Inspiration

Remembering a friend

Sitting in the stuffed, upholstered chair that I grew up in, reading now as I did as a child, curled up in the chair, I am sad that my parents are gone, but pleased to have rescued this chair from my childhood. I had it repaired and recovered a few years ago by a skilledContinue reading “Remembering a friend”

Monet in Giverny

From the train window on the way from Paris, fields of brilliant yellow bordered by ones of deep green unfurled along the landscape. I could picture Vincent or his cronies sitting out with their easels and paints, feeling the color fill them up and overflow onto the canvas. This post is continued from Cézanne inContinue reading “Monet in Giverny”

Van Gogh in Auvers

Vincent Van Gogh, a Dutch artist and probably the best known of the Impressionists today, came to Auvers-sur-Oise in the last year of his life, yet he painted seventy-seven paintings there before he died of a gunshot wound. Debate still continues as to whether his death was a suicide or murder. This post is continuedContinue reading “Van Gogh in Auvers”

Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence

“I was thinking of you while I stood in Cézanne’s studio, looking at all the little things on his shelf that appeared in his still life paintings… it felt kind of spiritual being there. Thank you for encouraging me to do this journey,” I wrote to my artist friend, who helped me decide what citiesContinue reading “Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence”

Libraries in my life

I have been a library lover all my life. It’s been a passion of mine. As a child, my local library, a two-story red brick building, was an easy stop on the way home from school or a destination for a walk on a Saturday. I always went by myself and wandered favorite sections, exploring newContinue reading “Libraries in my life”

Hope is on the horizon

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson Welcome 2021! There was a pastel sunrise over the mountains out my window, as the sunshine poured slowly over the landscape like molasses, shedding light over the dusky landscapeContinue reading “Hope is on the horizon”

A Japanese treasure

I first become interested in Japan in my college days, when, along with a generation of hippie potters, I was inspired by the works of Shoji Hamada. Declared a Living National Treasure, Hamada and his twentieth-century contemporaries created functional stoneware vessels. Sturdier-looking than decorative ceramics, in simple but graceful shapes, but with a strength andContinue reading “A Japanese treasure”

All my life I have had some artistic outlet although the nature of that expression has varied over time. Drawing, pottery, photography, music, writing, and a few other explorations along the way. Much of my writing in recent years has been travel-centered but once you get into the practice of putting down your thoughts, it’sContinue reading “Inspiration”