Descent at Twilight

June 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Approaching NYC

Approaching NYC © 2012 Bo Mackison

Living on the edges means recognizing those places and experiences that do not offer easy answers, those fierce edges of life where things are not as clear as we hope them to be. There is also beauty in the border spaces, those places of ambiguity and mystery. ~ Christine Valters Paintner

I am in New York City.

Sherpa and I flew in a few days ago, had a beautiful view of the city as we landed. Twinkling lights, rows of brighter street lights, the sun already set in the west but still lighting the skies with those border colors between day and night – the ribbons of yellows, oranges, purples, grays.

We spent a busy weekend walking the streets in Midtown, walking the criss-cross of trails and paths and roads in Central Park. We visited with our eldest who took the train in from Long Island. She’s lived in a half-dozen places in NYC, and so, is more than qualified to know the ins and outs. We had a couple of marvelous meals in out-of-the-way spaces, and of course fit in a few touristy type activities, too.

But today Sherpa heads to a training course – the real reason we are here – and our daughter returned to LI for the start of the work week. That leaves me here, on my own-some, with plenty of plans and a couple of maps and a list of places I would love to visit. And yet, here I am, still in the hotel room at 8:30, in that place of ambiguity, on my own personal border where I will have to sacrifice my comfort if I want to explore the beauty in the border spaces, in the places I am not familiar with, nor at ease with.

There was a time, not all that many years ago, where I chose to stay in the hotel while others took care of their city business, waiting for someone to return. Only then would I venture beyond the places and spaces I knew.

This spring I managed living solo near Tucson, a frequent visitor to a desert I did not know, but taught myself to love by frequent visits. And so I shall do the same with the streets of New York. Perhaps it isn’t my beloved desert nor my familiar Midwest prairies and forests, perhaps in my mind I am as far from the Sonoran Desert or the Northwoods as I can imagine. But I am on my way, out the door.

The only way I will learn to love this new space is to explore it, be okay with the ambiguity and embrace the mystery.

So . . . off I go.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She lives in the Midwest, loves the Southwest, and is now exploring the Big Apple. With her camera, of course!

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Living an “Enough” Life

June 8, 2012 by 3 Comments
Orchids

Orchids © 2012 Bo Mackison

To do the useful thing,
to say the courageous thing,
to contemplate the beautiful thing,
that is enough for any man’s life.
~ T.S. Eliot

Do you ever find a few words of a poem or a quotation that speaks loudly to you? When I read the above lines, I was impressed by the simplicity of the verse, by the truth of those few words, and how difficult it would be to live life by this recipe. The paradox – too simple and too difficult, so I stored the quote in my notebook and moved on.

But what is the benefit of writing down quotations that speak to you if you refuse to listen? I found the quote again yesterday when I was preparing for this post. Again, the few words and the big message fascinated me. And this time, instead of turning the page, I wrote the lines on an index card and stuck the card in my pocket. And whenever I became aware of the card, I pulled it out and re-read the words.

Although I will deny it, I am often a perfectionist. Especially when it comes to reading great words of wisdom, and then avoiding the message because  I say to myself  “too hard” and “impossible” and “I could never do that.” If I could not always do the useful thing, nor say the courageous thing, nor see the beauty in everything around me, then there was no reason to try.

After I had pulled the card out of my pocket a half-dozen times, pondering its message each time, shrugging away the message, and returning the card to my pocket, I had a new insight. Eliot did not write the word always in his words. There was no always or never, can or cannot, do or do not. I realized that there was a middle way.

What if my goal was to do one useful thing each day, say one courageous thing (even silently to myself counted) each day, and contemplated one beautiful thing each day? That would be a great beginning. And, most important, it would be something I could do, something I could commit to, and something I could easily evaluate. A brief check-in in my journal each night would take only moments, but would give me a way of tracking my commitment, my progress.

So I have added T.S. Eliot’s advice for living an “enough” life to my to-do list. I find having an easy to follow guide, and an awareness of a plan, makes it possible for me to achieve goals like this.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She contemplated the beautiful during the portrait session she did with these orchids, a gift she received from her daughter last Christmas.

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Orchid in Profile

June 7, 2012 by 2 Comments
Orchid in Profile

Orchid in Profile © 2012 Bo Mackison

Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Do not claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent. ~ Rumi

This is an indeed an excellent day to simply observe the world around me, notice the artistry in nature, and be silent. Some days it is wise to be the observer, not the speaker.

