Jewel Box

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2010-04-23T16:15:00.001-07:00

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A Different Kind of Mushroom

2010-04-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

Do you know what these are? They're a common mushroom (more specifically I think thought of as a "shelf fungus") found in lots of places all over the world and in the States we call them turkey tails (trametes versicolor)..Curiosly, they're a major component in many herbal anti cancer formulas....I am fascinated by how they grow in concentric rings. Plus, they have a super velvety texture when they're fresh.

And their colors are more nuances of earth tones than you knew about.

I found a whole bunch out in the filbert orchard behind my house. It's pruning time and there were lots of downed logs with loads of turkey tails growing on them.

I brought some home and thought about displaying them all science like....maybe pinned onto some black paper with names and arrows written in white ink.

But then I decided........to make one big hybrid rosette out of them.

And enjoy it on my front porch for a while.
Turkey tails mesmerize me.

Longing for Mexico

2010-04-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

It's raining and I miss Mexico - it's noise, it's color, it's civility, it's age.

Some pages from when I first started my travel journal: Yucatan November 08. I don't journal much but traveling seems to bring it out in me.

Here's one of my favorite pages from my Chiapas trip.

It says, " the river of life"....I had just come back from witnessing a beautiful Easter procession in the town of Zinacantan......And I had been interested in exploring the egg shape..a young Mayan girl (who was selling trinkets with her brother) made the drawing on the bottom of the page and gave it to me when she was done.

Oaxaca anyone?

April Showers Bring May Flower

2010-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Lilacs are blooming.

Need I say more?

Beautiful Bumblebee Tattoo Spyed at Passionflower

2010-04-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

How fun is this?

I think the larger than life size scale of the bee is just right. And those are orchid flowers on the side. She's going to have it colored in but I like it in this stage too....

Apple Blossoms in the Willamette Valley

2010-04-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

The palest of pinks.......apple blossom....it's a member of the rose family......five petals.......

These delicate blooms are from some gnarly old trees in the side of my yard.......and if the apple is blossoming the lilac cannot be far behind.

More Tillandsia Love

2010-04-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a tillandsia getting ready to flower. I attached it to a piece of rustic bark.....

Kind of grounds it don't you think? Gives it something to spring forth from.

Experimenting with Tillandsias

2010-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I took some tillandsias home because I wanted to get to know them a little better. Tillandsias are in botanical world what is know as epiphytes or air plants because, while some have roots, they do not need to be rooted in the ground. How cool is that? They can live in the air!!!!!!!

This actually is an ingenious strategy for how to live higher up in the tropical forest canopy where there is more sun and less competition. I think if one considered the forest like a city their strategy might be called infill. And they're not just exactly free floating away in the atmosphere, they generally tend to attach themselves to trees and branches.....If you've ever been to Hawaii, Mexico or other tropical places you've probably seen them in the wild. Anyway I digress....I took this one home.
And then it had little babies!!!!!!!!! This little guy literally dropped from the plant.

And then there were two.

They're so tiny....but I don't see any reason why they won't continue to grow.
I'm just going to dunk them in water once or twice a week like I do the other tillandsias.

And then I have an idea about maybe attaching them to rocks (instead of branches) -
sort of like a plant/ mineral hybrid.

I'm still playing around with that idea.

Changing the Mantel......

2010-04-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Remember my stark winter mantel tableau from January? See it below.

Well the times they are a changin'......I have been playing around with tillandsia (more on these amazing NON TERRESTIAL plants in another post) a lot lately and so scattered some throughout the mantel.

Here's one on a pile of driftwood and assorted coral and shell pieces. I like how otherwordly it looks.

More tillandsias and I added a baby photo of moi....which qualifies as vintage....

Of course wanted some kind of flower on the mantle so am using the pretty little white phaleneopsis orchid. It is the orchid world equivalent of the little girl photo.

So I didn't really start over. I just added.

Interior Shots

2010-04-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Close ups from my house on a very grey Sunday morning.

