15 August 2013

Violet in Venice

 

This month's ROY G BIV photo challenge color is 'VIOLET', so I was quite excited to find that the Lido (where my daughter & I spent our beach week) is full of purple-tinged shells. Even though we've gone there for the past few years, I must admit that it had never registered just how many of the shells are purple inside.

Each morning I spent some time at the edge of the water, looking to see what the waves had brought, and (no matter how hard I tried to limit myself), each evening my little tin was full of shells when we returned to the hotel.




 

They amounted to a plate's worth by the end of the trip...


 

Many of the purple shells were in fact fragments, reminding me of shards of broken china, or the finds from an archeological dig. I don't know what they may one day become, but I did enjoy composing them into 'story strips' (an ongoing experiment that you may remember from past posts), shown in the first image, as well as the simple arrangements below...






While most of our stay was spent on the east (beach) side of the Lido, one evening my daughter & I sat for a while on the west side of the island, facing Venice as the sun disappeared into a haze of purple & orange...



We took turns with the camera. As with the past visits, I was most interested in the reflections on lagoon, but it was my daughter who decided to photograph the final stages of the sunset in ten-second increments, and I'm pretty sure the photo above is one of hers.


*


After the past couple months of 'gallivanting', it feels good to be back in the studio again. There is a lot to do, but I hope to find some spare moments to share more photos, books, music & other good things as I work through the projects awaiting me. I have resisted the desire to share a slew of purple-themed songs for 'VIOLET', but leave you with a favorite U2 song of mine, 'Ultraviolet'...






 
* The ROY G BIV photo challenge was begun by artists Jennifer Coyne Qudeen & Julie Booth in 2012. Each month is devoted to a different color of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo & violet. Guidelines are here if you'd like to join in this month, or in future rounds.



8 comments:

  1. It is nearly impossible to visit a beach without picking up a shell. I love how you've laid them out in a book. They do tell a sort of story, don't they?

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    1. I know, I know! Last year I managed to limit my shell-findings to five or six very special, 'perfect' shells, but collecting mostly the 'fragments' this time made me go a little crazy. I love how they are each so different. (And the 'fronts', i.e. outsides, are another story, with their intricate little patterns...)
      Thanks for stopping by for a look, Cindi!
      - Lisa

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  2. What lovely delicately tinted shells - and so beautifully laid out. I love the (almost) repeating patterns.

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    1. Thank you! I enjoy lining up little bits & pieces like this...there's never much of a rhyme or reason, but it's a meditative little practice when something captures my fancy. Still waiting to see what it's 'all about'!
      - Lisa

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  3. What beauty you have created with these amazing little bits of shells. The colour is spectacular and your photos so beautifully done. I enjoyed seeing the beauty you created. The sunset photo is also a delight for the eyes. Thank you for sharing your violets.

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    1. Sorry, Kim, I thought I had replied to your comment! Thanks for coming over for a look, and I'm glad you enjoyed the shells/photos. You certainly worked some magic with violet this month!
      - Lisa

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  4. The shells are delightful. I love your story-telling arrangement, I'd never thought about it this way. Shells talk to those who know how to listen. Being from Greece, where fragments of ancient ceramics or marbles are practically everywhere, I suddenly saw a very logical pattern in your shattered shells. I think your living in Italy may have influenced you too?

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    1. How nice to hear from you, Ersi. I love what you have to say about the shells 'talking'. I am still 'listening', waiting, wondering...
      And yes, living in Italy has definitely influenced me, in more ways that I think I have even realized.
      Take care -
      - Lisa

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