Ballerina of the Flower World

There is no other name for it; the fuchsia is the ballerina of the flower world.

Last blog I spoke of the beauty and grace of the Crocosmia, but the fuchsia is definitely in a category of its own.

The flowers resemble a ballerina, wouldn't you agree?

See the skirt and the arms extended and legs?

Here they are dancing together.....


My preference are the hardy fuchsia plants because I find that although the hanging pots are beautiful, they tend to dry out quickly and I have been known to accidentally kill them.

The other variety that I have growning in my yard looks like this.

A more subtle dancer than the previous one.

I know I will add to this collection of hardy fuchsia because the joyous little dancers make me smile.

Painting, A Practice of Self-Exploration

The creative process itself is the perfect dance of yin and yang.

Jeanne Carbonetti explains that when we can truly be with ourselves in the practice of painting, we feel the dance instinctively--- that special moment when we have discernment but are without judgment, when we have "vision," but are without expectation, when we are playful, yet hold a reverence for the sacred mystery of the creative process.

The experience goes to the core of self and you become one with the world. How it happens is a mystery. One simply must be willing to be there, painting. One must be open to the experience.

Jeanne says that it means opening yourself to the mysteries of the whole you, allowing parts of you that are often hidden to the world to surface through the practice of painting. What emerges naturally, even organically, then turns every painting into an act of discovery, and the partnership of painter and medium more easily becomes a dialogue. Each painting begins to be a mirror of a larger self than you had expected. Once the self is present, all the specifics of personal technique, style, and vision fall into place.

Paint and dance to your heart's content!