My Funny Valentines (Influence of Snowmen/women on my new line of Valentine's cards)

"The snowman is an integral part of our world culture," writes Bob Eckstein (The History of the Snowman),"and pops up in rare prints, paintings, early movies, advertising, and over the past century, in every art form imaginable." Eckstein's tribute to this "King of Kitsch" is a fun read and informative too — especially for those who want to know about the snowman's roots (it happens to be the Dark Ages). I, too, have been inspired by snowmen — or snow sculptures — as I have called them (in four previous posts which you can read by clicking here as well as here and here, and here), especially the ones I've seen in Central Park in New York City, such as the one in the photo posted above this blog entry. It is a snow figure I pegged as Snow Diva in Central Park and subsequently rendered into a single-sided all occasion greeting card. (This can be found in the storefront pages of my web-site where purchase information is available.)

The problem for me in building snow sculptures is that it usually too bloody cold, so, recently, in my quest to create a snow sculpture and still be warm, I came up with a unique snow figure in the warmth of my studio, and then rendered it into a limited edition of valentines which you can send on Valentine's Day (reminder it is only nine days away) also known as Sõbrapäev or Ystävänpäivä as I've discussed in previous posts. 

You may click here to view a slideshow of these new cards in Vimeo.

Honoring the Season of Feasts with Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass)

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a season that began on November 28th 2010.  Dennis Bratcher writes,"the fourth candle of the advent wreath is lit on this day and the light of these candles reminds Christian believers that Jesus is the light of the world — the light that comes into the darkness of people's lives to bring newness, life and hope. It also reminds people that they are called to bring light into the world, and to reflect this grace to others. The progression in the lighting of the Advent candles symbolizes the aspects of waiting, as the candles are lit during the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding as more and more light is shed into the world." Even though I have done volunteer work by bringing Holy Communion to the homebound every Sunday, as well as special feast days, for the past five years, I confess I still struggle with having the faith Bratcher describes.

However, I do design and sell holiday cards, but I like to wait until Advent has passed before sending mine, out of reverence to the message articulated in Bratcher's writings. This year I have designed a card to commemorate Christmas by employing an aspect of botanical textures (a garden feature I wrote about in November), of one of my urban garden plants; Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass: All Gold Variety), using a photograph (taken before my plants were snuggled in for the winter as described in a recent post).

I have rendered this image in a gradient of black and white then brushed in a twinge of color so that only two sprigs coming from the leaves have a hint of color. I have done this as a representation of light breaking into darkness, and hopefully conveying the meaning of the promise of Christmas, as described by Bratcher. I have made two versions of this card and the result can be seen in the photographs posted above  and below today's blog entry.

Please note I have not added either of these images discussed in this post to my web-site. However, you can still find a selection of cards to send to those you know who celebrate Christmas with a card that is about more than communication.

Rubus calycinoides, A Diva

The Rubus calycinoides (Ornamental Raspberry or Crinkled Creeper) is a strikingly beautiful and elegant plant with cascading evergreen, which produces a mass of richly textured greens. Some garden experts advise to plant it in masses to form a dense ground-cover. I prefer to show off its beauty by having it as a 'single' and planting it in an attractive clay pot. Folks even use it as a lawn substitute, but I like its 'diva' quality so I let it stand alone.

It is often confused with what could be its twin, Rubus pentalobus. The branches of both plants look lovely in cut flower arrangements. I do not own a Rubus pentalobus, but it has such a fun name to say ROO-bus- pen-tah-low-bus that I couldn't resist including a reference to it in this post. ROO-bus-pen-tah-low-bus. It almost sounds like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. And, indeed, these plants seem quite precocious, as you might guess from these two photos of my Rubus calycinoids. Please continue to follow this blog to see when the single sided card of this image is available. Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay, Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay . . .

Fagus sylvatica (Beech Tree)

These lovely textured leaves from my Fagus sylvatica (Beech Tree), a tree which I grow in my urban garden, are often not abscissed in the autumn and remain on the tree until spring. This process is called marcescene which is something I learned from Wikipedia. I just think they make a lovely image for a single-sided card, so please continue to visit my blog as well as my web-site, for details.

Continus Coggygria

The above image is of a shrub that has been with me, in my urban terrace garden, since 2006. It is known as Continus Coggygria 'Royal Purple' and is also known as Smokey-Bush or Grace. If you like garden texture, you will love this shrub's branches. The leaves are oval and measure 1.5" by 3.5" long. The standard is waxy green, but the variety that I have has purple leaves. In the fall, leaves turn shades of red, purple, and orange. Stay tuned to this blog, and in the fall, I'll show you photographs of the changed leaf color. Meanwhile, for the deep purple leaf, I have created a beautiful, single-sided note-card posted at the end of this entry, which can also be seen in the store-front pages on my web-site where information is available about purchasing.

The First Harbinger of Spring, Chive Sprigs (Allium schoenoprasum)

Today is the first calendar day of spring. Seemingly, nothing better announces the end of winter than the sight of sprightly chives. Their bright green grass–like appearance is the very first harbinger of the long awaited season. Chives become the guest of honor at Rites of Spring soirées. Their finely cut leaves enhance cheese spreads being served on a Tom Cat baguette with a goblet of Pinot Gris. When swirled into a Vermont cheddar cheese omelet, they add pizzazz to a brunch — especially if there are flutes of champagne to drink with it.





Additionally, chives are often added to Vichyssoise, another soirée favorite. The thin wispy leaves of chives can be used to make a flavored ribbon when tying bunches of raw veggies such as carrots. If they are not being grown for harvesting, beautiful and long–lasting lilac–colored flowers develop at their spears! These make elegant centerpieces and when tied into a bouquet with strands of chives, they make a unique hostess gift. This year I hope to develop a line of herb–themed note–cards that celebrate these gifts of nature and serve as invitations to Rites of Spring Soirées or as note–cards to brighten up a friend’s day. An example can be seen above.





All of the plants, trees, shrubs, and herbs in my garden are still in their protective covering which you may recall from an earlier post. I’m attempting to plan how I will develop my spring–themed cards and am contemplating making them all the same size as seen in the above card, Chives: The First Harbinger of Spring (which you can purchase via my website. Meanwhile the teasing temperatures of this first day of spring are not enough to unwrap the protection surrounding my potted plants.