There are few things more fun to photograph …
… than unexpected treats from friends. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged birthday, colors, cooking, cupcake, dessert, food, food photography, friendship, Inspiration, sugar, sweets | 5 Comments »
At first I wanted to title this image, “Cuddling,” but I thought that might be too sassy a title for my simple breakfast. Wherever you are in the world, have a good day, folks. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged clementines, cooking, dessert, food, food photography, fruit, Inspiration, rasperries, snack | 3 Comments »
Posted in Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged apples, colors, dessert, food, food photography, fruit, ginger, healthy snack, sweet, yogurt | 1 Comment »
… I went for a walk by the water and what did I see? I saw a tree with pink-tinged blossoms filling the sky over me.
An unexpected late autumn delight.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged autumn, colors, flowers, Inspiration, nature, nature photography, seasons, trees | 3 Comments »
I don’t know … I feel like I see a figure in the icicle. A drooping shoulder. A lean torso narrowing into nothingness as the sun melts its frame. Perhaps I have been reading too many fantasy novels. What do you see? 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract, fantasy, form, ice, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography, sun, water, winter | 4 Comments »
A few days ago when my five-year old friend came to visit, she asked, “Can we go see the butterflies?” Up the spiral staircase we went to the sunlit nook where the butterflies reside. Though we have seen these fancy flyers since she was tiny (as she describes her younger self), my little friend asked in a serious voice, “Cynthia, why do you have butterflies hanging from your ceiling?”
I responded with the answer she well knows which is, “A friend gave them to me years ago. I like how the sun shines on and through their wings.”
She spun the mobile with her finger. “I like that too. It’s like having the inside outside, isn’t it?” And what else could I say except, “Yep.”
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged butterflies, children, colors, creativity, imagination, Inspiration, nature, nature photography | 2 Comments »
Snowy Evening by Rod MacIver
On occasion I muse on this blog about pausing and giving one’s self permission to stop moving in a world that is increasingly hectic. One resource that has been especially useful for me of late is Roderick MacIver’s A Pause for Beauty, a daily e-journal produced by the Heron Dance Art Studio featuring MacIver’s paintings paired with his words or select quotations.
Solo Migration by Rod MacIver
I was moved to contact MacIver, wanting to know more about this artist, his inspirations and the creation of his Heron Dance Art Studio. Following are excerpts from our conversation. Please note that the images he has granted permission to share on this blog are those he considers some of his favorites.
Eagle Morning by Rod MacIver
The website describes Heron Dance as a literary nonprofit and art studio founded in 1994. While MacIver’s paintings dominate the site, he made clear that Heron Dance began as a print publication — a blue newsletter — based on interviews with people he met during his travels, people “who had some concept of greater good.” “Art,” he noted, “was minor in the beginning.”  As for why he conducted these interviews, “Well, previously I had worked on Wall Street and then I was diagnosed with a serious illness, non-Hodgkins lymphoma. As I survived that illness, I wanted to devote myself to something positive.” And so he set out to capture the experiences of people doing good works, learning about their spiritual lives, what motivated them, the nature of their struggles, as well as hopes. Eventually, as he fully describes on his website, he stopped looking without and began looking within.
Tranquil Reflections by Rod MacIver
He taught himself to paint while in the hospital. The art made its way into the print publication simply as part of the graphic design of the masthead. It was over time, he shared, that the art became more important. As more people began asking for his artwork, he realized his art could be an integral part of a business. But painting he asserts is about more than business. “No, I enjoy painting. I need to create time to do more of it.”
Grizzly Wonder by Rod MacIver
He currently splits his time between the business side of the Heron Dance Art Studio (located in Vermont) and “the quiet beauty” of cabin life in the Adirondack woods where the landscape’s influence is clear in his painting. Taoism is inspiring him these days. Taoism is a spiritual tradition that promotes living in harmony with nature, among other beliefs. “It’s an interesting approach to spirituality. Water is an important component that I am exploring. Water-related activities have been an important part of my life.”
Morning Solitude by Rod MacIver
The home page of the Heron Dance website lists his current and ongoing creative projects including new collections of his paintings and personal reflections available in books, calendars and diaries.
Heron Whisper by Rod MacIver
If you have a quite moment, or better yet, if you are seeking a quiet moment, I encourage you to read Mr. MacIver’s very detailed account of the the origins of Heron Dance via this link. There you will find excerpts from the interviews mentioned earlier in this post, and see not only the evolution of a publication like Heron Dance but also witness the ongoing evolution of a person and his unique journey in this life.  Enjoy!
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged art, colors, creativity, culture, Heron Dance Art Studio, Inspiration, landscape, nature, outdoors, paintings, Rod MacIver, spirituality, taoism | 2 Comments »
A story inspired by a 5-year old in love with “Once upon a time a little girl …” 😉
Once upon a time a little girl picked a bouquet of flowers. She put them in a vase of water and placed the vase next to a window. Each flower upon its sturdy stem was beautiful in the sunlight. But then time passed and the flowers changed no matter how many times she added water. One morning she brushed her hand across the dying blooms and a whole flower fell to the table.
It broke revealing all its many parts that had made a single whole.
The girl gently touched the fragile pieces. While she admired their different shapes and colors and textures, she wanted her flower back as a single beautiful thing.
And so she picked up the stigma and stamen and petals and leaves and she tried to put the puzzle back together again. It was, of course, an impossible task. As she stood there at the window trying to decide if she should be very angry or very sad or just a little crabby, a ray of light touched a petal and the withering stems.  “It’s still beautiful,” the girl realized with a smile, “Just in a different way.”
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract, colors, creative writing, digital photography, fantasy, floral photography, flowers, Inspiration, leaves, nature, storytelling, transformation | 5 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged abstract, botanicals, colors, digital photography, floral photography, flowers, home, Inspiration, macro, nature | 2 Comments »
When I return to Virginia, I am always surprised in a wondrous way by the beauty of the light falling upon the landscape. It is different than the light that inspires me here in New England. At some point I must sit and write about those lights, but until then I will simply share this picture taken while visiting with family. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a good holiday.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged colors, digital photography, home, Inspiration, landscape, leaves, light, nature, nature photography, Virginia | 4 Comments »
Words + Images 