Hiatus

I took a break...

The weeds grew in the garden. The gazebo project didn't get finished. My blotanical blogger ranking moved up. (Now how does that happen?)

I'm often afraid of letting go. I push and push and then I run out of steam. The house doesn't get cleaned. I stop writing. I don't check e-mails religiously. I don't keep track of food shopping. (We ran out of ketchup this week! UGH! That's a hard one in this house.) I feel like I'm losing control and only when I let the everyday activities slip through my fingers can I regain composure.

Why do I garden? Do I garden because I enjoy it or because I need to do it? If I don't keep up with it, the plants will turn into a jungle. My yard will be like everyone else's, even though they expect more when they come to visit because I AM a gardener. Don't they expect spectacular things from me? When I start to worry about the final result of the gardening, it isn't fun anymore. And if it isn't fun, what's the point?

We had bouts of nasty weather last week and school vacation started for my daughter two weeks ago. I didn't feel like writing, gardening or keeping my routine. I read. I even read fiction. It was such a wonderful guilty treat. Reading any kind of fiction to me is like many people's views of reading romance novels, I imagine. (I haven't read a romance novel since I was 15...not that I have anything against it.) I spend most of my time reading non-fiction - gardening books, history, biography...I've been reading Sophie Kinsella's wonderful Shopaholic series. I've played Barbies. I even baked a pie. ("What. Melissa bake?" Those who know me well may not believe it. I really do on occasion, but generally food preparation gets in the way of real life.)

I received a lovely letter in the mail yesterday telling me that my book proposal is beautiful, but this particular publisher wouldn't be able to market it properly. Last week, I attended the retirement party of a former boss -- one of my most admired bosses of all time -- and was asked by his assistant to consider taking his place. I was truly honored. Real life was knocking at the door. It was telling me that good things are ready to happen. It has finally stopped raining in NH. So, the gazebo was finished yesterday. The gardens are just about weeded...I'm refreshed...

Hiatus over.

Think Positively!

I've known from the start that I may have bitten off more than I can chew...

I love to paint. I've painted just about every room inside my house. I decided to paint the outside of my house. For now, I'm painting the parts I can reach. I'm afraid of heights. What happens when I finish the low bits and need to get to the high? Meanwhile, the yellow fits in much better with my gardens than that dreary blue gray. Even if I can only paint the lower part, it will be a perfect backdrop for the lustrife in the opposite garden.

Today I got one of my favorite plants for free...

It doesn't matter that I had to spend $500 to accumulate the points for my $25 of free merchandise.

I may have killed another of my favorite plants today...

The globe thistle was so small that I didn't realize what it was when I plunked down the shovel to make room for the new mango potentilla. There were so many little plants that I was able to split them up so they will take up more space in my garden. I've also moved them to a much better spot to highlight their unique beauty. I think they will be gorgeous when they do get big (assuming that they survive their trauma.)

An animal has been getting into my garbage every night...

He is either visiting between the time my husband leaves in the morning and the time I leave in the morning. OR, my husband ignores the mess as he leaves for work. How can there be a positive light to this? I am pretending it is the latter...and therefore my husband owes me. I think that I'll go out and get more plants in exchange for my clean up duty. (My best friend taught me to think that way...Gee. I hope that Kevin doesn't read this! I guess that I hope my friend's husband doesn't read this either, but he probably knows already. I'm new to this positive way of thinking!)

Plein Air

I need to send out kudos again to another artist friend. Up until last month I was editor of the Manchester Artists Association newsletter. Artist Sue Whitaker stepped up to take over when I needed to step down. Her first newsletter came out this month and it is wonderful. Sue is a graphic designer and has pushed our humble newsletter to a new level.

Sue is a plein air painter, meaning that she goes on location and she paints what she sees. Plein air artists are generally known for their landscapes. They like communing with nature and trying to express what they feel while they are painting out in the open.

Perhaps I should call myself a plein air photographer. My artist statement reads that I generally enjoy finding my garden subjects through serendipity. I like trying to express the happiness I feel in the garden. Warm breezes, sunshine, rustling leaves, and dewy grass all wake up my senses. My photographs aim to make you feel like you are on the journey with me. I want it to seem as if you can reach out and touch the petals of my flowers. While it is fun to craft a still-life indoors, there is nothing like wandering out-of-doors to seek the perfect photographic subject to share my love of nature and flowers with others.

Plein air was popularized by the Impressionists. Look at a Monet and you can practically feel the Giverny sunshine playing across his waterlilies. According to American Impressionist William Merritt Chase, "I don't believe in making pencil sketches and then painting your landscape in your studio. You must be right under the sky." While some artists will complete their preliminary outdoor studies in the studio, others like Chase prefer to address the whole task of painting nature outside.

Out in the open you don't just see nature as your subject. You experience it. Experiencing allows you to add intense emotion to your art. If you don't really experience your subject, the communication of it is dull and lifeless. If some part of you doesn't feel deeply energized while you are creating a piece of art, it is not worth creating. If the natural world energizes you, the art work you do out in the open will communicate your enthusiasm.