Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Heat Wilting the Plants


I was so happy to find a cheap way to make planters for my plants.  I hung them off my fire escape to climatize them to New York summer.  It rained on the first day, then nothing.


The poor plants wilted under the onslaught of heat and sun.


 I think part of the problem is that some of the cuttings are too long, there is not enough soil to nourish them.


The shorter cuttings are doing a little better.


I am envious of the trees and plants on the street.  How do they manage so long with no water?  


I think I will take some of the more distressed plants back inside.  I have started watering all of them, maybe I have too much drainage.  They need to hang onto every drop of moisture.  I may need to rethink the planters. I can't put them out in the world looking all bedraggled like this.  Work in progress...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Summer Solstice


When the solstice came, I was cleaning the kitchen which makes this seasonal picture even more apt.  It is my favorite kind of light, especially prized when it lights up mundane objects.

I am still getting back into things.  Printer troubleshooting does not make for interesting blogging unless it is on a tech blog.  Luckily there was this light.

I did visit the north side of Central Park, the less traveled side.  The place was crawling with children, toddlers and school age, which wasn't surprising given the time of year.  I found an area called the ravine.  The path climbed a lot and besides one troop of students in matching t-shirts, I was pretty much alone.


It was green and wild except for a few traces of the city peeking through, the birds were singing.


 There were no traffic sounds. It did not last long, soon the path led to a fishing lagoon, baseball fields, a bike path and a transverse road.  There seem to be a lot of parks vehicles.  It was all pretty hectic after the calm of the ravine.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Emptiness


Today was the first time in a while that I had a bit of calm so I could focus on my work and I was at a loss for what to do.  This happens to me once in a while.  I feel so frustrated because here I am with time and space to work and I just feel empty. Rather than beat myself up about it, I tried to make pictures of the emptiness.  I wanted something round and clear.  Fullness is round to me and the transparency would show the lack of fullness.  Luckily I have this old balsamic vinegar bottle that I keep spotting brushes in.  This first picture is practically allegorical with the empty dishes and my moss languishing in the background.  The next ones are closer to what I had in mind.






I do not know if these images really describe the emptiness I was experiencing, but they made me feel better.

Friday, June 11, 2010

More Guilt


Life continues to interfere with my art making.  There are times like these I guess.  I am beginning to feel they are more frequent, though. I dig myself out of the paperwork to find that the relatively new printer refuses to turn on. So much for printing.



I did manage to pot the cuttings I made back in March. 



I am waiting for the plants to adjust to being in soil before I move forward with my plan for them. I want to wait until it is in place to describe it more. The plants do not really like being in soil and some leaves have turned yellow so I am trying to be patient with this as well.

The weather has been the full span from brilliant sunswept days to dark chilly storms.



Yesterday was one of the sunny days and the light was making everything sparkle even these tatters of fencing.


The light showed up these leaf imprints in the pavement near the Botanic Gardens.