Golden Portal

November 2, 2011 by 4 Comments
Golden Portal

Golden Portal ©2011 Bo Mackison

Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity: be intensely yourself.
Don’t try to be outstanding; don’t try to be a success; don’t try to do pictures for others to look at — just please yourself.
~ Ralph Steiner

I live opposites.

I am a nester by nature, satisfied with quiet days strung one after another. I savor the nurturing space my family and I have created in our home. I like natural rhythms, routine.

But I am also a wanderer, and explorer. I yearn for travel, new places to see, absorb. I look forward to times when I can embark on adventures, near and far. Peek through an unseen space and discover gold.

This is my goal: to carry my home within me, and so be at home wherever I am.

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

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

Reflection on Two Branches – A Wedding Poem

October 11, 2011 by 2 Comments
Refection as Two Branches Join

Refection, Two Branches  © 2011 Bo Mackison

My family and I traveled to New York for a special occasion this past weekend.

We attended the marriage celebration of my elder daughter, Jeanne, and her partner, Judy.  (Now often described by their joint nickname, JeJu.)

It was a lovely weekend — perfect weather, a meaningful ceremony, indescribably awesome food mostly prepared by JeJu, many heartfelt and touching toasts,  a colorful and so-very-much JeJu-setting for the ceremony and dinner.

It was about as perfect as anyone could hope for.

As mother of the bride, I was in charge of the collaborative poem read during the ceremony.

A quick explanation — I asked everyone who was at the pre-ceremony wine tasting event to fill out an index card on which I had written a few prompting words. These words became the bulk of the celebration poem.

The prompts included:

  • a word or a phrase to describe the ocean or something you might find on a beach (It was a Long Island wedding and we were very close to the ocean and many beaches.)
  •  a word or phrase to describe Jeanne
  •  a word or phrase to describe Judy
  • a word or phrase that describes a healthy, happy relationship

Everyone was really great and filled out the index cards. Then I spent 30 minutes compiling everyone’s words – plus a few of my own – into a wedding poem.

(The words printed in color are words taken directly, or slightly paraphrased, from the cards.)

A COLLABORATIVE POEM OF CELEBRATION

We gather together.

Nearby, the ocean roars,
tides send waves crashing against the breakwaters,
scratched sea glass sparkles on the beach
illuminated with memories of the summer sun.

Moonlight scatters light across the ripples of water.

The beaches expand, recede,
Inhale. Exhale,
rhythmic breathing, the sea on the earth.

We gather to celebrate the marriage of two women,
as they promise to respect each other,
to love each other,
to be there for each other.

We see one woman —
lover of nature and all things natural,
handy with crafts and tools,
baker of scrumptious cakes and pies,
tax guru – extraordinaire.

And another woman —
artistic genius
filled with positive energy,
natural nurturer,
holder of wisdom of the ages,
healer.

We offer to these women gifts to strengthen their lasting relationship –
respect, courage,
trust, a sense of humor,
comradeship, growth,
and the willingness to work together.

Today, we witness Jeanne and Judy
as they express their love for each other –
with elation, happiness, exuberance, joy.

We sense their anticipation to walk together on their life journey
encouraging and assisting each other.

We all congratulate you,  JeJu.

p.s. The water is cold.
p.p.s. The water isn’t that cold.

———————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She just took a few days off to celebrate her daughter’s wedding. Bo left her camera in the camera bag for most of the wedding festivities, as mothers of the bride do not make good wedding photographers. She did, however, manage to keep her creative muse happy by writing a collaborative wedding poem!

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

Journaling in Olbrich Courtyard

August 27, 2011 by 5 Comments
Olbrich Courtyard

Olbrich Courtyard © 2011 Bo Mackison

Journal Notes, written while eating lunch, at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, taking a mid morning break from another garden photo shoot:

…white metal faux wicker tables and chairs, stone crock on each table, centerpiece, holds succulents, thick and fleshy. I think of the word durable when I think of succulents. Not hardy, the term often applied to plants, often an indication their tolerance for cold or heat. Durable. They seem to tolerate hard use, sporadic care. Succulents – crinkled, velvety, twisted, icy green succulents. And they are thick and fleshy, not svelte and wispy — I like that.

