Orange Poppies, College Reunion and Matisse
I spent this weekend reminiscing and dancing with my college classmates at my tenth year college reunion and I spent this morning trying to capture in watercolor the iridescent orange color of the poppies that mysteriously appeared in my front yard (I did beg our landlord to let me grow out the grass a bit.) Somehow these things are related in my mind and I wanted to talk about them.
Like many artists who I deeply admire, I have spent my whole life captivated by flowers. My first year college dorm room was decorated with the handwritten quote by Matisse “There are flowers everywhere for those who wish to see them.” The quote has been so important to me that it appeared again on my wedding invitation ten years later. I take this to mean there are moments of magic that happen all the time if we pause and pay attention. Trying on a dress that fits perfectly is a flower. Watching out my kitchen window as two school boys race up the hill on bikes is a flower. Exchanging smiles with a store assistant while a talkative but sweet senior citizen holds up the checkout line is a flower. Partying with my classmates this weekend was a flower.
I went to school at Williams College in rural western Massachusetts and that is where I spent my weekend. While chatting with acquaintances from past poly-sci classes and random room draws under the shade of the class of 2016 tent in Berkshire Quad, I felt like I was transcending time. Under our reunion tent, we were no longer adults living in today’s physical world but instead settled happily into a beautiful moment of colorful celebration and reflection. For two full days we bloomed together in color and comradeship. In sounds silly, but the poppies in my front year reminded me of this translucent and special moment in time. As I looked at the poppies I noticed how their blooms seemed to stand out from the rest of the drying grass. There were so vibrant but also so delicate, ready to be swept away by the wind at any time. That is sort of what those magical (yet somehow a little bit sad ) moments felt like with my classmates. I loved it because I knew the weekend would end our communal bloom would die.
I was also fortunate to have the chance to display my art alongside other alumnus from my college in the reunion art show. I enjoyed seeing the variety of paths that artists from my school had taken. Many of us having had co-current academic interests that overlapped with our artistic ventures such as myself and geology. We are surrounded by flowers and like my front yard poppies they can sometimes be hard to capture, but that is my intention as an artist, to capture these moments and aspects of life that feel like flowers and can be expressed through color and form.
I love the color orange as it brings so much creative energy to the universe and I am honored to have crossed paths with the poppies even if I couldn’t get the color right and even if I am still cringing at all my awkwardness this past weekend, I still feel called to bring the color and blooms forward.
