Posts Tagged ‘Inspiration’
beauty in the market
Posted in Nature Notes, tagged beauty, flowers, Inspiration, Photography, purple on June 5, 2017| 2 Comments »
grand gardening chaos
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography on June 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »
savory
A chaotic growing season for me, I have to say. Some years I’ve had grand plans for what I intend to grow, where and in what vessel. Sometimes I’ve tried to find an organizing theme, like growing edible flowers … although I was reminded by my taste testers that year just because a flower is edible doesn’t mean it tastes good. One year I found potatoes sprouting in a pantry drawer and that set me off on a journey to grow potatoes indoors using methods my dad taught me for growing potatoes outside. This year gardening has been less an adventure and more like a solace and an anchor. A way to be alone with one’s thoughts, work with one’s hands, and all that good stuff.
orange mint, tarragon, fennel, parsley
I’m not so worried about everything looking pretty. I want functionality … a certain chef has got to have his herbs to cook with, and since I benefit from his experiments, I decided this season to focus on basics like parsley, sage, tarragon, thyme, oregano, marjoram and rosemary. Savory was a new one for me. Delicious. I turned away from the beauty of dill because I always kill it. I did pick up a mint for its hardiness. I keep thinking about lavender.
![DSCN4784[1]](https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/dscn47841.jpg?w=500)
The biggest surprise has been the nasturtium. They popped up out of nowhere. I recycle dirt, and after I had planted some tarragon with some old dirt, up comes some nasturtium sprouts! I need to move them to a new spot because the oak tree, now in full foliage, is blocking the light. And in the midst of all this chaotic green, I now have two hot pink geranium as well. That’s what happens when you make a nine-year old put down the iphone, walk with you to the flower market and before you can say, “edibles only,” the flower market owner bends down and says, “Well, hello! What’s your favorite color?” As a non-edible, I’ve tucked the hot pinks away in a little nook where the sun can find them but not a certain chef.
purple and gold
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, daisies, flowers, Inspiration, nature, Photography, urban landscape on June 2, 2017| 3 Comments »
iris
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, flowers, Inspiration, irises, nature, Photography, yellow on June 1, 2017| Leave a Comment »
dandy
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, dandelions, Inspiration, nature, Photography, urban landscape on May 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »
just breathe
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, collaboration, exhibits, Inspiration, Photography, slave narratives, slavery, woodworking on May 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »
the completed trough
Nope, that is not the opening to one of my fairly gentle political posts. Just breathe. Those are the words I repeat to myself the night before I attempt to set up my first installation for the exhibit Peace: Cutting through Turmoil. My contribution to the show I guess I can say is a three dimensional representation of my artistic and emotional experiences after chancing upon 1930’s Federal Writers’ Project slave narratives in the public library, and then later reading more narratives online. It was a short paragraph that set me on this path, a recount of childhood memories of eating from a trough with a mussel shell. Shells pulled from the branches …
What I am creating is ephemeral. Paper, prints, words produced to physically be on display for a little less than a month. A contribution that I think will be part of a powerful whole when viewed in the company of the works by the other participants who have esteemed careers in the arts. I feel a bit like the new kid on the block. A little scary but freeing too.
It will be an assemblage of pieces and parts, words and images, some culled from nature, some acquired collaboratively with the aid of friends. The least ephemeral of the whole is the trough. While he did let me hold a chisel or two, it was Steve who carved the trough for me using a fallen tree, and a pivotal tool, both shared by friends.
Shared by friends. No matter what happens with this project it has been a wonderful collaborative effort. I was even able to involve one of my littlest friends, aged 9 and going on 21, who agreed to hold a mussel shell for me.
Hmmm. What else is there to say? Before this night is done, I have a few more shells to drill holes in and string, and I still need to discuss with Steve how to hang … oops, I can’t tell you what I intend to hang or from what. At least not yet. Meanwhile, I just breathe. 🙂
Peace: Cutting through Turmoil
Brick Bottom Artists Gallery, Somerville, MA
Opening Reception Thursday June 8, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
buttercups
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Arnold Arboretum, beauty, buttercups, flowers, Inspiration, Photography, urban landscape, yellow on May 29, 2017| 3 Comments »
bright blossoms at the arboretum
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Arnold Arboretum, beauty, colors, flowers, Inspiration, nature, Photography on May 28, 2017| 4 Comments »
in these hopeful times
Posted in Inspiration, tagged beauty, hope, Inspiration, musings, Photography on May 25, 2017| 3 Comments »
opening
Can four words make a difference?
If the words … in these hopeful times … were repeated, retweeted, sang, drawn, pantomined, as so many other words are these days, could they change the world? Words repeated do influence mindset.
In these hopeful times… In these hopeful times… In these hopeful times…
There’s many a political figure in this country and around the world performing the opposite gesture with great precision. They repeat and hammer home the words (or the idea) in these dark times, in these dangerous days and so on. And as these words are written, spoken, tweeted and visually executed to maximize emotion and often to veil truth, I see people around me huddle in fear, sink into despair, and when you ask them “why?” they do not have an answer. Or the answers revolve around fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the possibility of danger out of the darkness even if there is no darkness around them.
budding
I do not wear blinders. I am aware of the harsh realities of this world. Realities that have been real since the dawn of mankind because those realities stem from human nature and human behavior that can be base. It can be full of grace as well.
I know that three words can make a difference. Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.
One word can make a difference. Hope.
But where does one find hope … in times of challenge?
new growth
It is great if and when one can find hope in a single individual. But increasingly I think hope comes from within.
For me it is a bit like finding beauty. Someone told me after viewing yesterday’s post, “only you can see the beauty in a dirty coffee cup.” I think others can too.
In these hopeful times, I am inspired by the goodwill of people around me helping others as best they can with what they have. You don’t have to be a billionaire to make a difference. I am inspired by the generosity of people, especially those who do not have great monetary wealth, supporting individuals and institutions that are struggling and those that are succeeding. I am inspired by the tenacity of people refusing to back down in the face of intimidation and inspired by the people who may not be ready for the front line but find ways to bolster, nourish and sustain those who are.
a riot of blooms
In these hopeful times, I am angry at those working with great fervor to instill and validate hate and bigotry and at those who are so divorced from their common humanity that they may not truly understand how their policies will harm so many and help only the rich. The rich who are buffered …
Alas, upon reflection, is it a stretch to say in these hopeful times? Perhaps. I will simply have to work harder to make those words a reality.
fractal in the bottom of the cup
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, tagged coffee, fractals, Inspiration, Photography, science on May 24, 2017| 1 Comment »
The first thought that comes to mind when I look in the bottom of my cup in the morning is that a certain person makes a really, really strong pot of coffee in the French Press. Which is probably why of late I’ve only been drinking that one cup (or two) in the morning and having no more during the day. The second thought that comes to mind is “Wow! Fractals are everywhere!”
The patterns in the bottom of the cup are little different from the patterns in the sand as the sea washes up onto shore and rushes back again. And little different from the patterns upon the earth as wind and rivers erode the land. Same forces at work I’ve been told. A fun discovery … though I think I will need to cut my coffee with hot water in the future. 🙂
