineteenth century, masters of the twentieth century including American photographer Burk Uzzle, to Len Prince and his recent images of Sally Mann’s daughter, Jessie. Because we cannot take photographs inside the museum galleries, I went out into the sculpture garden, used the cell phone and took a few photos of the pieces from the permanent collection displayed outdoors. There are several very impressive sculptures. You can see The First Step on a pedestal in the center of the garden photo.

Jennewein was born in Stuttgart, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1907. He spent his early years as a muralist. In 1912, he completed the four murals for the Woolworth Building in New York City. Following his military service with the U.S. Army during World War I he moved to Rome where he studied at the American Academy of Rome. It was while living and studying in Italy that his concentration turned to sculpture. He is best known today for the figures completed in 1933 in the pediment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. During his career he sculpted five majestic and monumental eagles: one at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, another one at the Memorial Bridge in Arlington, Virginia, the third on the Federal Office Building in New York City, and a fourth, for the Spanish-American War Memorial in Rochester, New York. The fifth is at the Ardennes Memorial in Belgium. He created smaller eagles for the American Embassy in Paris. Jim Jennewein, the artist’s son, is an architect and lives in Tampa.

As everyone who lives in this area of Florida knows, we had one of our fast moving rainstorms today of what seemed to be biblical proportions. The deluge flooded the interstate highway and roads as we drove over to downtown St. Petersburg. If you go in closer to the statue, the mother and son are dripping from the rain, but still the light in the garden was soft and beautiful. The photo of the entrance to the museum shows the banners announcing the current and future exhibitions.

Manatees swim and dance like ballerinas

These handpainted manatees are on a wall in Ballast Point Park. As the artist depicted them, they probably weigh 1,200lbs but they are twisting, spinning and rolling like featherweights under water. Although they are mammals, not fish, they never leave the water. They rise to the surface to breath and then submerge themselves for up to 24 minutes before going up for air again. The artist captured their playfulness, cute expressive faces and massive size quite well. Yesterday I posted a Caution: Manatee warning sign for boaters at Tampa Florida Photo with links to a couple of very good manatee web sites. If you're interested in learning a lot more take a look. These animals are amazing and fantastic creatures. Can't you imagine a hug from those flippers?

Man-made mysteries in the sea

Look back to my post of Saturday, July 18th HERE, to see how these mysterious-looking clumps of sea shells came to be. After showing you in my earlier post what they looked like before they became so shell-encrusted, how they were made and their purpose, I thought you might like see what happens to them after they've sat awhile in the water up close to shore. In no time they come to life, literally. It's an amazing thing we can do when we put our minds to it.

It's the Giant Sugar Cookie

I pass by these windows of the Williams Sonoma store in Hyde Park Village almost every day. The store is like a dear friend. For over 15 years it has been the source of countless kitchen-related, read cooking...food... gifts that I have bought and given at Christmas, assorted holidays and for of course birthdays. In return for my thoughtful, caring and unselfish gift-giving, I have eaten like a king. I have brought home perfect, crisply-wrapped boxes (with their distinctive ribbon) holding pots, knifes, waffle-makers, weird kitchen gadgets that no one on this earth knows how to use, kitchen mitts, more kitchen mitts and so many hand towels I was finally asked/told to not gift any more towels. (OK, I did get that message.) There are exotic food stuffs, like Vermont maple syrup, and cooking books featuring cities all over the country and the great cities of the world. It is a store that always delivers. And then just walking by, minding my own business tonight, I spot what looks to me to be the biggest sugar cookie I could dream of. The rest of the window goodies may be slightly obscured but not the cookie. The first time I went inside a Williams Sonoma was in Ridgewood, New Jersey, 25 or so years ago. It has only gotten better with age. If you've never had the pleasure, it is a cook's and real chef's dream. But without me, what would the best chef on earth do with all that delicious food? I ask you, isn't my purchase of these these fine kitchen implements and foods a magnanimous gesture on my part? Save the Gourmet Meals. Save the Gourmet Meals. It's been my rallying cry for almost 30 years. I can't stop now. I'd whither and die.

Where's the Big Yellow School Bus Hiding?

In many states and rural communities school buses go home at night with the drivers. I don't know if that is the policy here locally or why this bus is buried in beside this house. I just thought the bright yellow bus made for a nice combination of colors with everything else around it. Even the deep blue of the Obama Biden sign posted on the fence adds a complimentary color to the scene. The Hillsborough County School District serves almost 170,000 students at 219 schools - the 8th largest school system in the united sates. Maybe this particular bus is exhausted from hauling all those kids every day and is hiding out and taking a much needed break.

Why's a tree sneeking into my sky

House of the Seven Gables (I think there are at least seven.)

