imagination | Words + Images

Posts Tagged ‘imagination’

the mind as a cathedral?

Posted in Inspiration, tagged childhood, creativity, Creativity Portal, education, imagination, Inspiration, Michael Michalko, opinion, Photography on May 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

Stained Glass Window, Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston

I hope my five-year old friend doesn’t stop seeing the fairies in the dandelions after she starts school. Maybe, in part, it was that thought that made the following article catch my attention: In Your Mind Was Once a Cathedral by Michael Michalko. I am a generalist and so I have been privileged to work with people across many different fields of interest. One thing many have in common is a concern that young people entering the workforce seem to have an increasing inability to think outside the box. They are extremely facile with social media tools and especially texting and yet at the same time seem less capable of using their hands. If answers can’t be found in a printed manual or Wikipedia, they don’t know how to take out a blank piece of paper (or lined yellow pad) and sketch out alternative ideas. Or even how to ask questions. Perhaps an oversimplification but I’ve seen enough examples firsthand for Michalko’s article at the Creativity Portal to resonate and make me want to share. Many other interesting articles there as well. Enjoy.

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fairies

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged children, dandelion, fairies, imagination, Inspiration, landscape, nature, Photography, plant, seeds on May 15, 2013| 5 Comments »

I had picked the two dandelions while walking home in the rain. The seed heads were wet but still intact. They looked like rain-soaked baby chicks, all spiky and glistening. I remember my goal that day was to get the stems home and photograph them before they fell apart. A piece of black slate formed the background. I’ve yet to sort through the photos. I was surprised to see the next day that the seed heads had not disintegrated but had in fact puffed up.

When I showed them to a small friend, who’s big into science these days, I started to describe the dandelion anatomy. But when I tried to talk about the seeds and the “parachutes” that allow them to sail across the sky, my little friend became quite adamant. “No, no, no,” she said. “These are fairies and the white, wispy parts are their wings.” We stared at each other for a while and then I said, “Well, my dear, let’s go set some fairies free then.” She cupped the dandelions in her hands and we went in search of an open window.

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pixel painting

Posted in Branches, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, colors, creativity, imagination, Inspiration, landscape, nature, painting, Photography, pixels, trees on May 13, 2013| 3 Comments »

I just enhanced the brightness and contrast of a recent picture of Japanese maple branches in foreground and oak tree branches in the background. The original picture was badly out of focus and I almost hit delete but I decided to pause and just play with the pixels a bit.

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and once the sun is set …

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, blue, color, creativity, dandelion, imagination, Inspiration, nature, Photography on May 9, 2013| 6 Comments »

maybe a blue moon rises

or the black velvet night becomes filled with stars.

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like sunset arranged on a plate

Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged appetizers, colors, food, food photography, imagination, Inspiration, peppers, Photography, tomatoes on May 8, 2013| 4 Comments »

Actually, just a simple appetizer of sliced yellow peppers and tomatoes, caught in that magic late afternoon light.

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one artist’s way …creating and finding beauty

Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, arts, beauty, creativity, culture, Donald Langosy, fine art, illustration, imagination, Inspiration, interviews, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, John Milton, literature, Midsummer Night's Dream, painting, Titania, William Shakespeare on April 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ingres Serenades The Memory Of His Late Wife’s Youth by Donald Langosy

Walking into the studio of artist Donald Langosy is like venturing into a secret garden soaked in light and shadow. At first, all that one can do is gaze at the surrounding forest of color-filled canvases in all sizes. Then the individual scenes emerge, often mysterious, sometimes dark and yet filled with light and motion at the same time. By his subject matter, it is clear his passions for family, friends and for the artists across the disciplines who continue to inspire and influence his work. The drama, the intensity and indeed the mischievous humor, come through each piece. Last year I asked him how music influenced his work (view here). This year I asked if he’d share an update on recent works. Thankfully, he shared these images and the following words about what’s new, his creative process and where he finds goodness and beauty in this world.

***

“Here are recent paintings as requested. The Titania Paintings are from my Shakespeare series: Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is an ongoing series of 50″x42″ canvases that were actually painted end of last year.“

Titania Sleeping

“I thought [the above painting of artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres serenading his young wife] would lead into a series showing artists with their model/muses and so I began …

Mr. and Mrs. William Blake in their Garden Reading Paradise Lost

“... but my intentions veered with …”

John Milton Composing Paradise Lost

“… and now I find myself beginning two large canvases that will deal with thoughts that have emerged out of the garden of eden…”

And as for Mr. Langosy’s muse, his wife, Elizabeth…

“Celebrating Elizabeth Turns Fifty is a painting that has been buried in my stacks for over a decade…it now shines over my shoulder as I work… reminding me that while evil and ugliness might have its moment it is rejected and fades… but goodness and beauty, an eternal delight, endures….”

Celebrating Elizabeth Turns Fifty by Donald Langosy

Learn more about this artist at his Facebook page, The Art of Donald Langosy.

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why am I listening to gustav holst – the planets, op. 32?

Posted in Inspiration, Music, Nature Notes, tagged blue, colors, Gustav Holst, imagination, music, musings, nature, Photography, the Planets Opus 32, water on April 19, 2013| 11 Comments »

Well, I live in an area that is currently on “lock down” until the final suspect involved with the Boston Marathon bombings is caught. That tragedy, in combination with a bad back, gives me lots of time to sit and muse. So when I finished playing with the following picture (of water beaded on a petal) all I could think of was “planets.” And what better piece of music to pair with my blue tinted orbs than Holst’s The Planets.

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the sight reminded me of a coastal cave …

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, beach, bioluminescence, cave walls, imagination, light, nature, outdoors, paper bag, Photography, prose, stones on April 15, 2013| 7 Comments »

… flooded with light that brands the walls a golden cream.

It reminded me of squeezing through a dark mountain passage and stumbling upon a room lit by bioluminescent growth upon the walls. But in fact there were no walls at all.

In my hand I held a paper bag full of stones collected from a neighboring beach. The stones I had intended to photograph, but somehow, the “walls” of that bag seemed far more fascinating.

I am sure the stones will have their day.

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a lurking essay?

Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged apple, essay, fruit, imagination, Inspiration, leaf, nature, Photography, prose on March 19, 2013| 9 Comments »

I can’t yet see the words but I feel them, somewhere, somehow, embodied in this apple with its lovely leaf. Yes, a weight of hidden words. I hope to find them before the month’s end, to glimpse their fragile figures before they disappear into the ether. Or at least before the apple disappears inside me.