Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
3/26/17
4/18/15
5/23/13
5/8/13
4/17/13
4/10/13
3/20/13
2/25/13
2/11/13
5/6/12
Tree Canopy
Oasis from the desert sun...
In the desert the sun bears down sparing no one its relentless beam of parallel rays and now unforgiving as we quickly pass into our summer. Spring is a fleeting moment of mildly hot days with cool evenings and nights soon to transition into round the clock just plain hot. The heat of summer envelops us and when exposed directly it is a smothering blanket except underneath the canopy of trees becomes pleasant warmth for those of us who prefer high temperatures. The secret to living in the desert whether urban or rural is traveling between the shade of trees, stopping for respite and a moment of cool before moving on. They serve as mini-oasis on any journey outdoors but should be appreciated for more than a shady spot since they also serve as natural artistic beauty to be savored while pausing for respite.
In the desert the sun bears down sparing no one its relentless beam of parallel rays and now unforgiving as we quickly pass into our summer. Spring is a fleeting moment of mildly hot days with cool evenings and nights soon to transition into round the clock just plain hot. The heat of summer envelops us and when exposed directly it is a smothering blanket except underneath the canopy of trees becomes pleasant warmth for those of us who prefer high temperatures. The secret to living in the desert whether urban or rural is traveling between the shade of trees, stopping for respite and a moment of cool before moving on. They serve as mini-oasis on any journey outdoors but should be appreciated for more than a shady spot since they also serve as natural artistic beauty to be savored while pausing for respite.
5/4/12
On Spring's Doorstep
Waiting to bud and grow...
Slender young forest
Weathering a few young winters
Waits...
To spring forth new shoots
Fearing nothing unknown.
Age will bring mars and scars, experience
Strength to roots, trunks, branches, twigs
Waiting...
For storms and winds to pass
Fearing not the known.
Slender young forest
Weathering a few young winters
Waits...
To spring forth new shoots
Fearing nothing unknown.
Age will bring mars and scars, experience
Strength to roots, trunks, branches, twigs
Waiting...
For storms and winds to pass
Fearing not the known.
4/16/12
4/6/12
On the Latitude of Lassitude
A geographical location of the creative mind...
In the central desert of Arizona primarily there are two seasons: Fluctuating Mild and Flaming Hot, commonly referred to as winter and summer. There are two brief seasons in between we call fall and spring although those who live in true four seasons climate's mock us for not having a true autumn where leaves turn photographically splendid and a spring where the world seemingly jumps out alive as flowers brightly bloom. Personally I'd rather not go through all those seasons and changes of clothing and enjoy the mild winters we have and generally I'm in my element in the hot, hot summer.
For some reason the shift between winter and summer that we refer to as fall and spring bring on an inexplicable languor in my mood although my life is in balance and stable otherwise. I long ago gave up analyzing it but retain angst over why to some degree because...well, I have to have something to wring my hands about when bored. Logically I understand that the lethargy actually is a pause and recharging between my two creative seasons that coincide with winter and summer. Logic however has nothing to do with matters of mood and consciousness to souls like mine. That's another wisdom I have gained with age and learned to let go.
"It is as it is" as the common pronouncement goes.
It is spring in the desert now, the trees have long past budding and sprouted leaves almost instantaneously as they do in this latitudinal climate. The weather is warming at night, a sure sign that summer is on its way and suddenly we will one day find ourselves in blazing heat. The sun is already bearing down in its inimitable way as it does in arid lands. I am patiently waiting for the zest of life for me, creative energy and mind thrilling thoughts that cause me to make visual art and write to come along and they will.
If patience is a virtue I wasn't born with it but I have learned to cope with not having it. Sleep is a great comfort and storage house of unconscious ideas and I have no guilt about indulging in it for that reason. I also see no dishonor in doing nothing productive except what has to be done to maintain a household, pay the bills and keep the mind and body healthy with sustenance and mild exercise. It does no harm since for a large segment of the general population that is the core of their daily lives and they do little else. That is not a judgment on the average person merely a statement that if I engage in it while waiting simultaneously for summer and inspiration, so what?
During the two seasons of our winter and summer I create pretty good creative work for a modest unknown artist. In between I am still creating but to me it is production of mediocre work to keep myself busy and continue to hone my skills. Others may judge otherwise, one way or the other about the quality of what I do at any time but that must be somewhat irrelevant to me out of necessity. All creative people want to bring into being work that has meaning to someone else observing or absorbing their particular art form. Whether or not I do that is for others is not known to me and I'm not sure it is important at this point in my life that I do. Naturally it is my desire to give pleasure to the observer of what I create and it would be falsely humble of me to say otherwise but I am not consciously aware of whether I do or not.
Perhaps someday I will know but the important thing to me and the message I really want to impart to others who create is the therapeutic value of it for our own well being. Perhaps we might not be Sergei Rachmaninoff, Robert Rauschenberg, Ansel Adams or Walt Whitman and known in our own time or possibly we could be like Emily Dickinson and never know in our lifetime. We may be another fish in the stream that forges imaginative work that is great, good, average or just plain. It is all irrelevant in the long run since recognition is not always a sign of greatness and some pretty poor work is well recognized and shamefully bad.
