Archive for the ‘Nature Notes’ Category
green (and more!) in the woods
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Bellevue Pond, colors, environment, Inspiration, landscape, Massachusetts, Medford, Middlesex Fells, nature, Photography, plants, seasons, spring on April 22, 2012| 1 Comment »
chance encounters with color
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, colors, environment, Inspiration, landscape, nature, Photography, Somerville, walking on April 19, 2012| 5 Comments »
The results of an impromptu walk around my neighborhood. I have to admit, I got a bit lost. Many hours later, my feet still hurt. But it was worth it, I think. 😉
through the looking glass(es)
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged home, Inspiration, landscape, light, musings, nature, Photography, spring, trees, windows on April 17, 2012| 4 Comments »
Today I was a bit housebound with various projects. Still, the sunlit landscape called to me on many an occasion. As I have written before I am lucky to live in an old house well-kept in its old style with many windows of ancient rippled glass on all sides, some of which are double and even triple paned. It is both exhilarating and calming to move from pane to pane, over time, and try to capture an ever-shifting beauty from sunrise to sunset.
when art and science collide
Posted in Nature Notes, tagged art, colors, Galileo Thermometer, glass, Inspiration, nature, Photography, science, water, weather on April 16, 2012| 1 Comment »
I am constantly reminded that there is a time and place for everything. For several years now, I have noticed and had access to the glass cylinder sitting on top of my science guy’s bookcase. But for the first time, today I photographed it. You see, he bumped the bookcase this morning, knocking the cylinder to the floor. It was a close call but luckily it hit the carpeted part.
A Galileo thermometer. Read more here. A gift from family. He tried to replace it on top of the shelf, but the morning sunlight hit it and that was that. I gently took it from his hand. At his quizzical look, I said, “I’ll be careful. Promise.”
And so far, I have been. 😉
Dead Tree, Beautiful
Posted in Branches, Nature Notes, tagged blues, Branches, Inspiration, musings, nature, Photography, trees on April 15, 2012| 3 Comments »
One day, the landlord will have to cut down this tree before a strong wind blows it down on top of the house, a car or a person. Branches have already begun to break loose and litter the ground. But for now it stands tall, if a bit rickety, creating great beauty in its silhouette. I took this photo through the sheer cotton curtains covering the kitchen window.
Just Pansies on a Spring Morning
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, flowers, gardens, Inspiration, nature, pansies, Photography, plants on April 15, 2012| 6 Comments »
Stories Behind the Pictures
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, colors, Inspiration, nature, paper crafts, Photography, watercolor on April 8, 2012| 3 Comments »
Sometimes when a photograph has been accepted for publication, the editor has asked me for the “story behind the picture.” Similarly, when my little four-year old friend sees some of my work with colored papers, she often asks, “Why did you do that?” And since she is looking at me intently waiting for an answer, I take a deep breath and try to share with her the story of why I made a sky green and a blade of grass blue. Well, on this quiet afternoon, I decided to share with you some of the stories behind my most recent works on paper. 😉 Mostly they were done at night, to help me settle my brain before bed, by doing something different with my hands.
Red Leaves on Snow
The story: In reading “The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats,” I was reminded of that striking scene in the picture book, The Snowy Day, when the little boy stands outside and is looking back at his footprints tracked through the snow. No footprints did I draw, but a trail of red leaves did come to mind, touched by sunlight.
In the Spirit of Klimt
The story: One day, while researching how trees have been expressed in art, I chanced upon Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life. I was aware of Klimt’s striking female forms, but new to me was his tree with branches spiraling against a solid sky. I wondered what such branches would look like dotted with leaves made of Japanese paper.
In the Garden
The story: Speaking of Japan … a lovely woman sent me the children’s picture book, Little Pictures of Japan. For me, the book’s cover is evocative of looking through a rounded Japanese window into a garden. The image stuck with me so I decided to assemble what I imagined I’d see peering through such a window on a moonlit night. And finally …
Ethereal
The story: I found a cache of white and gray papers and an old set of watercolors I’d forgotten about. Nothing fancy, just simple lines and washes of color. For Somerville Open Studios 2012, I’ve decided to reproduce some of these works as postcards. We’ll see. Meanwhile, other paperworks can be found here.
Beauty in the Darkness
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, herbs, Inspiration, light, musings, nature, Photography, shadows on April 4, 2012| 1 Comment »
Ever have a period in your life when you’re feeling just a bit out of your routine, or as my fellow likes to say, “discombobulated?” Well, I’m certainly feeling that way at the moment. Not sure if it is cosmic in origin (there’s a lot of cool astronomical stuff happening right now) or if it’s regular life stuff (lot of different projects coming due). To give myself a break over past day or so, I’ve wandered with my camera outside and around the house. I have found myself drawn to the concrete, like the above dark pansy growing in what has become a local restaurant’s outdoor ashtray, and to the more nebulous and ethereal like these shadowy branches of a dead tree dancing on a wall in my apartment.
Yesterday, I found myself in the kitchen mesmerized by herbs in silhouette like this dill against a clay saucer and rosemary in relief upon the table.
There was the lovely coil of copper surrounding a single strand of thyme …
… and three shells collected I can’t remember where, but now sitting in the hallway amidst all sorts of plants.
Part of me would love to sit with these images and see what writing they inspire. Perhaps later. Right now, I must rise from this chair, and get ready for a gig. There I will do my best to stay disciplined and quite focused, and not lose myself in the shadows and other dark beauty revealed by the spring light.
White Tulips
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, Inspiration, musings, nature, Photography, tulips, white on April 2, 2012| 5 Comments »
I splurged on a bouquet of white tulips this weekend. An indulgence in simple beauty. I gently placed them in a vase and you know what? They immediately drooped.
But you know what else? It didn’t matter.
Their simple beauty remains.
Background Papers
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, colors, dreams, illusion, Inspiration, japanese paper, Photography on March 29, 2012| 2 Comments »
Inspiration comes in many forms, and in this case, it was stumbling upon the store Old Japan Inc. in Boston’s South End. Walking through the shop was a dream but the best part was being able to walk out the door with a small cache of origami papers.
They are helping me to view “old” objects around the house in new ways …
… as well as add new elements to my “Paper Worlds.”
Words + Images 