Monday, January 25, 2016

Nature's Ice Sculpture


After a week off swimming, I returned to practice
Saturday morning. The weather, of course, was cold and
given the sometimes erratic bus schedules,
I did not want to risk frostbite waiting for one at night.



After practice, I went over to Eskenazi Health
to catch the bus for home. There I could go inside
the lobby to enjoy the beautiful artwork,
or go outside to enjoy the water features.


Here, the falls created from stacked blocks 
of limestone created sculptures of their own.
From lovely ruffled edges around the cattails, to
lacy drapes over the flowing water,
the stone and the cold weather
bend the water into vignettes 
of ever-changing beauty.



Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cold Hands, Warm Heart?


Yes, there have been wind-chill warnings,
but it's not nearly as bad as it could be
(or probably will get).
Both ends of my commute were bright
and clear, with the morning sun peeping its
delicate pink self from behind
the downtown buildings.
Then, this afternoon, someone had loosed
a colorful array of Mylar balloons,
a flash of rainbow that reached for the sky,
then, withered from the cold, 
they huddled in a tree.

I don't like being cold. My family did not have
central heating in our home until I was
in middle school. 
During the winters, I was always cold. 
I would huddle under a quilt, tucked
around me to create a cocoon of warmth.
I did not leave it until the next morning when
I'd run, shivering, downstairs to stand by
the coal-fired stove that my father had stoked
just before my brother, sister, and I got
up to get ready for school.

Now long grown, I still don't like the winter chill
and wrap up on the couch under a quilt 
to watch TV, my little cat
curled into tight wad beside my head.
I negotiate with myself about what I will do -
Get up and make breakfast? Get dressed?
Take out the trash?
I'm plotting a series of drawings.
How am I going to start these drawings
without getting cold feet?
I picture myself in the process of making them,
but, dammit, I can't figure out how to do it
without getting paint on my quilt.


Saturday, January 16, 2016

Love/Water


I love to get to the Natatorium early 
to watch the swimmers.
Very often there are large groups 
either practicing or warming up for competition.
The sounds of the water and the rhythm of 
people moving up and down the lanes
is both mesmerizing and comforting.
None of the pictures I've taken so far of
the swimmers has captured the fascination
I feel by the almost balletic routine
of their movements.

While swimming myself, I sometimes 
think of the swimmers and try to emulate 
their long line, keeping my body straight 
and toes relaxed yet pointed.
"Relaxed." Yeh, that's the big thing for me;
I don't think about going fast, I think 
"Technique, technique, technique. 
Technique fast, technique fast, technique fast." 
My body comes up "on plane" and I feel 
as though the water is zooming by me.
It makes a difference.
I count my laps. I count my strokes.
I cast a glance at the clock
and then turn my eyes toward the bottom
of the pool to begin again,
another step in my odyssey to achieve a dream.

My love for you is like water.
Clear as crystal, its currents weave through,
creating inclusions, weaving, changing
yet always there, adding depth
and bands of color, rainbows of feeling 
from the darkest indigo
to the happiest of yellows.
Fight it and you flounder.
Rest quietly and it will support you,
carrying you to the other side
as quickly or as slowly as you may care
to go, but always there.


Tuesday, January 12, 2016

It's He-ere!


The Indy area has enjoyed fairly mild temperatures 
for quite some time, but the winter air 
finally made it's entrance this weekend, bringing
with it icy rain and snow.
Here, a bus stop collects the ice and snow 
as it blows in from the south-west.


The leaves on a bush gathered ice chunks
large enough to mix drinks with.
This may seem a bit severe, but it's nothing.
The snows are fairly light, mere sprinklings.
It's the mirage they create, hiding the
slick smooth ice beneath that 
create hazardous conditions. Whoops!


Sunday, January 10, 2016

Patterns: Layers, Part 2


Crews are continuing their work to repair and restore 
the columns on the old Indiana National Bank. 
Over the years, some of the marble slabs 
encasing the columns have loosened and fallen off, 
then been replaced piecemeal.


Last year, work began to stabilize and restore 
all of the columns. Crews have been working their
way around the building to remove
the marble slabs. They then have been installing
a steel framework that support what
looks like treated plywood panels. Once the
panels are in place, each column
is primed and coated with a substance
that will provide a better surface to adhere
the marble slabs.


At least, that is what I've been led to
believe is planned; I cringe to think that all
the work done on this iconic (for Indy!) building 
will result in a big faux-surface paint job!

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Theme Day 2016: Didn't Have Anything I Liked ...


...For the first day of the year, I couldn't think 
of a picture I was particularly fond of.
On my way to swim practice on December 30th,
I walked by the Chase Tower, almost abandoned
during the holiday week, to see this floorlamp 
shining through the window blinds.
Not only did I like the subdued lighting 
and shadows; the composition seemed to add
to the overall linear look of the alley,
with the blobs of fluorescent light echoing
the circles in the wrought-iron fencing.