Golds and Blues at University of Wisconsin’s Arboretum

Golds and Blues © 2010 Bo Mackison

Not my usual photograph, but I was quite taken by the beauty of the Arboretum’s Visitor Center – the golds in the late autumn garden contrasting with the deep blues in the sky and the simple lines of the building. It was a gorgeous, late autumn day, the kind of day you tuck in your memory. And a perfect memory it will be when the snows of winter begin to fly.

Close to Home: Arboretum Exhibit

Three in the Prairie © 2010 Bo Mackison

The University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Arboretum provides me with frequent opportunities to photograph a tallgrass prairie. This prairie is the oldest restored prairie in the country, established in 1934. The Arboretum is a pioneer in the restoration and management of ecological communities. In focusing on re-establishing historic landscapes, especially those that predated large-scale human settlement, the arboretum staff introduced a new concept in ecology nearly eight decades ago: ecological restoration.

This Sunday (only) the Arboretum is sponsoring a special holiday sale — their second annual Close to Home: Arboretum Local Products Expo. The center will feature art,  gifts, and edible treats, all made in the Madison area by artists, craftspeople, and foodies, extraordinaire! It’s a great opportunity to purchase meaningful gifts this holiday season.

Where: University of Wisconsin – Madison Arboretum

When: Sunday November 28   10 AM to 4 PM

Shop Locally, Give Green this Holiday Season!

This will be my last art show of the year, although my photography and art cards are always available through the internet (see above on the header bar) or contact me for details and special orders. I will be several art festivals in Arizona in early 2011, and will return to Wisconsin for the “summer season” which will begin in May.

If you are in the Madison area, hope to see you at the Arboretum this Sunday. My booth will prominently feature large scale botanicals, both prints and canvases, and sets of photo art cards. Look for the green and white sign Seeded Earth Studio, Photography by Bo Mackison. Thanks!


Giving Thanks!

Window to My Heart © 2010 Bo Mackison

All the windows of my heart I open to the day. ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

I have much for which to be thankful. People who care about me, love me as I am. All the necessaries and many of the un-necessaries, too. A life filled with creativity and meaningful work. The big things. And, yes, the little things, too.

There is so much that opens my heart and fills my life with meaning. For that, I am immensely and deeply grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Twirling Leaf

Twirling Leaf © 2010 Bo Mackison

It is hard to hear the north wind again,
And to watch the treetops, as they sway.

They sway, deeply and loudly, in an effort,
So much less than feeling, so much less than speech,

Saying and saying, the way things say
On the level of that which is not yet knowledge:

A revelation not yet intended.
It is like a critic of God, the world

And human nature, pensively seated
On the waste throne of his own wilderness.

Deeplier, deeplier, loudlier, loudlier,
The trees are swaying, swaying, swaying.

–   Wallace Stevens, The Region November

November and Nothingness

November © 2010 Bo Mackison

November is all about this world wasting away, vanishing, and about us getting used to the nothingness, used to saying good bye.  ~ Vivian Swift

On Decluttering:  I may choose never to declutter the interior of my home. Not when nature does such an obsessive job of decluttering the out of doors in November. All that was lush and green, all the gardens that were thick with a multitude of colorful flowers, all gone. Just gone. My outdoors world is now wearing the fashionable look of uncluttered. My maple and oak trees are bare.

No. No inside decluttering for me right now. I need a little clutter in my life, and my outsides are feeling all too barren.