‘Blue Beauty’ Water Lily

'Blue Beauty' Tropical Water Lily

‘Blue Beauty’ Water Lily

The ‘Blue Beauty’ Water Lily is one of the more popular water lilies. It is a hybrid developed in 1896 when hybrid studies were just being undertaken. Originally called ‘Nymphaea pulcherrima’, a pseudo-Latin name translated as “beautiful water-lily,” its name was changed to ‘Blue Beauty’ in the 1930s.

I love the bluish-lilac color, but even more I love the blue-gray, two-toned shadows of the two lilies. This is one of those photographs where I think the shadow as interesting as the subject. The lilies that stand above the water — this one grows 6″ to 8″ above the surface of the pond — seem to cast rather impressionistic, moody shadows on the barely rippling pond surface.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. While at the Chicago Botanic Garden Art Festival, she paid a morning visit to the tropical water-lily ponds. What a wonderful collection!


(One Too Many) Adventures at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival

Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival

Strolling at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Fair

Sherpa and I spent the weekend in Chicago. I exhibited my Seeded Earth Photography at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival. It was a rather crazy, mixed up weekend.

First we had to keep switching schedules to adapt to work schedules and show timetables. When Sherpa had a conflict on Thursday which was set-up day, my son agreed to drive me, the trailer and the art set up to Chicago on Wednesday evening. That worked out well. We had an entire evening to catch up on a few years worth of conversations.

Thursday set up went well. We set up the booth, strolled a bit through the Botanic Gardens, had a quick lunch, and Jeff was back on his way to Madison by 3 in the afternoon. Sherpa arrived later that evening to take over the assistant’s duties.

Friday again started off well. It was warm and humid, but there was no rain in the forecast until later in the evening so we were looking forward to a dry, uneventful first day of the three-day show – maybe a bit sweaty, but not rainy! The day stayed dry, but not uneventful.

We had a couple of hours of set up to do before the show began. As Sherpa and I were getting the awnings of the booth unrolled, I stepped backwards, tripped over another artist’s gear, and hit my head hard on a ladder laying in the grass. I’ll sum up the next 24 hours quickly–ambulance, ER, CAT scan, hospital admission for 24 hours’ observation for post-concussion syndrome.

Sherpa went back to the festival where employees of Amdur Productions and so many wonderful artists near my booth pitched in and set up my photography display and helped Sherpa when he needed a second pair of hands. When I was discharged from the hospital at noon on Saturday, complication-free, I went to the show and found everything in good shape. And so the rest of the show proceeded smoothly.

I want to note that I started out on this art show path with little idea of how things were going to work out. There were lots of unanswered questions, lots of risk taking, and a few sleepless nights. Sherpa and I are both lucky, because we discovered we love doing art shows. But the best benefit of being on the art fair circuit was one I had not expected.

It was meeting and becoming friends with the amazing artists at the various shows. It was getting to know the people who capably run the shows and handle emergencies in stride.

To all of you, thank you. I am so very proud to be a show circuit artist associated with such fine and caring people.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. This weekend she very briefly considered whether the life of an artist was the life for her. She answered with a resounding YES – what other life could be so fulfilling and meaningful.

Swedish Holidays

Swedish Holiday Decorations

Swedish Holidays © 2010 Bo Mackison

A Swedish ornament, a red and white paper heart, lit by candlelight seen at the International Christmas Tree exhibit at Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

To the Friendly Skies

United Terminal at O"Hare International Airport, Chicago

To the Friendly Skies © 2010 Bo Mackison

O’Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and one of the largest. So I am always grateful when I can take the moving walkway through the terminal from one plane’s arrival gate to the connecting plane’s departure gate.

And these walkways were long enough, I was able to take more than a few photographs. They came out in a funky kind of way — appropriate, I think, for the beginning of a journey.

Resting at O’Hare

Ohare International Airport in Chicago

Resting at OHare © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Seeded Earth blog is taking a short break from botanical photography as I take a short trip before I start my summer art fair schedule. For the next week or so, I’ll be sharing a few travel photos as I visit one of the few areas of the country I’ve never seen in person – the Pac Northwest. We started our trip to Seattle at Chicago’s OHare International Airport. We were energized with anticipation of the trip ahead of us, but not all travelers were quite so happy to be on the road. (Or in the skies.)

BTW, best use I’ve seen for a men’s tie in a long time – as an eye mask to block the bright lights of the airport at high noon.