I'm not sure what to make of this building. It's been boarded up for so long that it almost looks normal. But being encased this way is just plain strange and creepy. Enough already, owner. Do something with it. Tear it down completely and start anew or restore it to some semblance of its former glory. As it is, it's a total waste. It's good for only one thing in this condition and that's photographs of its many wobbly, uneven sides and odd, unexplainable roof line. It stares at passing motorists who pass it every day on the corner on Westshore Boulevard in Port Tampa. And ignore it. Completely. I find the roof especially intriguing and it screams to be noticed. There are more angles and lines than one can count, but why I can't imagine. Although it is old and probably has an interesting history, nobody cares to listen. Or that it matters anymore. Other than some good stories, it's not a historic structure and would be hard to rehabilitate or restore. If it could talk, it might tell of its life when Port Tampa was a city onto itself and before it was annexed into the City of Tampa. Now those might be good stories. But, buildings don't talk and this one is so pathetic, strange and tightly boarded up by its owner that it's suffocating and ready to die.

Reef Balls come alive

Reef Balls®, or Oyster Domes, are part of C.O.R.E. (Community Oyster Reef Enhancement), a program begun by Tampa Bay Watch. The oyster domes help replace and replenish oysters in some of our struggling waterways. Originally designed to rebuild coral reefs, they have been an important part of the restoration programs for years. Thousands have been placed in areas along Bayshore Boulevard, Ballast Point and around MacDill Air Force Base. They are all placed by hand, by volunteers and go along seawalls and shorelines to improve our saltwater quality and reduce erosion. The domes are made with help from students and teachers from schools in the Tampa Bay area, community groups and volunteers who really enjoy the work and the positve end result. They welcome everyone's involvement. Each ball is made of marine-friendly concrete mixed with Microsilica to balance their ph and encourage growth around it. And, it works. Plus, an added benefit which I bet the marine scientists never thought of is they look like an art project and site installation. They look amazing and have attracted people to the cool, creative results. I have a very talented and skilled photographer friend, Matt Larson (click to visit his blog), who is expert at Polaroid and toy camera photography. He has had a long career in photography and these unusual and demanding camera types make one see a little differently and work a bit harder. I recommend his work. It's outstanding. Click HERE to see his great photos of the Reef Balls along Bayshore. The Reef Balls come alive!

Art Deco or Art Moderne: It's a Kress 5 & 10 Store on the inside nontheless

I found this building's corner facade hard to believe. I posted a photo of the S.H. Kress and Co. building at Tampa Daily Photo yesterday. It was a close-up of the top most part of the building showing the elaborate details and original painted sign on the brick. This building is connected to Kress, on the same city block and appears to be a much later addition to the store. But it zooms forward in time to the Art Deco period like a Buck Rogers space ship. If this was not part of the Kress store I will gladly stand corrected. If one does not mind leaping back in forth in their architectural design periods, then this is as interesting as it gets. The colors alone are magnificent and design details outstanding. I looked online but could not find more about this. I'll keep trying.

Tampa's Gothic pride is on display 42 stories and 579 feet in the air: It's tough to get up close and personal

Tampa doesn’t have any grand cathedrals, palaces or turreted castles from ancient times. As a town and city that was still deciding whether it would or would not incorporate as recently as the mid-nineteenth century (it was first incorporated in 1849 and was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855), this office building is our towering example of grand, gothic-style architecture, at least as you study the top floors and its roof. 100 North Tampa Street, known as the AmSouth Building, is 579 feet (176 m) and 42 floors. It is the tallest building in Tampa and on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and the ninth-tallest building in Florida. It was completed in 1992 and contains 552,000 square feet of office space. I have spent many hours in the conference rooms that are located on the 40th floor directly under the protruding cone-like gable roof section on the top right. (I understand that satellite dishes hide in the gable sections on each end.) The building is mostly flat on top and the rising sections conceal mechanical equipment. (There were special architectural tours conducted by the staff of the Tampa Museum of Art in the 1990s that took small groups into Tampa's more interesting buildings and most included a visit to the to the roofs. The brave were allowed to climb if possible up skinny ladders to the very tippy-top and peek out.) When 100 North Tampa was finished it was the tallest building in Tampa. The exterior is clad in Rosa Dante granite from Spain, the windows are pewter tinted and the roof is made of metal. It was designed by HKS, Inc., the international architecture firm that has offices in Tampa. The views are awesome. (And the motley collection of rather large birds that swoop and circle by the windows is a bit creepy at times. Buzzards at eye level are strange and unnerving.)

This well-worn Jeep has the best view on the beach

This Jeep seems to live on the sand at the edge of the Seaplane Basin on Davis Islands. My guess is it's cheap transportation for one of the sailboat live-aboards whose boat is anchored in the basin. There are lots of weathered bikes and several small row boats tied up to the boat dock nearby. Occasionally I see a VW bus that looks like a cousin to this jeep; both have seen a million-plus miles but flat refuse to retire. The shape tells me it was probably a U.S. Postal vehicle when new and after its years of hauling mail were over it was sold. It enjoys a beach bum's life now. Hanging out at the water's edge, sucking in the salt air, and watching the incredible sunsets from the best seat on the beach. What a way to live. (Sure beats delivering the mail, doesn't it?)

