Thinly Veiled

Arriving in Florida after 12 years in the Caribbean, I find myself surrounded by a manicured suburban environment, rather than the inherently picturesque disorder of nature and barely restrained tropical decay more common in the Caribbean. Perhaps it is the difference that makes me notice, instead of take it for granted. The gloss on the landscape along with the shiny baubles for sale in…

Bromeli-eyed Inflorescence

People often anthropomorphize, sometimes seeing facial or other human features in plants or inanimate scenes, and often ascribing human feelings and emotions to pets, to wild animals, and even to important religious abstractions. This human tendency to anthropomorphize can provide comfort or cause unease, depending on the situation. The desire to find human attributes in the non-human may reflect our social nature and the…

Changes

We are moving. After nearly 12 years living in the Caribbean we decided last fall that a return to the continent would be the next step in the adventure we began back in 1999 when we sailed off into the sunset. Of course, the islands do not let one go easily. It is only through luck, and a large dose of serendipity that we…

Windows

A window in a wall between two spaces allows us to look from one space into the other. Looking in, we are often looking from a public space into a more private one. Looking out, we are more often in the private space viewing the more public space beyond. Of course, there are times that relationship is more ambiguous, or even reversed. As a…

Under the Casuarina Tree

The casuarina tree is not a native to the island, and some consider it an invasive. They are tolerant of windswept places and this large example stands along a windswept beach. Its leaves/needles are long, so when the wind blows there is a gentle soothing sound and the small branches sway like little grass skirts. When the needles fall, they form a barrier to…

Donations

This donation box “for feeding the animals” is at a mini-zoo in the rainforest, part of the entertainment at a little stand that sells fabulous tropical fruit smoothies. The brightly hand-painted box sits on the metal base from an old Singer treadle sewing machine — somehow not out of place at all in this rustic location. In another form of donation, the local Senate…

Shoreline moods

“The Calm” looks west in the protected lee of a point during the calm following a squall. The sun had just broken through, illuminating a single cloud and the shallow water at my feet. “Ocean Energy” looks east into a brisk prevailing wind on a sunny afternoon, with only the rocky outcrop to protect the shallow pool from the brunt of the ocean waves….

Hot and Cold

We just spent 10 days in the upper Midwest where it was mostly cold and rainy — so different from the heat and humidity of the tropics. We all experience hot and cold, and often associate certain subject matter with each. For example, an image of a snow-covered field can evoke feelings of cold, while a sun-drenched beach may suggest the warmth of the…

Visual Sorbet

The newly painted walls of Fort Christiansvaern beg to be abstracted. As I worked with these pictures, I began to view them as visual sorbet, or palate cleansers for the eyes that appeal to the senses without carrying any other message. Abstractions that lack any implicit social or emotional message may be a cop-out, or art-lite. On the other hand, perhaps their straightforward appeal…

Messages from the Dark Side

I didn’t intend to produce such dark images. They just seemed to happen. The first came from a picture of some sponges along the beach, and the second is the old “Steeple Building” in the Christiansted historic district. Yes, centuries before its most recent reincarnation as a National Park Service asset, the Steeple Building was a Lutheran church. These may reflect my growing sadness…