Advent Calendar of Cards Day 23 (2017)

I had been working on a series of flower photographs with their names in Latin and had the idea to make a card with evergreen plants and their Latin names. My mother-in-law, a gardener and landscaper who taught me to use Latin names whenever possible (to prevent confusion as popular names are not as absolute), died that summer and the card became a tribute to her. 

Naming the Garden-Getting Ready

According to the Celtic calendar, we are now in the spring season. There is a quickening in the air as the light lingers at the end of the day. But it is still cold and icy here in New England and I am itching for the sight of blooming flowers. I'll get my chance at the end of the month with the sharp yellow of the witch hazel—a tonic for the winter-weary.

As I mentioned in my last post about my Naming the Garden series,  I'm writing the name tags ahead this year. I'm enjoying spending time conjuring up images of colorful flowers as I write out their Latin names. Below is a picture of two piles of tags. Can you guess which pile I will be using and which one is going into the recycling bin?

Solstice 2017

On this the shortest day,

may the the vitality of the ever-greens

give us strength and hope

for the days ahead.

In memory of Lyn Gaylord who taught me to love Latin plant names

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

Hemlock, Pine, Holly

Leucothoe, Juniper, Box

Spruce, Ivy, Pieris

Mountain Laurel, Arborvitae, Yew

I have some extra copies of the printed postcard to share for the first ten people who send their mailing address to susan (at) susangaylord.com. A Merry Season to All!

Naming the Garden Take Two

I started a series of calligraphy and photographs in early spring called Naming the Garden which fizzled in late May. There were several problems. The main one was my choice of paper and ink. I was using torn strips of Lokta paper from Chino Crafts in Nepal which was the same paper I used for the Words For Our Time series and J. Herbin ink. The paper was difficult to tear and the writing took multiple attempts as the pen would often catch on the paper and create little blots of ink. I also found that it was hard to make the time to both write the tag and take the photo.  

I have just returned to the project with some changes. I am using Canson Edition paper which is smoother and sturdier and am cutting rather than tearing. I am using only the brown ink and not alternating with the gray. And I have been making lists and am going to write out all the Latin names I can think of at the same time. Then, when a flower is blooming and the light is right, I can go straight to work with my iphone. Below is a practice shot. 

My mother-in-law's passing has been another inspiration. She is the reason I am into Latin names for plants. She started a landscaping business when she was in her early 60s (that indomitable spirit) and schooled me on the importance of identifying plants by their Latin names so there would be no confusion about the exact plant you were looking for. I look forward to the documenting the rest of this season and returning to the garden in the spring. 

Studio Sunday-Naming the Garden II

I'm enjoying my Naming the Garden project—writing Latin Genus names on a strip of paper and photographing them with the flower. I didn't want to use black ink. I thought about colors to match the flowers but that seemed too complicated. I decided to go with gray and brown—neutral, not so strong as black, and available in the studio. Here are some of the images. If you want to see them as I do them, follow me on instagram (susankapuscinskigaylord).

Naming the Garden

The witch hazel is blooming, I love any chance to write words, and mother-in-law taught me to identify plants by their Latin Names. So I've decided to start writing out the names of flowers in Latin and photographing them with the flowers. My daughter got me onto instagram so this was first posted there and uses one of their filters. I like this quick bit of creativity and connection to the growing world in the midst of my usual work which takes place mostly in the studio. I'll continue to do it as the flowers blossom in the garden and post them here once a month. If you'd like to keep up with more frequent postings, you can follow me on instagram (@susankapuscinskigaylord) where I post other things as well.