The Silica Garden

Another interesting feature at 1001 Pots, is the unique Silica Garden that's tucked away in one corner and can be easily missed. 

The entrance to the Silica Garden is through a pair of rusty metal doors.

The roof is made of  branches open to the sky.

Inside, there are various rooms with benches for sitting and contemplating or perhaps for studying the myriads of pottery that make up the walls.

Not all the walls are filled yet.

But those that are provide a fascinating display.

A "stream" of blue ceramics flows through this unique garden.

1001 Pots

For 24 years now, 1001 Pots, the largest ceramics exhibition in North America, has taken place in Val-David, in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. There is an abundance of styles to suit everyone's taste in this outdoor display on the grounds of the event's founder,  potter Kinya Ishikawa. You can wander to your heart's content in a lovely garden setting, collecting as you go, and pay at one of the cashiers near the front entrance. Even if you decide not to bring anything home with you, the setting and displays are a feast for the eyes and make the outing well worthwhile. 

Some of the displays are grouped by theme, such as these bowls above, and the vases below.

Other displays group the work of a potter in one place, clearly marked with a sign. Visitors are given a brochure with a map that helps you find the location of a particular artisan. There are so many displays, this certainly helps if you are looking for the work of a particular person.

And if all this wasn't enough, there are workshops,demonstrations, musical concerts and poetry readings scheduled throughout the event's one-month run. This year, 1001 Pots runs from July 13th to August 12th.

Transformation

The sound of my childhood summers was the distinct humming of cicadas.  On the hottest of summer days, this sound was heard high in the trees that lined my street. How lucky to be able to catch this magical transformation as it took place this summer. Though I have heard cicadas, I hadn't seen one before, let alone been witness to this amazing part of its life cycle.

After having spent as much as 17 years underground, sucking sap from tree roots, cicadas emerge to shed their larvae casings. They climb a tree and latch on, in this case to a hanging wicker basket. The outer shell cracks open and they slowly merge, shedding their outer layer.

Having emerged a little further, the wings are still all folded up and can be seen as the two green protrusions at each side of the body. The cicada is hanging upside down with only a small portion left to be pulled from the casing.

A side view of the cicada, now fully emerged and wings beginning to unfurl. The green, by the way, was the bright shade it is in these photos.

The wings are now completely formed and have rotated to angle down. Total time elapsed, perhaps 20 minutes to half an hour. Eventually the cicada would have moved to the branches above to sing for a partner, but we left at this point, having invaded the poor creature's privacy long enough. The males attract a female by making the characteristic humming sound, while the females answer with a clicking sound, made by flipping their tails.

I'm including this photo of the cicada hanging from the wicker basket to give you a sense of the scale of this newly formed creature.

BBC Worldwide produced a time-lapse segment on the life cycle of the cicada with Sir David Attenborough that's available on YouTube.

Happy Canada Day!

Celebrating Canada Day by picking luscious ripe strawberries and making four batches of jam.

Le Déjeuner

Claude Monet's Le Déjeuner (around 1873) served as the inspiration for this photograph. One day as I was gazing at the poster of this painting in my office at work I noticed that the roses on the table looked like those in my garden.  I suddenly had the idea to try and replicate the painting for a photograph. After borrowing a few items from friend J. who instantly understood what I was trying to do and eagerly scoured her house for items that might work, as any fellow-creative would, I put together this image in my back garden. It is by no means an identical copy but it does give the impression of the original and it was a lot of fun to do.

Peony Perfection

Just like large tissue-paper flowers, peonies are oh, so beautiful but bloom for such a short time that I have to make sure that I take the time  to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy, before a rainfall or windy day takes them away. I love their blowsiness, but my goodness how the petals drop.

The First of the Season

I am so very happy to have the first David Austen roses in my garden in bloom again. They never fail to delight me with their sweet fragrance and breathtakingly delicate beauty.