I feel like the photographer’s equivalent of a bag lady, come to take root in this shaded courtyard. Fountain trickling nearby, people trickling in and out as they discover this hidden resting space. I unpacked my pockets. Lots of pockets. Tossed on my table — lens cap, lens brush, lens cloth, phone, notebook, pen, floppy hat. Peach wrapped in paper towels, a bottle of Vitamin Water, string cheese. Sunglasses.

I do not like to wear sunglasses. I bring them from habit. Mostly, they occupy my hands, I never have them on long enough to protect my eyes. I remove my sunglasses constantly — so I can see a flower, see a path, see a shot — clearly, not through a polarized layer of dark. I hook them onto the neck of my shirt, then forget them ’til they fall and need retrieval or until the sun glare makes me squint. I do like to play with my sunglasses. I spin them by one arm – whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, like an off-balance Ferris wheel. I take them off and put them on a hundred times. No, I do not like to wear sunglasses — I cannot see when I wear them.

And it is all about seeing…

Yesterday I discovered an alternative to both sunglasses and the sunscreen that I hate to put on my face. Ick. Goo. Found an end-of-the-year bargain. A very wide, very floppy, very black hat that has 50 SPF protection from the sun in its fibers. (How do they do that!)

I imagine how I appear, though it’s doubtful anyone else notices “the photographer.” This woman in her 50s, a frequent visitor, always has her camera gear, spends hours walking around, examining everything closely, taking photos, lots of photos. She dresses mostly in black three seasons a year. (Summer requires casual clothes, lighter and cooler colors.) Today she wears a big black floppy hat, looks like the ones worn by movie stars in the 50s.

Ah, maybe I am not the movie star, but the paparazzi!  Ha.

Garden’s quiet now. Here in the courtyard, at least. Going to close my eyes for ten minutes and listen to the fountain, the trickling water.

——————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Gardening, photographing gardens, writing in her journal. Enjoying a few week break before autumn art fairs begin.

 

Filed Under: Writing Practices Tagged With: , , ,

Make the World a Better Place?

June 16, 2011 by 8 Comments
IMG_8963

Pink Lupine and Bachelor’s Buttons

Anyone remember reading the book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney?

It is a children’s book written in the early 1980s, and it was popular when my children were young. It was my older daughter’s favorite book for many a month.

As the story goes, Miss Rumphius is a woman who wants to do three things in her life – travel the world, live by the sea when she is older, and make the world a better place. She accomplishes her first two goals with no problem, but she is stumped when she wonders how to improve the world. Finally she thinks of a plan. She decides to scatter lupine seeds wherever she goes. And so she does!

Think how much we would all benefit if each of us had a plan to better the world, and we put our plan in action. Just like Miss Rumphius.

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She will be at the Leeper Park Art Fair this weekend, June 18 and 19, in South Bend, Indiana. Booth #107.

 

 

 

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

Waiting

May 14, 2011 by 7 Comments
Terrace Seating at Memorial Union at University of Wisconsin in Madison

Waiting © 2011 Bo Mackison

I’m waiting. Waiting to gather enough information to make informed decisions about important people in my life. Waiting for the rain to stop pouring –it will and the sun will soon shine, but I had hoped to distract myself with some camera work. I can wait.

While I am waiting, I am watching more rain water pour into the Mississippi River. I am grateful that I am north of the flooding, but my thoughts are with the many thousands of people who have been or soon will be affected by the out of control Mississippi.

I lived in a Mississippi River town until I was eighteen. I still have relatives living in river towns up and down the Mississippi — in Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana. I’ve seen the Mighty Mississippi when it was roiling and raging and overflowing its banks, spreading water as far as the eye could see. It’s not a pretty sight when the river floods.

All affected by this disaster are in my thoughts.

Waiting times are important practice times for me. I am impatient. It is good to practice patience. I don’t find it easy, but then life isn’t all about easy, is it?

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is waiting, and practicing patience today.

Filed Under: Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: ,
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