It seems the more I concentrate, the smaller and simpler my glass pieces become. They are trying to tell me a story. In just a couple of inches, or less. Hands praying, asking. A spirit flying above. A worker waving goodbye at the border. And a face. Just a face. Smiling a little, maybe. Something else, maybe. … read more Small and simple
Category: Beauty
Seeing Beauty – in difficult places, in common places, in every day; finding the Original Pulse in all our veins
The stealthy view
My neighbors were getting the coolest nighttime photos – bobcats, bears, foxes, and even a mountain lion! OK, the alleged mountain lion was ultimately determined to be a house cat, but still. It was pretty exciting for awhile there. So I bought a Stealth Cam, and set it up on the front porch with great anticipation. … read more The stealthy view
Appalachian spring
I have a CD which is only played in my car during March and April each year. Listening to it animates everything I see. Flowers seem to leap out of the ground, trees burst into leaves before my eyes, squirrels dance and birds pirouette. The allegro section perfectly captures that feeling of the earth giving birth … read more Appalachian spring
Scrap heaps
I waded into a quagmire today – and spent six hours in it. It’s been five weeks since the plumbing went to hell, and the pile of wet carpet and water-damaged stuff on the lower deck is starting to stink. Gypsum dust coats everything in the basement and a lot of the main floor, from the drywall cutting for the … read more Scrap heaps
Overcooked
What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing, according to lots of people who saw it on the Facebook page of Robert Elzey. They called this and similar photos that he shot in a local garden “gorgeous” and “beautiful” and “vivid.” I’d call it overcooked. This was apparent even to a non-photographer, who said, “I don’t like the color … read more Overcooked
Art for sale
“Only $25!” Beth exclaimed. “That is TOO low.” Beth used to own a gallery, so I’m inclined to take her pronouncement about pricing my fused glass as something more than mere flattery from a fellow artist. I had already been through this discussion with two other artists while I was setting up the display of … read more Art for sale
Dying beauty
When I got up this morning, all four of them were nearly dead. I was thrilled. Death has never been a taboo subject for me. In photography, I love shooting dead and dying things – old buildings, insects, cemeteries, birds, racoons. Last week I got this beautiful amaryllis as a gift. It was in full bloom. … read more Dying beauty
Dad’s necklaces
Dad didn’t have much chance to acquire a taste for expensive jewelry. He was an Ohio farmer boy in a poor German Catholic family, one of eight kids being raised by a widow during the Depression. But he liked jewelry better than Mom, I think. Mom seemed to feel that jewelry was showing off and … read more Dad’s necklaces
The young woman in Wuhan
South China, 1992 For months I had been editing stories at China Daily about how China’s moribund state-owned enterprises were being closed, disassembled, and sold off in bits. It was part of Deng Xiaoping’s ongoing push for economic reform, which he had just re-emphasized with his tour of South China. As I traveled through South China … read more The young woman in Wuhan
Swimming in beauty
Before my aneurysm, I went to water aerobics and swam laps in this pool. I was very purposeful – get in, get the exercise, get a shoulder massage from the whirlpool, get out. It was only when I began to use the pool more slowly – in the open area outside the lap lanes – … read more Swimming in beauty