What an honor to be part of the group exhibit, Inspiring Change for the Climate Crisis, on view at the UVA Gallery at the Arthaus in Allston. The successful show will close this Friday with a vegan ice cream social. Regular ice cream and other treats will be available as well. Open to the public. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vegan-ice-cream-social-closing-of-inspiring-change-for-the-climate-crisis-registration-416660271087
Posted in Inspiration, Photography Exhibits | Tagged activism, activist art, art, change agents, climate change, climate crisis, exhibits, Inspiration, Photography, visual art | Leave a Comment »
On the porch are two pots of sweet basil, two pots of Mexican tarragon, Thai basil, pineapple sage and to fill out the corners and spill over the bannisters, a large pot of magenta petunias and a small pot of ivy. And then there is the evolvolus hybrid or dwarf morning glory. A completely random purchase because the pickings were kind of slim at my Home Depot garden center but I needed to buy something even if it wasn’t edible.
Of late I’ve been pinching the basil and making little caprese salads. They are little containers of summer for Steve as he recuperates. The pineapple sage is flourishing but I can’t think of what to do with it. I see recipes for cocktails but I’m not making any cocktails to go. For now I’ll simply enjoy the green of its large leaves and hope that it might bloom though it is a bit late in the season.
I haven’t completely forsaken the larger garden … some things have bounced back after the recent rains but it is nice to have a tiny discrete spot to work with. Taking care of the plants is a bit like a morning meditation.
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged beauty, colors, flowers, gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography | 3 Comments »
I don’t remember writing the story in 2012 or so. What I do remember is that early on in our relationship I might say to Steve as we hiked, “Ah, we’ve come to a fork in the road. Which one do we take?” And his response was always something to the effect, “If there’s a fork in the road, pick it up.” Not so helpful a reply in the moment but more helpful creatively than I ever imagined. The seeds were planted so when one day a little girl asked me to make up a story about a stone in my rock collection … well, the following story somehow evolved. https://www.creativity-portal.com/articles/cynthia-staples/long-walk.html
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged color, fantasy, forks, green, imagination, Inspiration, journeys, life, musing, musings, storytelling | 3 Comments »
Lucky for me I was standing next to two incredibly photogenic people. Via the following link you can read more about the opening reception for the exhibit, “Inspiring Change for the Climate Crisis,” at UVA’s Arthaus Gallery in Allston. The exhibit can be viewed through September 16th. Drop by if you can and then check out some of the local restaurants in the area.
Posted in Inspiration, Photography | Tagged action, art, beauty, climate, climate change, climate crisis, colors, contemporary art, creativity, exhibits, Inspiration, nature, Photography | 1 Comment »
Participating in the exhibit Inspiring Change for the Climate Crisis (https://www.unboundvisualarts.org/inspiring-change-for-the-climate-crisis/) has been a great experience. It has been especially wonderful to reconnect with artists like Cedric Harper who I was lucky enough to profile a few years ago. Enjoy.
Visit the website of artist Cedric Harper. Scroll through the sculpture page. Be patient. There you will find The Book of Truth.
As described on the site, it is a ceramic sculpture with a tile base. Inside a large black box is a small black box with a white book. Next to the book is a line of small white trees glistening against a dark red sky. Stark. Beautiful. Visually compelling. Mysterious. What truths reside in that book? During a recent conversation, Cedric would not only tell me about the book but how life, especially its challenges, had shaped his unique artistic expression that combines, as he describes, language, symbols and dreams.
photo courtesy of the artist
I first met Cedric at the Riverside Gallery at the Cambridge Community Center. We were exhibiting in the same show. I would later tell him that he reminded me of my…
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I’m honored to be participating in the upcoming exhibit, Inspiring Change for the Climate Crisis, curated by Adriana G. Prat, at the Arthaus Art Gallery in Allston. For those of you local to the area, opening reception will be July 28, 6:30-8:30, with wine, refreshments and live music. Hope to see you there!
Posted in Inspiration, Photography Exhibits | Tagged beauty, climate change, climate crisis, collaboration, contemporary art, Inspiration, nature, Photography | 2 Comments »
My dad used to say when he needed to pray he prayed in the garden. I don’t think I pray in the garden but the garden does provide respite as well as nutrition. For all sorts of reasons this year’s garden has been a source of joy … and a chore. In part I think I was too ambitious. I had no plan though I think I was pretty good about not planting things we didn’t actually eat. And we did try some experiments like kale that survived the bunnies and tasted so good cooked with store bought turnips … which inspired us to try planting turnip this fall. We’ll see …
The basement is full of hardneck garlic (which means that we were able to eat some garlic scape before the bulbs were fully formed). Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes everywhere. I’m trying to find ways to preserve them. The Italian basil, planted all over the place, has thrived. Lots of frozen pesto (and herb butters) to be had later in the year. I feel bad that life situations happened such that the Thai basil could not be used to our favorite extent (e.g. in stir fry) but the beautiful purple flowers were a treat for pollinators.
Though we near the end of a hot dry July I can look out the kitchen window into the garden below and I can see tomatoes reddening. Roma and Big Boy (or Girl) and a cherry variety. A lot of things are withering in the current heat wave. Sunday will be 100. There’s a part of me, and I did confer with that fellow, that knows some things have had their run and so in the cool of the morning I will simply need to weed and clean and begin to prep the earth for our fall plantings. I must say I never imagined that indoor and outside watering could be an exercise. But I think it truly is!
That is the beauty of gardening … the transition of seasons … engaging with the flow of time … it has been a particular joy this gardening season to see perennials planted last year, just green leaves, return and thrive and for the first time flower. Yes!
From the kitchen window I can see the bounty of the coneflower. I cut some of the flowers for the house and now know the rest will wilt and the dried seed heads will feed the birds into the fall. I watched them last year but never had my camera in reach. Maybe this year.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration | Tagged abstract, beauty, colors, edible flowers, edible gardens, edible plants, flowers, gardening, gardens, Inspiration, musings, nature, Photography, urban landscape | 1 Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration | Tagged beauty, colors, house plants, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography, sunlight | 1 Comment »
I’m sorry Steve was not home to help me harvest the potatoes we planted but I am sure he will enjoy consuming them!
Posted in Inspiration | Tagged colors, gardening, harvesting, homegrown, Inspiration, nature, Photography, potatoes, sustainability | 3 Comments »
Behind the garage is goldenrod, blue cornflowers and red clover. They grew up on their own, seeds dispersed by the wind or planted by some former resident. I planted pink dianthus, orange-red marigolds and some carnations from seed. No rhyme or reason. No theme. There is even a pot of white snapdragons just because they were on sale in the store.
Behind the garage is an unsettled area. Every hard rain reveals bits of old thick glass … recently I’ve been finding marbles … what stories do they have to tell? … and cement chunks from some demolition that took place not too long ago. One has to be careful where one walks.
Behind the garage there is the remnant of an old apple tree, its bark overgrown around what must have been a chain link fence at some point. Pieces of metal still stick out. Animals parade through. It is an avenue. I’ve seen possum, raccoons, cats, squirrels and lots of rabbits. I can only imagine what else might meander through in the dead of the night when I am not looking.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration | Tagged beauty, colors, flowers, Inspiration, landscape, musings, nature, Photography, urban landscape | 1 Comment »
Words + Images 