First, Simon Pearce. We happened to be here the day before Irene hit Vermont HARD. The pottery and lower levels were severely flooded on Sunday. We were lucky enough to soak it all in before it was hit.Visitors are able to watch the glass pieces being made. Here, a candlestick is being shaped, and then a tumbler. Simon Pearce is run on hydropower, which takes advantage of, well, this:

Here’s the hydropower generator, in the basement, adjacent to the waterfall (flooded in Irene):

Onto the upstairs art gallery, where there were mirrors. And some art? We all know what happens when I find a reflective surface:Then! Quechee Gorge. We were too tired to hike all the way down to the river, so we observed from the bridge:

Driving to the gorge, we saw signs for a Scottish/Celtic fair on the Quechee polo field, and decided to go take a look. I fit right in. They had Scottish games, including haybale throwing and sheep herding:

And the requisite bagpipers, of course:

Onto downtown Hanover, and the Dartmouth bookstore, where we found some stimulating reading:

What? "Fine" doesn't really mean "fine"?

I will certainly use THIS against her!

Is this a satire? Do males have brains?

JKLOL, I am so wittyyyyyyyy.

Gelato. And a fun wall:

The end.

^Playing with toys at the reception :) I’m proud of this, as it taught me how to do animated GIFs in Photoshop. Something I…probably should have known how to do, ha. The wedding favor that I am expertly flying was actually made by a 3-D printer. Yes.

This weekend was such a gift. I was in Sisters, Oregon for my wedding photography partner, Tara’s wedding. Tara and Matt are one of those couples that other couples aspire to be like. They just fit, in ways that are simple and sparkling. In ways that are so inspiring to capture on camera and experience in person. Their wedding couldn’t have been more meaningful, personal, and creative.

Great people, beautiful connections, stunning scenery, and even a spa visit :) I’d say that’s a good weekend.

I will probably do a full post soon with lots of pics, but for now, enjoy the growing album on facebook!

This window treatment was awesome.Dan graciously models for me whenever I ask, and his shirt went perfectly with the rustic decorative barn in Croteaux’s gardens.

Onto Osprey’s Dominion, which had picnic tables, a band, and lounging cats out back:The winemaking and beautiful vineyards were inspiring. They inspired…breakdancing.

And our last stop, Pindar, the largest vineyard on Long Island. Their Sunflower Chardonnay was my favorite from the tasting. My lovely photographer friend Jennifer McKenna met up with us here and did some picture-taking. Alas, I didn’t take a single pic of her! Will have to remedy that soon :)

Rugged, in sunflowers:

Glacial Boulders and Covered Bridges:

Avalanche Falls (with handheld slow shutter speed…not perfect):The flume itself is bordered by massively tall rock walls covered in damp lichens. The scale of the people on walkways dwarfed by them should give you some idea:

I’ve never seen this before- trees growing on top of and around massive rocks. I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

I went for a drive with him on a chilly day in March to Gloucester and Rockport. We clutched hot coffee and tea and made our way along the rocky coast, looking for views. Always on these drives he’ll say “when you see something, tell me and I’ll stop!”, and he gladly pulls over as many times as I want to accommodate me and my camera.

The vibrant color in these towns is fascinating to me because it’s born out of practicality- everything has a function, and it makes the resulting design all the more beautiful. Here’s what we saw:

At that point, we were still struggling with relentlessly cold weather in Mass. This was our first heartening crocus sighting, at the quarry in Rockport:

The huge, colorful pieces gave people an almost childlike joy. Fine art that induces smiling? What? In fact, Chihuly is pretty much universally enjoyed by every age, country, demographic, species. My favorites were the seals that popped up in the gigantic ‘garden’, and the little creatures that inhabited the ‘persians’ in the ceiling. :) The whole collection is unabashedly curious and witty.

We started out in the new American Wing, which featured a towering green glass piece that nobody wanted to trip into:

The exhibit itself was very dark, with minimal lighting to show off the glass. These images don’t do their scale justice. Ikebana Boat, above, is HUGE. Made us all wonder how they got these inside with breaking something.

“Hornet’s Nest”. Knowing it’s a bunch of hornet backsides makes it adorable (sort of):

Chihuly is a fan of Southwestern art and Native American art. This room was dedicated to his collection, and the inspiration for a lot of his glass pieces.

The ceiling of “Persians”. He named them Persians because ‘it sounded exotic”, ha. No other explanation.

Meg and Avi took pictures as well:

This poor family looks like it’s about to be attacked by…whatever this is. 

This was unanimously the favorite. It took up the entire last room. Meg and Avi are silhouetted.

And back to the American Wing. Gram and Shana are hanging out on the bench, dwarfed by the architecture.

There are people out there whose sole job is to travel the world and collect inspiration for fashion. JCrew’s Kristina and Katie Boiano are sent to fabulous places like Peru just to soak up beauty and then step back as it’s woven into a new bag, accessory, or an entire collection. I love how fashion illustrates that art can inspire more art. Designing clothes is something that connects cultures, ideas, people!

I like clothes. I like photography. I like art. Let’s combine those, shall we? Here’s my attempt at creating outfits, using photographs as inspiration. And using ‘inspiration hunting’ as an excuse to shop. :)

Photo inspiration numero uno, a carnival/circus/muted colorful look.

Aaand the outfit. It’s color-block tastic, and I might lose one detail before wearing it in public (maybe the bow?), but overall all of these pieces seem pretty wearable for day. Click on the pictures to shop!

Get the party started with (tiny) elephant studs:

A blousey gray top that I’d wear, that reminds me of the bowties in carnival settings. It provides a neutral to build off of.

Choices of colorblock vintage of Fendi 2011 bags to provide pops of color (I like the red):

A play on the nautical look that reminds me of an old-fashioned circus tent. The rope, the texture, the..tent-ness of them. For a subtler look, I’d go with dark skinny jeans instead.

Vintage blue shoes, that remind me of a perfect blue sky above the tents:

Then, just in case somebody needs MORE of a hint as to where you got your inspiration, a perfectly-colored circus tent ring!

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Ta-da! First attempt, and I hope to make this somewhat of a series. Have any pictures you think would inspire a rockin’ outfit? Send ‘em to me at mariah@mariahgale.com!

M