Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Garden In Progress: May



Garden Blessing

I would really love to blog about something other than gardening but that is all I seem to be doing lately. You'd think my muse would be jealous but she seems to like the fact that I am a captive audience to her when I am in the garden. While I am toiling away weeding or planting she likes to rattle on about all the other creative projects I can do when I am done. If only she would pipe down and grab a shovel, I might actually have the time and energy to complete those things too.

Needless to say I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed. So today I decided to take a little time to change my perspective; to pull back the lens and see the bigger picture, to zoom in on what I have accomplished rather than on all that needs to be done, to focus on the blooms instead of the weeds.

I hope you enjoy these photos of the work in progress that is my garden.

In Bloom: Purple Spirea and Ballerina Roses

pops of color in a sea of green

Early bloomers

Garden overflowing

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Friday, May 4, 2012

Gardening With Claude & Frank

  
A few years ago, around the time when I first realized just how much work my yard and garden was going to be, Hippie and I watched the BBC mini series, “The Impressionists”. I enjoyed it very much and it renewed my interest in the impressionist painters, especially Claude Monet and the paintings he did of his garden in Giverny, France.

Shortly after that I was in my garden wrestling with some overgrown vine from hell when I realized I wasn't alone. Good old Claude was with me, encouraging me to put down my gardening tools and look up at the yellow irises that were glowing in the afternoon sun. From then on, Claude would accompany me on my gardening rounds and he taught me how to look at a garden as a work of art. He made me take notice of the dance of color, light and shadow that surrounded me and how it changed from minute to minute, hour to hour. He instilled in me an inner vision of what my garden could be and helped me see the work ahead of me as a creative process instead of mere drudgery.

I will always be grateful to Monsieur Monet for this but after awhile I started to notice the differences between us. Yes, I admit I was jealous that he was a much more successful artist than I am and could afford to hire people to help him achieve his artistic vision in the garden while I had to do all the work myself. Then there was the long distance thing, his garden was in the North of France and mine was here in the Midwest of the U.S.A.  Something had to give.

I must confess that eventually I found myself turning to someone else. Someone who was more low maintenance (at least his gardening philosophies were), who understood where I was at. His name was Frank Lloyd Wright. You may know him more as an architect but he was also an ingenious landscape designer. Frank was there for me when I needed to find a way to integrate my garden with my lifestyle. He helped me to see that I could work with nature to create not just a work of art but also a way of life that was in harmony with my environment.

Of course Mr. Wright and I didn't always agree on everything either and these days I feel that I am beginning to develop my own gardening vision and philosophies. Yet both Claude and Frank still visit me in my garden and remain among my most trusted mentors and muses.

Irises zazzle_print
Irises by time2see
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Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Iris Show

Just a few of our German Irises In Bloom


Twice a year the German Irises in my front yard put on a spectacular show. Most of the plants in my gardens were here when I moved in but these Reblooming Irises were something that Hippie and I added ourselves. We have added other plants too but few have thrived and given as much joy to us as these beauties have.

There was a time in my life when I would have been cynical or at least skeptical about deriving such pleasure and satisfaction from a few flowers but obviously I was an idiot then. I suppose I have matured somewhat and gained enough wisdom that I am now able to appreciate the little things in life. Actually, what I am realizing is that what I used to think of as little things aren't really so little.

It's a big thing to me to have something I can count on. It's a big thing to have something not just meet but exceed my expectations. And it's a big thing to be routinely surprised by something that should be easy to take for granted but instead fills me with gratitude and awe. That's what love is, that is what art is for me and that is also how I feel about these Irises and all of the other flowers in my garden.

No, they aren't little things at all. They are huge blessings and I am grateful for all of them.
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Friday, April 13, 2012

Chasing Butterflies

The Dramatic One Butterfly Photograph zazzle_photoenlargement
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I know working for the muse doesn't sound very glamorous to some and even I tend to complain about it from time to time. Yet to spite some very long hours and an extremely demanding boss, I truly love what I do. Who wouldn't love a job that includes responsibilities such as trailing day dreams, hunting inspiration or chasing butterflies?

