Plants I'm Growing: Aloe polyphylla

Aloe polyphylla is a fairly hard-to-find aloe variety prized for its large spirals of small leaves (its Latin name means 'many-leaved'). I have two, one doing poorly, the other very happy. Watering the garden this morning, I was thrilled to see that the larger of the two appears to be very happy, indeed; it's preparing to flower. It has developed a large cluster of buds.  I've never seen this variety in flower before. Looking forward to it... 

Serendipitous Art: Wall with Spots, San Francisco

I came across this scene on a wall adjacent to a North Beach parking lot recently. It looked like art to me. Unintended art, serendipitous art.   

Art I'm making: Untitled Collage No. 286 (Santa Rosa)

Here's another fairly recent collage – although I remain way behind in posting work I did in 2023. This is Untitled Collage No. 286 (Santa Rosa), completed September 13, 2023. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, collage. Image size 17.2cm x 21.4cm (6.6in x 8.4in). Matted to 16 x 20 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Click on the image for a larger view.

 

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/. In addition, my recent book 'Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage – 2013–2024' is available on the website.

Books I'm Reading: Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering

On my recent trip to Japan, I took along Henry Petroski's Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 1997) to read while traveling. Being a series of independent essays, it seemed well suited to episodic reading. In the end, I had little time to read while overseas, but, back home again, I've finished it. 

This group of essays ranges widely, covering topics as diverse as the Panama Canal and the Ferris Wheel, Christian Schussele's painting "Men of Progress," the Channel Tunnel, and the Petronas Towers. 

Petroski, in my experience, is always entertaining. He writes succinctly, with enthusiasm for a subject that might at first seem less than exciting, and with a knack for making a rather technical subject more than just accessible, always bringing to life the personalities behind the projects.