It's still cold outside, and though the days get longer, it still seems so dark most of the time. The dead of winter. But inside, thankfully, there's some respite. Flowers manage to bloom in spite of the gloom, amazing. Oh, they are, no doubt, drawing on reserves and those reserves are getting low.Each of my long suffering house plants has a history. Many of them are pretty old, in house plant years. The geranium, for example, entered my life as a $.50 annual about 10 years ago, to use in a planter outdoors for summer decoration. Now it's a grand dame.
Begonias start fresh every other year or so and I mostly give them away. Messy, but they keep blooming anywhere, any time, 'most any place.
This "Easter Cactus" began as bits that broke off when I repotted a huge specimen for an Iowan friend of mine. I couldn't bare to pitch them, especially given the grandeur of their parent at the time. That was about 9 years ago. "Marie's Cactus," as she's called, seems to choose a different time to bloom every year-Christmas? Valentine's Day? Easter? any time in between? all of the above?
So why all this talk about flowers? While I delight in my house mates here, I was actually thinking about crocuses and hellebores the past few days. And a new series of work, now in progress on my bench, draws on those ideas and forms. This is a clue about "where ideas come from..." To be continued.
3 comments:
Perfect antidote to a landscape buried in white. Thanks for lifting me up this morning.
HI, I followed links from the comment you left on Indie. Your volcano story is too funny. You're much more dedicated than I am. I would have been in a dead panic. But I can relate to your struggles with navigating the net. I've been fairly active on line for about 12 years and I'm still overwhelmed sometimes. I have a friend who specializes in search engine optimization and she's always telling me I need more exposure, more blogs, more venues to sell. Then there's the influence you get when you have unlimited access to so many other artists. But, what I really liked was your post about inspiration. I've actually been considering doing inspiration boards to coincide with my photos. There's a real problem with conceptual piracy on line and I thought it would be fun to create storyboards for each concept I shoot. Not only to validate my work, but becaus I'm always curious about what inspired a great photo.
Deborah-you're welcome to come smell the flowers here any time!
Kiki-as I look back and recall those Alaskan years now, they often seem surreal! I will, no doubt, tell other AK tales here in due time, but that volcano--and other natural events--were quite other-worldly at times. Your idea about "story boards" is good! I think that's what I hope to share here, too--some of the thinking and living behind the finished work that gets out there in tidy photos! Thanks to both of you for your comments!
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