Life in the Big City

Three postcards I recently sent:

A dear friend of mine when I was growing, sort of a second father to me, told me never to move to a big city.

"There's no lonelier place than in a crowd," he said to me.

This was a man who took vacation in the early spring and spent it at his cabin in the woods, hoping to hear the ice crack as it broke and melted on the lake. Have you heard that sound?

I still hear the sound in my ears, if I imagine myself in the places were I heard it, an eery sound that surrounds the area around the lake and echos beyond.

Sometimes when the cold crowd gets to me, when the city drowns me, I think of the ice cracking across the lake and an old man writing down the date in his weather log. "The ice went out early this year," he would write as a note to himself to read next year.

Postcards

As fond as I am of flowers and botanical drawings, I'm not real big on photographs of flowers. And, the calla lily is probably my least favorite flower. But this photo of a cally lily by Maplethorpe, now this I like. A lot. The curve of the petals, the embracing shape, the thing sticking up... it's all captured so well in this photograph and it was easy for me to buy this postcard when I saw it in a stationary store the other day. I sent it to Spain.

I bought this photograph of calla lilies by Man Ray at the same place I got the Maplethorpe postcard. I sent it to Russia. The recipient says she likes surreal art. Hope she finds this dreamy.

Postcard

Have I mentioned my love for illuminated manuscripts? Oh, I love illuminated manuscripts. Imagine how wonderful it would be to own books illustrated so lavishly.

A couple of years ago my kids were studying the Middle Ages and we visited the collection of medieval art at various museums in the city. One small museum had an exhibit by a modern-day artist who works using the same techniques as a medieval illuminator. I asked if I could bring a group of kids to see the work, and the artist offered to host a workshop for the group. The kids learned how to make their own pigment from natural items and they practiced using a straw to blow small pieces of gold to their illuminated page. It was one of those magical and fun days that last and last because it lingers in memory.

I'm mailing this postcard to a woman in Germany who likes castles.

Postcard

I have mixed feelings about art museums. On one hand, it's thrilling to be surrounded by the works of masters. On the other hand, I think art should be mixed up into our daily lives and something we surround ourselves with all the time. And, art is what we should create ourselves. We're all artists, not just the super-talented masters.

The American Folk Art Museum is one of my favorite museums to visit. I don't see many other visitors there, and perhaps that's because the MoMA is down the block. It's hard to compete with Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, and, Monet. When I visit the MoMA, I feel like a star-struck fan spotting a celebrity, but I don't feel inspired. When I visit the Folk Art museum, I can't wait to get out of there and make something myself.

This postcard from the Folk Art Museum of an American flag on a fence gate is on it's way to Estonia.

Postcard

My Grandma T had a flower garden behind her tiny house. Everytime we visited her, once a week I suppose, she took us on a tour of the garden in the postage-stamp size yard. Every bloom was a treasure to be admired, every change in the garden was a miracle.

Living in a tiny apartment in New York City, I don't have a backyard for a garden. I have to travel by foot, bus, or subway to spend time outdoors surrounded by flowers. But I make the trek, and I thank my grandma for giving me the habit of noticing what is happening around me, no matter how tiny and small. The habit has been a gift from her that lasts my lifetime.

I mailed this card today to someone in Texas who likes flower postcards.

Postcard

Several years ago I went to see The Quilts of Gee's Bend exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art. When I walked into the first gallery and saw huge expanses of denim, mattress ticking, and remnants of cordoroy stitches roughly into quilts, I didn't know what to think.

As I walked through the galleries, I noticed more colors and some famliar patterns. Still, these weren't the quilts I expected to see. Yet, after spending time with them, I fell in love with them.

I could quickily see they were quilts made for warmth out of necessity. It took me awhile to see they were works of art made out of a creative spirit I craved.

I'm sending this postcard to Malaysia this week.

Postcards

A few postcards I mailed this weekend.

I have a thing for illuminated manuscripts. I just love them.

I'm tempted to jump into this bed of plants, they look so wonderful. It would probably hurt to do that since some of these are cacti. And besides, that would be an insane thing to do. But I am crazy about these plants in the greenhouse at Wave Hill. I have had plans for ages to sketch in the greenhouse, but something else in the park distracts me every visit (usually the cute cafe seating that overlooks the Hudson).

This postcard was sent at the request of a collector of 9/11 commemerative postcards. This imagine isn't of 9/11, of course, but you can see the towers in the background. The scene is from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The one time I visited the park, I went to see migrating birds on a spring day. The weather was horrible, however, and all I saw was the inside of my umbrella flipped inside out from the strong winds.

Library

I took this photo at a local library, and the scene reminds me of the library I used when growing up. The wooden chairs on the wooden floor in the old brick house that served as my hometown library were cozy to me. The library eventually moved to a new building, and I moved to New York City.

This is the reading room of the New York Public Library where I get to spend my time as a grown up. Isn't it wonderful? I'm sending this postcard to a person in Germany who requested a library postcard.

Postcard Sent

I sent this postcard to a Postcrossing person in Germany. She likes pictures of the ocean, but I don't have a beach or ocean postcard in my stash.

Instead, I picked out this drawing of the Boat Pond in Central Park. The Boat Pond is where people sail their model boats. It's a lovely place in the park, though it doesn't quite look like this drawing. Still, I really like the drawing.

I hope the recipient likes her card.

Postcard Sent

I joined Postcrossing today and this is the first postcard I'm sending. It's a picture of my backyard or what often serves as my backyard. I spend a lot of time in Central Park - I was there today as a matter of fact! This postcard is going all the way to Poland. I wonder how long that will take?