Frosted chives, winter 2017, Boulder, Colorado
Early 2017 has been mild here in Colorado (no snow or ice to speak of in and around town this week). But even though the ground is dry, the light in the image below still says winter to me. One of the reasons Colorado’s cultural scene is less developed than those on the coasts, I think, is because the sunshine here motivates you to get outdoors and explore.
Pine tree, Flatirons Vista South, Boulder, Colorado
One of my favorite trails right now is Flatirons Vista located on the west side of Highway 93 just south of Boulder. It has two concentric loops that cover grassy and wooded terrain. I like it because it’s less crowded than some of Boulder’s other trails, and because the trees smell great. I also love the variety of views.
Looking southeast toward Trinity ES&C, a gravel mine off Highway 93 in Boulder, Colorado
Look east to see a gravel mining operation and its industrial, sculptural forms. Look west for mountainous views. Also, there’s a lot of pleasing texture between the grass and trees which I find kind of mesmerizing.
My dog Hazel cruising along beside me, Flatirons Vista South, Boulder, Colorado
Anyway, while it’s a treat to be able to get out and hike trails that’d typically be covered with ice this time of year, there’s a relentless quality to the early heat and activity that has me feeling stretched.
I was going to review an art book for you today, Artists Living with Art by Stacey Goergen and Amanda Benchley, but the fall garden has me under its spell. So here’s a picture of some waning tomato vines instead. It’s super-windy right now and the sky has that weird, intense yellow-green color that we sometimes get before a storm. It’s about to turn cold, I hear. Are you ready for the change? I am. Almost.
Tomatoes in the garden, October 2016
September is the month my husband and I pull honey, extract it, bottle it, and bring it to market, so I always feel a little extra busy this time of year. Beekeeping feeds my appetite for tidy/tangled botanical imagery. In this case, it’s the impromptu grass brush he uses to brush straggler bees off combs that caught my eye.
Honey in the comb, September 2016
Just because.
A sentimental pic of a honeybee foraging on oregano in Boulder, Colorado, July 2016
Oregano flowers and their tiny hairs are hard to see! I like how photographs can give a clearer picture of what’s happening with a plant at that smaller level. The thing that most interests me here is being able to see how the oregano’s buds are arranged on each stem. (That, and the tiny hairs. of course.)
Noodling around with some ideas about theme and composition for the Boulder Barrel Project. Here are some updated pictures of the Winter Yarrow I posted about back in January.
Summer yarrow blossoms, July 2016, Boulder Colorado
Using a white sheet as a backdrop here do differentiate the blossoms from their background.
Most of our yarrow is white but some of it blushes pink, like someone just tossed of a jar of paint onto the garden as they were walking by.
Work in process: this 3-d piece, based on an idea/memory of the painting below, is an ingredient in the new series of photographs I’m making titled “Future Perfect.”
“Walking Stick,” encaustic and ink on panel, 5″ x 4″
Wood chips on floor.
. . . is happening in the garden this week.
Spring chives, April 2016
A post-snow flush of green pushing its way up and out.
Lavender, just greening, April 2016
Enjoy garden design? Check out A Little Chaos directed by Alan Rickman. It’s the only costume drama I can think of with a plot that turns on the idiosyncratic placement of a single pot. Middling performances by some terrific actors and a fascinating performance by Rickman. Beautiful shots of formal and informal gardens in various stages of completion.
Can anyone identify this orangey species of tufty grass for me?
It grows in Boulder and is curlier and a little softer looking than the other grass that surrounds it.
Here it is again with some friends.
A stem of seed pods cut and projected onto studio wall.