Frida Kahlo at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

March 30, 2017 by

Frida y Diego © 2017 Bo Mackison

The exhibit FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life was created by the New York Botanical Gardens (NYBG) to highlight Frida Kahlo, renowned Mexican painter, and her deep connection and appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. The exhibit was designed by award-winning scenic designer Scott Pask and curated by Adriana Zavala, Associate Professor of modern and contemporary Latin America art history and Director of Latino Studies at Tufts University.

Tucson Botanical Gardens (the Gardens) was the only garden selected to receive this exhibit by NYBG. This setting showcased the exhibit in a landscape familiar to the original home and garden.

Window View from Casa Azul © 2017 Bo Mackison

The gardens are alive with the colors and textures representative of the original gardens in Casa Azul (Blue House). Archival photos from the 1940s show their garden as a showplace and gathering place.

Casa Azul’s Pyramid © 2017 Bo Mackison

In 1941, Frida Kahlo and her husband and noted muralist, Diego Riviera, designed and constructed a small pyramid in the garden of Casa Azul, their home in a suburb of Mexico City. They based their design on Mesoamerican models. Various native cacti are on display in Tucson; pre-Hispanic artifacts were displayed on the original.

Frida Kitchen II ©2017 Bo Mackison

Frida was an excellent cook and spent many hours each day shopping for fresh foods at the mercado, then preparing dishes for family and friends. A small replica of her kitchen is located in the children’s garden of TBG.

Frida’s Art Studio ©2017 Bo Mackison

A unique view of a replica of the studio environment of Frida Kahlo. Shelves are crammed with small sculptures and books on botany, poetry, pre-Hispanic cultures. Stoppered bottles of mineral colors are ready for use.

The Two Fridas © 2017 Bo Mackison

Contemporary artist Humberto Spindola, artist-in-residence at NYBG during the Frida exhibit, designed and created this sculpture made of paper dresses and bamboo-framed mannequins. The sculptures are made from tissue paper, a modern adaptation of the Aztec-inspired amate paper made from tree bark. The skeleton is molded bamboo fastened with hemp cord and wax.

His sculpture is an interpretation of Kahlo’s painting The Two Fridas, a painting where Kahlo illustrated her dual heritages. One Frida wears a white, European styled dress; the second Frida wears the dress of the traditional Zapotec women. Note the healthy and vibrant heart vs. the unhealthy, weakened heart. Kahlo did this painting in 1939, the year she divorced Diego.

The exhibit is at Tucson Botanical Gardens runs through May 31, 2017. It is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check current information at https://www.tucsonbotanical.org

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey, Creativity, Nature Explorations, Photography Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Mandala Practice – How To Pray

October 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
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weathering, or how to pray © 2016 Bo Mackison

Outside the trees are swaying.
Outside the trees are praying.

Shimmering and whistling in the
wind, leaves drop. Dark approaches.

Outside the birds are playing.
Outside the birds are praying.

Preening, shaking, skittering in the
raindrops, hopping in the grass.

Outside the birds are playing.
Outside the birds are praying.

As am I.

Filed Under: Photography

How to Love – A Poem

June 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Sedum in a Garden ©2016 Bo Mackison

Sedum in a Garden ©2016 Bo Mackison

How To Love

Start. Sit at the kitchen table. Reach out.
Touch the sunlight slanting through the window with your finger tips.
Or sit on the porch swing. Listen to the breezes whistle through the garden grasses.

Look for the sweet spot. Its location may surprise you.

The flowers on the bleeding heart plant have wilted. The late tulips
have withered and dropped their petals; the foliage too has fallen to the earth.

There, emerging from the rock wall, the waxy sedum, gray-whiskered saxiphrage,
rose moss ‘midst the rocks, in earth pockets and shadow.
It is enough for sedum and saxiphrage and moss to thrive.

Realize. There is no destination. No path off yonder that leads to the promised land.
No path at all. No map.

The path is the footfall; the map is the hand grip on the walking stick.

Listen. A glossy blackbird perched on a fence post
trills caaa-ca-ree caaa-ca-ree.