What is of value is the importance that it is to us, that we do whatever is we do creatively and continue it to keep our lives from being as commonplace as much of the general population since otherwise for us it is quiet desperation. The meaning and happiness is important to us and very likely to those around us since they also experience the joy we get from making our art. Without that joy we live in frustration because we are not expressing our inner selves outwardly as required by the very nature of our individual souls. That also means sometimes we have periods that we must wait for inspiration and if we continue to work our craft, when ingenious eruptions do occur we are ready with tools and skills to bring them to reality.
In the central desert of Arizona primarily there are two seasons: Fluctuating Mild and Flaming Hot, commonly referred to as winter and summer. There are two brief seasons in between we call fall and spring although those who live in true four seasons climate's mock us for not having a true autumn where leaves turn photographically splendid and a spring where the world seemingly jumps out alive as flowers brightly bloom. Personally I'd rather not go through all those seasons and changes of clothing and enjoy the mild winters we have and generally I'm in my element in the hot, hot summer.
For some reason the shift between winter and summer that we refer to as fall and spring bring on an inexplicable languor in my mood although my life is in balance and stable otherwise. I long ago gave up analyzing it but retain angst over why to some degree because...well, I have to have something to wring my hands about when bored. Logically I understand that the lethargy actually is a pause and recharging between my two creative seasons that coincide with winter and summer. Logic however has nothing to do with matters of mood and consciousness to souls like mine. That's another wisdom I have gained with age and learned to let go."It is as it is" as the common pronouncement goes.
It is spring in the desert now, the trees have long past budding and sprouted leaves almost instantaneously as they do in this latitudinal climate. The weather is warming at night, a sure sign that summer is on its way and suddenly we will one day find ourselves in blazing heat. The sun is already bearing down in its inimitable way as it does in arid lands. I am patiently waiting for the zest of life for me, creative energy and mind thrilling thoughts that cause me to make visual art and write to come along and they will.
If patience is a virtue I wasn't born with it but I have learned to cope with not having it. Sleep is a great comfort and storage house of unconscious ideas and I have no guilt about indulging in it for that reason. I also see no dishonor in doing nothing productive except what has to be done to maintain a household, pay the bills and keep the mind and body healthy with sustenance and mild exercise. It does no harm since for a large segment of the general population that is the core of their daily lives and they do little else. That is not a judgment on the average person merely a statement that if I engage in it while waiting simultaneously for summer and inspiration, so what?
During the two seasons of our winter and summer I create pretty good creative work for a modest unknown artist. In between I am still creating but to me it is production of mediocre work to keep myself busy and continue to hone my skills. Others may judge otherwise, one way or the other about the quality of what I do at any time but that must be somewhat irrelevant to me out of necessity. All creative people want to bring into being work that has meaning to someone else observing or absorbing their particular art form. Whether or not I do that is for others is not known to me and I'm not sure it is important at this point in my life that I do. Naturally it is my desire to give pleasure to the observer of what I create and it would be falsely humble of me to say otherwise but I am not consciously aware of whether I do or not.
Perhaps someday I will know but the important thing to me and the message I really want to impart to others who create is the therapeutic value of it for our own well being. Perhaps we might not be Sergei Rachmaninoff, Robert Rauschenberg, Ansel Adams or Walt Whitman and known in our own time or possibly we could be like Emily Dickinson and never know in our lifetime. We may be another fish in the stream that forges imaginative work that is great, good, average or just plain. It is all irrelevant in the long run since recognition is not always a sign of greatness and some pretty poor work is well recognized and shamefully bad.
What is of value is the importance that it is to us, that we do whatever is we do creatively and continue it to keep our lives from being as commonplace as much of the general population since otherwise for us it is quiet desperation. The meaning and happiness is important to us and very likely to those around us since they also experience the joy we get from making our art. Without that joy we live in frustration because we are not expressing our inner selves outwardly as required by the very nature of our individual souls. That also means sometimes we have periods that we must wait for inspiration and if we continue to work our craft, when ingenious eruptions do occur we are ready with tools and skills to bring them to reality.
4/2/12
2/20/12
Born Again
Tree in seasonal transition...
Fall encourages leaves to die for the winter
While spring emboldens them
To live again for the summer
2/2/12
Arizona Blossoms
Faux spring arrives early in the urban desert...
In Phoenix the trees start to turn brown in November and generally do not drop off the trees until a cold snap that arrives with cold wind to blow them off and rain bringing them to the ground. In late January depending on the weather the buds will grow and if there is a warm spell will come to full blossom. Very often the flowers do not last long since cooler weather will arrive again as it is next week. Then the trees will rebud and blossom again for a real spring.
4/21/11
5/26/10
4/10/10
Another Summer Tip
Always find the shade to park in...
Usually it's easier to find either on the side or back entrance of a building and if there are no trees, park on the east side of the west wall of a building. Even if you have to walk a little farther in the heat to get to the entrance and on the way back, it will be well worth it when you get back in your vehicle. It will be cooler and the A/C will not take nearly as long to cool off.
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Usually it's easier to find either on the side or back entrance of a building and if there are no trees, park on the east side of the west wall of a building. Even if you have to walk a little farther in the heat to get to the entrance and on the way back, it will be well worth it when you get back in your vehicle. It will be cooler and the A/C will not take nearly as long to cool off.
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4/7/10
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