A colorful new year
What a colorful and dynamic year it has been. Looking forward to a new year full of exciting new developments and lots of color. It all started with Kaffe Fassett, who I have mentioned on this blog several times. I had the wonderful privilege of being able to go and see him speak this fall, taking a road trip with a couple of wonderful students from one of my classes. We had so much fun being inspired by Kaffe and each other, not to mention a tasty lunch together. We traveled about an hour to see him, and we all felt it was worth it. We got to meet him, get our pictures taken with him, and get a book signed by him. I know I have already blogged about his talk here, but one of the big things I took away from it was living a life full of color, whatever that means. Literally full of color is great, but what are some other ways we can live colorful lives, and how can we contribute color to the world and to one another? It seems appropriate that these questions are coming up on this, the last day of the year, as we reflect and look toward the horizon with hope and dedication. How wonderful to live in this world, so full of color naturally? I love guiding nature journaling classes because I love to point out the wonders that are around us all of the time, and I hope that by doing this, I can brighten everyone’s day just a little. As I was cleaning out some things, as we do at the end of the year sometimes, I came upon a book called “Beautiful World,” put out by Lonely Planet. This is a massive coffee table book that is 95 percent giant photos of the beautiful world in which we live. On the front cover is an aerial photograph of elephants weaving their way through what appears to be a flood plain in Africa, which stretches out seemingly forever. Their white tusks stand out against the dark green of the land they are moving though. There are also some white birds flying right above them, the sweep of the birds’ wings echoing the sweeping arches of the elephants’ white tusks. The floodplain is full of pathways through which the elephants are wending their way, creating another pattern, a pattern reminiscent of a giraffe’s distinctive coloring. This photo could inspire a painting just by the colors and patterns that nature has presented (and of course that the photographer has so elegantly captured).
As we approach the end of this year, very soon, and the beginning of a new one, I invite us all to open ourselves to the beauty of the world, to think about shifting our perspectives, looking at things from new angles, and sitting back and absorbing the simple and spectacular colors, patterns, and forms of the natural world all around us, always, and thinking about how we can create art, and how our lives are also art. See you in the new year! What will we create together??