Retail Therapy at Terrain

2010-04-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for blogging I never would have discovered one of the most inspiring stores I've been to in a while. Sara at Saipua (which by the way is my go to blog for great flower shots) wrote about a store called Terrain in Pennsylvania. Hmmmm, I was in Pennsylvania and I think a trip such as this is just what GPS systems were made for. I had high hopes as the store came well recommended. I was not disappointed.

Words and photos cannot do the experience justice.

It was whimsical.

It had high drama.

And quiet beauty.

It was part garden center/hothouse -

part kitchen store - part apothecary.

Kind of like Etsy met Smith & Hawken on steroids.

There was total attention to detail, a strong point of view, and some really great buying going on.

A little googling and I discovered Terrain is the love child of the Anthropolgie/Urban Outfitters visionaries. Of course it is. Click here if you want to go to Terrain's site but don't be disappointed because (like so many stores), the site is just a faint shadow of the store itself.
Nonetheless, I almost never encounter a store I really love and this was it.

Thank you Terrain for giving me something special.

Easter Brunch a la Passionflower

2010-03-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

I don't usually go in for the blog as advertising vehicle....I think of it as more of a way to share with you what gets my juices flowing....and I don't usually go for photos I didn't take...But this image that just arrived from our beautiful glassware and tabletop vendor Juliska was just way too beautiful to pass up......

It's nothing too fancy....some madelines, a tart and lemonade but it makes me want to put on the biggest, baddest Easter Brunch ever.....alas this year I'm having dinner - leg of lamb, mint jelly, leeks in cream, wild chickweed & arugula salad and I'm not sure what else.

Any suggestions?

Handpainted Easter Eggs at Passionflower

2010-03-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Years ago, when I lived in Portland, I would go to Powell's Books and buy the most beautifully colored Ukranian dyes and writing tools.....Many people don't know this but Mr. Powell (who was a really great guy) was Ukranian and he had a little locked cabinet full of dyes and styluses and wax which he would ceremoniously unlock for you. Then I'd have a big party with friends and their children. We'd make a mess and make some beautiful eggs while we were at it........There was something special about the vivid colored dyes and the way the styluses could be used to "write" on the eggs with wax. We'd write our names and draw maps of the world and scribble bits of poetry on them. Sometimes we'd hang crystals and ribbons from them. It was great fun. Click here to find out more about Ukranian Easter Egg dyeing tools.

These eggs remind me a little of those times.....They're handpainted in Austria and we have them in several patterns.

Dried Wreaths at Passionflower

2010-03-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

I always love a wreath in the spring time.....to me it symbolizes the circle of life. Here's one a little bigger than the outspread span of my hand....it has eggs, and feathers, and twigs and moss and a touch of blue hydrangea - oh yeah and a little pussywillow.....

Because pussywillow is the harbinger of spring.

Porcelain Happiness at Passionflower

2010-03-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've been so excited about our upcoming artist's shows that I had my amazing talented graphic designer Cathy Simard play around with making us a few postcards to commemorate the event.

Here's the one she did for Katie......and the one for the Susan Goodwin trunk show is equally as amazing......

That squiggly line of script at the bottom is an e.e. cummings poem.....

Swinging Bunnies & Other Great Easter Gifts

2010-03-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

We've been so happy with how things went with the Artists with Autism show that happened in our upstair space last year and then was followed by Barb Campbell's trunk show.....that led to the Objects of Desire Show & so now it's official - We will be using our upstair "attic" space to promote the works of a number of local artists whose work we think fits in with our "look"....And I'd describe that look as whimsical, soulful, and nature centered. Sometimes these shows will be short lived trunk shows and other times, exhibits that might last weeks and sometimes there might be some front window display involved too......This seems like such a win/win to us. Local artists get a rent free venue to sell their work and we get a window or upstairs space that is really beautiful and curated with love and attention. Plus the customer gets a chance to see some really special work.

