Showing posts with label Ralph Waldo Emerson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ralph Waldo Emerson. Show all posts

Sunday, March 10, 2019

The Architecture of Snow

This year, winter brought the din of shifting winds, leaving cold temperatures wherever it went. On Long Island, snow landed and departed in a parade of short-lived storms. Gray skies became the norm. Weather reports gained importance so I searched for one as I prepared to leave Long Island for a state education conference. My destination was an even colder spot. Listening to the meteorologist's report for Albany, NY, I braced myself for a new look at winter: dirty snow piles. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by an incredibly beautiful scene that could change anyone's mind about snow piles.  



Returning home, the gray sky and the rain washed much of what was left of the snow so I curled up reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, The Snow-Storm. Struck by the word choice of the last line that evoked a vivid image, "The frolic architecture of the snow", I chose it for a strike line when writing a golden shovel poem.
entering upon the
quiet spot we frolic
pondering nature's architecture-
remnant piles of
hardened snowpacks glisten as the
visitors marvel at winter snow.
©CV, 2019

❄❅❆

-a slice of winter to ponder-


I now will join Two Writing Teachers for the March Slice of Life Story Challenge.
-Day 10 of 31 days of writing-

Monday, June 11, 2018

Celebrate Springtime's Digital Art


Lately, I have been looking at springtime through a different lens as I prepare the process of designing a spring gallery of artistic expressions. Stroll with me to view nature's artistic landscape from Long Island to Virginia and back again. I am always amazed at how even a grey day (and we have had many on Long Island this spring) can be filled with new insights if I have the patience to quietly look at life in a different way.

Inside a lush Long Island garden center, springtime speaks in colors that inspire, even when the world outside is filled with rain and grey skies.

Atlantic Nursery, Long Island

Bringing springtime florals inside allows for a colorful palette to brighten the decor.


On sunshiny days, outdoor nature walks are filled with wonder.
When in Virginia, the family visited the Meadowlarks Botanical Garden and were surprised to see an imaginative children's space tucked away among the greenery.

©CV, 2018

Nature has a peaceful effect on well-being.
The pair of ducks illustrates how a gentle pace of movement in life is beneficial to all.

©CV, 2018, Vienna, Virginia

Returning back to Long Island, I caught another peaceful scene when my husband and I traveled to Northport for our theater night.

©CV, 2018, Northport Harbor
©CV, 2018, Northport Harbor

Standing on the pier and gazing out across the bay brought instant serenity and time for reflection. In all of the sightings above, the world stood still as I gazed through the lens of my iPhone camera. On each of those days, I better understood Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote: "

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

With patience, I transformed nature photos into contemplative images through the painterly process in which I digitized the original photographs for my upcoming gallery, Sense-sational Spring.

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing the incentive to gather our thoughts and celebrate with her each week, even though it may be as Ruth says, in "the middle of the muddle".