We took a road trip to the very tip of Southeast Oklahoma stopping in various towns
on the way to Beaver's Bend State Park. We stopped in Sulphur and Antlers - the deer capital
of the world - which makes me sad, because it's all about hunting them. )
Mountain Fork River is lined with Bald Cypress trees - some are in the river.
Woodpecker |
Displays, murals and info in the Nature Center |
I loved this watercolor called Tree Planter by William McNamara (1983).
A quote by the artist:
"We all have within us the impulse to look into the clouds and find an image,
to see a face in a rock, a scene in the grain of wood. We also have an
impulse to make a mark, whether it be a scratch on a rock, a line in the dirt,
or a brush stroke upon paper. By learning to control the movements
of our hands, we can create our own patterns, own clouds in which to look
and find images."
Mountain Fork River |
Broken Bow Lake |
I was mesmerized by the geology in this area.
I also met a few new wildflowers on a short walk
inside the Ouachita National Forest.
Indian Nations Trail |
We continued driving southeast and were amused with town names
like Moon and America.
Moon, Oklahoma was woodsy, humid and green. :) |
We stopped in Tom, Oklahoma - the last community in SE Oklahoma.
We then crossed the border into Arkansas and turned back west
to check out the Red Slough area in Oklahoma's Choctaw region.
This wetland development was humid! I mainly wanted to see some
wildflowers.
The Red River borders Oklahoma and Texas like a winding snake.
We crossed over to our southern neighbor, Texas, then back to Oklahoma via the Red River.
See why it's called The Red River? |
This little road-tipster crashed hard. :)
We had a wonderful day trip and now I'm admiring some of the beautiful pieces
of shale and river rocks I carried back in my t-shirt. They are like layers
of nature abstraction - in material, texture and image. I see
landscapes, skies, storms, marks in rock, , ,
If I could make jewelry they would be amazing settings.
I may apply clear beeswax to the pieces.
My imagination is going with them...
Just like the artist McNamara said -
we create our found images.