JOY IN LIFE

Mystical Misty Rainbow, Browns Summit, NC

The true joy in life arrives once we begin
to put more into it than we take out.

HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS & ENEMIES

Buck and Jonathan, Art Institute, Chicago, IL

Are these two students friends or enemies? I took this image of Buck and Jonathan’s photograph at an Art Institute of Chicago exhibit last weekend. I was drawn to the photo when I noticed an Asian man taking great pains to record the image on his camera. The photographer, Julie Moos, spent almost a year at a high school with students and staff to understand the students’ relationships and then invited them to be photographed in pairs. However, she didn’t let them know with whom they were paired until the last minute. They might have been with friend or foe. The students were asked to sit beside one another and look directly into the camera lens.

Once the photographs are placed on exhibit, observers are challenged to determine which of the duos are friends or enemies. The exercise forces us to re-examine not only our own high school relationships, but also our own filters, biases and stereotypes.

What first impressions do we perceive that is surely based on those filters and biases? Could these cloud our perception and judgement of people we meet to block interactions that fate has placed on our path? Would we now re-evaluate how we respond at the next meeting? This project is as much a social experiment as it is photographic art.

Too often we get more concerned about the outside of a person than the inside, e.g., if we don’t have tattoos we judge people who have them. It’s been rightly said, “Never mistake the moment for the man.” Appearance and first impressions can be deceptive, so we must be aware. These students may or may not look similar, but we are only seeing their outside and we must recognize that sometimes we see a splinter in someone’s eye while overlooking the log in ours! We should always look in the mirror before peeking out the window.

And what about Buck and Jonathan? How do you think their different races have affected their relationship? Does Jonathan’s “Harvard” sweatshirt provide any clue? Do they seem at ease or in tension beside each other? Ms. Moos provides no clues or answers. It’s up to us to decide and in the process we may just learn something about ourselves.

Additional pairs from the “Friends and Enemies” exhibit at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, can be found at:
http://www.mintmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/detail/vantagepoint-1-julie-moos-friends-and-enemies/

LEAF VEINS HAIKU

Rose of Sharon Veins, Jamestown, NC

Warming spring weather,
stirs the formation of leaves,
and new life abounds.

Vascular bundles,
permeate a plant’s structure,
distributing life.

Xylem cells supply,
photosynthesis converts,
phloem cells return.

Large veins with branches,
provide netlike logistics,
supporting the plant.

Cold autumn weather,
slows and then stops the process,
setting the leaves free.

LOW TIDE AT LOWES

Low Tide, Lowes Foods Aisle, Jamestown, NC

"Time and tide wait for no man."—Chaucer

I always consult the NOAA tide tables before I set out to forage for food in the local grocery aisles here in the Carolina's. It’s much easier to navigate the aisles at low tide and I’ve also discovered over time that prices are lower every twelve and one-half hours during the two tidal troughs every 25 hours. That’s because the earth rotates on its axis and the moon completes one orbit every 25 hours. So, the times for high and low tides change by fifty minutes every day. That’s why you should keep a NOAA tide table handy in your coupon book at all times!

And the highest and lowest tides occur when the sun and moon are on the same side of the earth during a New Moon or on opposite sides of the earth during a Full Moon. Those periods generally create double coupon savings at low Tide, especially on beer and detergents!

The image above of a low Tide at Lowes Foods was taken close to the beer corral.
There’s a reason they call themselves Lowes.
Coincidence?
I think not!


Low Tide, Kiawah Island Beach, SC

NEW DAY

White Stamens, Jamestown, NC
Day Lily with Ant, Jamestown, NC

A NEW DAY AND A NEW CREATION!

WISPY BLOSSOMS HAIKU

Wispy Cloud, Jamestown, NC
Wispy Flower, Jamestown, NC

Wispy cirrus clouds,
coalesce high in the sky,
mimicking mare’s tails.

Harbingers of storms,
foretelling gathering clouds,
and life-giving rains.

Feathery flowers,
reach to the sky overhead,
in pure white glory.

The wispy petals,
mimic the high-flying clouds,
as earth and sky merge.

EARLY MORNING DEW DROP HAIKU

Bright Jewel, Jamestown, NC

We see in this life,
what we look for in the world.
Look for and see love.