[-inspiration, photography-]

metAphorism is a PCQ coined-word that means a simple, everyday thing, concept or event that points us in the direction of a deeper lesson. metaphor - figure of speech giving an implicit comparison: this is that. aphorism - concise statement of a truth or opinion.

The metAphorism:
The Artichoke Plant
The Lesson:
Things Take Time

by guest metaphorical thinker and photographer, auer

© 2007 auer all rights reserved

If you eat artichokes you know that the middle part, full of thistles has to be pulled and trashed so you can get to the heart of the matter. But left to nature, this prickly trash becomes a lovely flower with soft filaments that blow gently in the breeze.

Sometimes all it takes is time and nature to turn a problem into a thing of beauty.

© 2007 auer all rights reserved

This lovely reminder was sent in by one of our readers after seeing the new PCQ. If you feel similarly inspired by anything that you’ve read here, take a chance on submitting your own MetAphorism or anything else that might be of interest to other creative people out there.

Thanks auer, for taking the time to send this in and for the timely message!

[-music, art, inspiration-]

Get your brushes, paints, colored pencils and gel pens ready. When you get finished reading this article you’ll be wanting them immediately!

by guest contributor, Debbie Jensen

“Today, I find myself interested in graphic arts and multimedia; albeit with music written upon my heart and soul.”

As a very young child, I began a long journey of piano playing which has followed me all the way through my adulthood. From childhood lessons to adult lessons, and after decades of musical education which included reading notes, chords, scales, music theory, and composition, you would think I’d feel like I had achieved my musical goals. To the contrary, I still have so much more to learn! However, once any pianist reaches an expert level, it is difficult (and expensive) to find the musical instruction required to keep going. From this experience, coupled with other twist of events, I have drifted away from playing music. Today, I find myself interested in graphic arts and multimedia; albeit with music written upon my heart and soul.

Music has been one of the strongest influences to my artistic expressions and has helped me understand how to express beauty, rhythm, and movement. From my photography background (from which I photographed thousands of images), I learned the seven wonders of photography, the importance of framing and composition, and how to create emphasis. So you might wonder, how could music influence artistic expressions of a different medium?

When I used to play the piano, sometimes I would reach to fasten my seat belt, but of course, it was not there. This often happened right before I started to play, and perhaps this occurred because I felt as if I was about to travel through space. From my mind’s eye, and at the point I was lost in my music, I could easily envision colorful, geometric forms. The forms were beautiful. Other times, I would see imaginary birds flying, and possibly those birds are manifesting themselves through my graphic designs today. My sketch books are filled with endless imaginary birds; and I often wonder, where is this imagery coming from? There seems to be no end to it.

In music, the rhythm can slow down and speed up, pause or sustain a tone, leap, or even freeze for an instant; but if the rhythm breaks–sadly, the moment is lost. Is art any different? Isn’t this concept similar to what we know as a design principle? Each piece of artwork whether it be 2-D or 3-D needs to pull together as a unit and needs to have the same feeling of completeness in the same way as expected in a song; that is, at least to the point of solving all the design problems related to it.

Next time you find yourself stuck, creatively speaking, turn on music which harmonizes with the piece you are working on. Amazingly, in the way songs are written and in the way words are expressed within them, pianists vary the way they choose to strike the keys. So, why wouldn’t music influence how the artist’s brush strikes the canvas? To experience what I’m trying to convey, close your eyes and draw with your imaginary pen or brush and strike the air as the music influences you; and let the music influence how you make your abstract design. If brush strokes and lines are artists’ signatures, then why not let your signatures be influenced by audio multimedia?

© copyright 2005 - 2007
Debbie Jensen “Black and White Piano Keys Composition”

[-gardening article-]

Planting a garden is work full of hope and joyful expectation. If it’s time to plant seedlings where you are, this article will inspire you and help you to enjoy the fruits of your labours.

by guest contributor, Sherry D. Ramsey

As gardeners, we all share some of the joys that growing things can bring: the thrill when that speck of green pokes up, signaling an awakened seed; that heady raw earth smell when the soil is turned for the first time in spring; the burgeoning splashes of color as the garden fulfills its springtime promise. Walking the garden, reveling in our successes, and fetching a breath of that intoxicating scent of flower and earth and sun make all our hard work worthwhile.

But there are other, out-of-the-ordinary ways to enjoy the garden that many of us miss in the practical rounds of weeding and watering, pruning and cultivating. Here are a few simple suggestions for delving deeper and discovering the heart and soul of your garden this summer.

• 1. Make a point of observing your garden at different times during the day.

The dew-spangled garden just at dawn (or at least early morning) is different from the sun-swollen mid-afternoon garden, and a distinct experience again in a cool, misty twilight. Nothing compares to the magic of the garden limned by the silvered fingers of a full moon.

• 2. Walk your garden in different weather situations.

Most of us enjoy the garden on a sunny afternoon, but don’t miss its wild, tossed beauty in a windstorm or the deepening greens and cool wet scents of the garden in the rain.

• 3. Don’t just stroll in your garden.

Grab a blanket, stool, or lawn chair and settle yourself close to a flower bed. Now watch the interplay of blossoms, insects, breezes and birds. Observe each petal and leaf in its unique relationship to the plant as a whole. How many color variations are there in a single bloom? A single leaf?

• 4. While you’re sitting there, close your eyes for a few minutes and listen.

The drone of nectar-laden bees, the rustle of foliage, the background of birdsong, the skittering of insects through the grass, maybe even the swift whir of a hummingbird– they’re all part of your garden, too.

• 5. Display a big spray of cut flowers in your garden–they’re not just for inside the house.

Cut flower bouquets allow you to bring together blooms that can’t grow together because of conflicting light, water and soil requirements. The resulting combinations can lend a whole new dimension of beauty to your garden, and a lovely focal point for a patio, deck or gazebo.

• 6. Sprinkle your garden with tiny lights at night, for just pennies.

Tea light candles set in empty glass jars (Mason jars are excellent) weave a flickering path of beauty through the nighttime garden. Watch how flower colors mute and blend by candlelight as the garden takes on an entirely new persona.

• 7. Finally, keep a journal of your garden.

Not just the prosaic facts on planting and blooming dates, plant performance and propagation notes. Weave in your thoughts and observations as you follow the suggestions in this article. How did the garden look in the rain or at dawn? What made it different by candle- or moonlight? How did it sound? Did you learn anything new from your observations? Don’t forget to note down how the garden looked on special days throughout the summer–birthdays, anniversaries, family visits, holidays. Your garden journal will make great winter reading when the garden is sleeping and you’re curled up in your living room, browsing through seed catalogs and dreaming of spring.

The great gift of a garden is that it delights all of our senses. With a little creative thinking, it can delight the spirit and soul as well.

© 2005 - 2007 Sherry D. Ramsey, all rights reserved

About the author:
Sherry writes speculative fiction. She’s published many short stories and her newest SF novel, “One’s Aspect to the Sun” was recently awarded second place in the 28th Annual Atlantic Writing Competition’s novel category, the H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize. She’s also the author of many essays and articles especially on the craft of writing. She is the publisher and editor of the highly successful Scriptorium Webzine for Writers. You can read all about Sherry at her author’s website www.sherrydramsey.com.

Be sure to read Sherry’s other works in The PCQ.
short story
- Accidents Happen
poetry
- UPLOAD
- I, Galaxy

Originally published in the April 2005 issue of The Practically Creative Quarterly, theme: inspiration