Garden Party (#113)

Musings on the late spring days. Plus: Altered art with chlorophyll, and "Acts of Preservation".

Jun 13, 2024

I’m inspired by nature.

I thumb through postings of late, and remark to myself that I talk a lot lately about the natural world hosting this party that we’re all attending.

But I can’t help it. As the event unfolds, our gracious host drapes chlorophyll-thick blankets on the table. Soft, pale plump cones of amethyst lilac gently bob next to dark maple leaves wide as awnings. These first bursts of colour and chlorophyll made all the more succulent with sudden bursts of rain, fat drops coating petals and fronds. Paler poplar tops shake in the perfumed sunny breeze as they release giant cotton swabs of seed, turning the garden into an impossible snow globe in the middle of May.

It’s a beautiful party. And while I used to say that fall was my favourite season - and yes, our generous host pulls out all the crimson and amber splendour for the chilling, darkening days - I feel more in my bones that it’s now that takes the top post.

I’m inspired by nature. I’m inspired by others’ blooming creativity on display in other newsletters.

I’ve admired Rebecca’s posts about the children’s book that she repurposed to create beautiful monthly artworks.

Check out Rebecca's altered book of art!

Indeed, there’s something liberating about it making your art precious. You’re more liberal with your motions; the spirit underlying each stroke is free. So when I saw an aging and outdated children’s science book at a recent yard sale, I knew what I had to do. I had to join the art party!

It was fun, completely letting go and getting back into making art for the sake of art. For my own sake. I’m looking at this book as a playground, and hope to visit at least once a month.

Volume 5 covers all matter of science Cl to Di - from Clocks to Diagnosis. The book is inscribed with the words, “Reference 1973”, and stamped as property of Kennebecasis Park School, Broadway, Kennebecasis Park, Renforth, NB. The school still stands on Broadway Street, and indeed, befitting the name “Broadway”, the suburb that houses the school is pretty posh. (Photo: Bryn Robinson, 2024)

The first works in the altered science book. The right page is white gesso, then acrylic paint and white gel pen to sketch out some lilac blossoms. The left page is **chlorophyll painted with maple leaves**, then black ink doodles of leaves over it. (Photo: Bryn Robinson, 2024)

I’m inspired by nature, by others’ blooming creativity, and by a little garden party hosted last week in Montreal.

The garden party was in honour of the launch of Soliloquies Anthology 28.2:

Soliloquies Anthology is Concordia University's undergraduate literary journal. The journal publishes poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from emerging and established writers in Montreal and across Canada.
- Soliloquies Anthology

Published twice a year, I saw the call for submissions to volume 28.2 earlier in the winter. I’ve had one poem accepted to another anthology (stay tuned - later this summer!), and decided to gather the courage to submit a second time.

And now, I can share with you here - for, in my mailbox this week:

*PAGE 49! I cannot wait to read the entire volume, a mixture of short stories and poetry.*

*And…here it is. My first non-Substack, peer-reviewed, published-in-the-flesh, poem.*

So, there it is - the first publication, unleashed into the wild. Let me know in the comments below: What’s your favourite season? How are you finding ways to bloom your creativity? What do you think about the poem? (All manner of critique welcomed.)

This Week in SciArt

If you block the sun from a leaf, the leaf will begin converting from chlorophyll production - the chemical that makes leaves green - to carotenoid (yellow/orange) production. Some clever folks figured out how to use this as a photography process, to stunning results.

Chlorophyll prigment print by Almundena Romero — *Photo on leaf by **Almudena Romero** (2021).*

It also means in some cases, you can regrow an installation piece in different locations, sharing your ideas both artistic and scientific with a wider audience.

ackroydharvey