I can be a bit slow. It took me well over a year to visit and then participate in Cowbird. A friend had suggested I check out the site as a new creative outlet. I’m glad she did. It is a community of storytellers. I’ve posted a few stories — really a collection of simple words, rather stream of conscious, like diamonds in the rough or perhaps just gravel, but words I do not wish to lose. I am honored to have had one such collection featured today: plums. If you haven’t already, please check out the site. A source of lovely words and images.
Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
plums on cowbird
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged colors, Cowbird, creativity, family, Inspiration, memories, online publications, Photography, storytelling on September 16, 2013| 4 Comments »
“stroking lemons and lavender will not pay the bills”
Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged colors, cooking, creativity, food, food photography, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, Photography, writers, writing process on September 5, 2013| 3 Comments »

That thought crossed my mind this morning as I did everything except the one thing I needed to be doing — write, write, write. But, eventually, I remembered that part of my creative process, especially when I am feeling stuck on a writing project, is to get up from the computer and to walk toward … something. In this case it was toward a small table in Steve’s kitchen.

On the table is an eclectic mix of items: an antique silver pitcher against which leans a postcard of Hiroshige’s Plum Garden, a small pot of basil, two pots of red peppers separated by a pot of Cuban oregano, lavender that needs to be replanted and some lemon verbena.

Nestled amidst all of these herbs are bits of pottery filled with fruits of the season, glass votives, an empty wooden basket, and another postcard, Romare Bearden’s Autumn Lamp (Guitar Player).

Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy sits open upon the table, too. I think I have it for two more weeks from the library before I have to return it. It’s a good book that I think I am going to add to my Christmas list. I flipped through the book for a bit, letting my eyes dance over her words and images. And then guess what?

I closed the book (after marking what I intend to try for dinner tonight). I sat back down at the computer and began to put fingers to the keyboard, feeling just a little bit less stuck. 😉
dabbling in the dark
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged colors, creativity, Creativity Portal, flowers, imagination, Inspiration, leaves, nature, photo essay, Photography on August 30, 2013| 3 Comments »
Hot off the press, a new photo essay posted on the Creativity Portal … Finding Inspiration in the Dark. Enjoy!
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is creativity a tool?
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged comfort zone, community, creativity, family, good deeds, homelessness, hospitality, Inspiration, memoir, Photography, storytelling, tools on August 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This morning I received several different examples in my inbox that referenced the use of creativity. First I received a Daily Reflection courtesy of Alive Now Magazine, a publication in which I’ve had photos appear. Today’s reflection was “Imagine you are giving a party inviting the poor, crippled, lame, and blind in today’s world. How would you need to engage your creativity to offer them your hospitality?” You can read the full reflection here. It was strange to see this reflection about using creativity to offer up hospitality, and then to read this NYTimes article and some other articles highlighting how people are engaging their creativity to devise new strategies for relocating the homeless, and not always in positive ways.

A Rodin Sculpture at Boston MFA
The articles made me mad but the reflection brought to mind my mother. One holiday season she invited to dinner a mentally challenged neighbor. He had no family coming to visit that year and we had plenty of food. But, you see, my mom was a very private person. For others, and maybe even this same man, in the past she had always made up a plate and sent my father or brothers down the street to knock on doors and share some food. I do not know why she invited this man to our house this time. I think she was creative in her approach so that she could do this “good deed” and maintain some sense of privacy that was important to her.

Gerber at the Kitchen Table
The man was invited to sit in what the family considered “Pop’s chair” in the living room. My mom served him the first plate, and my dad served him his refills. After eating, the man watched TV and even took a nap. My younger brother and I were small enough to ask out loud, and too loud, “When is he leaving?” She shushed us but I could tell my mom felt the same way. After he did leave, my mom swore she’d never do such a thing again. She never did the exact same thing again (that I can remember) but she did do other things of a similar nature — good deeds that sometimes exceeded her comfort zone. Deeds done creatively.
shooting stars, cosmic clouds and …
Posted in Inspiration, tagged astronomy, beauty, colors, creativity, fun, Inspiration, NASA, nightscapes, Photography, stars on August 20, 2013| 13 Comments »

As a child I learned to find Orion’s Belt in the night sky. But the star that mattered to me most was one whose name I still do not know with certainty. It was the bright light visible above the neighbor’s house across the street. Sometimes the speck would become lost in the canopy of the neighbor’s pear tree but inevitably at some point in some season its brightness shone. My mother, who knew far more about the earth than about the heavens, would point it out to me. With a smile, she always called it “Mama’s star.” In the quiet of the night, she would stare up into that sky, at her star, letting her mind roam. I’ve been lucky as an adult to travel the world and see the night skies from many different vantage points, and I feel lucky to live in an age when what I can’t see telescopes can capture beautifully.


By the way, these are not astronomy photographs.


