Things rarely go to plan around here.
When last I wrote, I had plans to get all the plants I'd bought into pots on my deck over the long holiday weekend. It didn't take long for me to realize I'd succumbed to something similar to "eyes bigger than my stomach". That dahlia and some salvia needed bigger pots than I had on hand. So I scouted out the two charity shops near me, sure there'd be some cheap pots to be had. There were . . . and a lovely hand-thrown pot from a Seattle pottery (could hold a houseplant?), a couple more silk ties, and the ugliest dress I've seen in a long time made from the most beautiful blue Shantung or Dupioni silk (can you say lakes and other water features?). Not shown is the glassware I also scored on - just everyday pieces but I am getting down to just a few of several sizes and have company coming in July. This is why it is not safe for me to pass through these stores!
 |
| View from my couch |
I picked all this up on Saturday, couldn't make up my mind where I wanted some of the plants to go, then didn't feel good on Monday and ended up sleeping away the afternoon. I found some time during the week with cooperating weather and enough breeze to fend off the mosquitoes (they have been many and aggressive this spring) to nearly finish up. Nearly. As I neared the finish line, I was running out of potting soil. And wishing I'd picked up a second salvia I'd considered because I had a place for it out by my front steps. Friday found me at another garden center to remedy this. Monday turned out to be a good day to put that salvia and some extra small plants in that planter out front and the dahlia in its big pot. Today I tossed some seeds in a long planter I inherited from the next door neighbor and filled the second one with the remainder of the small plants. There! I think I am finally done! Not only do I get to enjoy this garden when I sit out on the deck, but I also see it from my couch when I'm watching tv and as I pass from livingroom into kitchen.
I almost always put geraniums in my big copper tub but choose different colors each year. This year, this particular pink really appealed to me.
I've had good luck with dianthus, having some even winter over in their pots that get left outside. These burgundy ones seemed a good contrast to the pink of the geraniums.
 |
| These are actually more blue than purple |
The salvia is new for me. I was looking for some blue to add to the yellows, oranges, and reds, and unless you like petunias (and I do not), one is pretty limited in what's available in blue. Didn't hurt that there were bees buzzing around it when I was shopping. I'm very pleased with how they look back by the geraniums.
Buying more silk garments to deconstruct is as close as I've gotten to getting back to my textile work. Instead, I've been finding great relaxation and even peace in working on some of my sketching. Hard to see because at this point it is fairly faint, but I've finally completed the pencil undersketch of my "sit and rotate" assignment from long ago Sketchbook Skool class. I'm ready to start adding ink and color of this record of my office/guest room, half on one side, half on the other. Still dithering a bit on what to use for the color. I don't think this paper will take wet media but I have brush pens, markers and colored pencils that should do the trick.
With the warmer weather, urban sketching starts tugging at me and I spent time on two different days working on this house that has been on my list for a long time. So intrigued by those multiple roof lines, but had entirely forgotten about the stones partway up the walls and around the doorway which caused a moment of panic until I remembered the same feature on the Veterinary building I sketched last year, and how I discovered it wasn't all that hard to master. More work to do on this one, but the basics are sketched in.
I'm back to taking a turn through the small park along my walking route and was surprised that I hadn't noticed a couple of trees doing interesting (to my eye) things. They warranted a return trip with sketchbook in hand. These are very sketchy, need a little cleaning up and lots of leaves added, maybe even some color. But the point is that in one tree coupling my avid imagination thought "one tree is caressing the other."
The other pair on the opposite side of the trail told a different story. I got the impression that one was trying to hide behind the other, maybe because it was injured and needed protection (it had sap running down it from a scar). Yeah, overactive imagination, but this isn't the first time I've seen trees suggesting a story to me. I have other such sketches and more than a few photos, and the thought did occur to me that I have enough ideas for a small grouping/series. We shall see.
And this is one of the reasons so many in the know stress how important it is for an artist to work in a sketchbook. It can unleash your imagination as you really look at the world around you.
7 comments:
Even if your plans didn’t proceed on the schedule you had in mind….you certainly have accomplished a lot……bet it feels great too!
You're off to a busy start to summer! Those thrift shops will trip you up every time! Nice finds! Jan in WY
Oh yes! THe thrift tore finds! One of my favorite hobbies is looking for treasures or art supplies there! Looks like you made a score with the silk! Congrats!
I've been reading that trees really do have a network underground, and that they do communicate and compensate for each other. They have whole lives and communities, and most of us don't even hear it, notice. There's a similar tangle of trees on my daily walk. This makes me want to stop and study it a bit more. Maybe I'll take a photo to sketch later. ;-)
That Dianthus is beautiful! I had a nice collection of reds like that, but my boys dug them up a few years ago, thinking they were weeds. Ugh! Should've had them in pots!
Your flowers are lovely! The salvia adds a nice vertical element.
Mary, your comment puts me in mind of the old saying, "slow and steady wins the race." Not totally sure what the race was here, except maybe to beat the storms I knew were coming! And to not let my lovelies whither under the stress of outgrowing their original containers. Feels good indeed, and I feel I'm tying up a lot of loose ends lately.
Oh Lordy, Jan and Michele. I was quite stunned at my totals at the registers, always thinking I'm picking up things so cheaply but not factoring in how MANY things I'm picking up! All good deals though and I do love it when I'm successful in finding what I'm looking for, or can use.
Michele, nice to know I'm not alone in thinking there's something going on between trees! In fact, yesterday I read about a cloning effort to produce redwood tree saplings which noted this was not as farfetched as it seemed if one understands how redwoods in the wild often reproduce by tapping into established root systems, even after the main tree has died or fallen over. I think there IS more going on there than we give credit for. I know I've felt rather spooked at times when deep in a woods alone, looking at some of the older gnarled trees and almost sensing a malevolence as if they want me to leave. Can't say I blame them with humans' track record! Will be interested to see if your future walks and studies of the trees bear artistic fruit as it were. And oh my, helpful boys. In their defense, I'd have to agree that before the blooms arrive, dianthus can indeed look like weeds. Pots rather help. ;-)
Thanks, Sherrie! I thought the same thing about the salvia.
Post a Comment