resurrection fern

looking down

Looking down is the way to see all the color of my world this week. Soon everything will turn to shades of brown and grey and then of course the cold white crystals will fall from the sky. I have a feeling we are in for another early winter this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amazing thing is that all these pictures were taken from the floor of the same little forest that my secret installation is in. Such diversity of color, texture and species of trees in a very small area within a very urban community. I am so fortunate to have this area so close to were I live.

The other exciting thing that autumn brings in these parts are rummage sales. My daughter and I went to one today and brought home a few treasures. 

 

I just love that vintage copy of The Little House book. It is one of my favorite stories and It still has its library card inside with all the adorable signatures of the children that took it out before it was taken out of circulation. I am sure most of you know by now that I have a great appreciation for vintage children's books especially if they have wonderful covers and or beautiful illustrations. 

The real find I think was the very soft and old patchwork baby quilt that I purchased for 25 cents!!!!

I will take some better pictures of it when the sun comes out again.

my world explodes in color

The heard frost of the last few nights resulted in a windfall of colorful leaves on the ground this weekend. Of course I saw this as a gift of materials for some ephemeral art. The only twist was the wind. It really didn't settle down at all until late Sunday afternoon so I tried my best to work on the more sheltered side of the porch. I refused to give up and move indoors because it just goes against the philosophy of environmental art. Of course Edgar also loves wet colorful leaves. He adores the way they smell. 

Layering autumn leaves on my favorite weathered garden bench is becoming a little bit of a tradition. Here is the latest version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few have you have asked about those shoes of mine. They are kaffe fassett needlepoint shoes that used to be available as a kit.  The skull on the colorful bench couldn't help but remind me of one of my mom's favorite artists, Georgia O'Keeffe. Hope I have helped give you a colorful start to your week. 

october fields

the wish to be generous

ALL that I serve will die, all my delights,
the flesh kindled from my flesh, garden and field,
the silent lilies standing in the woods,
the woods, the hill, the whole earth, all
will burn in man's evil, or dwindle
in its own age. Let the world bring on me
the sleep of darkness without stars, so I may know
my little light taken from me into the seed
of the beginning and the end, so I may bow
to mystery, and take my stand on the earth
like a tree in a field, passing without haste
or regret toward what will be, my life
a patient willing descent into the grass.

Wendell Berry 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you are all enjoying your saturday. 

first frost

I was actually excited this morning amidst the business of the early morning and the knowledge of a very long day of work ahead of me to take a few moments to drive the car down a much less travelled road , park and admire the brush strokes of a very old friend of mine, Jack Frost. It was his first visit this autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He really is my favorite ephemeral nature artist. Just look how he paints the Queen Anne's lace and those poplar leaves are so very exquisite. I think I could learn a great deal from Jack.

flip off

Even during a very long day at the office we find the time for some fun and try to keep a sense of humour. In my profession it keeps one grounded.

On the way to work.

 

 

In the morning out my office window. This reminded me of the amazing new work of the ever surprising Nicole Licht.

 

First day of our seasonal flu vaccine clinic and thus the chosen title of the post.

 

I have been saving those colorful little caps of the vaccine bottles for a while now.

 

A very strange case of gastric gastopoditis. 

The cure for which is removing the adorable little vector and placing it in on snow.

 

The sun sets in the west through my office window. My bird, hand carved by a very special now deceased patient of mine enjoys the view. 

 

Then comes the not so long drive home at the end of the day.

Home to have some late supper and enjoy some time with the girls before they head to bed and I to the imac to write this blog post. 

A very typical wednesday in my life.

I could survive a day in the office without my right hand friend. She is worth more than her weight in gold and guess what , she has just started a blog. 

I would like to introduce you to two other newish blogs in my life and ones I think you will enjoy, tinctory and tracy nicholas. I am in love with the art and creations of both of these remarkable women.  Have you discovered any new blogs you would like to share with me?

migration

"Then migrating warblers, lemon-colored, whirled down along the frail branches till I could hardly tell which were leaves and which were birds. I sat down on roughened ivory grass to follow the warblers with my field glasses. Scores of tiny birds, gay and quaint, making evanescent compositions among the laced twigs."
-- Florence Page Jaques, (1890 - 1972) author 

One of the things I love most about the autumn besides the kaleidoscope of leaves is the chorus of migrating birds overhead and less often in the large maple trees that line my property.  This latest bit of environmental art is a homage to those tireless little wings that make those long trips to warmer climates for the winter. I sometimes whisper to them little secret messages to tell my friends who live in the south. I wonder if any of you have heard them.

