ONCE IN A WHILE...

 

I have long thought that many of us who create do so in part to make connections with others through our art. Recently, I have been blessed to make a few of those connections and I would like to share this one with you because it is so beautiful:

As I do when I can, I reached out to the purchaser of an original piece--Crow in the Snow--and the following is the reply, which I have permission to share. I think it is pretty special.

"Dear Cherril,

Thank you so much for reaching out to me and I am fascinated to know that you loved this picture so much that you did not want to let it fly!

Let me tell you why I wanted to buy it.

Firstly, it is a beautiful picture and I was attracted to it immediately due to its style and feel.

Beyond that, let me tell you a short story. A true one.

I am English but I live here in Orange County. My daughter was born here. We went to England in June. She had previously bought me a book called 'England's Most Beautiful Villages.' We decided to pick few local ones and make them the centerpiece of individual days.

One day we picked Heptonstall in Yorkshire. On the way there we drove through Mytholmroyd. I knew that Ted Hughes, a former Poet Laureate, had been born there and, according to our charter that all interruptions and segues were to be followed, we stopped and looked for some record of his existence. We found the house he grew up in (until age 8), did some pics, and then I made her listen to me read 'Hawk in the Rain.'

We moved on towards Heptonstall but, in case you didn't know, Ted Hughes' 'Crow:From the Life and Songs of the Crow' was considered his masterpiece.

In Heptonstall, quite unexpectedly, we came upon Ted Hughes' wife's grave. His wife was Sylvia Plath, an American, who was the author of The Bell Jar.

We had a wonderful day.

When I saw your Crow, I wanted it to remind me forever of that day during which we saw Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath but also ourselves and I knew that every time I looked at your Crow it would remind me of that day and my daughter forever.

So thank you for all that!

Keith

WOW! Right? Such a delightful connection for all of us. And now I find I see Crow in the Snow through different eyes and I am soooo glad that I decided I could part with it.

Connections are beautiful things and I thank Keith for sharing.

(I thought to shorten his letter, but found I could not leave out one word.)

AND ONE MORE THING....

OK I think most of us are familiar with that song from Sound of Music about "a few of my favorite things." Well, I got to thinking the other day about gratitude and what are some of my favorite things. It really got me going. I would have said I was pretty fussy and there wouldn't be all that many, but I thought to divide up into the senses. I WENT NUTS!

So here goes...

Not sure why but I started with sounds:
the call of black oystercatchers
the sound of waves crashing
first birdsongs of morning
the hoot of the owl late in the night
the harsh cry of an overhead hawk
the rattle sound of a crow
cooing of mourning doves, ..."who are you, who are you?"
the sibilant sound of rain starting up on the roof
the whir of hummingbird wings
the strange sound of a tree chock full of bees
a beautiful area that goes straight to the heart
joyful, free laughter (and of course the child's shy giggle)

Then, smells:
vanilla
night blooming jasmine
orange blossoms
bread baking
woodsmoke
new-mown grass
sweet scent of newborn babies
cinnamon
hot-mulled cider on the stove
gardenias
sweetpeas, especially the lavender ones
basil
freshly sawed wood/wood shavings
white roses

Taste:
the tang of sweet lemon squares
the first sip of strong morning coffee
bread straight from the oven
watery crunch of romaine lettuce
sour bite of a ruby red grapefruit
sweet spicy mix of cayenne with sugar
warm salty taste of chicken soup when down with a cold
sweet liquor taste of amaretto
nutty sweetness of dark chocolate covered almonds
lemon pepper on grilled fish or steak
sweet crunch of coconut (texture good too)
flavor of just about any greet vegetables
creamy sweetness of butter pecan ice cream (my mother's fave too)

Sight:
plumeria in full bloom
the far off view across miles of ocean on a gray drizzly day
sparkle of sunlight on the midday sea
billowing clouds scudding across the sky
pelicans soaring across the ocean before their sudden dive
blown bubbles, iridescent on an afternoon breeze
fresh green of springtime hills
the smile on the face of a child
looking up through tall, dense trees
waves of yellow mustard on a hiking trail in the hills
a scurrying lizard who stops to do pushups

Touch:
Oh, how I miss touch...soon, oh, please, soon! Until then I don't think I'll go there.

And, of course, there are always those uncategorized things that just cannot be left out:
The crows in all their glory, the sunflowers, the hibiscus, the "old-timers" from my grandmother's long ago garden--gardenia, camellia, hydrangea, and iris...
and not to ever be forgotten, my wonderful family and friends.

Oh, of course just one more thing: the feeling of dancing around the room all alone to Bruno Mars😅

And there will always be "one more thing" that I've left off, but.......

I hope this has prompted some of your thinking too...feel free to share in the comments section.

WHAT IS LEFT BEHIND

Footsteps in the sand

This morning in the dark of pre-dawn, as the chirping of rising birds sounded outside, I found myself thinking of not only what we leave in our wake, but also what is left after something like the recent road trip taken with daughter Jenna.

While describing the trip in brief to friend Maggie I realized I was mostly leaving out the "left behinds" like joy and laughter that come from shared moments with a loved one. I was leaving out the exhilaration of a completed hike. I omitted the feeling of awe of standing atop a white sand dune while others stretched out seemingly forever. The musical notes still singing in my head from Jenna's huge collection of song was yet another, vast, lingering thing.

Memories and more........

PAREIDOLIA--WHAT'S THAT? YOU ASK...

A Leprechaun's ear perhaps?

Pareidolia is one of the delightful words I first heard from the lips of chalk artist extraordinaire David Zinn. 

On the final day of his visit here in Laguna Beach, having contributed 12 wonderful examples of sidewalk art to our community, there was a workshop for the public. I was sad to have to miss it. So, as I walked around town and Heisler Park looking for pieces eleven and twelve, I noticed many spots I thought could be put to good use.

This is pareidolia--an extraordinary piece of our brain power that has us always on the alert for possible patterns in the world around us. Logic need not apply and perhaps the more whimsical and illogical the better.

Many times when people will ask how I see what I see in the world, I question them, "What did you see in your wallpaper, in the clouds, etc, as a child?" This may be the key--to get back to that child in us. And what better way to do it than with chalk? Thank you, David Zinn, for reminding us all.

I see an old man's beard. You?