116th Boston Marathon. April 16, 2012

“DISTANCE: 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 Kilometers)

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s most prestigious road racing events. …The Boston Marathon has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race (via qualification).” http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information.aspx

Zoie runs the Boston Marathon

 

…and there she goes….. Zoie is proud to have been qualified and is off and running!  She has special fan wings made to help her with the heat today!  Those inventors in the Whimsical World of Botaniumus are very clever!

For those of you who may be new to our world/site Zoie is Queen of the Woodlands. Her long legs allow her to run like the wind. Her head plumes allow her to sense all. She ensures that there is a natural balance in the woodlands.

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New Beginnings, the seasons and the flowers.

It is warm again up here. Many spring flowers are glorious in their blooming, showing off all the colors and shapes they can. Each Season seems like a new beginning – a chance to reinvent a part of yourself. You may do it with Fashion and the Public Persona you wear. Maybe your “hobby” changed? Your sports? Your arts? Your attitude? Your life can be what you choose (not easy but true.) Each season, and each birthday, feels like a new chance.

Seasons of 2012:
SPRING EQUINOX March 20, 1:14 A.M. EDT
SUMMER SOLSTICE June 20, 7:09 P.M. EDT
FALL EQUINOX September 22, 10:49 A.M. EDT
WINTER SOLSTICE December 21, 6:12 A.M. EST

The obvious new beginnings are babies! We know that many new “wee ones” appear in the spring. Nature has naturally made it a good time for the young. The temps are better, food is more plentiful, and Moms and Dads come out of hibernation. The Botanical Beauties and Beasties are no exception. Meet our new baby! Speaking of family resemblance…. who do think her family is?

Bambina

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Family resemblance…continued

We are continuing our series today “Can you see the family resemblance?”  This series will will be collimated in a mini display/event at Whole Foods Market in Cranston R.I, at the end of April or the beginning of May (date still TBD.)  Let the good times bloom!

Beau and Bleeding Heart Flowers

Beau with his native sons. (ha ha)

You can’t really miss on this one, the resemblance is clear!

The Plant: Bleeding Hearts are a sign that Spring is in full swing. I love their beauty, color, and in my yard their robustness. It’s small delicate mounded foliage with soft arching stems of beautiful, heart-shaped flowers are an old fashioned type of wonderful. For it’s home: shade-lover, cool, moist conditions but well-drained soil. Beau house is along a nice cool shady wall.

The Beautie: Boubolicious: Boubolicious (Boubo, or Beau, for short) is a very wise and knowing creature. Many come to him to ask questions of life and love. He guides his friends through many tough times and thrives on the happy ones. He is Ambassador of Wisdom.  He is a wise, knowing and gentle soul!

Beaudacious

Beaudacious – another view.

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Art, Nature and Orchids

Orchid

Orchids make me happy...Yesterday I bought myself a gift. A new white Orchid. To preserve it I photographed it and "Arted" it.

Flowers make me happy. They are calming, beautiful, often exquisite  and an amazement to me in their individuality. Nature is indeed a pure art form. The Botanical Beauties (and Beasties) take their cue from flowers for the most part. Take a detail and expand. The message is every detail can matter, and every person matters. We all need to do our part – whatever that may be.

Can you see the family resemblance  of the Love Birds to the Orchids? We are going to start a series today, showing off the family resemblance’s. This event will be collimated in a mini display at Whole Foods (Cranston R.I) at the end of April or the beginning of May (date still TBD.)  So let the fun begin with today!

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Doodles, sketches, Pixels, iPads, Computers and a human.

What makes a drawing? What makes Art?  The ‘tools of the trade’ and changing as fast as the art world always has…..In doing some internet digging here are some interring words.

 ”Art Authority, one of the top apps for viewing artworks, has already upgraded its resolution to match that of the new iPad. The app claims that with retina display, seeing art on the iPad is “as good as in a museum.” That, of course, is questionable since no app can truly replace a museum experience, and in our quest for high definition, one often forgets that life itself is free of pixels. We do not need an iPad to see the world, let alone artworks. Nevertheless, the increased resolution can only serve to improve the quality of apps such as Art Authority.

With more and more app developers upgrading to the newer resolution, the digital world of the iPad will surely emerge as sharper, clearer, and more inviting. But let’s hope we won’t lose ourselves, along withour sense of sight, in its stunning display, and will remember to look up at the world, at real life, from time to time. Maybe give our retinas a glimpse of the horizon or better yet, a piece of art! “ -http://www.technologyinthearts.org/2012/03/ipad-retina-display-and-art-apps/#more-4425

That is all about the VIEWING… what about the CREATING?

