Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, Photography Exhibits, tagged art, Inspiration, Photography, storytelling on June 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
castle island shells
Tomorrow night, June 8th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, is the opening reception for Peace: Cutting Through Turmoil at the Brickbottom Artist Gallery in Somerville. Good food, good drink and great art with a story to tell. I’m one of seven proud participants, debuting my first installation, Mussel ‘Em. Hope to see you there, and FYI, the show will run through July 1, 2017.
Learn more at https://www.brickbottomartists.com/gallery_future
Posted in Nature Notes, tagged beauty, flowers, Inspiration, Photography, purple on June 5, 2017| 2 Comments »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography on June 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »
savory
A chaotic growing season for me, I have to say. Some years I’ve had grand plans for what I intend to grow, where and in what vessel. Sometimes I’ve tried to find an organizing theme, like growing edible flowers … although I was reminded by my taste testers that year just because a flower is edible doesn’t mean it tastes good. One year I found potatoes sprouting in a pantry drawer and that set me off on a journey to grow potatoes indoors using methods my dad taught me for growing potatoes outside. This year gardening has been less an adventure and more like a solace and an anchor. A way to be alone with one’s thoughts, work with one’s hands, and all that good stuff.
orange mint, tarragon, fennel, parsley
I’m not so worried about everything looking pretty. I want functionality … a certain chef has got to have his herbs to cook with, and since I benefit from his experiments, I decided this season to focus on basics like parsley, sage, tarragon, thyme, oregano, marjoram and rosemary. Savory was a new one for me. Delicious. I turned away from the beauty of dill because I always kill it. I did pick up a mint for its hardiness. I keep thinking about lavender.
![DSCN4784[1]](https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/dscn47841.jpg?w=500)
The biggest surprise has been the nasturtium. They popped up out of nowhere. I recycle dirt, and after I had planted some tarragon with some old dirt, up comes some nasturtium sprouts! I need to move them to a new spot because the oak tree, now in full foliage, is blocking the light. And in the midst of all this chaotic green, I now have two hot pink geranium as well. That’s what happens when you make a nine-year old put down the iphone, walk with you to the flower market and before you can say, “edibles only,” the flower market owner bends down and says, “Well, hello! What’s your favorite color?” As a non-edible, I’ve tucked the hot pinks away in a little nook where the sun can find them but not a certain chef.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, daisies, flowers, Inspiration, nature, Photography, urban landscape on June 2, 2017| 3 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, flowers, Inspiration, irises, nature, Photography, yellow on June 1, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, dandelions, Inspiration, nature, Photography, urban landscape on May 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, collaboration, exhibits, Inspiration, Photography, slave narratives, slavery, woodworking on May 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »
the completed trough
Nope, that is not the opening to one of my fairly gentle political posts. Just breathe. Those are the words I repeat to myself the night before I attempt to set up my first installation for the exhibit Peace: Cutting through Turmoil. My contribution to the show I guess I can say is a three dimensional representation of my artistic and emotional experiences after chancing upon 1930’s Federal Writers’ Project slave narratives in the public library, and then later reading more narratives online. It was a short paragraph that set me on this path, a recount of childhood memories of eating from a trough with a mussel shell. Shells pulled from the branches …
What I am creating is ephemeral. Paper, prints, words produced to physically be on display for a little less than a month. A contribution that I think will be part of a powerful whole when viewed in the company of the works by the other participants who have esteemed careers in the arts. I feel a bit like the new kid on the block. A little scary but freeing too.
It will be an assemblage of pieces and parts, words and images, some culled from nature, some acquired collaboratively with the aid of friends. The least ephemeral of the whole is the trough. While he did let me hold a chisel or two, it was Steve who carved the trough for me using a fallen tree, and a pivotal tool, both shared by friends.
Shared by friends. No matter what happens with this project it has been a wonderful collaborative effort. I was even able to involve one of my littlest friends, aged 9 and going on 21, who agreed to hold a mussel shell for me.
Hmmm. What else is there to say? Before this night is done, I have a few more shells to drill holes in and string, and I still need to discuss with Steve how to hang … oops, I can’t tell you what I intend to hang or from what. At least not yet. Meanwhile, I just breathe. 🙂
Peace: Cutting through Turmoil
Brick Bottom Artists Gallery, Somerville, MA
Opening Reception Thursday June 8, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Arnold Arboretum, beauty, buttercups, flowers, Inspiration, Photography, urban landscape, yellow on May 29, 2017| 3 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Arnold Arboretum, beauty, colors, flowers, Inspiration, nature, Photography on May 28, 2017| 4 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, fashion, Inspiration, Photography, silk scarves, stained glass windows, Trinity Church, wheat on May 22, 2017| 1 Comment »
Hot off the press … a new silk scarf debuting this week exclusively in the gift shop at Trinity Church in the City of Boston. The inspiration for the design is a stained glass window, The Sower and the Reaper, by Cottier & Co. of London, 1878, located in Trinity’s south transept.
I’ve seen the window for years now, photographing both the sower and the reaper, but recently it was the light shining through the wheat in the reaper’s arms that made me pause and in pausing I could see the parts that made up the beautiful whole.
And then I was able to play with those parts. A wonderful exercise producing other designs I hope to share in the near future. Meanwhile, I hope you have a chance to see the scarf for yourself in the shop, and you can learn more about the window on one of the excellent guided tours.
Words + Images 