This ephemeral art was created with the berries of baneberry, blue beaded lily and false solomon's seal collected on my last walk in the forest.  Interesting that the berries of the baneberry can cause cardiac arrest in human if ingested but are harmless to birds who have the important job of seed dispersal.

 

 

 

 

 

I love how the remainder of the baneberry fruiting body looks after the berries are removed. It reminded me of the white pines as painted by A Y Jackson, a member of the group of seven.

 

For me one thing almost always leads to another and no sooner had I photographed this I was crushing and mixing with water some of these more colorful berries along with some sumac and bright orange berries of lily of the valley from my garden. I have a ton of vintage white velvet ribbon that I had been wanting to color with natural dyes for so very long. I pleated it up and tied it into neat little bundles and let then sit in the dye baths overnight and a day while I was at work. This evening I removed the colorful parcels and unfolded them. The colors were beautiful and some were totally unexpected when looking at the starting materials.  I now have them drying by the wood stove and can't wait to see how they will look in the morning. I have special plans for these ribbons and can't wait to gather some more materials to be surprised by.

 

From left to right : sumac, false solomon's seal, lily of the valley and the most exciting result of all blue beaded lily. I am totally smitten with that purple.  You see purple and I have a very strong relationship that goes way back. I will leave that story for another day perhaps.

It is amazing where a walk in the forest will lead one.

blue sunday

Not in spirit but what I am noticing around me in nature, treasures , etsy purchases (thanks melissa)  and works in progress. 

I have so many projects on the go it is perhaps a blessing we are expecting a rain filled week leading up to our thanksgiving weekend. Are you even a little bit curious as to what some of these might be. I was looking for something after I wrote this post and found a long lost little collection of felt purses and necklaces the children and I made many years ago. Why am I telling you this ? More blues here of course and because the medallions that I used to make remind me so much of the work of melissa ( tiny happy). 

CRIMSON

“It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.”

                                                   Horace ( ancient roman poet)

Today is the last day of the autumn week of color and is devoted to the color red of which my favorite shade is crimson. I love that word. It is has such antiquity associated with it. The first sources of crimson dyes trace back to the Egyptians who extracted it from the dried bodies of female kermes insects. This was later replaces with cochineal dye ( also a tiny insect) that the spaniards brought back to Europe after discovering its use by the Aztecs.

If you have ever experienced autumn in Canada you would know that there is a great deal of red. The maple trees are only just beginning to turn. The best is yet to come. The next picture is the last bit of my playing around with nature last weekend. I couldn't help but think of this little group of mushrooms as little children of the forest. I think this would make a darling little resurrection fern  postcard. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and of course colorful weekend. 

autumn ephemeral art experiments

An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer. 

 Max Planck

           

This experiment started with a handful of vintage yardsticks purchased from the young lad at the same garage sale where I found the vintage clothesline and a very colorful collection of leaves from my walks in the forest on friday and saturdays.  This is how my autumn is measuring up so far. Very colorful indeed. I am so glad I did this on the weekend because now it would be impossible with the heavy rains and winds we are experiencing. Ephemeral art is fleeting not just in the materials used but also in the opportunity to use such materials. When nature calls you have to listen or you might miss an excellent opportunity.

Today is green day (isn't every day green day) on poppytalk's week of color.                             

That was easy:)                                                                                            

                             

gathering expedition

It might seem almost a tradition that I end my week with forest walks, gathering expeditions of flowers, colorful leaves, fungi and on this occasion acorns and a view of the ever changing porch. I have come to think of my porch as a canvas and a natural science museum. I am looking forward to getting a great deal of rest this weekend, spending time with family and of course being creative. What are your going to be gathering this weekend?

The arrangement in the wooden bowl was inspired by this.