There is Art made on paper and then one way or another put into a digital form to show up on-line… there is “live performance Art” – taped and put on-line to share with the world… there is art totally created with digital computer tools, their is sculptural art, and jewelry art and on it goes on and on, mind boggling….a never ending fuzzy and wonderfully drawn line (to be corny) drawn in the sands of art time. Who else has read Harold and his purple crayon?  This purple line goes on and on….just like art…

I find the iPad an incredible freeing and fantastic creative tool…It is part of my Digital Art. Below is a drawing that sums up what I feel about “digital art” right now, this day, this minuet and will probably change in five minuets.  A funny mix of styles, even the traditional is not traditional anymore. In this case the most traditional tool is Photography. (Today some folks still question whether photography is an art. For the record, I am clear that it is.) In this piece it’s the background image, a travel photo of a rocky coast.. Export it into SketchBook Pro (IiPad app) and Brushes (another iPad app) …recreate…. add a cartoon like sketch made on the iPad.  Enhanced by exporting it to Photoshop on my desktop…. then take it all back to the iPad and PSTouch (Photoshop for the iPad – it’s amazing!), add another photo, this time taken with the iPad camera of what was actually a table edge right in front of me (can you find it?) Back to “big brother Photoshop” on the desktop…. add a few more adjustments and lighting needs. Doing it on the desktop just because it is bigger and I have ever tool possible to me there. This is what I end up….. A mixed media, modern art work? Marty (the fish) looks TOTTALY out of place and yet there is also something fascinating about the juxtaposition. All these tools/devices/skills/modes of creativity are all mixed up together, not fighting each other, just hanging out toghter waiting for use. Is that what you feel about digital art? At the very least it is an intriguing process to pursue.

As it was stated above- “…one often forgets that life itself is free of pixels. We do not need an iPad to see the world, let alone artworks… remember to look up at the world, at real life, from time to time. Maybe give our retinas a glimpse of the horizon or better yet, a piece of art!”

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My New EarthBox!

Exciting news – Spring has sprung, I have a daffodil in my front yard and an EarthBox  (http://www.earthbox.com/) waiting on my back porch. Yahoo!

EarthBox Container Gardening System – Terracotta
G-R-O-W…Grow, Grow, Grow! That’s exactly what your plants will do in an EarthBox®! Poor soil conditions and small backyards are no match for the EarthBox®. Now it’s easy to garden anywhere–even on balconies, porches, and rooftops! Anyone can enjoy delicious homegrown veggies, fruits, and herbs grown in an EarthBox®. A sustainable product that uses less water and fertilizer, the EarthBox® will grow bigger and tastier plants faster than a conventional garden–with virtually no effort and zero guesswork! Great results, no matter what color your thumb is.

Now the big decision of what to grow? I am thinking tomatoes … well see. We will be posting as our EarthBox gets planted and grows. Thanks EarthBox folks!

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Painting Air (2012) at the RISD museum in Providence RI

(We were asked to remove the image of the installation and with Gordy – so we did….)

Yesterday we got to go to the RISD museum for work and play. ”Internationally acclaimed artist Spencer Finch “tests the limits of visual perception” (New York Times) and is known for his investigations of light and color. Combining science with poetic observation, he brings new awareness to the natural and built worlds in which we live.

In this major two-part show, Finch creates an expansive, site-specific new installation—also titled Painting Air (2012)—that recalls his recent visit to Monet’s water garden in Giverny, France. More than 100 panels of suspended glass become a lens to view a color-filled, 150-linear-foot mural; light shifts across the highly-reflective surfaces of the gently swaying panels, evoking the movement of Monet’s pond and transforming viewers’ perspectives from one moment to the next.”  Read the whole story:  http://www.risdmuseum.org/exhibition.aspx?type=current&id=2147490949

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Birdelini and World Water Week

Birdelini and The Great Wave
Birdelini and The Great Wave © Botanical Beauties and Beasties

Yesterday was World Water Day…..Birdelini is showing her support!

“Water pollution is a main cause of reduced water availability and can have serious impacts on the environment and on human health. Pollution stems for inappropriate industrial and agricultural practices as well as from urban waste production. In agriculture, overuse of chemical fertilizers and of pesticides leads to contamination of water bodies (rivers, lakes, underground aquifers). Intensive livestock production can also impact the quality of water resources if measures are not taken. New, more integrated approaches to food production can substantially improve the situation and limit pollution.

 

Protection also means conservation. A good soil, well maintained, can capture much of the rainwater, and avoid surface runoff which causes erosion and the loss of soil nutrients. Conservation agriculture is a farming practice that makes best use of available water, increases the resistance of plants to droughts and at the same time contributes to improving both the quantity and quality of groundwater and rivers.

Management of watersheds and the protection of water sources are also important. Forests can play an important role in protecting water resources.”

http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/faqs.html

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World Water Day!

Every Drop matters!

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. -http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/about.html

Please FB, Tweet, Donate, Pin it, some how pass this message  along!

Moe - World Water Day

World Water Day - please do you part today and everyday.

 

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Shoes……By Bella Birdelini

Birdelinin says;  ”As do many woman, I rather like shoes! I like to wear them as fashion statements, I like to look at them, I like to design them.  So today I am sharing some of my recent shoe Designs. Hope you like them! To see each one larger click on the sketch.

Yellow BootA summer sandalFun Flats

As expected, Bella Birdelini (my Label)  shoes are created from imagination and renewable resource fabrics or materials. I am having a favoloso time sketching, expect to see more sketches, shoes, and many other things!” sneaker

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