12 January 2012

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.}

2 comments:

  1. Hello, Lisa. I'm another BAO member(group 4) and am trying to make time to wander around the newcomers.
    Stopping here first might have been a mistake...it's many years since I was in Florence, but this feels like coming home!
    I'm looking forward to returning...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by! I've also been trying to make the rounds of the BAO members' blogs/websites. It's been great fun discovering new artists - there's so much intriguing/inspiring work out there. I look forward to following 'more' of your 'idle thoughts' as well...
      Lisa

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{Sorry about enabling word recognition, but I'm hoping it will alleviate the spam.}

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