A Milestone – My Blog Post Number 200

When I introduced my blog in 2011, I hoped to publish 50 posts before I ran out of ideas. What has carried me far past that goal is the development of a sketch book: crammed today with new ideas, topics, websites, scraps of poetry, and nature photos galore. It has helped me reach post 200 which features the art of photo/poetry.

The Japanese art form of Haiga, is one in which a short poem is accompanied by an image. The art lies in the relationship between the two. The image is not an illustration of the poem, nor is the poem a caption for the image. Each should stand alone, yet in juxtaposition the two must resonate to create a deeper and more complex meaning.

Traditionally haiga included two parts: an ink brush image (sumi-e), and a haiku, hand-lettered on the same paper. Today the development of digital imagery and the internet have allowed haiga to expand into new realms. Drawings or paintings are now scanned and presented with little or no adjustment, or they are manipulated in Photoshop and other software until the original is nearly unrecognizable. Photographs are often used as a starting point, or a purely digital image is created from scratch. The poem can be hand-lettered, scanned and pasted on the image, or applied directly over the image using the software’s font capability.

Below is a gallery of  my new and old selected haiga images. You may even decide to play with photo/poetry yourself, and I’d enjoy receiving samples of your work. Send your images to:  km3highnote@bigpond.com 

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So Bloomingly Beautiful

The hills are alive with the sight of blossoms. Our early summer presented us with an abundance of flowering trees, dressed in clusters of gorgeous colour. Is this the result of all those recent summer storms that gave everything a good drenching? I suspect it is.

First to blossom are the Jacarandas, Jacaranda mimosifolia. These stately trees produce exquisite clusters of lavender blooms. Each individual bell shaped floret combines into groups of similar flowers that smother the branches. Delicate fern-like green leaves surround the blossoms. Not only do these stately trees create a superb display when they are mass planted, but Jacarandas also look stunning on their own.

We mistakenly think that Jacarandas are natives, as they adapt and grow profusely in all tropical and warm temperate zones. Originally found only in Brazil, these trees are deciduous. They briefly drop their leaves at the end of the dry winter season, then bloom and leaf up again when the warm spring rains return.

As the Jacaranda flowers fade and fall the Tabebuia trees burst into bloom. They decorate themselves in clusters of frilly, bell shaped flowerets—similar to the Jacaranda blossoms. Their colour and profusion creates a jaw-dropping spectacle, through the rich pink of the Tabebuia rosea, to the vibrant yellow gold of the Tabebuia aurea. These beauties are a genus of flowering plants in the family, Bignoniacae.

Tabebuia trees are native to tropical Central and South America and they flourish from Mexico and Cuba to Argentina. In summer their flowers burst into dazzing pink or yellow, with small green leaves following the blooms later. Everyone loves them.

Now that a new year is upon us, all these trees have left their glorious colour behind. When they do bloom again we must savour their beauty, as each flowering season is so brief. Jacarandas and Tabebuias are marvellously photogenic, and once their blossom time is over, it is a long wait for the next breathtaking display.

 

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The Westridge Outlook

A small rural village in Queensland’s Samford Valley marks the site of our home. Here on Australia’s east coast, surrounded by two state forests and four rugged mountains, we enjoy exploring ways to engage with the beauty of our natural surroundings.

One favourite destination is a large mountain, Mount Glorious.  It rises to a height of 600 metres above sea level. In the oppressive heat of our high summer we often head to its crest and cooler temperature, where we spend a comfortable day.  Driving through the mountain’s splendid scenery we are always amazed at its abundance of native rain forest cover—mighty trees, tall palms, and numerous ferns. Flocks of tropical birds, white cockatoos, and brilliant parrots often fill the skies.

On a recent visit, a sign post entitled, The Westridge Outlook, caught our eye. Exiting onto a dirt road we followed this to a car park. Here a wide board walk, enclosed by a fence of metal railings stretched ahead. This walkway was built to encircle an immense rocky outcrop.

Strolling along we admired a mixed forest of grey gums, spotted gums and tall tallowwoods.  Long ago these original timber forests were harvested by timber cutters using only axes and cross-cut saws. The fallen trees were loaded onto wooden carts and pulled by a team of oxen to the nearest sawmill. Thankfully this deforestation was discontinued, and today its remains are protected as a reserve for public enjoyment.

