Happy New Year's Day! I'm looking forward to this new year. Tho, to be fair, I always look forward to new years, tho this past one has not been the best I'll admit. Yet, I have always had a fondness for New Year day, it has the 'clean slate' 'blank sheet of paper' quality to it that I love. I can write an entire new Life down on it. And so it began, as usual for me, on our lovely New England shoreline.
Today we're sharing a simple moment here on the Cape Code Seashore by discovering some lovely puffball mushrooms. They shall lend inspiration to my art and design. Part of my goal this year is to spend even more time in the studio creating pattern and design inspired by our bucolic surroundings and today is a great start to that.
These interesting almost alien looking things, which I think are rather like a dark exotic flower, are in fact a form of puffball.
Called the False Earthstar they are similar to the Earthstar fungi found in the UK, tho are not of the same genus.
Astraeus hygrometricus it's latin name, refers to it's being Hyrgroscopic which means it reacts to mositure in the air and thus living on the seaside. It grows in conjunction with the various scrub pine that dot our shoreline and it's outer 'petals' can open and close depending on the humidity. As it is damp here, sea side, especially on this grey foggy Winter's day in my VIDEO they were open and curled back, like exotic alien flowers.
You can see when they are mingled with my other treasures of pine cone, shells, and various lichens they inspire one to make art. And in this case I'm going to be doing some sketching for pattens and design. The colors , hue , and texture will certainly inform that design. It will end up on things as well as background for other artwork, probably containing animals and various ginger-haired ladies, as is my wont.
Their color and texture can't help but inspire, dont' you think? And when coming home from my daily rambles, empty the pockets of my old Barbour always leads to inspiration in some form, as well as surprise, as I am likely to have all sorts in there, from seed pods collected for hopeful garden plants, to an old nail or a bit of sand. The joy of the day's walk's bountiful harvest.
One of the more common trees I'm likely to encounter on my rambles is the lovely Holly. Of course the Holly is Dioecious, which means there are both male and female plants. It is the female who bears the gorgeous red fruit and doesn't this lovely lady stand pround in her field by the sea?
Another inspirational find on this rambel is the lovely Choke Berry which grows proudly in the salty sands of our shoreline. The Black Chokeberry (not to be confused with the chokeCherry) is an edible fruit that grows in shrubs in our coastal New England Climate.
Aronia Melonocarpa is a good juice berry and is often used this way, though they are rather tart so sugar usually needs to be added. I've heard of some wines being made by them and it's interesting to see how lovely and red their branches can be. They make a beautiful addition to Autumn and Winter arrangements and often find thier way in my own creations as well as good fodder for wreaths.
The berries leaves and stems, no doubt, will find their way into a design of mine I'm sure this year of "patterns" I've set before me.
A hopeful year of 'patterns inspired by nature' and my goal to share with all of you my little "post card and journal pages" in video and now written form. I am excited for the new adventure and hope all of you shall like to come along; Until next time, remember to stay creative. And as I'm determined to share my vlogs on #3speak as well, it really will be a nice combination I feel.