I get somewhat of a vacation from that last task during the winter months but the rest of the year I spend at least a few hours every week around my winged friends with a camera. Around this time of year they are very elusive. They flutter by me at lightning speed and don't stay in one place for too long. I've learned to be patient and not to worry if I don't get a good photograph. I've learned that photographs are only one of many rewards for chasing butterflies.

Chasing butterflies is a lot like chasing a dream. Even when it's difficult, it's easy because it's the only thing you want to be doing. No one makes you do it, you just have to do it and you never, ever consider giving up. And you find that just by keeping your eye on the prize and allowing your feet to follow, you learn and experience so many wonderful things that you never expected. So that even when your dream comes true, you are glad to see another dream beyond it, just like I am always glad to see another butterfly.

"Happiness Is A Butterfly" Quote & Photography Postcard
Three Free Butterflies rickshaw_messengerbag
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Friday, April 6, 2012

Creative Organization




Who needs condiments when you have glitter?

We had a couple of rainy days this week that enabled me to take a break from gardening and get some stuff done around the house. I didn't do anything crazy, like the dishes, but I did tidy up and reorganize my art studio.


Pantry racks aren't just for pantries

Now I am not the most organized person in the world but somewhere deep inside I aspire to be just that. I sometimes have visions of built in shelves, lined up cabinets, color coded files and clean, orderly, even minimal environments.  

Old stool + orphan drawer =  artist's taboret

The reality is, however, that I am a visually oriented, creatively motivated, color seeking, pattern loving, thrift store shopping, glitter crazy artist with eclectic tastes, varied interests and a lot of art supplies. So while my inner Martha Stewart may wish for a world where all clutter resides in color coordinated bins and boxes, that just doesn't fit the way I live and work.

This little froggy holds chalk

Instead my studio is a lot like my art; the picture of contained chaos. The things I use the most are out in the open where they can be seen and easily grasped but everything has a somewhat defined home to go back to when I am done using it. 


Contained chaos

The fact that many of these homes come in the shape of things like pink hippos, blue mermaids or some brightly colored California pottery just makes cleaning up a little more fun. And while this may not totally satisfy my inner Martha, it greatly pleases her Divine Majesty, Supreme Ruler Of VictoriaLand, also known as my inner child (long may she reign) and that is all that really matters.





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Friday, March 30, 2012

Photographing Spring

Blooms and Branches

I had planned on blogging about one of the many projects on my to do list today but none of them have made it to my “ta-da!” list yet. In fact, pretty much all of my plans have been interrupted by this glorious event called Spring. As I was typing that last sentence I glanced out my window at the lilacs in bloom and saw a butterfly fly by. I am resisting the urge to grab my camera and go chasing after it and the cardinal I just saw, but only because I just spent the last two hours outside photographing such things already.
Butterfly and Blossoms

This is what Spring does to me. It makes me delirious and anxious at the same time. All the flowering trees and bulbs in my yard right now make me want to sing, “What A Wonderful World” (The Joey Ramone version, of course) at the top of my lungs. And yet at the same time I am all too aware of how brief this season is. If I don't go outside every day, I know I will miss something. And I must photograph it all, even though pictures rarely do the real life beauty around me any justice. 
A Bold Splash of Red


However, through these efforts I am constantly reminded that, for me, photography is not just about capturing a moment but also about learning how to be present in the moment. By the same token, I take photographs not just to express my point of view but also to examine things from different points of view.
Purple Haze


There are things I notice every day since I started taking pictures of  my garden that I might have missed if I didn't have a camera. It has not only been a way of observing nature but also an impetus to experience it, interact with it and learn from it. 
White Redbud Tree

So, although spring is brief and fleeting, because of my photographs I will be able to remember it more clearly. And because of the process of taking those photos, my memories will be that much richer.

Dogwood Blooms

 
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