Honoring the Mighty Redwoods and the Mighty Pacific…
Happy/L.A. Hyder
With all that has been going on this year, I was most affected by the fires here in Northern California. Although not in direct danger myself, I was astounded at the red skies that first night. The next few days, as the sun shone like a red ball in a sky dense with ash, the temperature dropped rapidly. It reminded me of hearing on a radio program a few years earlier the fact that it would simply take six months without a sun to have this planet undergo another ice age.
A solace for me is walking in a woods near my home, second growth redwoods towering above my head, mushrooms at my feet at wetter times of the year, quiet though the few acres I walk in are surrounded by houses.
I loved coming upon this redwood with its lower limb reaching for sunlight and the resulting image. Knowing I would feature 'Morning Walk' in the window, the fires sparked my imagination (pun intended) to also bring part of 'my' woods to the window.
Though I generally like a 'cleaner' window, it was fun to imagine and to produce. I kept thinking about past Edgewater member and friend Barbara Bonardi's sand and sea glass windows supporting her glass jewelry and paintings. I liked to tease her about all that stuff and here I was taking a page from her book.
Since walking the cliffs along the Pacific Ocean has brought me so much space to think and dream in, I decided to bring the ocean to the window, too. I have been photographing the exquisite sensuousness of the kelp for a few years, not as easy as it would seem. This image is titled 'May' for the month I photographed it. The silk material in front of the framed image has one of my kelp images from 2017 printed on it. The small prints are abstracts of the play of the ocean showing its many layers and colors seen from the height of the headlands.
Wishing wellness to all and a moment to reflect on what is important in our lives, beginning with human connection. May we learn compassion for all living things and beings. I am ever grateful for my walks and for the ability to share my vision.