Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged green, Inspiration, light, nature, Photography, urban landscape on May 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »
One of the cool things about waiting for the street light to change in the city of Boston is that you get to pause and look up and all around, and sometimes you see the sunlight fall in special ways, like on this ivy climbing the walls of a church tower.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, Back Bay, beauty, colors, Inspiration, Japanese maple, Marlborough Street, nature, Photography, trees, urban landscape on May 21, 2016| 1 Comment »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged baby animals, Boston Public Garden, colors, ducks, Inspiration, mallard ducks, nature, Photography, urban landscape on May 21, 2016| 2 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, creativity, edible flowers, flowers, food, food photography, gardening, healthy eating, indoor gardening, Inspiration, pansies, Photography, violas on May 17, 2016| 1 Comment »
pansy upon pea sprouts and one red tomato
Though in my previous post I mentioned tracking down white blooms, somehow it was the blue that caught my eyes at my flower market today.
violas dressing up kefir cheese
violas dotting the salad greens
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged art, beauty, colors, edible flowers, flowers, food, gardening, healthy eating, imagination, Inspiration, Photography, salads, violas on May 17, 2016| 1 Comment »
After confirming that the flowers were edible, Ricky of Ricky’s Market asked me to tell him how they tasted. Well, they don’t taste like much to me, but what wonderful brightness they add to a salad. Like sunlight.
I have to return to Ricky’s soon and I am contemplating picking up some white flowers. If I place their petals upon the dark green leaves of spinach and kale will I be reminded of the moon this time? We shall see. 🙂
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, beauty, collaboration, collage, colors, creativity, drawing, fashion, fashion illustration, illustration, Inspiration, nature, Photography, sensuality, Valentino, Zoe Langosy on May 16, 2016| 1 Comment »
illustration by zoe langosy
Pencil has met paper. Lines have been drawn. Soon images will be cut and painstakingly applied to a sensuous form. An original concept has evolved with the core idea the same — figures clothed by nature. My photography as the “fabric” in the hands of fashion illustrator Zoe Langosy. Here’s a sneak peek at her current work in progress, a rendering of a Valentino dress to be collaged with three of my photos.
creative swatch by zoe langosy
In her own words: What has surprised me about the evolution of this work is that the initial drawing was classical in its rendering in part because Valentino is so classical, his fashion prim and romantic.
illustration by zoe langosy
But after the initial drawing which echoed that romantic sentiment, I lost interest and began a new drawing, one more dynamic and sensual. The wonderful challenge for me is to use the Valentino dress in a different way, to take this beautiful classical garment by a master designer, and render it with a darker edge that’s more inline with my own artistic style.
photo courtesy of zoe langosy
The artist is at work, ladies and gentlemen. Stay tuned for future updates. New to this story of a unique collaboration? Read more here: a new year and new collaborations and here fashion plus nature equals
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, flowers, gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography on May 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Books I Love, Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged ariella chezar, beauty, book review, books, creativity, floral arrangement, flowers, Inspiration, Photography, the flower workshop on May 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »
In short, from front to back, each page of The Flower Workshop is a treat. Am I biased? Perhaps. This is the kind of book that I can imagine on the table in front of me as I sip sweet tea, just flipping through the pages. Strangely enough, it was my younger brother who recently reminded me that that is exactly what I used to do as a child with my mom’s gardening books. Just sit and peruse them over and over again. Well-written and beautifully photographed, the book provides step-by-step instruction for producing 45 floral arrangements. But beyond those specific projects, the reader is truly educated in how to “branch out” and experiment with how to work with flowers, foliage, fruit and more to create what I consider to be ephemeral works of art.
Will I be producing a flowering dogwood display anytime soon? No but I do have a greater appreciation for the skill as well as imagination behind such displays that I had perhaps taken for granted in churches, hotels and even the homes of friends. And I also take away a deeper understanding of everything from the rule of three to the subtle use of color to establish mood. There’s a nice index and seasonal flower guide. Simply a lovely resource.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review. Please check out the following links for more information.
Details about the book: The Flower Workshop
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged colors, flowers, gardening, healthy eating, indoor gardening, Inspiration, peas, Photography, radishes, salads on May 8, 2016| 1 Comment »
At the window my one pea blossom continues to bloom reminding me of a garnet drop.
The radish seeds with which I had such early, painful adventures have leafed out. I harvested some to form this base of a salad.
The flowers, plucked from a small pot in the hallway, didn’t have much flavor. Too subtle for my palate. But for my painting palette, they were just perfect. 🙂
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged curiosity, Eliot Porter, imagination, Inspiration, James Gleick, landscapes, nature, Nature's Chaos, Photography, storytelling on May 4, 2016| 4 Comments »
It can be hard to read a coffee table sized book while sitting on a Boston subway during rush hour. But that’s what I was trying to do after a visit to the library to retrieve the book Nature’s Chaos, a collaboration between photographer Eliot Porter and writer James Gleick. I sat snugly between, on my left, an older African fellow wearing a very puffy and, I’m sure, warm coat. On my right sat a young Chinese boy wearing a very puffy and, I’m sure, warm coat. The little boy kept getting in trouble with his dad because he was a bit hyper.
I’d been waiting a long time for this book. Carefully, very carefully, trying to respect the space of my neighbors, I opened up the book into a narrow V-shape. I figured the text I could read later, but I wanted a peek at Porter’s vast landscapes. I could see a little but not enough. Wider I opened the book. I peered closely at the sweeping patterns in cracked mud and lava flows. There were leaves on water and sunset clouds. As I lost myself in these scenes, perhaps the book fell open wider still because all of a sudden I noticed something.
Now the African gentleman was a bit more subtle but I could tell he was looking at the book with me. He’d adjust his glasses as I turned a page and every now and then he’d bend over slightly, trying to see the cover to find out what in the world I was looking at. The little boy hadn’t learned how to be subtle. He just peered right over my arm. I didn’t bother looking at his dad. I just began pointing out features on the page to the boy. Occasionally I’d drag my finger along a seemingly mundane scene, like orange flowers in a green field or vines on a tree trunk. I’d say softly, “That’s pretty cool, hunh?” His eyes never leaving the page, he’d nod and say softly, “Yeah.”
On the last page, I made a dramatic show of closing the book and saying in a little louder voice, “And that’s it!” The little boy (and the gentleman too I suppose) slid back into his chair. His father whispered to him. The little boy looked up at me.
“Thank you,” he said.
I smiled. “You’re welcome.”
