The Art of Gardening

After 18 years, 2012 marks the first year, with “The Art of Gardening,” that the West Seattle Garden Tour is also featuring an art show, generously sponsored by Windermere Realty. Two of my own most gardeny-like works have been selected by the jury for this exhibit – and you are invited to the reception 

during West Seattle’s May Art Walk May 10^th, 6-9 pm at the Windermere offices, 4526 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA. I’ll be there, of course (how could I pass up the chance to mingle with the gardening community in this lush and fertile spot?) and would love to see you in person whether you have dirt under your fingernails or not.

The two pieces I have in the show are Three Stories (see below) and Fancy Handles (above), both selected from my portfolio because they are perhaps visually more representative of gardening than most of my other more wabi-sabi art. But, knowing what’s behind them, I see more than just a pretty face in each .

Fancy Handles features my pruners, which look a bit silly to any serious gardener, with the feminine graphics on the handles and their somewhat diminutive size in reality. But, as you can see, they are worn and not at all shiny new: I have had them for many years and done quite a bit of yard work with them. They fit my smallish hands and have become the first tool I pick up when I wander out to prune or pick something to make a bouquet...or select a subject for a new piece of art. This is the piece I chose to be the cover of my book, Garden Poetry. Indeed, I am happy to announce that the book itself was recently honored by being selected by Blurb to be a sample in their showroom and on executive visits.

The subjects for Three Stories were from my Palo Alto summer garden, close neighbors in the same bed. I like pairing flowers that live together; surely they have a relationship we are not privy to. Here, that the creamy white dahlia and the yellow hibiscuses are cheek-by-jowl yet appearing as if intentionally not acknowledging each other, brought to mind the flavorful, strong-willed Southern women characters in short stories by Eudora Welty.

Please come see these images bigger than life at the exhibit, as they show detail you just cannot see on your small screen. Mark your calendar for “The Art of Gardening” and stop by our show. It would be lovely to see you in person at the reception May 10^th, in the offices of Windermere Realty, 4526 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116, 6-9 pm.

Tools Of The Trade

Tools. I must say, I love tools. I an entranced with their aesthetic, which is informed by their function, and especially am attracted by aged tools, and old tools. Today's offering is my well-used garden pruners, which are also employed regularly in the studio when I am composing my subjects. They sometimes are handy at the kitchen sink when I am making arrangements for our household. Because the pruners (which oddly do not yet have a personal name; I name everything) are used everywhere at any given moment, they can be seen any number of locations hereabouts...laying on the kitchen counter, on the bookcase outside my studio door, on the patio table where we have our summer dinners, or on the little flower-tile table by the back door.
Today's image, titled "Fancy Handles," is an old one, but my ma told me again that it is one of her favorites. I think she likes it because of the simplicity. I like it because I love my little pruners. They fit my hand. They help me do things I love. They're just...damned cute. And a woman's gotta have cute tools.