Sweet Spots

It’s that time of year. A subconscious desire begins to bubble. I feel restless. I want to spend more time outdoors. The combines have begun to harvest the late corn. I want to walk in the woods. There’s a crispness in the air . . .

The annual hunt for the perfectly turned red maple leaf has begun!

Having spent all of my life in the northeastern part of the continent, I have learned to love all of the seasons; yes, even winter! But autumn, autumn is a season that makes me restless. Spring is full of anticipation. Summer is a time for adventures, and winter is for hibernating. But autumn!

Everywhere you turn, fall colours explode, creating a gigantic game of hide-and-seek. Patience is required in this hunt. Knowing where the best trees are is important, but so is timing and serendipity. Just when you think you’ve found the perfect leaf, and entered it into the leaf-pressing book, you find another that might possibly be its’ superior. A drive in the country might be required, but you’re just as likely to find this year’s beauty lying in the gutter.

On the hunt for beauty. read more…

Last week we listened to music without words that told a story. In particular, we learned about a piece of music written to tell the story of climate change exclusively through climate data assigned to particular notes. Today I have a link to a graphic designer who tells the story of music on the album covers and liner notes of contemporary music CDs.

Denise Burt didn’t know anything about contemporary classical music when she started designing album covers. But, she was a good listener, and this skill helped her translate aural images into visual ones. The music itself spoke of metaphors and possibilities and pictures that she was able to decipher and transform into language that reflected the music and drew people into these possibilities as well. read more…