Household Addition

Being in "the business" I occasionally receive gifts from artists. It isn't expected. I assume my role as a supporter of the arts is to purchase artwork like everyone else, but it is always a delightful surprise to receive a gift- especially the gift of art from an artist I respect.

This past week Fred Lynch gave me a small painting from his Division Series. This series is currently featured at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine. While my boyfriend is as big a fan of Fred as I am he was a little leery of squeezing one more piece into our home. Like two little old ladies we fussed with items, moved them two inches, changed plants, considered moving furniture and finally came to a conclusion.

The small painting came to rest on a trunk underneath a large painting by Fred of a pink rectangle. The new painting contains a little of the same pink making a connection to it. The new painting also has a some ruby color which related directly to the Gerry Williams to the left. And to top it off we moved a beautiful fine line porcelain plate by Rebecca Lucerio next to the whole lot.

The placement of all of these pieces gives me an overwhelming feeling of pleasure and rightness with the world. The exquisite rendering of the plate is similar but different from the nervous line of Fred's painting. The low-res images, unfortunately, don't give you a sense of their delicate precision. The grouping's colors relate but aren't so matchy-matchy that you think you walked into a Pottery Barn display. And there is a sense of historicity- a connection from past to future of this particular aesthetic trajectory.

Finding these connections is one of the most enjoyable parts of owning an art collection.

A Day In The Life Of My Garden, May 9, 2010

It has been a while since I have posted about my garden so this is just a little catch-me-up for those of you who care. Things are just beginning to take shape. We have a couple of below freezing nights predicted so the boyfriend is a mite afeared for the fruit trees which are in blossom right now. He also went out to pick all the asparagus that had poked its head through- better eaten than frozen.

There is a whole flock of pure purple Johnny-Jump-Up which is blooming its little fool heads off right now. As always it is a fabuloso contrast with the golden cypress. You might notice one stray sedum that ducked my hell bent for eradication trowel of death last summer- I just got sick of the cheap sedums from the grocery store showing up every spring full of promise - that only delivered a summer of heartbreak and mushy, withered stems.

Not too far from this complimentary color scheme are some last minute daffodils that are enhanced by the broad green back drop of rhubarb. Sometimes I think I like rhubarb more as a plantable than an edible. mmm, mm good no matter how you dish it up!

My purple smoke bush is just starting to show its colors- hope it doesn't get bitten by the frost the way it did last year. It is a particularly girly combination with the pink azalea and the fluffy ruffliness of the white iris in the foreground. Be still my fluttering heart!

And just because I have a camera in hand and this blog belongs to me I will inflict yet another season of Bleeding Heart on you! I love the bleeding heart but I am muy impressio'd by my Ladies Mantle. I dug up a plant that was swallowing a low slung sculpture and must have flung its seeds hither and yon. Now I have little plantlets everywhere- much to my avaricious delight. Nothing like too many plants to move and hoard.
Another shot of my Jane Kaufmann orb surrounded by pulmonaria and hostas getting ready to spread their wings. Right now they look like Piroulle cookies standing on end. Soon I will have to move the orb as the hosta are space hogs.

And here is what left of my disaster of a rose arbor. The wind finally did it in. The boyfriend bought me a new cedar one- but I need to make some concrete anchors so the wind doesn't do the same thing to it..... may find it a bit northeast of me in Goshen if it isn't properly battened down.
Enjoy!