Sunflowers & Sunshine

I am heading off today to the land of sunflowers & sunshine. Sorry that I haven't been around lately but I have been in the midst of packing & other activities of preparation. It looks as if I will be moving into a new , larger studio when I return. So as well as, getting ready to leave for the summer, I was also packing up the studio for that move as well. I am ready now to see the fields of sunflowers & my little rose covered cottage, & to relax into the tranquil life of the French countryside.

I am hopeful that I can continue my blog from there, even though I have limited internet access. But if it should not work out as planed,

Have a wonderful summer & I will see you back here in the fall.

Over the Raibow

I am ready to look for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Here is another old photo, taken from a hotel window in Paris, a number of years ago.

Container Gardening

"Laying out grounds may be considered a liberal art, in some sort like poetry and painting."

...Wordsworth




Inspired by this family's accomplishments , I have begun my own "container" garden on my small roof deck. Planting edibles along with flowers, I love the beauty of the tiny green shoots pushing through the earth.






It's a small start , interrupted by my time away, but it is an idea that I hope to cultivate.

Grandparents Day

Friday was Grandparents Day at our granddaughters elementary school. Sadly we failed to take a photo during our visit. There were too many classes , lessons & assemblies to stop for photos. It was a fun filled time spent with our granddaughter & her class mates as well as all the other grandparents. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But one thing is for sure, these grandparents were pretty exhausted at the end of their busy school day.

Luckily we did get one quick snapshot with all three "grand" kids after school, when we returned home. This lovely day gave me pause, to think about the role of grandparents on their grandchildren's lives. I know that my Nanny certainly impacted mine.

Here I am with my Nanny, three generations of women, mothers & sisters & daughters & me the granddaughter in the middle.

Below is a more recent multi generational photo with my mom now the great grandmother.

In thinking about grandparent's effect on their grandchildren's lives, I rather like this quote by Alex Haley:

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

I hope we sprinkled a little star dust that day. I know that we definitely received a lot of sunshine !

Thoughts of Spring

Just a few quick drawings....

that conjure up
thoughts of
spring....

"I am weak before the wind; before the sun I faint,

I lose my strength; I am utterly vanquished by a star;

I go to my knees at length

Before the song of the bird; before

The breath of spring or fall I am lost;

Before these miracles I am nothing at all."

-Jewish Prayer

Working with Scissors

The blogging world leads us in so many directions & to so many interesting places.

This week I came across this lovely little film advertently by way of Art Over Dinner.

I love being able to watch Matisse making his famous paper cut outs with

those enormous scissors. It is such a treasure to actually watch the master at work if only for a few moments. Later through a slightly more circuitous route I came across these wonderful little mini sculptures made from tiny cut outs & toilet paper rolls.

I discovered these following a trail of links from one of my favorite blogs, Kickcan & Conkers. Thanks Deborah for sharing so many other wonderful & interesting sites.

I found these unique tiny pieces of art featured both here & here.

According to the artist, Anastssia Elias, hundreds of websites & blogs from different countries have dedicated posts to her cardboard rolls & have led many thousands of visitors to her site. All of this through the marvelous world of the internet.

Happy Mother's Day All!

Ramblin' Rose

Another old photo, found at the bottom of an over stuffed drawer. Funny how one finds one thing when you are looking for something else. This photo was taken nineteen years ago this month, the day we took possession of our little French cottage. The house has no garden, only a small area for planting just before the house meets the road. But there, in almost no soil, sprang the most magnificent red rose. It was this wild & rambling rose, which, like the house, had been neglected for years, that truly won my heart. Over time it has taken many transformations. We had the house repointed & at the same time the rose was severely pruned back. It was good for the rose we were told. Now & more years later it flourishes again. Beautifully. It is an early bloomer, however, flowering only from May through June. Sadly my plans never line up so that I am in France for those early months. I usually arrive in July, too late to see the velvety red blossoms. My neighbors all tell me how beautiful my rose was & some have even taken photos for me. But every year I long to be there & see it for myself. This year all of the same obstacles keep cropping up. But, this year I am determined to see my ramblin' rose.

Water Emergency In Boston

The recent water emergency in Boston has ended. After three days of boiling water to drink, due to a major water main break, the city of Boston & 30 outlying communities, can go back to normal water use. Hopefully in this short time of inconvenience, without clean water at the ready, we as a community have learned some important lessons. Our water supply is a precious resource, one which we take for granted on a daily basis. It is my hope that this crisis has awakened us to our responsibility to our planet & the water that gives it life. I have written about this here on this blog before, sharing that many of my paintings have a watery presence. The above painting entitled, "Falling", is one such example. Intuitively, I paint the movement & refraction of water. I can not help but think that there is a connection between what I paint & the passion I feel for this subject.

Besides the prize winning talk on TED by Sylvia Earle, another resource for those interested in learning more about the plight of the worlds water supply, is Irena Salina's award-winning documentary film "Flow".