the bowl breaks (2)
More fragments, shards, the saving of memories present to past… all themes in my printworks and photoworks
Please see the bowl breaks (1) for the update should you have missed it.
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by Marja-Leena by Marja-Leena the bowl breaks (1)
… an addition to my ‘breaks’ series of a sort, with more photos to come…
Added the next day, this note from Elisa, whose bowl this was:
One of the casualties of our return from the English countryside to the Pacific coast. Three months boxed up in a boat and rattling across the length of Canada proved too much for my beloved Mason Cash mixing bowl. I used it lovingly for sourdoughs and homemade mozzarella and birthday cakes, and often let it sit out on the counter as it was ever so good-looking. I’m sure it is glad that my mother has transformed its shattered state into art, and that we will bury it at the base of a potted plant. Not a bad life, surely, but I’ll miss it.
by Marja-Leena nuts
Hazelnuts or filberts drying in the sun
granddaughters picked this first crop ever to be harvested from our tree
only because we cut it down before the squirrels got them all
a tree that was planted by squirrels in an unsuitable place
how we are all looking forward to a taste!
Added later, the gorgeous photo below of the nuts still with their “skins”, taken by Elisa and found on her blog
Added September 5th:
After a few days of sunning (the nuts, not me!), I could not resist the urge to crack open just a few as I wondered if they might just all be hollow as we’ve found them in the past. Indeed the first few proved to be so, but the next few had the withered and undeveloped beginnings of nuts. I suspect we picked them too early even though the squirrels had already been investigating them. I’ll wait for daughter and granddaughters to crack the rest to see if any good ones can be found. We’re all quite green regarding nut harvesting, though Elisa is a keen forager.
by Marja-Leena enervation
still hot and humid, even last night
wilting, dripping, headachy, cranky
Fading like these flowers (the name** has escaped me – anyone?).
I did manage to register for a space this fall in the printmaking studio, swallowing a huge gulp in the jump in cost. I dearly hope by September the weather moderates so that I can have energy, both mental and physical, to get back into my artmaking. Summertime just kills that for me, every year, it must be my northern blood.
** suddenly remembered it: liatris or gay-feather
by Marja-Leena afternoon shadows
late afternoon shadow play
by plants not hands
behind curtains
still hot, mid to high 20s
blessedly cooler nights
hinting autumn
by Marja-Leena art in the garden
As regular readers know, one of our daughters and her two girls have been back here from England for some time. Their father is now also here for a month. Our eldest daughter has joined us for the weekend, our family is almost all together, just missing her partner. She adores her nieces, reading and playing games with them whenever they are together. Our granddaughters (going on 7 and 12) have always loved drawing, and do a lot of it outdoors during our fine days (as above). This time their auntie is making papier-mache creatures with them! Below is one work in progress with more photos to come, I hope.
by Marja-Leena HOT
heat haze at 10:00 am
A heat wave persists with the hottest day yet on Sunday breaking some records here and there, 34C (93F) in our backyard. A brief break yesterday afternoon on a holiday long weekend with cloud and a light shower had me standing at an open door, breathing in the intoxicating scent of rain and cooling air. Long lists of things-to-do are not being done, being undone by heat, turning me into a sleep-deprived grumpy wet sloth. I struggle to keep up with watering the garden, even blogging. We eat salads, cherries, berries, peaches. I read old books of my parents that are going to be passed on in an ongoing clear-out, even a novel in Finnish for the first time in decades, proud of myself for managing it. Much family goings-on continue with the addition of son-in-law who arrived yesterday for a month’s stay. A niece’s wedding is coming up, I must make something to wear.
8:15 pm – as husband and I sat down for supper in the solarium at about 7:30, the clouds which had been gathering in the afternoon suddenly turned ominously dark. We heard thunder in the distance. Suddenly a downpour hit and I rushed to close skylights. Incredible noise of pounding rain on the overhead glass. Thunder and lightning in the distance moved ever closer. Finally a tremendous clap right overhead made us jump. The storm moved on while we continued to watch lightning in the distance. What a dinner show! And the fresh cool breeze is delightful.
still later… it came back – what a light show all evening! good night!
Added the next morning: the news reports the storm was a big one, with power outages for thousands. I feel for those people stranded on Grouse Mountain. We were lucky to enjoy the entertainment without any pain.
by Marja-Leena colour
Up close to a few of the flowers in the garden, indoors and out
by Marja-Leena suddenly, summer
After a miserable spring and the coldest, wettest June ever, climaxing in a terrific downpour a week ago, summer has suddenly arrived with the heatwave from eastern North America. Afternoons are suddenly reaching 30C (86F)! Must. Not. Complain.
by Marja-Leena coffee & cake
Yesterday, we had friends Marianna and Terry come for a visit. The time flew as we talked and talked over coffee and cake in the European tradition, as Marianna wrote, so common to Germans, Swiss, Finns and others. Soon we realized it was nearing dinnertime, and talk was still flowing, so instead of their rushing back to Terry’s cousin’s place over town, we went out to a local Greek taverna for dinner.
Some exciting entertainment was provided by a sudden extreme downpour, thundering like hail but not, and coming down the sloping glass skylights like a waterfall. Have a look at the photos at Marianna’s blog too!
This has been the third get-together for Marianna and I, thanks to meeting via our blogs. Last year the husbands joined us and we’ve cemented a nice friendship. Thanks for the visit, Marianna and Terry, and may we meet again soon!
Oh! and a Happy July 4th to all our American friends and family!