The sea urchin shell was whole when I picked it up off the beach but I was too cavalier when I placed it in my bag. In the end, only one section was broken, and not lost. So, if I am careful, I can recreate the whole with barely perceptible, yet beautiful lines, marking the breaks.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged animals, beauty, design, Inspiration, nature, nature photography, oceans, Photography, sea urchin, shells | 6 Comments »
Like Lucy R. Woods, mentioned in a prior post, Sarah Wyman Whitman (1842-1904) taught Bible class at Trinity Church in Boston for over thirty years. She was also an accomplished artist working in multiple media, from painting to glasswork to book cover design.
She was friends with Phillips Brooks, the rector of Trinity Church. Upon his passing, she and her Sunday Bible class gifted the church with a window in his memory.
It was begun in 1895 and installed Easter, March 1896. In a letter dated March 12, 1896, Whitman writes:
“The little memorial to Mr Brooks which my Bible Class has long dreamed of, is now finished and waiting to be put up at Easter. Someday I will show you this, and meantime send a little rough sketch. The three windows are in the Parish Room where the Class meets, and as it is also used for many practical purposes, 
the windows (three giving on the cloister to the south) are kept in clear glass with jewelled flowers at the intersecting of the little frames …and then the middle one with a single device.
In the glass of course there is a depth and richness that this paper sketch little conveys.”
The window is located in the parish library, and is another hidden gem of an architectural masterpiece. If you would like to learn more about Sarah Wyman Whitman, there are some great resources available online including her letters. The Boston Public Library has put together a gallery of her book cover designs. Learn more about Trinity Church architectural tours here.
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged architecture, arts, arts and crafts, beauty, book cover design, colors, design, history, Inspiration, Phillips Brooks, Photography, Sarah Wyman Whitman, stained glass windows, Trinity Church in Copley Square | 4 Comments »
a feather blew through the kitchen window to land upon a bottle on the floor
the house is surrounded by sparrows and blue jays and a baby robin I know I saw on the parking lot below
hawks fly past and pigeons dot roof tops and seagulls are like rats constantly on the prowl
but from which specific nest this bit of white fluff came, I’ll never know for sure
I can only imagine
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract art, beauty, colors, feathers, Inspiration, nature, nests, Photography | 2 Comments »
I do not know the name of this little fellow. All I know is that once Steve took the rod from my hands and began jiggling the line, this creature clamped on tight. Steve hauled him up long enough for me to snap a picture and then he was released back into the bay.
This lovely trio stared me down as I walked toward them. I think they quickly realized I knew very little about fishing and so they patiently waited for the lobster boats to return to dock.
Can you see the bright eyes of this seal? I was scanning the waves for a whale so I nearly missed this svelte form bobbing up and down in the waves. I heard tell of a green snake in the woods and saw deer hoof prints in the mud but few other animals did I see this past weekend, up north, except for this butterfly feeding on minerals in the soil.
You can see more images from a weekend journey to Grand Manan here, and learn more about this beautiful island here. A very short trip from where I live — a drive and then ferry ride — but somehow it was a world away.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged Bay of Fundy, butterflies, Canada, colors, eyes, fishing, Grand Manan, Inspiration, islands, nature, New Brunswick, outdoors, Photography, seagulls, seals, travel, wildlife | 6 Comments »
… somehow, the scenes always take my breath away. With moving water, in this case a freshwater spring running into the sea, there is no one right photo. It’s just capturing fluid moments as the sun shines down, reflecting, refracting and all those other wonderful things light does in and on the water.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged Canada, colors, Grand Manan, Inspiration, landscape, light, nature, New Brunswick, Photography, rivers, sunlight, travel, water | 9 Comments »
Spring/Summer Geisha, artwork by Zoe Langosy
I feel like I was just complaining about how long the winter was and now spring is easing into summer. That’s all the excuse I need to share this post from the past — Embodying Nature Through Collage — about a collaboration with artist Zoe Langosy who is one of the few people in the world encouraged to cut up my photos because she incorporates the pieces into such beauty, like this Spring/Summer Geisha. Have a good weekend, folks, and here’s to having a good summer. 😉
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged art, Asian influence, beauty, collaboration, collage, creativity, geisha, illustration, Inspiration, paper arts, Photography, seasons, summer, Zoe Langosy | 2 Comments »
Let’s see. Besides potatoes, I’ve been growing lettuce indoors. Mesclun greens, their seeds meant to sprout in shallow soil and then the green leaves snipped early to top other dishes.
But my dish with shallow soil was kind of large and so I found myself with many greens that I decided to form into a nest. And on this nest I placed a handful of brussels sprouts, chopped, and a couple of small leeks, chopped, and a bit of oyster mushroom found at the bottom of the fridge, also chopped. Before I placed them in their nest, these veggies and the fungi were sauteed in olive oil, butter and garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Okay, there was some meat added at the end of the porcine variety but no pictures do I have of crisped bacon, and so this is as much of the recipe that I can share in images. Í’ve placed the large dish aside until I decide what to sprout next. So many seeds in the world. I feel quite lucky.
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged food, food photography, indoor gardening, Inspiration, lettuce, mesclun, Mesclun greens, nest, Photography, recipe, seeds, shallow soil | 5 Comments »
Standing on Prospect Hill in Somerville, glancing up at the sky.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged Inspiration, nature, Photography, Prospect Hill, Somerville, urban landscape | 1 Comment »
If there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate in New England, it’s that you’re surrounded by all the colors of all the seasons year-round. These images are from a bright day in Back Bay.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged colors, Inspiration, leaves, nature, New England, Photography, seasons, trees, urban landscape | 3 Comments »
Detail from the Lucy R. Woods Window, Trinity Church, Boston
It is one of the many hidden gems of Trinity Church in the City of Boston. According to archival records, the Woods Window was commissioned in memory of Miss Lucy R. Woods (1847-1904). Miss Woods taught the Young Ladies’ Bible Class in the church Sunday School for thirty-three years, beginning in 1871.
The window was executed by John Hardman and Company, Birmingham, England, and designed by Dunstan John Powell, grandson of noted English architect and artist Augustus Pugin.
The window is located in a stairwell not easily accessible to the public but postcards and prints will soon be coming to the Book Shop.
Until then, you can read more about the original 1906 unveiling of the window here. Hope to share more information about this window, and other hidden gems, in the near future.
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged architecture, art, Back Bay, Copley Square, Dunstan John Powell, faith, family, Hardman and Company, hidden gems, history, Inspiration, Lucy R. Woods, Photography, religion, stained glass windows, Trinity Church | 7 Comments »
Words + Images 