Art and Poetry Collaboration: Jan Turner

Calligrapher and illuminator Jan Turner of Kent, England, e-mailed me to ask for permission to use my poem, "Toadstools," for a project.   She had found it in Decomposition: An Anthology of Fungi-Inspired Poetry, edited by Roehl & Chadwick, from Lost Horse Press.  (Yes, I know -- the perfect themed collection for me.)  This serendipitous art-poetry intersection/collaboration is one of the thrilling benefits of the Internet.  Here's her beautiful finished piece, which includes her "spore print."  Thanks, Jan.

More Dragonfly Magic

My iridescent-winged "Halloween Pennants" are back, right where I knew I'd find them.  Every summer, these intricate dragonflies (Celithemis eponina) welcome me into their circle for an afternoon.  They always allow me to get astonishingly close.  I was surprised there were so many so early.  For the two years previous, I took their portraits in August.  Yesterday they seemed skittish at first; they kept zipping away.  But then we all relaxed into it ... and it was magic.

Picnic Table Shadows

Happy 4th of July!

Piano Window

The window in the piano.  There are still so many places in my house that I didn't know existed.

Easter Bonnet or Thinking Cap?

Easter bonnet or thinking cap? Daffodoll decked out in her organic finery.

"There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself." -- Hermann Hesse

Hmmmm ... well, it could be reused as a graduation cap ...

Photo taken 3/25/12. Click on image to enlarge.

Those Barriers

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it." -- Rumi
 

Official spring is here, and with the unexpected summer-like warmth, the world has opened to us again, inviting us in, calling us outdoors. The heart throws wide its own doors and windows to the new scents and budding surprises. That hibernating part of us, curled in darkest dreaming, wants to stretch, to reach out and bask in the sunlight. To obey the invitation of birds, brook and breeze. To unfurl.

I took the photo on the 23rd. When I got up the next morning, I discovered my writer friend's Facebook post linking to Brain Pickings, with this quote as the opening. (Thank you Deborah Batterman!) Another invitation, another unfurling. Perfect.

Head Filled with Light

I press my eye to another lens in invitation and fill my head with morning. The three vases dance with reflections, tossing sparks like confetti. On the wall, a miniature aurora borealis ripples. I touch the silent waves as if to test their depth. They skitter over my skin, painting my hand blue. The angle of sunlight changes, clouds arrive, and I lose my hold. My will no longer bends the muted light.

The three blue vases were a birthday gift from Thea. (Thanks and love!) The photo was taken 1/20/12. Click on image to enlarge.