In April we will be featuring the ceramic work of porcelain artist Katie Swenson...Her hanging bunnies pictured above have been hits at Passionflower for years..... Here's a sneek peak of our front window curated by Katie....or as we like to think of it, this slightly crazed (in a good way) fairy showed up last Friday night and made our front window beautiful.....or perhaps it was someone channeling Beatrix Potter........

These are amazing.....they are jars and the bird on the nest is the lid!!!

Katie has really outdone herself......the window is full of flying bunnies and baskets and birds and everywhere you look there is more and more to see - bowls with poems written on the inside and tea sets and mad hatters. We hope you get a chance to come by and find something special. These are all one of a kind pieces. No mass market here.

And just to give you an idea of scale, here's a photo Lindsey took of the itsy bitsy bunny.

So if a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush......what exactly is the value of a bunny in the palm ?

Katie Swenson Comes to Passionflower

2010-03-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know these charming porcelain pieces as a Passionflower staple.....I've always loved these rabbits because sometimes I look at them and they're barely hanging on trying to keep it all together. Other times, they look like they're free spirited and frolicking. To me they're a metaphor for moving through life.....There is something just right about them. I've given them as baby gifts and get well gifts too ......

How lucky for us that their maker Katie Swenson agreed to be our First Friday Artist coming up on April 2nd.........

Lots of beautiful porcelain pieces and she's guest curating the front window.........stay tuned for more posts on Katie & her work.......and click here to go to her website.

Words to Live By

2010-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

I think it's important what we have by our doors as we come and go from our homes everyday.

When I lived with a teenager there was a mirror at the entrance. This considerably slowed down exit times. Now I have this great hanging I got at Pewter Rabbit Antiques. Shelley thinks it's from an old Masonic Lodge and they probably had a whole lot of them along the walls each with a different virtue.

Courage works for me.

Tulips at Passionflower Design

2010-03-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Did I say I was going to do a blog post everyday? What I meant was, I'm going to do a blog post every day that the weather isn't beautiful and when my apple trees aren't crying out for a little pruning. Which has left things a little thin on the blog......So, despite our amazing weather right now, I'm tearing myself away from my evening prune and leaving you with these fun and simple tulip arrangements that we did last spring.

Enjoy!

Rooting Begonias & Other Natural Wonders

2010-03-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

I could easily become obsessed and imagine myself with a houseful of vases and jars of various shapes and sizes and colors filled with all manner of vegetation; avocado pits and jasmine vines, willow whips and tropical greenery but instead I'll just channel my obsession into this one little begonia cutting pictured above.

Spring Cleaning Anyone?

2010-03-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday

Art & Nature Co-Existing

2010-03-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try to do a post a day - sort of like a little blog sketch book.

Shots from my house - late March last year. The magnolia and cherry blossom
in the lower right date the picture.

La Primavera Returns

2010-03-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Spring is in the air.

I sense a bounty of possibilities.

Ranunculus anyone?

Consider the transformative power of a single bloom.

I love my Screen Saver

2010-03-09T08:22:00.001-08:00

You know you're procrastinating when you're searching the web looking for screen saver images .....How delighted was I to find this one......It's from David Gray at Reuters news and it's a traditonal Chinese dancer during the Festival of the Lanterns which celebrates the ending of the two week Chinese New Year Festivities .....

I have learned the hard way that it's useful to have a solid color background on your screen savers - that is of course if you ever want to find an icon.

How delighted I was that the blue of the headress matches almost perfectly the blue of the toolbar.

I look at this image and it makes me want to write great things....I found it on
the

free people blog. Stay tuned for more screen savers. And send us your favorites.

Finding Inspiration in the Little Things

2010-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

We always talk about taking a staff retreat and going out to the coast or the woods and making a site specific, found object, artwork - sounds fun. A couple of weeks ago I thought we could make a long, meandering line composed of flower petals - the line would meander parallel to the coast and we'd lay it down during a low tide. Then we could witness the tide coming in and carrying the petals away.

Here is my little still life homage to that idea.

Leftovers from a day's work in floral.