Reaching the half-way mark, the boardwalk expanded into a large viewing area, to expose an open outlook. The rims of distant mountain ranges, shrouded in a blue haze, framed the horizon. We stood in awe at the view of Lake Wivenhoe, our main dam and water catchment area. The upper reaches of the Brisbane River snaked through the landscape, as the D’Aguilar State Forest spread its abundant natural beauty beneath us. It was a breathtaking sight.

   We finished our walk around the ancient rocky escarpment, to end at the point of our beginning. Hopefully other visitors will also discover this hidden treasure, and the magnificent views on offer at the Westridge Outlook.

 

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A Sign of the Season

As our cold and windy winter settles in again, right on cue the Hawaiian Snow Bush bursts into its garment of white. In gardens everywhere this delicate shrub or small tree, the Brenia nivosa, provides us with the closest visual suggestion of snow that we could experience. Native to the Pacific Ocean Islands, its papery-thin leaves produce leaf tips of the purest white, giving the impression that the bush has been dusted with drifts of soft snow. As we follow the leaf tips down toward the trunk, its leaves beneath are a rich, dark green.

One may be tempted to think that the Snow Bush is covered with white blossoms, but hiding under the lower foliage nestle its tiny green flowers. Another variety of snow bush, the Rosea Picta, adds pink to the white and green foliage, leading one to a false impression of a flowering shrub. As winter progresses, the white or pinkish-white leaf tips slowly turn green. And as the Hawaiian Snow Bush loves water, if kept moist it rewards us with its beautiful disguise of winter’s snow.

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Photo/Prose Reflections

   “The beauty of that day was almost staggering. After the wet spring, everything that could turn green had outdone itself in greenness and everything that could even dream of blooming or blossoming was in bloom and blossom. The sunlight was a benediction. The breezes were so caressingly soft and intimate on the skin as to be embarrassing.”

Dan Simmonds, Drood

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A Passion for Paper

Recently a gift came my way – a journal filled with blank sheets of beautifully handcrafted Nepalese paper. These writing sheets—translucent and pale brown—were made from the bark of the Daphne shrub. Writing with ink on this paper is a joy as my pen glides over its surface and the ink never blurs or runs. Through this little journal, the process of handwriting on special paper was rekindled again.

My interest in sourcing handmade paper began to grow wings when I participated in a workshop that taught me how to convert plant pulp into paper. I provided plant materials—fibres, stems, and heavy leaves—that I cut up and soaked in water. Caustic soda, one tablespoon to each litre of water was added, and this mixture cooked for two hours until the material became soft and slippery. (We used an old copper boiler, as aluminium must never come into contact with caustic soda). After discarding any large plant waste, I dipped a frame (screened across the underside) into the slurry, drained it and transferred the sheets of wet paper onto a surface to dry.

Above from left to right are sheets of paper I produced from the following:

1. Blue tinted recycled paper with finely chopped onion skins
2. Recycled paper pulp and cooked straw
3. Straw, onion skins, and plant stems
4. Bannana trash

Each paper has its own distinctive colour and thickness, perfect for: journal covers,  gift cards or tags, book marks, stationary etc. Handmade paper can be cut as there is no grain. When it is torn, a raggedy edge is produced giving it an attractive homespun look.

Paper has a long history. Papyrus came first in Egypt around 2400 BC, and was made from sliced sections of the flower stem of the reedy papyrus plant. (See a papyrus stem and flower photo above) A Chinese courtier, Ts’ai Lun, was the first recorded inventor of paper. In 105 AD, he presented his paper making process to the Chinese Emperor, as was noted in official court records. The spread of paper from China to the Middle East, then to Europe in the 13th century has allowed for a massive exchange of information to take place, contributing to significant cultural shifts world-wide.

As our age becomes totally digitized, it is a joy to slow down and return to the simple pleasure of putting pen to paper. In some circles, the art of writing letters on fine stationary is also experiencing a resurgence. While the computer remains at the centre of my writing life, my Nepalese journal has become the repository for my short poetry: haiku, tanka and haibun. On its pages I delight in handwriting again, with pen on fine paper for my own enjoyment.

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