thin sheets of bamboo
Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category
bamboo
Posted in Inspiration, tagged bamboo, Inspiration, nature, paper on March 13, 2017| Leave a Comment »
with bowed head
Posted in Inspiration, tagged angels, art, beauty, holy grail, Idylls of the King, Inspiration, murals, painting, Photography, poetry, Tennyson on March 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »
I have read too many headlines this morning. My head is full of thoughts. I think I shall take a break from the computer screen until I can sort them. Meanwhile, I share these last images from my recent visit to the Boston Public Library’s Abbey Room and painter Edwin Austin Abbey’s expression of Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.
Panel XIII. Sir Galahad crosses the sea in Solomon’s Ship
As for what’s happening in this scene, from the BPL website: “Sir Galahad crosses the seas to Sarras in Solomon’s Ship, guided by the Grail borne by an angel. Sir Bors and Sir Percival accompany him, while three spindles for the Tree of Life rest upon the stern of the ship.”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157647672175522/with/15074561737/
revisiting the abbey room
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, Arthurian, beauty, Boston Public Library, Edwin Austin Abbey, holy grail, Inspiration, painting, Photography, poetry, storytelling, Tennyson on March 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »
detail from The Arthurian Round Table and the fable of the Seat Perilous
Between 1893 and 1902 fifteen panels were installed in the Boston Public Library in Copley Square depicting the story of The Quest for the Holy Grail. Conceived of by artist Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911) he based his work on Lord Alfred Tennyson’s version of the Arthurian legend. In recent years the BPL has done a magnificent job of capturing the beauty of the full panels and sharing each panel’s story with the public through Flikr. That link is below. When I walk in with my camera I tend to focus in on the details and this is what I recently saw.
detail from King Amfortas and the Castle of the Grail lie under a spell
This time one of my favorite panels to focus on what the last in the sequence, The Golden Tree. According to the BPL summary, an adaptation from an outline by Henry James, “Sir Galahad, now the King of Sarras, builds a golden tree. When he is presented with the Grail, his spirit and the Grail ascend to heaven. Like other elements throughout the mural cycle, the golden tree and the Grail are depicted in gilded raised relief, a method that Abbey may have learned from his studio partner John Singer Sargent.”
Well worth a visit to see in person but until then you can see the full cycle of panels here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157647672175522/with/15258034891/
And if you have a large cup of tea at hand, or something else, you can read Tennyson’s Holy Grail upon which the murals were based. They don’t write poems like this anymore. 🙂 http://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/tennyson-the-holy-grail
what happened to your smile
Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged Inspiration, smile, storytelling, vignettes on March 9, 2017| 1 Comment »
I have a favorite coffee shop. It has become near-ritual that when I am working at a certain place on a certain day, I and a friend will stop in this store to grab a bite to eat before our shift starts. The place is a little pricey but the space is so inviting and the people, when not overwhelmed by the masses of customers, are so friendly, it is worth the expense. Recently we visited. One of my favorite managers was behind the counter and he was directing staff and clearly someone hadn’t shown up for their shift and so he was having to step in to make the coffees and as he stood by the machine, scowling, frustrated, multi-tasking, I asked, “Where’s your smile?” At his blank stare, I added,”Whenever I’ve come in here, you’ve always greeted me with a smile. What happened to it?” The man burst out laughing. As my friend and I left his establishment, we left him smiling. How long that smile lasted I don’t know and I don’t think duration matters.
rendering the waters
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, Uncategorized, tagged abstract art, beauty, environment, GIMP, Inspiration, landscape, light, Middlesex Fells Reservation, nature, Photography, water on March 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »
standing on a bridge …
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, ice, Inspiration, landscape, Middlesex Fells Reservation, nature, Photography, water on March 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »
reflections in a shell
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged mussel shell, Photography, water on March 5, 2017| 3 Comments »
acorn
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged acorn, beauty, Inspiration, nature, oak tree, Photography on March 5, 2017| 1 Comment »
like a green valley
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged food, food photography, Inspiration, kale, Photography on March 3, 2017| 1 Comment »
with mountains and meadows through which soft green rivers run. That’s what I saw as I picked these leaves of kale.
culinary respite
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Uncategorized, tagged beauty, food, fun, healthy eating, Inspiration, Photography on March 2, 2017| 1 Comment »
My salad fixings. It can take me a long time to make a salad when my camera is nearby.
Words + Images 