Tag Archives: color

Dreaming of Oz

Posted on by
21
Dorothy singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

Dorothy singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

I was eighteen years old before I realized that the classic 1939 Wizard of Oz movie was not filmed entirely in black and white. I had watched it every year of my childhood on our sturdy black and white television, enchanted every time by the magic of the Land of Oz and Dorothy’s adventures there. When I returned home for Easter vacation from my first year at college, I settled in front of our new luxury item, a color television, to watch my favorite movie. Of course, the movie starts in sepia tone, close enough to black and white for me not to notice the difference, and I dreamed along with Dorothy as she sang of a land “somewhere over the rainbow.” Imagine my shock and surprise that matched her own when she opens the door of her wind blown house and stands breathless before the colorful landscape of a new world.

Dorothy looking into Oz

Dorothy looking into Oz

Like Dorothy, I feel as if I am standing on the threshold of a new landscape, though I must pass through the long storms of winter before I can step into it.  The Christmas decorations are put away and the house has lost its festive air. The romance and beauty of fresh snow fall has degenerated into rough trampled paths through the woods punctuated by dark bare trees and a leaden gray sky. It is the black and white and sepia tone world of every day life. But the seeds to this year’s garden have arrived and I feel very much like Dorothy, standing in her monotone world while peering into the vibrantly colored Land of Oz.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It may be a long passage of winter months before I can cross that threshold into the rainbow land of my garden, but the seeds I hold in my hand become a magic carpet in my imagination that will eventually carry me there.

Video clip of Dorothy opening the door to Oz

Video clip of Dorothy singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Related posts:
Planting a Seed
The Space Between

Shadow and Light

Posted on by
35

Chiaroscuro – Italian for the play of shadow and light, most often referring to tonal relationships in visual art (Wikipedia)

Walking through a garden or a forest is a much different experience than looking at it from afar. When seen from a vantage point, no matter how beautiful a view, only your eyes see the beauty before you and you are separated from it – it and you.  But walking in it and through it, that is a different experience altogether.  You and it become a “we” – fused together by a play of shadow and light, transient shifts of color and tone that enfold you as a part of nature’s spectral ballet.

Chiaroscuro is a term that painters used to describe the use of shadow and light to create the illusion of three dimensionality on a two dimensional plane.  Photographers embraced it  as a reminder that they were photographing light, not things. As I walked through the garden this week, each step became an experience of shadow and light. Every plant and flower took on a golden glow, filtered through the autumn leaves above. Standing below a fiery maple tree became a transcendent experience of standing in liquid gold; the deep umber and burgundy hues of light traveling through oak leaves captivated me for long moments.  The beauty of autumn is transitory, all the more treasured for that short period of time when we look upward at a canopy of color that is unmatched in any other season.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here is French singer Juliette Greco singing  Les Fuielles Morte (Autumn Leaves) in French in a live concert in Berlin (1967) in a simple arrangement of voice and guitar.  Sartre said of her that she had “. . . millions of poems in her voice.” (Wikipedia)

Where this is much light, the shadow is deep.  ~ Geothe

For a translation of the original French lyrics (by Jacques Prevert) to Les Feuilles mortes/Autumn Leaves (not the Johnny Mercer English lyrics) – see this translation by Coby Lubliner.

Breakfast in the Treetop Bistro

Posted on by
47

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.  ~John Gunther (American journalist & author)

This morning was a perfect moment – the air cool but not chilly, the sky a clear blue, and a light breeze bringing the fragrant scents of the garden up to the deck. I celebrated with a long lingering breakfast in the Treetop Bistro, the name for our upper deck.

The two decks along the back facing the woods were a big factor in choosing this house. The upper deck, reached by a spiral staircase, was where I originally planned the garden. The perfect place for morning coffee, it started out as a calm blue and cream place with wicker chairs, a birdbath, and some potted plants, and served its purpose well. 

But then two years ago, with a thunderous crash, a huge old oak fell on the house on a calm windless day, taking out the lower deck, part of the roof, part of the upper deck, and most of the furniture and pots.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the garden and decks were a construction zone all summer.

It seemed a good time to rethink the upper deck; I wanted to create a colorful hideaway for a cup of morning coffee or a glass of evening wine. Taking into account the dark brown house and the green wall of treetops, I settled on a mix of rose, coral, orange, gold, and dark red.

 The area rugs are actually woven vinyl, called Mad Mats, an inexpensive but attractive way to create the feel of an outdoor room, easy to hose down all summer and roll up to store for the winter. Brown outdoor paint pulled together a mish mash of furniture, a few pillows were added, and the “bistro” was born.

Not only did I want a certain color scheme that was warm and cheerful, I wanted the feel of a secluded bistro like so many I have visited in France, Italy, and Spain, tucked away in a side street and surrounded by old trees. Hayracks and pots holding flowers, herbs, lettuces, and tomatoes turned it into a lush kitchen garden as well.


The bench invites a quiet moment in the treetops.
Sometimes Angel Eyes takes a nap on the bench.
And breakfast? It was delicious!
Want to see what the plantings will look like by the end of summer?  See a slideshow from last September that includes some photos of the Treetop Bistro’s first season.
I had to delay the video deconstruction of “Breath” until a later date because of work on several projects; next week, I hope to premiere the second part of The Four Elements – “Light”.  Enjoy your weekend!

Deep Purple

Posted on by
33

It was a beautiful day here in Western PA – skipper and black swallowtail butterflies flitted around the garden and dark rich colors blossomed everywhere.  Here are a few photos of deep purple flowers.  Next week, some new music!

All photos ©2012 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved

My World Is Blue

Posted on by
37

“Blue, blue, my world is blue …” English lyrics to “L’Amour Est Bleu/Love is Blue”

These lyrics echoed through my head as I walked through my garden this weekend, surrounded by clouds of blue forget-me-nots, tall wands of Camassia quamash (a native wild hyacinth) and the shorter spires of English bluebells and purple Ajuga. The garden is in its bluest moment, in bright contrast to the golden leaves of Spireas and hostas and the fresh green foliage of the woods. My world is truly blue.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Perhaps you remember the song “Love is Blue” written by Andre Popp  –  “the only number-one hit by a French artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in America.” (Wikipedia)    Made famous as an easy listening instrumental hit by French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat in 1968, it was more recently featured in “The Blue and the Gray” episode of The Simpsons in February, 2011. The song was first introduced through the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967 where it placed fourth. Here is charming footage of Greek singer Vicky Leandros singing “L’Amour Est Bleu” in the original television program that launched the song.

As someone who is attentive to both color and the elements of nature, I find it fascinating that the original French lyrics written by Pierre Cour compare the pain and beauty of love to both colors (blue and grey) AND elements (water and wind) while the English version by Brian Blackburn focuses only on colors (blue, grey, red, green, and black).  Here are the original French lyrics with English translation and here are the English lyrics written by Blackburn.

In addition to the original French pop song and its instrumental version by Mauriat, it has been recorded in an instrumental rock version by Jeff Beck, and a soul version by the Dells. Here’s my favorite French version by Claudine Longet but the one that really knocks my musical socks off is the soul version by The Dells. They sang a medley of I Can Sing a Rainbow/Love is Blue that still gives me goosebumps for its power and passion – an incredible vocal group, The Dells take this song to a new level.

And finally, a video of Paul Mauriat (1925-2006) conducting his instrumental version of “Love is Blue.”

Blue, blue, my world is blue.