Begin

Red things: pomegranate gems & a cherry juice cube floating in a glass of cranberry juice

Begin. That's my word for the month. There are so many ways in which I could apply this word to my life. One of my biggest challenges seems to be sending work into the world, even if it's something as simple as a blog entry. With the 'original' Arzigogolare I would return to each entry day after day, for hours at a time―not only to edit, but to continue developing―'growing'―whatever topic I had chosen. There would be new research and more thoughts to weave in, which then necessitated a restructuring of what would inevitably begin to approach 2000 words...more than anyone really has time to read online! At one point I redesigned the layout of my monthly entries and started included more images, recipes, links and other extras. The new layout made the process more interesting for me (and my readers, I hope), but even more time consuming. So I suppose one of the things I wish for this reinvented version of Arzigogolare is to be less precious with my words, and to simply share.

Today I'd like to share a few thoughts on pomegranates. Not only do I love the shape, the color and the delicious jewel-like seeds, but I also appreciate what a pomegranate represents for me: serenity. Removing the seeds takes time and a certain amount of concentration, and I still remember a winter when I was literally too busy with deadlines to take advantage of pomegranate season. Now I've come to view the process of releasing the seeds to be a meditation of sorts...a way of centering my mind.

As I prepared a tray for this morning's seed extraction session, the colors of the pomegranate, the cranberry-cherry juice concoction and the cloth enticed me to photograph the tray first... Which brings me to one of the projects on my list for this year. I love trays―and own many of them―and I always enjoy the process of composing items on a tray, whether it's for breakfast in my studio, afternoon tea with a friend, a study session for my daughter or a movie night on the sofa. Sometimes I use them to arrange fruits and vegetables, or papers or beads or books―anything that might benefit from a some togetherness or organization. The tray in today's photo is one of my favorites...you will likely come to know it quite well in the next several months, as I share other tray-themed 'still lifes'.

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I would love to know if you have a word for the month (or for the year). Please share if you're inclined...

{To read some of my past writings about pomegranates, please click HERE & HERE.}