INTERPRETATION

ByLee Ann

Hello there! I hope your summer has been sunny and relaxing so far.

I’ve assigned myself some rest and rejuvenation time this season, with an eye to the writing projects I have on deck for the fall and winter. So for now, I’m reading and re-reading some Canadian historical fiction (more on that soon) and generally allowing a pace of life that gives me plenty of time to take in the sky, the backyard view, and a few local events.

Ah, summer!

Meanwhile,  at the owaa gallery where I display some of my artwork, is an exhibition that I’m particularly excited about. It’s called “Interpretations,” where members were invited to interpret a photograph of Blakeney Rapids by owaa President John Edkins. You can see that photo on the main page of John’s website.

The resulting interpretations (for those members who took up the challenge) are fabulous in all their variations. I’d like to invite you to have a look, either in person at the CardelRec Recreation Complex in Stittsville, or virtually via the owaa website. Please consider this an opportunity to relax for a few moments and see what one piece of art can spark in other people. Who knows – maybe this will trigger some latent creativity in you!

My take on John’s photo can be seen at the gallery, or here.

I’ll be back here next month. Hope you will too!

Lee Ann

YEAR OF THE TROLLIUS

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

Hope all is well in your neighbourhood. Ottawa’s spring has been slow to arrive, cold and very wet. Today is the third day IN A ROW without any rain (well, maybe a thunderstorm later today…) People have been grumbling, but one result in local gardens is a remarkable showing of Trollius. Known as globeflower, this perennial gem has been a resident in my back yard for at least a decade. It usually flowers, but not in the showstopping way it has this year: bright yellow lollipop blooms perch atop four-foot high stems, little beacons of colour beside the fading Alliums. Give it just the right conditions: new space in the garden where a tree used to overshadow it, lots of moisture, cool temps, and WOW.

Makes me think about how we all have our moments in life, when conditions are just right for us to shine. Do you know what these conditions are for you? Is this your season, your phase, your moment? What are the ingredients, the situations, the elements, that make things just right for you?

For me it’s important to be creating new things: garden designs, stories, articles, poems, photographs. This is what feeds me. Nature is a key ingredient, as those of you who follow this blog already know. So is history, particularly of the places that are meaningful to me: like Niagara Falls, where I was born and lived for the first 12 years of my life. On a recent weekend there, I was once again inspired by the mighty Niagara River (sorry, Ottawa and Rideau, you’re not quite at the same level of spectacular!)

I hope you can find or make for yourself the conditions that feed and inspire you! Meanwhile, here’s the latest poem with photo, called “If You Fall.”

Lee Ann

THE TWO FACES OF SPRING 2019

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

After many false starts and a cruel false promise that the snow-pack would melt slowly, Spring unleashed ferocious flooding in both Ottawa and Muskoka, my two home places. Our own properties are dry and safe, but many people endured evacuations during the past couple of weeks and now face despairing restorations of their homes and cottages.

So I begin this season – typically my favourite of the year – with mixed emotions. Sadness and helplessness stirred together with hope, as Nature starts to offer gentle, warm days and that gorgeous new green of unfurling leaves. Bitter-sweet this year.

This month’s poem has that same mix of emotion, which I thought was fitting for the kind of spring we are having in my neighbourhoods.

May you always find hope emerging!

Here’s Minds and Hearts.

Lee Ann

WINTER’S LAST HURRAH

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

Is it spring yet in your neighbourhood? Here in Ottawa we’re savouring the return of the songbirds and so far, a safe, slow melt of the snow pack.

I’m changing up my indoor decor: bye-bye pine cones and evergreen boughs, hello cherry blossoms and Easter eggs!

But winter lingers as we welcome April. On two recent weekend getaways in the local area, I found plenty of photographic and poetic inspiration from winter’s final days.

Ice in Lily-pad shapes suspended over a creek, Mont Tremblant Quebec
Ice formation on rock ridge, Mont Tremblant Quebec

Spring has her own pace. Never fast enough for me, but in the meantime, I went on the hunt for hope this afternoon. Here’s what I found:

HOPE in the form of a garlic sprout, Lee Ann’s garden

May you find signs of spring in your own back yard! While you wait for her to show up, I’ll invite you to click on over to the latest photo and poem, inspired during winter’s final days. Hope you enjoy it!

Lee Ann

SIGNS OF SPRING

ByLee Ann

Hello there! Welcome to March – which can be kind of a heartbreak month, so close to spring and yet often so far. At least in Ottawa. This year for sure: Environment Canada’s senior climatologist says we get the gold medal for winter misery.

Jock River ice, Richmond Ontario

But even here, in our misery, I’m noting some signs of spring:

  1. There is warmth in the sun. (Never mind that the roads are now flooded because the storm drains are lost under deep snow.)
  2. My son’s golden retriever is blowing his undercoat. (I groomed him last week and I’m still vacuuming…)
  3. The cardinals are singing!

How about in your neighbourhood? Any signs of spring? Please share!

And also new for spring: on March 9, a fresh exhibition of artwork begins, by the Ottawa West Arts Association. I created two brand new pieces for the show, which is themed ABSTRACT. Access to the gallery at the Goulbourn Recreation Complex is always free, or you can check out my new poems with photos here. I’d love to hear what you think!

Meanwhile, please take a few moments to relax and take a look at the first of my new Travel Series, from our recent getaway to Arizona. I hope you enjoy A Mother’s Prayer.

Lee Ann

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Some New Directions for 2019

ByLee Ann

Happy New Year! Yes, I know, somewhat belated. I hope 2019 has started well for you, and that it brings you great happiness, however you define that.

I can’t wait to share with you news of some new creative challenges I’ve taken on this year!

  • I am displaying some of my photos and poems in poster form in the Art Gallery at the Goulbourn Recreation Complex. Every two months, there’s a new exhibition mounted by the Ottawa West Arts Association, a group of very talented local painters, photographers, and coloured pencil artists that I have recently joined. I am excited to be the first artist to bring the combination of photography with poetry to the gallery! On now and until March 8 is “Cold Winter Days,” and I have two pieces in this exhibition. Admission to the gallery is free! Plus, all the pieces are for sale at very reasonable prices. To all my Ottawa friends: do treat yourself to this wonderful display of local artistic talent. To others who are farther away, do check the OWAA website: you can meet the artists and see their work there.
  • I’ll continue this year to post new photos and poems on the site. What’s new is that, after a focus on my local neighbourhoods for inspiration, I’m expanding my horizons and starting a travel series. We are planning quite a few trips this year, both near and far, so you can expect posts from new locations. First up: two new pieces sparked by Arizona that will be posted later this month. I hope you’ll continue to take a few moments of time to enjoy some beautiful scenes, and that the thoughts they inspire in me also inspire you!
Along the Lost Dog Wash Trail, Scottsdale AZ
  • Finally: are you looking for insight into newly-released historical fiction books? I’m writing feature articles for the Historical Novel Society! Their online magazine is a great source for new titles, and as a features writer, I get to interview authors and provide behind-the-scenes details about things like the source of their inspiration for writing, how they conducted research for their book… even how they came up with the title. My first article is up now.

And – how about you? What new directions are beckoning you in 2019? I’d love to hear about them!