My in-laws vacation in Palm Springs every year to get away from the beautiful but cold Seattle winter. We took a quick drive out and took in the scenery, a little art, and enjoyed having the grandparents around. Their timeshare was a patio home with a side yard, so I took the opportunity to let the critter creep and frolic in the well manicured grass.

When I was the Director of the Handsel Gallery in New Orleans I represented a group of about forty artists in all sorts of media, and George Alexander’s porcelain majolica is and was what I think is the most beautiful work – he crafts and fires pieces of all different shapes and sizes, from a life size pear to covering the walls of an entire bathroom. The characteristics that make his work stand out are the detailed embossings on the clay, the exhuberant color in high fired glazes, and his mirthful choices of subject.

In my short prowl through a few galleries in Palm Desert on the main drag, at the Hart Gallery I found the work of an artist who could be the lovechild of Alexander and Jean Paul Gaultier. Laura Ann Jacobs’ “Skirting the Issue” and “Night Owwwt on the Town” portray what we all must have experienced in our lives in our fabulous footwear and cinched waists. Her sense of humor and textures were worked into the clay in a way that caused me to stop and take a longer look. I can blow past a lot of art, after having been looking at these things now for over two decades, but I really thought these pieces were worth a moment.

Yet another surprise in the same block – seeing Martha Wolf’s slumped glass pieces at CoDA Gallery. Martha was part of the gallery in New Orleans and she created a terrific show for Mardi Gras – all Mardi Gras memorablilia with glass masks with beads and dubloons. I’ll bet she had an incredible creative experience doing it, as the pieces had a festive spirit. I’m delighted to find her again. Also at the CoDA I really was drawn to the “Raven” series in bronze by Jim Eppler. I’ve got to find out what made him decide to do these! I think Raven, I think the one by Edgar Allen Poe, or the ones from “The Omen” – I’d love to put them in an outdoor living space. I also adore this polychromed dog from Siliva Davis at the CoDA not only because I’m sort of a sucker for dogs; but also because it is a really fine piece of work – all crafted from barn wood. Another piece that would surprise if placed in an unexpected setting.

The desert was on the cusp of the spring bloom – we visited Coachella Valley Mountain Visitors Center and caught up on the succulents. The contrast of the blue sky against the foliage was most impressive.