On Vacation

Vacation time! Whenever I see my trusty black travel purse, my heart starts to flutter. Almost every vacation shot of me over the last three years has this purse. My vacations could be titled: Black Bag Travels!

We are spending a month in Europe. I'm hoping to spend time in private and public gardens in the south of England during the first week while visiting friends. I have my camera and journal to document my observations. This information will help me continue with my "reading a garden" series- part 2 hopefully. The middle two weeks will be spent on a Baltic Cruise and the final week we will see friends in Germany who live in a small village about a half hour from Frankfurt. Lots of posts coming up from these experiences once I get home on July 7. Whenever I can get computer access I will post a short update during the trip.

Postcard Series - New work

I've been busy finishing several of my 4 x 6 inch postcard works. For these two I returned to Birr Castle Demesne for inspiration. I'm looking down again to see what's beneath my feet. There are whole little worlds for you to view when you look closely. I'm not working on my
Reading a Garden Series this week partly because my mind is all over the place. We leave for our vacation on Saturday and will be gone for a month. That's a long time without blogging!

In praise of poppies

It's not only the vivid colours and the tissue paper petals bobbing precariously on curved stems that explain my love affair with poppies. Poppies are interesting no matter what aspect of development they are in.
Ready to burst forth at any moment, you can almost convince yourself you see bits of red escaping its temporary prison.

This vivid orb is hard to ignore. I love this photo and eventually it prompted a painting.

Striving(2004) 10 x 30 in. mixed media

The blooming period of poppies is very short, lasting only two to four days before the petals begin to drop. Because of this brief bloom time, poppies are rarely used for cut flower bouquets.
What's left behind after the petals drop is just as beautiful as the flower in bloom.

While the poppy is in bloom the pod is only a small berry but it grows quickly and reaches 5 to 7.5 centimeters. Pods come in two shapes: round and slightly elongated. The seeds inside the dried pods found in fall gardens will become next years poppies. Initially pods are grayish green and somewhat shiny, but they change to a dull gray, a signal they can be picked and still maintain a hard shell. If you pick them too early the pods will shrivel up. Dried pods last indefinitely. I tie the pods together with a string and hang them upside down so the stems will dry straight. Be ready with something to collect the release of seeds. This was a big surprise the first time it happened.

Fertility series (2003)

Enclosed, 5 x 5 in. acrylic and modeling paste

Removed, 5 x 5in. acrylic and modeling paste

Spilling, 5 x 5in. acrylic and modeling paste

Revealed, 5 x 5in. acrylic and modeling paste