Spring this year has been really different. There have been very beautiful days of blooming azalea and dogwood, but these were also days during which people were dying alone, stricken with the COVID-19 virus. As this pandemic continues, my attention has turned to nature and the delicate balance between life and death. I'd never really thought about "what is a virus?" until recently.
I learned a bit from an on-line article from Scientific American (August 8, 2008 by Luis P. Villarreal)
For about 100 years, the scientific community has repeatedly changed its collective mind over what viruses are. First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving: they cannot replicate on their own but can do so in truly living cells and can also affect the behavior of their hosts profoundly.
Viruses are part of nature. While Steve and I have been busy tackling the "jungle" of weeds in our backyard, I've thought quite a bit about the undesirable plants in nature. They are sometimes like viruses, needing a strong attachment to a "host plant". The wisteria has been climbing up the pecan tree and small magnolia, trying to overtake them. The ivy has become totally embedded in the the mortar of the the brick wall. Kudzu and Virginia creeper is everywhere ... and yes ... there is poison ivy too. We've spent several glorious spring days fighting the weeds but also thinking about the rose bush that is yielding more flowers than ever before.
As a result, I designed two absolutely new Window Series pieces based on plant life. Generally speaking, my designs come from architecture. The leaf and the elongated tulip, however, are my response to springtime ... posted appropriately on May Day! Happy Spring and may the world weed away the COVID-19 virus!
4 comments:
These are sooo beautiful! Maybe because they're coming from organic thoughts and I am, basically, a gardener I can really, really appreciate them. Well done
adore where and how our personal creativity can evolve, when we aren't particularly looking...the virus has certainly changed our lives, from various points.
I especially like the leaf, I have a thing for leaves. Your garden sounds wonderful. We have green in the garden this year like I have never experienced here. Even though there is work involved I feel fortunate to have a garden to escape to.
While I like your leaf and your long tulip, I was drawn to CLXXX and CLXXXIII, which remind me of formal gardens, with gates, or circular central beds -- sort of like the gardens at Verseilles in France! Happy Spring to you and Steve -- and happy gardening!
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