Is this a cleat that the ropes to the SS American Vistory Ship are tied to?

These ropes are tied to the SS American Victory ship, a 455 foot long merchant cargo ship built in the 1940s. It's a big ship and it amazes me that these roes are what keep it tied to its dock. A museum now after almost forty years of distinguished service beginning during World War II and continuing through the Korean War and Vietnam, it now serves as a museum in the Port of Tampa. (Visit their website, SS American Victory Mariners Memorial and Museum Ship, to see what a really extraordinary story this ship has to tell. I posted today a photo of the ship in port at Tampa Daily Photo.) The big question I have is, Is this big yellow thing called a cleat, even though it is humongous? Does anyone know. Any sailors out there who helped tie up a ship of this size? Obviously, I did not serve in the navy.

The textures and colors of New Mexico come to life in Tampa's Ybor City

I know I am a very long way from the indescribable beauty of New Mexico and the warm earthen colors that make the state so magical. To my right brain, I see a touch of Santa Fe or Taos in this scene. Perhaps it's the stuccoed, adobe-like texture to the wall or the brilliant rust red color, but I couldn't help but be reminded of one of my favorite places on earth. The City Different, as Santa Fe is called, creeps into your soul and takes hold of you in a way that I can't describe. Venice is that way. Paris of course. But to spend time in a pueblo, spell the flat bread sizzling and gaze up at an adobe church, that time can not be surpassed by many other of the world's sights, sounds or smells. To witness the sun setting in New Mexico is beyond words. It is ethereal. The sight takes command of that part of you that forms memories and embeds itself very deeply. Florida is also a place of tremendous nature beauty, but isn't the human brain weird that it would let me see this simple wall and be transported to an entirely different place, in all its magnificence and near sensory overload like New Mexico. Bless you and thank you poor cracking wall in Ybor City. Love you for the power you have on me. I needed that.

Tampa's Smoke Barbecue & Grill on Platt heats up as the hungry arrive and the rainy night closes in

If you know and love barbecue then Smoke Barbecue & Grill on Platt Street at South Boulevard is a place you'll fall in love with. From the incredible aroma as you pull up and very cool bar and outside dining area, the owners thought long and hard about what kind of total eating experience they wanted to create. On top of delicious food, the fast, friendly service, fun menu (check it out here) and a comforting, wrap your hands around a fresh corn-on-the-cob atmosphere are the reasons why this restaurant has become a popular and much talked-about dining destination. Located in a very old and funky gasoline station from the 1930s or 40s, they transformed every inch of space into a smoking hot barbecue headquarters. Lunch. Dinner. Slow-w-w smoked. Plus live music fours nights a week. Or, 8 Days a Week as they put it. Home away from home. Yep, another fine restaurant that's a must-go-to in South Tampa.

Yacht Starship anchored in Garrison Channel

Back many weeks ago at Tampa Daily Photo I featured a little ship's captain whose job was to direct visitors and diners to the Yacht Starship docked in Garrison Channel. I thought it was about time that I showed the Starship itself and its proximity to the Channel District and Shops at Channelside. The 30-story twin Towers of Channelside rise up behind the ship. This growing area is home to several of Tampa's most popular venues and attractions including the Tampa Bay History Center, the Florida Aquarium, the St. Pete Times Forum, American Victory Museum plus new apartments and condominiums, and Tampa's cruise ship terminals. The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce is even located here. (A few days ago I featured the wonderful, found-objects, metal football player/transformer that was crafted at Rustic Steel Creatives . The studio is located just a couple of blocks north of here. You could walk over and see the giant metal dragon before dinner.) Obviously the Yacht Starship isn't the only reason to the visit this area but it is the only way you can enjoy fine dining as you sail Tampa's port.

The repair garage of last cartoon resort: Sure, we can fix it. Just wait til we move this truck out

This truck is mighty big and fills this space so well. I just can not resist the hunt and the joy of finding murals like this one. Don't you agree, they add so much to otherwise bland, nondescript wall surfaces? Plus, another benefit not to be overlooked, they bring a smile to our lives.

FROM BEHINDS? Where was my grade school English teacher when the dog park called?

I couldn't resist this sign. They always fascinate me but this particular sign was so professionally printed. Can you just imagine the reaction of the person at the neighborhood sign shop when the customer insisted on this exact wording. It may or may not be proper English, but it clearly gets its point across. Being a dog owner, and knowing that dogs respect "territory" and feel the urge to frequently mark theirs and that of every other dog that has crossed their path, does this "All Dogs Welcome" park provide separate facilities for the animals...off the property? Do they play awhile and then have to raise a paw to be excused? Off to the doggy outhouse or a designated fire hydrant? Nothing? Now, that's harsh.