Art Challenge: Sticks

When Tammie of Beauty Flows chose the theme "sticks" for this week's art challenge, I knew I had to jump in! I love sticks - in the woods, on or off of the trees, in art, or laying in a pile in my studio. Here are a few of my favorites.

 Snow and ice accumulated on these sticks in my yard to make a lovely black and white abstract...

 Sticks with seeds overhanging the Kinniconick Creek...

 I used a smooth bleached stick from the creek in this mixed media piece called, "Flight Talismans".

 Sticks outlined in the light of the super moon...

 Weathered, twisted sticks on the sand dunes at Cumberland Island.

 My friend, Mish, trying to hide behind some bamboo sticks.  Not working too well.

Indigenous

Years ago, I used to make sculptures from sticks, grapevines, rocks and copper. This was the only example I could find. The background is a topological map of a region in Kentucky that is very important to me, the rocks, which have seeds or flowers of indigenous plants glued onto them, have holes in them and are hanging on - you guessed it - sticks.

 Sticks from a tree submerged in the Kinniconick Creek...

 Beech sticks still hold onto their leaves in winter...

A redbud tree in bloom...

Do you think that's enough, yet?  Thanks for inviting me, Tammie!  Go to Beauty Flows to see what the other participants came up with!

Reflections

You could say I wasn't having a good day. Without going into detail, I had messed things up, and was suffering the consequences. Feeling very anxious and "out of sorts", I headed down to the creek with my camera. Looking around, I saw the same landscape I had photographed a thousand times before. Nothing new or interesting immediately presented itself, and I wondered why I had even bothered to walk down the steep hill from the cabins above. It was hot, and about as humid as a steam bath. I stood for several minutes, watching my dogs swim across the creek and run around the edge of the island.

 At some point, I noticed the sound of the moving water, and started to relax a bit. The more I listened and looked, the better I felt, the presence of the creek beginning to soothe me as it always had. Nothing to take pictures of, I thought, but at least I can sit here and meditate. Suddenly the appearance of one of the dogs on the other side of the creek drew my attention, and as I gazed across the water, I was suddenly struck by the bright, almost neon green color of reflected vegetation on the water's surface.

It rippled and shone, in dazzling patterns, lines, and swirls as the reflections were animated by the movement of the water and the changing light. Mesmerized by the dance of light across the surface of the creek, I turned on the camera and began to focus on what looked to me like a magical, ever-changing abstract painting.

The patterns of shapes and lines were most dramatic where the creek rushed around a large rock. The closer I looked, the more I saw it not as water, but as shapes and colors.

The effect was hypnotic. In some ways, when I zoomed in closely, it didn't look real.

These photos are strait out of camera, and haven't been altered in any way.

Each image drew me further and further in, until I lost myself completely in the colored shapes and lines.

Water, light, and color can do some pretty amazing things together.

Things that we often take for granted, or don't even notice.

Further down the creek, I noticed this.

I'm glad I noticed. In the words of Mary Oliver:

                                             
Let me keep my mind on what
matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and
learning to be
astonished.

Drawing Challenge: Shinrin Yoku

Shinrin Yoku is something I do a lot, though I hadn't known those words for it until Veronica named it the theme for her drawing challenge.

Shinrin Yoku is a Japanese phrase that translates as "forest bathing."

" A forest bathing trip involves visiting a forest for relaxation and recreation while breathing in volatile substances, called phytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees... It has now become a recognized relaxation and/or stress management activity in Japan." (Wikipedia, Forest bathing)

Also called "forest medicine" and "forest therapy", shinrin yoku has been promoted by the Forest Agency of the Japanese government since 1982.

It turns out that scientific evidence supports the idea that spending time in a forest is good for your health.

 "A  2007 study by researchers at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Medicine found that 'forest environments are advantageous with respect to acute emotions, especially among those experiencing chronic stress. Accordingly, shinrin-yoku may be employed as a stress reduction method, and forest environments can be viewed as therapeutic landscapes.'" ("Shinrin-yoku:The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing" by Stephen Robert Morse)

 Here I am, shinrin yoku beside the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.

My favorite  place for shinrin yoku is at Shabo-Mekaw, our 60-acre tract of gorgeous forest in Lewis County, Kentucky.

It's the perfect place to let go of my stress and just be in the moment, letting the forest 'bathe' me in its peace and beauty.

Being there never fails to calm me and give me a fresh perspective on whatever problems I may be facing. Somehow, spending time with a huge, ancient tree makes my worries seem insignificant.

So thank you, Veronica, for introducing me to the wonderful concept of "forest bathing."



To see other interpretations of shinrin yoku, go to Veronica's wonderful blog for all the links!

Winter Companions

I have been on medical leave from my job for some time now, and so spend most of my days alone.  I do have some company, though. Some are intermittent visitors...

...while others are my constant companions -

 Sebastian,

 Sophie,

Scout,

Arlo,

(I worry about them being comfortable enough, don't you?),

and Sunny (who is sticking his black tongue out at me for some reason!).



Happy days to you and your companions, whoever they may be!

Peace

Here is where I find peace:

Happy Veterans Day. And to all veterans, thank you for your service.

White

The Search for Roy G Biv has brought us beyond the rainbow, to white. However, I would be remiss as a science geek if I didn't point out that white light is actually all the colors of the rainbow, combined:

"Visible light, also known as white light, consists of a collection of component colors. These colors are often observed as light passes through a triangular prism [or a raindrop]. Upon passage through the prism, the white light is separated into its component colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, [indigo], and violet. The separation of visible light into its different colors is known as dispersion. ... each color is characteristic of a distinct wave frequency; and different frequencies of light waves will bend varying amounts upon passage through a prism."  
                                                                     ( Dispersion of Light by Prisms; The Physics Classroom )                                                                        

It was Isaac Newton who discovered that white light is composed of these different colors:

"Newton’s contribution created a new understanding that white light is a mixture of colored light, and that each color is refracted to a different extent. The different colors correspond to light with different wavelengths, and are refracted to differing degrees. This separation of colors is known as dispersion."
                                                                                        (Causes of Color: What is Refraction?)

 I'm not sure what type of caterpillar this is, but I think it's pretty cool-looking....

 A white egret at Hilton Head, South Carolina...

Bear grass at Glacier National Park...

A springtime favorite in my yard, paper white narcissus...

Clouds in Ohio, and in South Carolina...

This odd-looking Kentucky wild flower looks white, but is ever so slightly tinted with violet in places...

Seeds of the season with their fuzzy white parachutes, just before they fly away...

My son Colin's beautiful bride, Lindsey, in her shimmering white wedding dress last weekend...






For more beautiful examples of white found by others in the Search for Roy G Biv, visit the blogs of our hostesses, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen and Julie Booth; they will link you up!  Thanks for joining me on my journey into WHITE; hope you enjoy it!