Art

The Glass and the Sky

| Flower Roberts

There was a spectacular sunset last week.

I watched it evolve as I was cooking.

Taking photos of it did not occur to me until my neighbor Nancy called to tell me to take my fancy camera outside to capture it.

As I rushed out of our library door, I snapped this picture of the glass matching the sky.

The sunset faded quickly.

Many photographers noticed the beauty in the sky and posted sunset pictures.

I am glad that we are watching the skies and looking for beauty and sharing it.

Let’s keep doing that.

It is important, especially now.

Flow on Glow

Twisted Twigs

| Flower Roberts

We visited Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, North Carolina today.

I was especially interested in a new artist installation that I had not seen.

‘The Magnificent Seven’ is by Patrick Dougherty.

This Stick Work piece was big enough for folks to walk through and play in.

I think it is a lovely addition to the garden.

FLOW at the Stowe

(More to come water features, planters, a magical tree and anoles)

Floral Floor Cloth

| Flower Roberts

I made this floor cloth over two decades ago when my children were small.

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How did I manage it? Why did I attempt such a thing?

I puzzle about things like this now that I am afraid of a pencil.

What made me believe I could make a floor cloth and paint my favorite flowers on it?

I think I get this from my dad. I get an idea and become possessed with it.

I found it folded and smashed under a pile in the workshop last week.

I laid it out on the gravel to examine it.

There were those flowers from gardens past.

The dahlia that disappeared and the Texas Star from my grandmother.

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The prolific Kwanzan daylily  that I should have declined and a Clematis I loved and lost.

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A white gladiola, a yellow Asiatic lily and a blackberry lily.

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A Japanese iris, bracken fern  and some bearded iris.

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Bearded iris, Cecil Brunner rose that got giant,  Bill Troutman poppy and a Sensitive fern.

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And my beloved pink foxglove.

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Maybe I’ll get possessed again and repaint it,

but first I need to get over my fear of colored pencils.

 

FLOW

 

 

Grandiflora: Gamrath Glass

| Flower Roberts

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens has a magnificent exhibit on display throughout the  grounds right now.

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It consists of many giant, colorful glass flowers created by Jason Gamrath.

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I will share just a few to give you a sampling of this wonderful installation.

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He made large-scale renderings of flowers with colorful glass.

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There were various types of orchids, pitcher plants, Venus flytraps and more.

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I loved the colorful Corpse flower.

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The pitchers in water were especially lovely.

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The flytraps looked beautiful but dangerous.

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These beautiful blooms towered overhead along the paths.

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I sure do hope I get to see the Gamrath Glass at night before it leaves on

September 29, 2019.

ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT!

Flower

 

In Love with a Statue

| Flower Roberts

I went down to Orangeburg, South Carolina to see some cousins and fell in love with a statue.

I rode down south with my sister to have a family visit among the roses in the Edisto Memorial Garden.

I planned this to be a rose post.

But then I saw her and the baby.

This is how it happens…

everything else disappears.

There was only me and the two of them.

Forget my family and the surrounding flora and fauna.

Statues by Zan Wells at Edisto Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg, South Carolina

There in the middle of all those roses stood two bronze angels.

Here is the marker.

I will leave the rest up to my photographs. I hope they do them both justice.

This pair and another set of statues are by Zan Wells. The next set will be my next post.

Helen Williams must be a very special person. This was a very special pair of people.

Flower

 

 

 

I Wish I Was Mee

| Flower Roberts

I have been too sickly to go out into the garden this week,

instead I traveled down the Amazon with Margaret Mee and her friend Rita.

I would have been terrified running the rapids in a dugout canoe,

if I had not been safely tucked in my bed while doing it.

Not only is she adventurous, she is also an artist.

Her botanical watercolors are famous for their beauty as well as accuracy.

Margaret Mee gets placed on my hero list with Marianne North and Beatrix Potter.

I was almost glad to be sick, so that I could float and forage through the jungles.

Almost..

FLOW

Inside a Book

| Flower Roberts

It’s warm and dry inside a book.

I have a winter stash that I only allow myself to look at when the weather is bad.

It is raining again today. Hooray!

I finally get to enjoy the two books my friend Joyce gave me in June.

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They are Flora Forager books. Both by the brilliant Bridget Beth Collins.

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She does magic with flower and plant pieces.

Some of her art is mosaic pictures.

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Some are replicas of famous paintings.

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Many are mandalas made of natural materials.

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The seasonal journal has plenty of room

to write that poetry I have been putting off putting down.

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I plan to lose myself in these books on this dreary day.

Oh look. There I am now!

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FLOW

 

Ice Art

| Flower Roberts

I spent the weekend at Winter Fest in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

My favorite part was the ice sculpting.

The artists set up huge blocks of ice in the middle of the town park.

This was the finished product .

There were also frozen signs made for different businesses around town.

These pieces were lovely, but did not inspire me to become an Ice Artist.

I was too cold to stick around and watch the artists work.

I did return later for photos.

By then I was rather tired, but there was only this seat available.

So I just stood around with the bear.

Better to stand with a frozen bear, than sit with a frozen rear.

FROZEN FLOWER

Gates of Art

| Flower Roberts

These four gates are on display in the North Carolina Arboretum

in Asheville, North Carolina.

It is one of my favorite places on Earth.

This post features only the gates by E. Vega.

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The first design includes a man fishing.

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The fish is golden.IMG_1980

The fisherman has great details.

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The second gate features a farmer with a plow being pulled by a his horse.

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The two of them are working very hard.

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The third gate has a tree with one golden apple.

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There is a serpent twisted around the trunk.

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Reminds me of a story.

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The fourth and final gate has many rings with a different creature in each.

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I loved each one.

If you go visit the Arboretum, do not miss these.

They are off to the right of the entrance building, around a courtyard area.

I could have easily missed them, if I weren’t such a wanderer.

The details are amazing.

This E. Vega is brilliant at capturing the details of living beings

and recreating them in metals.

These gates are heavenly!

FLOWER