Tag Archives: nature

Spring Energy, and Hot Pinkies

Calypso bulbosa, a wild orchid
A little spring orchid from my “backyard”: Calypso bulbosa

Now that the sun is a little bit more reliable and dares to show up several days in a row – well, almost – I am coming out of my winter hibernation. I have also tried to spend more time walking every day, roving around, really looking my surroundings.

These days, the woods around here a covered in bright emerald mosses, the result of many many days of rain. They are also punctuated by little calypso orchirds like this one. It’s always a treat to come upon one or several of these little beauties while walking the dog. They remind me of the value of high contrast, to generate visual interest. Who knows, maybe I’ll apply that idea to something textile (she says to herself, with a smile).

Stretchable Architecture and Sunlight

Sunlight reflected on kelp
When I roam the shoreline, my eyes are drawn to details. This is probably due to the fact that I am nearsighted. Anyway, the most ordinary things catch my attention, like the sunlight reflected in this kelp blade, washed onto the shore at the end of the season.
Some people might consider this a Rorschach test…

Well, for me, it’s a test of what sunlight can do to the most ordinary things: transform them, create some magic out of daily life. And sunlight in winter is at a premium on the West Coast. So people tend to make the most of it when it does show up…

…c’est la lumière vivante que chacun porte en soi
et que tout le monde étouffe pour faire comme tout le monde
lumière défendue
tu grilles ceux qui t’approchent
ceux qui veulent te prendre
mais tu les aimes
lumière vivante
la vie c’est toi
la vie vivante qui marche en avant
en revenant sur ses pas
qui marche tout droit qui fait des détours et qui n’en fait pas
soleil de nuit
lune de jour
étoiles de l’après-midi
battements de coeur avant l’amour
pendant l’amour
après l’amour…

“Lumières d’hommes”, Jacques Prévert