Memories of Greece

There was so much to experience in Greece and so much to remember.

Shrines...everywhere. In the churches. In the mountainside. On the trails. On the highway.















Views..everywhere. In the villages. On the mountain. Across the trails. In the city.















Rust...everywhere. Okay, I just couldn't resist.













A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever...author unknown.

Greece: Graffiti

I found Athens to be a very compelling city, at once both modern and ancient. One very noticeable visual aspect of Athens was graffiti. It seemed to be everywhere, including on many public municipal buildings. Interestingly, some of the earliest examples of graffiti known were found in Ancient Greece. Most of the graffiti I saw was scrawled letters and looked like unwanted vandalism. However, there were several examples of graffiti art that was quite impressive. In fact, I saw for the first time two examples of mixed media graffiti, clearly by the same artist. Unique and creative, it is one of those ideas that seems obvious now but I have never seen it before. Has anybody else? Here are photos of several pieces, with close-up details included as well. Click to enlarge to really see the mixed media details.








While graffiti is certainly controversial, I definitely admire the more artistic examples and recently posted samples I have seen in New York City. You can read a very interesting discussion about this issue on Deryn Mentock's blog here. Below are some examples I saw in Athens.














Do you think Keith Haring was in Athens?



For those of you who would like to try you own hand at graffiti art without breaking the law, go to Graffiti Playdo. The site can be addicting.

Greece: Doors & Windows

What is it about doors and windows that attract and interest me so? Perhaps they represent a specific viewpoint. A portal. An entrance. An invitation. A way in to the inside to what is important. To the heart of the matter. A way out to the outside. To new discoveries. They intrigue in part because you don't always know what you will find on the other side. They allow you to both keep things in and keep things out. They represent both entrance and exit. Perhaps in that way, a metaphor for the journey. When ever I am away, I am always searching for them and feel a bolt of inspiration when I find one that really seems to capture the place I am visiting. Click here to see my discoveries when I was in Mexico last November. The images below are just a few of the doors and windows I discovered in Greece. Click to enlarge for detail:

The DOORS we open and close each day decide the lives we live. Flora Whittemore

















Art is the WINDOW to man's soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world, nor could the world see the man within. Claudia Johnson

















Perhaps my favorite door of all. Picture this. A mountain climb. The first ridge. Reach the top and there is a door. In the rock. Literally. Built into the mountainside. Open the door. What lies inside?