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

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Awakening the Senses – A Photo-Heart Connection

June 6, 2012 by 22 Comments
Tucson Reflections

Tucson Reflection © 2012 Bo Mackison

Happy are they who see beauty in modest places. ~ Camille Pissarro

Beauty in modest places? Yes.

I went for an early evening walk in downtown Tucson just before I left Arizona to return to the Midwest. I was in a strolling mood, noticing architecture instead of desert scenes, and enjoying the many sights, the people leaving their workplaces, but with no rush to get anywhere. Rushing isn’t such a great idea when the thermometer hovers near the century mark.

I found beauty in the deep color of a textured wall, a red-earth color so appealing, I had to stop and not only photograph it, but touch it. Run my hands along the roughness, the ridges. That red, to my Midwestern trained eyes, was a Red Rock color, one of those desert colors that sang songs of the Southwest to me.

And then there was the purple-gray of the wooden window sill. So purple, I wanted to inhale its purple-ness, a purple so perfectly etched in my past that it grabbed a memory from my youth and held on tight.  It was the purple-gray of grapes fully ripe, grapes hanging in the arbor in my grandmother’s back garden. It was the dusty purple of grapes waiting to be plucked from the vine.

As I studied the contrasting colors, the memories came visiting. I was in the arbor, picking grapes just like my grandmother picked grapes — a handful for the pail and one to pop in my mouth and savor. I looked at the window frame and imagined my grandmother’s presence in the reflection, picking grapes just a few steps from where I stood.

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When I went through my May photographs, I stopped as soon as I saw this photograph. The day I took this photo was etched in my mind. All of my senses were on alert that day, intent on remembering a city that I would soon be leaving. The touch of the red-rock walls. The song of the Southwest. The scent of ripened grapes on the vine and the taste of sweet juice. And a sense of connection with loved ones, long gone.

Photo. Heart. Connection. Oh, yes!

I’ve long understood that when I carry a camera, that mere act heightens my sense of seeing. And now I’ve come to realize that my camera and photography can offer me another gift – the awakening my other senses, too.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. During the first week of each month, she re-visits her photographs taken the previous month, searching for THE photograph to post as the photo-heart-connection photo. Bo is always quite thrilled when that special photograph finds her.

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Making Memories

June 5, 2012 by 4 Comments
A Place to Rest

Green Chair on a Porch © 2012 Bo Mackison

“You get to know the worth of a neighborhood by saying ‘howdy’ to the people who sit on their front porches on a summer’s evening. It’s all told in the ‘howdy’ you get back.”

– adapted from a frequent comment from my grandfather, Harry S. Wood, who spent many a summer evening sitting on his front porch.

This past weekend I was in the 57th Street Art Fair in Hyde Park.

President Obama was in Chicago for part of the weekend – his family home is only a few blocks from the art fair area. The University of Chicago is a few blocks the other way and it was alumni weekend. Plus, it was one of those gorgeous Chicago weekends in early summer blessed by the weather gods – sunny, a few clouds to make the sky interesting, mid 70s, no humidity, a sweet breeze off Lake Michigan.

Combine POTUS and his accompanying entourage, the requisite dozens of motorcycle cop and siren duos, a huge U of C alumni party for multiple class years, the oldest juried art fair in Chicago, and perfect weather. You have a recipe for one hectic, but fun-filled weekend.

The show was grand. Big crowds from the neighborhood, the university, the city. Smiling people, excited kids.

The 57th Street Art Fair seems to attract those who love their art. When I took a break to stretch my legs, and look at the other art, I visited booth after booth where artists and customers were in deep discussions about art, techniques, the state of the art world, the state of the art fair world. Truly amazing!

When the show ended each evening, I walked the neighborhood, still bubbling with excitement from the day’s show. There were so many conversations I wanted to hold on to, and remember. They were the stuff that makes being an artist on the art fair circuit a meaningful experience – the conversations, the real discussions about real art with so many age groups – from tweens on up, and sure, the sales were fun, too.

That is the beauty of art fairs, why I do them – the interactions and conversations between the artist and the client are true memory makers.

Thanks, 57th Street…

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo so enjoyed her trip to the 57th Street Art Fair. The art and artists, the neighborhood and architecture, the friendly atmosphere and friendly people! What a great weekend.

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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