Unfolding Beauty

I took this picture on an early Spring day as some new young plants were unfurling their leaves.  Now in the midst of summer I have taken this image and unlocked the beautiful patterns inside.  I like the essence of this....new life being spun into new patterns, finding new beauty, adding new colors, shining new light and discovering more and more as time passes. 

We can do this in our lives any time we choose....wake up new and begin to recognize the beautiful patterns we've kept locked inside...find the beauty, the color and light that we truly are.  Sometimes it just becomes a habit to see things a certain way and if we allow it, everything can unfold around us in beauty.

Caterpillar in the Dill

I discovered this colorful visitor in my garden a couple of days ago.  It is a caterpillar who will later become a swallowtail butterfly.  He and a friend seemed to be thoroughly enjoying my dill plant for a summer solstice picnic and have since invited other friends over to join them.  They are destroying the plant but they are so interesting looking and the butterflies will be beautiful so I let them stay and eat the dill.  

I really loved the art that spilled forth from their beautiful spirits.  The dill added strong lines as well as a light  feathery  pattern to play with.  I've created a slide show below to share the artwork.  You can click on it to view a larger version or use the buttons at the bottom to pause or move backward and forward through the images.

White Blossoms

I took this picture last month as the spring blossoms were just coming into full bloom.  The flowers, stems and deep contrast with the background created beautiful patterns as I cut and pasted and played with the image.  

Using color variations on this piece were especially effective in creating a whole new feeling with each new change.  Sort of like looking at life through rose-colored glasses...we can look through our tangerine shades, turquoise spectacles or our psychedelic lenses....just taking a slightly new perspective, tinting things with a new hue, can create a whole new feeling in our lives and in our selves

(click on images to see a larger view)

Iridescence

We went to an outdoor wedding celebration last weekend where they had beautiful peacocks and swans wandering about the property.   I think the amazing iridescent blues and greens of the peacock have to be my very favorite color combination.  

I looked up the definition of iridescence ... "a lustrous or attractive quality or effect" and "a play of lustrous, changing colors".  Having just returned from spending the weekend visiting two of my favorite women on the planet, I'm feeling  rather iridescent myself. 

I used both of the photos above to play and discover even greater magic inside of these beautiful birds.

Click on the images to see a larger view . . .

Playing With Color

I took this photo yesterday afternoon while keeping cool with my feet in the stream.  The rocks, as well as the ripples on the water, made it an ideal image for cutting up and seeing what new patterns would emerge.  This time I also had a little fun playing with colors. While the photo isn't very colorful, it is filled with plenty of contrast. Adding color brings the patterns even deeper and creates some very interesting new worlds.  These really do feel like evoking a spirit from within to me.  Why not add a little color to the patterns in your own life and see your own spirit emerge even more beautifully.

(Click on any image to see a larger view)

Pink Ice

I know its a little out of season but I've already covered spring, summer and autumn so why not a little wintery looking ice.    My friend Emma woke up this morning to snowflakes in Montana...so its not really that far off.  This picture was actually taken in late fall after an ice storm..  The kale had still been bright and colorful in the garden.  The worlds that came from this picture are so interesting and sparkly....

(click on any image to see a larger view)

The World Is Your Mirror

I think most of us, at least if you've been on a spiritual path for much time, have heard of this concept of the world as a mirror.  Meaning that what you see in your world around you is just a reflection of what is going on inside of you....your beliefs, identity, vibration, intentions....there are many words used that try to point us in this direction.

As I have been working on these art pieces...digitally cutting up my photos, creating mirror images that are cut up again and again, grouped and regrouped...the parallels have not been lost on me.  It feels like a microcosm of my universe.  As I step outside of myself and begin to observe I become the witness witnessing the witness and it is as if there are mirrors all around and the world is reforming itself in a million different patterns.  The enormity of this witnessing with the heart wide open is breathtaking to me. 

Lazy Summer Afternoon

You may have noticed by now that I spend a lot of my time by the side of a stream :-).  This picture was taken a couple of years ago on a lazy day in late summer.  Hubby was fishing, I was taking photos and getting my feet wet.  This was a really beautiful spot, I believe, in Fly Creek NY.  Hope you enjoy the other worlds I found here too....

(click on any of the images to see a larger view)