Finding and Leaving

"How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully they hold you- you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences-like rags and shreds of your very life."  ~Katherine Mansfield

Rather than trying to escape a place, i feel i have found a new one. As i leave, i do

hope to leave "pieces of good" behind. I will certainly be taking "pieces of good" home with me.

Thank you to everyone on MDI who has made this trip such a positive experience. I hope it is the first of many.

Traveler or Tourist?

Wow! What a trip this has been.  I am so very thankful to have had the opportunity to come to this beautiful place and meet such interesting and kind people.

GK Chesterton said, “A traveler sees what he sees, a tourist sees what he has come to see.” I came with the goal of being a traveler not a tourist and not one single day went by that I didn’t see something or someone wonderful.

Today’s images are an eclectic mix of things I saw but haven’t shared in former posts. Hopefully they reflect the elements of color, line, texture, and simplicity. :)

Wishes for beauty to come your way. 

Lois and lines.......

I had a lovely day yesterday with Lois Leavenworth.  I first met Lois as the Detroit airport as we were boarding the plane for Bangor. We quickly exchanged numbers and said we would touch base sometime during my month long stay.  She treated me to a tour of N.E. Harbor and some side roads I had missed on the island. A fantastically energetic lady and an amazing artist. Thanks so much Lois!!

Speaking of art. Today’s images have to do with lines.

Matisse said:
"Remember a line cannot exist alone; it always brings a companion along. Do remember that one line does nothing; it is only in relation to another that it creates a volume."

Enjoy:

A Rainy Day Sunday

I awoke Sunday morning to a thin blanket of snow on the ground.  Even at sixty two I find that to be a magical experience. I dressed quickly so I could get out for a walk before the soft rain we were getting melted it all away. Then I hopped in the car and drove to Somesville where I enjoyed another enriching service with the parishioners at the Somesville United Church of Christ Meeting House. . The reading that accompanied the lighting of the advent candle was about Hope and was especially encouraging. I don’t think one can be reminded about “hope” too often. J

That afternoon I set off for another “rainy day walk”. As the Jordan Pond road was closed I chose  the “ shore path” at Bar Harbor. Though the sky was grey and the day drizzly, I found walking alone in the rain to be quite invigorating.  There is such beauty in the subtle softness of gray trees and distant hills.

It has been said, “The art of art is simplicity.” I would agree. There are many wonderfully complex works of art but I am always drawn to those that are the most pure and unadorned. 

These images were taken on a simple rainy day…..not much color, not much texture like the last images I shared. But look closely for the beauty in the lines, and in the sublte layers. There is more to a gray day that at first meets the eye.  Blessings and Hope to you.

Raymond, Belfast, and harbor shots.....

Fri. morning I met a new friend through the coffee group. Raymond heard me asking about the price of real estate in the area and asked if I’d like to see a house his ex-wife was trying to sell. “Sure, ” I said. I don’t foresee buying a house here in the near future but I always like seeing homes and am interested in the home market since my husband is a builder. 

Raymond’s ex-wife welcomed me in and took me on a tour. It was fun to meet her and see her lovely house.  (I could certainly see making a home in this beautiful community but the ties of family and friends at home are strong. Hopefully this trip will be repeated in years to come.)

On our way back to town Raymond took me by his home and introduced me to his dog. (Her name escapes me. But  she had a very sweet name and was a very sweet animal.)  It was so interesting to learn a little of Raymond’s life story; beginning  at the docks in Boston and eventually owning his own semis  with which to haul lumber.  He still cuts lumber to sell to local people for firewood. Raymond reminds me of my dad in more ways than one; slight of build, quiet, and quick witted. He took me by some new construction which I found interesting as well. Thanks go to Raymond for a fun educational morning.

Saturday I drove to Belfast which is a bustling little town full of wonderful art galleries and other interesting stores. Since it is on the mainland and farther south, most of the stores stay open year round while here on MDI most shut down for winter. I found myself missing my Topeka monthly coffee group (the “Café Dobles” as we’ve dubbed ourselves). They would have so enjoyed seeing all the fantastic art galleries.

As for image making, I have found myself hanging out more at the harbors and literally “focusing”  on the vast array of colors and textures one can see there.  Hope you enjoy:

"All colours are the friends of their neighbours and the lovers of their opposites." 

                                                                     ~Marc Chagall

Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form...certainly a calming meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind.  ~ Linda Lehmann

Hope you see lots of color and texture today.