Venice, California is perhaps one of my favorite places on the west coast of the United States. I’ve been here several times. When I have visited friends who live in Santa Monica.. we always head to Venice for fun.
According to one of Venice’s Web sites, it’s “one of the “funkiest towns of America.” A look at the blog of children’s book illustrator Diane Greenseid reminds me why this is so. Creativity explodes here. Do you have a The Mosaic Tile House in your neighborhood?
Visting Diane’s blog is a snipet of a visit to Venice. Using the framework of walking her dog, she takes readers past certain landmarks along the way. The photographs pull the viewer in and the narration captures the essence of each landmark’s significance. Diane’s details feel like an insider secret, as if you are her guest as you walk along with her.
While looking at her blog, I also thought what a neat way for people to highlight aspects of their lives. Instead of barreling past what is familiar, slow down to chronicle the journey.
If you have a dog, the next time you take it out for a walk, it might be fun to pay attention to those places you always look forward to seeing. Perhaps it’s a certain tree or a flowerbed–or a house that has been turned into a work of art. Perhaps there is nothing quite as dramatic as the Mosaic Tile House that Diane points out, but I bet there is something worth sharing.