While thinking about various things this morning, my eyes happened to fall upon the bowl of black sand I used for the recent shells photo shoot. I suddenly, desperately wanted to try photographing something else against that sand, especially something red. After deciding that using tomatoes would be bad (since I need them for dinner tonight), I searched and found some unopened tubes of glitter. As I poured them out onto the sand, the sun made them sparkle like stars. And thus the inspiration for this post.
Here’s NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
works in progress — artist zoe langosy
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, arts, beauty, Blue Hills Reservation, collaboration, collage, collage artist, colors, creativity, fashion, illustration, Inspiration, light, nature, Photography, Zoe Langosy on August 20, 2013| 1 Comment »

work in progress by artist Zoe Langosy with characters Coyote, Columbine and Harlequin
Standing silent in the presence of others, while a friend describes the essence of your work? It can be an illuminating, humbling experience. That is what happened to me as collage artist Zoe Langosy described what she saw in some of my photographs. “There are notes of nostalgia. I am attracted to cut up stuff that has that dark edge. Through her photography Cynthia captures those parts of nature many people don’t see likes cracks in the ice on a frozen pond or the beauty of a dying flower. Her images can make you stop, feel and reflect. In her work, as in my own, there is a reminder that there are two sides to life. That in order to find balance, we sometimes have to suffer. The sun rises but it also sets and as a part of that arc there’s the dark beauty to be found at twilight.” Zoe is currently at work on new pieces for upcoming shows. As always, I’m honored that she has selected one of my images to use in a collage, in this case birch trees photographed near sunset at the Blue Hills Reservation. The sun-touched bark will help to create the light in Harlequin’s outfit.

Harlequin, Columbine and Coyote are recurring characters in Zoe’s portfolio, androgynous, melancholic and hauntingly beautiful. The patchwork of Harlequin’s outfit will also include bits of Japanese paper in dark blue with silver details that reminds Zoe of “a moonlit field at night.” In the end her patchwork will convey a sense that Harlequin is outfitted in nature.

work in progress by artist Zoe Langosy
Learn more about Zoe’s works in progress and upcoming exhibits by following her on Facebook. FYI, she will have several of her original pieces on display during NYC Fashion Week in just a few weeks. Prints of her work (and her father’s) are available on Etsy. Enjoy.
from the heart — an interview with artist jen parrish
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, arts, beauty, celebrity, colors, creativity, design, Inspiration, interview, Jen Parrish, jewelry, jewelry designer, medieval art, music, Pre-Raphaelite on June 11, 2013| 6 Comments »

Jen Parrish gave me permission to visit her online sites to select images to use as illustration for her interview responses. As I did with other interviewees in 2012, I asked Jen to share how music inspires her artwork. Viewing her artwork inspired me. I had only to see an item described as “Gothic architecture meets nature” to know how appropos it was that she and I met through an art and architecture department in a Romanesque church.

She is an elegant, soft-spoken woman with a piercing gaze and gentle words. It took me a while to learn that she is also a renowned jewelry designer whose handcrafted pieces are worn by celebrities and other people around the world. Without ever having seen Jen work firsthand, I have only to listen as she speaks about her work to feel her dedication to beauty. I expect everyone who purchases one of her unique pieces must know they carry part of Jen, and more than a bit of world history, with them. I am very grateful she responded to my questions. Please read her interview here. I think you’ll find both the words and images quite interesting.

zoe’s bee
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, bumble bee, creativity, dandelion seeds, friendship, insects, Inspiration, nature, Photography, still life on May 27, 2013| 4 Comments »

I was tempted to title this post, Cohabitation, since it is a bumblebee amidst “fairies,” as so many people have called the dandelion seeds. But I decided to go with the name of the person who gave me the bumblebee. She found it on the ground on her way into work and thought I might like to photograph it. 😉
As a child, I had an Easy-Bake Oven …
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged careers, chef, cooking, creativity, dreams, food, food photography, Inspiration, life, motivation, Photography, random thoughts on May 26, 2013| 3 Comments »

lime and apple mint
… but I did not dream of growing up to become a chef, like Jackie Hill did. Of course, I had a toy camera and I never dreamed of growing up to become a photographer. You never know what a day — or a life — will hold, do you? Those random thoughts were inspired by this beautiful article about a woman following her dreams.
art by the child, what a wonderful thing
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, child artists, children, creativity, drawings, family, friends, imagination, Inspiration, Photography on May 19, 2013| 4 Comments »

Art by Jordan S. (3 years old)
I’m a lucky person. Adults tell me stories. Children like to give me art. Or sell it to me for good causes. I don’t only accept the art to make the child feel good. I accept the art because it is unpretentious and celebrates a freedom of expression. The child artists in this post are between the ages of three and ten years old, live in different parts of the country and do not know each other. They are different ethnicities. Some are related by blood, and others I’ve come to know through friends. I encourage them to send (or sell) me more images. Maybe one day they’ll send me their words. 😉

Art by Arwyn L., signed artwork sold to help her grandfather who has MS

Art by Rokell S. (10 years old)

Art by Maya S. (4 years old)

