...already...can you believe it??
May was the rainiest on record here in Richmond. Nearly ten inches fell. All that water has certainly made things green and growing. Now that the sun seems to have returned with more intensity (May was not only wet, but very gray) the flowers are starting to bloom as well. In the garden larkspur has been blooming for a while, now being joined by cosmos and coreopsis, with the first red poppy bloom opening today. The hollyhocks aren't far behind and are setting up lots of buds too. As far as the herbs go, valerian, angelica, agrimony and elder have been flowering, and it won't be long for the St. John's wort to start. It's a delight to walk in the garden and discover something new every day.
Now that the vast majority of the laborious work in the yards is complete, as opposed to maintenance which I find more joyful, my energy has been returning to artwork. I've been creating new prints in the hand/plant cyanotype series. I pick the botanical matter a few days before printing, drying and pressing a bit, so that when printing day rolls around I can focus entirely on that part of the process. In the baba yaga's garden series (with small figures and "large" botanicals) I had some new ideas generating and have been busy shooting and printing more negatives. One test print down and the negatives seem good to go.
Of the three calls for entry I've entered in the past month, I did receive acceptance into the pinhole show. The juror actually picked one of my favorites, which is very cool. Two more shows have yet to notify. I'm inspired and motivated by acceptance into the pinhole show and the sale of my two little cyanotypes up in Philly at 1241 Carpenter Studios . It takes me a while to get into the rhythm of producing physical work, but I'm getting there.
Aikido is going well. I practice three times a week and am finally getting more familiar with this style. It's a joy to work with all the people in my new dojo, who continue to be supportive and patient. I can't exactly explain how the art enriches my life, but I know that it does. Perhaps it's a sense of building my integrity, strength and awareness, that I take off the mat, which keeps me returning. Perhaps it's that the art assists in my ongoing effort to be authentic and real. It's been challenging in many ways to step back into practice, but it's more rewarding than ever.
Summer is all but here and the next few months will fly by. I'm terribly excited for my daughter's wedding in September and that's the next milestone in my sight. But before then I hope to have a few months of productive art making, adventure seeking (I'm assisting with a local kid's nature camp), and of course gardening (and working with the fruits of my labor, making medicines and all kinds of delicious comestibles). Needless to say, efforts towards self cultivation will always be ongoing. Isn't life interesting??
I sometimes stop by the river on my way home from early morning weapons practice mid-week.
The garden is filling out.
The two small prints that sold up in Philly.
The print in the bottom right corner will be in the Pinhole show at A. Smith Gallery in Texas.
New prints being rinsed.
Exposing cyantoypes in the sun.
Prints hung to dry.
Rhubarb from the garden combined with farmer's market strawberries went into an awesome crisp.
Testing a new idea for an older concept.
Digitalis that's taller than me!
Comments