Mar 31, 2010 Daffodils (repetition)

Looking at daffodils from the side, the form repetitions highlight the unique sideways-helicopter shape of the flower. 

Mar 30, 2010 Daffodil (reverberations)

The white collar's strong creases extend and emphasize the reverberations of the corona's ruffles.

Mar 29, 2010 Daffodil Week

In honor of the upcoming Daffodil Parade, this week will be all about daffodils--with a variety of colors and forms.

Mar 28, 2010 Hyacinth

With seemingly impossible, dyed Easter egg-inspired colors, the overlapping blooms of these hyacinths create a form full of outstretched petals and deep gullies. 

Mar 27, 2010 Blue

The grape-like nodules that make up these blooms create a cluster form (just 1.5" high) that belies the flower's size.

Mar 26, 2010 Interrupted

Slight bulging interrupts what would have been a smooth cylinder of this palm's trunk, while vertical creases interrupt the the horizontal white rings. 

Mar 25, 2010 Crocus (again)

The subtle color difference of the lavender, white, and green provides a pleasant palette for this crowd of croci.

Mar 24, 2010 Paper Bark

This tightly rolled, super peeling bark creates a faux knot and several intersecting lines on the tree's trunk.

Mar 23, 2010 Crocus

Paper thin and slightly crumpled, crocus leaves create amphora-shaped forms. Unlike clay vases, these will split apart at the seams.

Mar 22, Skunk Cabbage

The tear drop shape of the Skunk Cabbage features a big yellow cape, the perfect hide-away for the lime green pistil with it's extruding white nodules.

Mar 21, 2010 Magnolia

This magnolia's pistil and stamen look's like it could be scaled up to a monumental sculpture.  It's as if an elongated, pale, yellow pine cone has landed in the middle of a pink sea anemone floating on a cloud.

Mar 20, 2010 Low Tide

Low tide provided a sculptural view of what is underneath Puget Sound.  The rough texture of the rocks, barnacle-covered pipes, red bricks, and sand are pierced by the pier pylons and offset by the massive gray concrete of a former paper mill. 

March 19, 2010 Outlines

I've never successfully incorporated outlines in my work. But the outlining on these leaves really works--it's the variety of the width, density, spacing, and shape of the elements that make up the outline, along with the light lime green color against the burgundy leaves.

Mar 18, 2010 Poppy

 

The contrasting forms of the fold-dense, saffron poppy bloom and the tight, fuzzy buds provide a tension between size, shape, and color.

Mar 17, 2010 Miner's Lettuce

Many tiny, flat, disk-shaped leaves set precariously on top of thin stocks make up this lush, deep green carpet of Miner's Lettuce.

Mar 16, 2010 Gardenscape

I like the combination of forms, color and textures in this garden--silver bark of the cylindrical trunk, sprouting branches with pink leaves, green moss clinging to the top of the trunk, set on a plain of flat green turf.

Mar 15, 2010 Purple Azalea

The shocking fluorescent purple of this azalea reminds me of how color can profoundly affect a person's preference or aversion to a work of art.  

Mar 14, 2010 Yellow Tree

The blooms on this tree encircle the branches, appearing like a lei on a stick.  The totality of the yellow, fuzzy structure is speared with the slender, dark brown streaks of the wood. 

Mar 13, Camellia

The central inner folds of this camellia don't have the strong overlap structure of the outer petals.  The difference in size, shape, and ruffle-ness of the inner layers draws attention to the symmetry of the surrounding petals.

Mar 12, 2010 Rhody bud

The leaves of this rhododendron bud have an orange peel texture and are outlined with a thin red border at the point where they cling to the body. It is like a cross between a lime and an artichoke.

Mar 11, 2010 Indoors

Positioning a plant indoors reminds us of the natural world outside; it interrupts our thoughts.  It is like placing a sculpture in an unexpected place outdoors.

Mar 10, 2010 Daffodil

Usually daffodils look so orderly, with their crisp cups and neat collars, but this one looks like an explosion in mid-action. The unexpected shaggy form is so different and remarkable. 

Mar 9, 2010 Lettuce

Variations in facing directions, tightness of funnel folds, curvy edge lines, density, and green/purple color saturation make this lettuce a visual feast. 

Mar 8, 2010 Reflection

When I captured the sun's reflection on the Wilamette River I didn't notice this branch; upon seeing the photo I realized that the sun's reflection was secondary to the beautiful outline of the arc-shaped branch.

Mar 7, 2010 Colonnade

In bloom, with their branches entwined, this colonnade of cherry trees is a reminder of how architecture is informed by nature.  Standing underneath them is like standing under a fiery pink portico.

Mar 6, 2010 Rhody Baby Flower

The beginnings of this rhododendron flower are hard clusters, mint green and pink, appearing to be covered in sugar, reminiscent of candy.

Mar 5, 2010 Cabbage

While the veins on the leaves start out thick in the center and peter out as they approach the edges, it is the toothy edges with their dark outlines that highlight the leaves' shapes.

Mar 4, 2010 Bud

The fuzzy outside wrapping on this camellia bud tightly swaddles the petals, some of which are just managing to emerge.  The tension of the constraint is palpable.

Mar 3, 2010 Hyacinth

 

Before the hyacinth completely blooms the individual flowers are compact and box-like, arranged in a crescendo stair-step pattern, and reminiscent of a series of skyscrapers on a hill.

Mar 2, 2010 Drift Wood

Looking like a piece of concrete, this piece of drift wood is covered in barnacles and some sort of calcification, which creates an interesting peninsula form and frames a view hole.  

Mar 1, 2010 Cherry Tree

Cherry trees seem to have suddenly, over night, exploded with blooms.  This one's beauty is enhanced by the perfect background--the glassy blue color of the sky with a hint of white clouds ending in the tree.