Archive for the ‘Branches’ Category
Streetscape: Copley Square in the Afternoon
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, On the Road, tagged Boston, Copley Square, light, Photography, shadow, streetscape, urban landscapes on March 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
With Spring on the Horizon …
Posted in Branches, Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, On the Road, Photography Exhibits, Postcards, tagged art, collaboration, family, nature, open studios, Photography on March 10, 2011| 3 Comments »
It was back in December that I last posted a Words+Images update. It focused on end of year inspirations. Now with spring on the horizon, I thought it time to share new updates. Let’s see … 😉
Preparing for Somerville Open Studios
Somerville Open Studios 2011 is rapidly approaching and so I am trying to get myself in gear. I’ve been sorting through images, selecting a set that will be turned into notecards and others that will be matted and framed. For the first time, I will also have postcards available for sale. The images will be representative of the changing seasons. Seasons is the theme of my collaboration with artist Zoe Langosy.
Leading up to show there are many wonderful opportunities to exhibit including the upcoming SOS2010 Volunteer Show.
Sharing Stories
My business cards say “writer/photographer.” A better title would be “storyteller.” That is what I do whether with words or with images. With the passing of my Aunt Thelma recently, those fires within have been stoked to listen closely to those around me and to tell their stories well.
Finding Perspective
There’s all sorts of things I could say about finding perspective this year. With my camera, at least, let’s just say I found perspective by getting up close and personal with house plants and cut flowers.
One snowy day, I found a lemon …
And when the sun came out, I spied this bird sitting high in a tree.
I think that’s about it. More to share in the spring … which is only 8 days away!
The Beauty of Collaboration
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged collaboration, collage, craftsmanship, illustration, Photography, Somerville Open Studios, visual art on March 10, 2011| 2 Comments »
I must admit when I took these picture of trees aflame in the fall, and of snow mounds after a winter storm, I did not envision their images forming the vibrant patterns of a geisha’s flowing silk robes. But luckily I know Zoe Langosy, a figurative artist with a unique view of the world.
Zoe grew up in Somerville in an area made notorious in the 1980’s by Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang. It was in fact that gang’s activities and the negative impacts on Zoe and her sister that convinced her parents to move the family to Lexington. There, in school as well as in her family’s bohemian household, Zoe’s artistic talents were fostered. Eventually she traveled the world, living in London and Los Angeles before returning to the Boston area.
Her beautiful melancholic images have been exhibited in galleries in Boston, Los Angeles and London. She and I became friends while working together in a local shop. Somerville Open Studios has presented a great opportunity for collaboration that has already sparked conversation about future projects. Time will tell. Right now the focus is Open Studios where Zoe’s contemporary geisha — three of them — will be clothed, and in some cases tattooed, with bits of sunlit leaves, shimmering snow, and rain-kissed flower petals.
View more of Zoe’s work here.
Landscapes in Miniature, As the Ice Melts
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged ice, leaves, nature, Photography, water, winter landscapes on February 8, 2011| 1 Comment »
Ice on the Oak Tree
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged freeze, icicles, Photography, sunlight, tree, winter on February 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »
An Abstract Day
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract art, nature, Photography on January 24, 2011| 1 Comment »
A mad day of rushing about, but every now and then, I could pull out my camera to snap a few abstract shots. It is bitterly cold up here in New England, but the sun sure is shining beautifully.
Birch branches in a courtyard.
A leaf submerged in a glass.
A dusty memento found.
2 Books Inspiring Me This Week
Posted in Books I Love, Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Blexbolex, colors, graphic design, Mary Oliver, seasons, Swan, visual art on January 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Well, one benefit of three major snowstorms in a row is that I’ve spent a lot of time indoors catching up on my reading.
One of my favorite finds is Seasons by French artist Blexbolex. The interior of the book is lovely, but it is in the exterior cover image that I lose myself.
It is categorized as a picture book for children, of silkscreen art depicting life and nature throughout the seasons, but I think many adults would find it fascinating as well. Given the pink font inside, and the pink on the cover, maybe Blexbolex’s book spurred my current interest in pink!
“The leaf has a song in it.” For that line alone, from the poem What Can I say, I am grateful to Mary Oliver.
Each poem in the slim volume is thought-provoking and insightful about Oliver as an individual, as well as about humanity. She inspires the writer in me as well as the photographer.
One day I’d like to do a series of photographs inspired by her poetry. This is what I wrote about my first encounter with Mary Oliver back in 2006.
An Unexpected Winter Rainbow
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Castle Island, Photography, rainbow, South Boston, winter landscape on January 9, 2011| 1 Comment »
By Spot Pond
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Massachusetts, Middlesex Fells, Photography, scenic landscape, Spot Pond on January 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
In the winter of 1632, Massachusetts Governor Winthrop and his men saw the following: “…they came to a very great pond, having in the midst an island of about one acre and very thick with trees of pine and beech and the pond had divers small rocks standing up here and there in it, which [they] therefore called Spot Pond.” Well, yesterday on New Year’s Day 2011, this is what I saw at the very same spot:
Spot Pond is centrally located in the Middlesex Fells. I look forward to returning in the spring for some contrasting images. Meanwhile, you can learn more about this lovely spot here.
Snowbound Beauty
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Charles River, ice, landscape, Photography, snow, winter on December 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Though I had to cancel a major trip, given the stories emerging about the impact of this most recent storm on the east coast, I certainly have nothing to complain about. Especially not when I can walk by the river and see these sights.
Words + Images 