Remember. The ancient courses through your bloodstream,
you inhale the exhaled breath of millions.
You drink water that has circumnavigated the world: it has risen, it has fallen, it is flowing still.

Become one with the air, one with the wind, one with the earth. You already are. Accept this.

Make a torch. What will you use for the stick, the rags, the fuel?
And once it is aflame, what will you see?

Will the stars pour milky trails into the sky to lead you onward?
Will the blackbirds invite you into the forest with their song?

Or will the torch blind you to your surroundings, restrict your vision to that which is already within reach?

Perhaps the choice is not one of leaving but of staying.

At the kitchen table. On the porch swing.
Between the rock garden and the hard place.

There is a bowl of blackberries, a book of poetry. The sunlight slants through the window.

And when night comes, you will see stars.

~~~~~

Inspired by the poem “How To Fall In Love” by Susan Elbe

Filed Under: Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: , ,

Evening Phenology, Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin

May 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment

 

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Trail Through Virginia Bluebells ©2016 Bo Mackison

May 5, 2016

Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin

Start: 6:00 p.m. (sunset 8:04 p.m.)
sunny 68˚F
wind 5 mph NW
barometric pressure 30.00
humidity 29%

In the woods:

Virginia bluebell, in full bloom along the woodland trail.
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Woodpeckers, species unknown (lots of rat-a-ta-a-tatting high in the hardwoods)
Fiddle heads, many fully opened, common in open wooded areas.
Honeysuckle, beginning to flower
Robins, common
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in full bloom, common
Dutchman’s breeches, only a few still blooming

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Forest of Bloodroot ©2016 Bo Mackison

Bloodroot, emerging foliage, common in the under-story.

Yellow bellwort, bloom done
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) in dense bloom, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) profuse bloom, common
Dandelions
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet) in bloom, profuse
Trillium, Grandiflora, two bunches
Wood sorrel
Small white violets, uncommon

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Tree Canopy ©2016 Bo Mackison

White oaks, leaves emerging; Red maples, silver maples, leafing.

Arrow-leaved violet, uncommon
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, full bloom
May apples, emerging foliage, no bloom.
Sumac, 6 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, cover the forest floor.
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate-full bloom

Finish:

6:35 p.m.
64˚F sunny, few high clouds to the south
wind 5 mph NW
humidity 28%

~~~~

Twice a week phenology reports in woodland; once a week reports from prairie and pond. Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin

Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating,  flowers blooming, trees leafing.

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Phenology is Alive and Well – Report #1

May 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Lesser Periwinkles ©2016 Bo Mackison

May 1, 2016

Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin

Start: 8:10 am
cloudy 43˚F
wind 10 mph NE
barometric pressure 30.10
humidity 80%

Woods:
hear Woodpeckers, species unknown
Fiddle heads emerging
Trout lilies in full bloom
Jack in the pulpits, just emerging from earth
Honeysuckle, in tight bud
Chokecherry, leaves clustered
Robins, common
Bluejay, male adult
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in moderate bloom
Dutchman’s breeches, close to full bloom
Virginia bluebell, full bloom
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Bloodroot, emerging foliage
Yellow bellwort, in moderate bloom
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) dense blooms, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) in moderate bloom
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, thick
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate bloom

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Golden Alexanders ©2016 Bo Mackison

Prairie:
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet)  in bloom, profuse
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, moderate bloom
May apples, foliage emerging, no blooms – love these clusters of green umbrellas
rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, three adult females
Confederate violets (blue and white variation of common purple) uncommon
White oak trees with emerging leaves
Ironwood trees, partially open leaves, still curled
Red maples, partially opened leaves
Silver maples, partially open leaves
Sumac, 5 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
second rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, five adult females

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Rafter of turkeys ©2016 Bo Macksion

Pond:
Red wing blackbirds, common
Cardinals, a pair
Mallards, pair in water
Yellow warbler

Finish:

9:43 am
46˚F cloudy
wind 5 mph E
humidity 72%

~~~~

Twice a week phenology reports in woodland and prairie; once a week reports from pond. At Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin

Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating,  flowers blooming, trees leafing.

 

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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