The Natural World Goes West

Some of my photos are up at my dear friend Tamar’s gallery in Fitchburg, MA.

Papaya!

Spider Crab and Grey’s Beach photos at Gallery Sitka

 

Head over to Gallery Sitka West to check out selected works of The Natural World on Washi, as well as a bunch of amazing art by local artists at her inspiring gallery space.

Gallery Sitka West

454 Main Street

Fitchburg, MA 01420

My friend and I visited when I dropped off the photos; we had fun peering at the wonderful paintings, and getting to know Meagan, who not only works there but has some of her art on display.

Works by Meagan St Laurent

 

Wonderful paintings command your attention as soon as you walk in:

Artist Unknown please contact Gallery Sitka for artist and more information

By Zen Saito

 

Paper Connection International, who supplied the Japanese paper, or washi, for my show, also has some other decorative sheets of handmade paper for sale. These hail from Japan, and include hand painted kozo, as well as katazome, or resist dyed sheets. Cute stationery from Japan is available too.

Gorgeous handmade papers from Paper Connection International

Tamar, the owner of Gallery Sitka, works very hard supporting the arts in the area. She’s in a great location, right near the Fitchburg Art Museum. She also runs a studio in Shirley, MA, where she guides clients with web design, social media, and other digital marketing.

Visit Gallery Sitka for some refreshing and inspiring experiences, meet some nice people, and support the arts in central MA.

And thanks, Tamar!

An Ordinary Day in Medford in May

While checking out the herring run, (you can read more about the details here), we saw these beautiful birds and other creatures. It’s amazing how you can catch quiet moments and simple, inspiring moments in nature, with these birds, fish, and reptiles carrying on their migrations, feedings, and natural life cycles, not too far from a bustling city like Boston. I’m new to capturing flying and swimming friends. It’s quite challenging. I took a few liberties with some blurred moments, trying to create an abstract feel. Maybe I’m not up for the wildlife challenge-yet! I will be posting some more soon on my revamped Instagram, @loweaperture. More news about that soon.

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yawning turtle
oriolecropped
oriole
croppedeagle
bald eagle
femaleoriole_perhaps_portrait
warbling vireo
femaleoriole_maybe
warbling vireo in flight
blackbirdbent
blackbird
lilypadsx2
lily pads
turtlecharcoallike
turtles sunbathing
cormopplook
comorants
inarow
line of comorants
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comorant in flight
catchingtheherringdreamlike
fishing
seagulls3
fighting for fish
waterlikeshimmer
shimmers on the water
loneplant
simple beauty

Medford Herring and Bird

Have you ever been to the Mystic River Watershed?

We visited the herring run there earlier this month. While observing the comorants feeding and sea gulls circling overhead, we were hoping the herring could make it safely to the other side, continuing on their spring journey.

Watching these diving birds, however, was impressive. It’s amazing how voracious their appetites are.  The area is pleasant to visit, and you learn that an important wildlife migration takes place right here in Massachusetts.

You can count herring too, learn more right here.

In the meantime, enjoy the cormorants and sea gulls.

 

A Visit To West Acton: Wellness, Art, and a Revolution

On a quiet, snowy Saturday morning, we headed down to West Acton for a visit to Revolution Community Bodywork, nestled in the growing community at Wellness at Villageworks.

After heading up one flight from the parking lot on the lower level, we took a wrong turn, which turned into an unexpected visit into a great gallery space. After Apple Pruning Exhibit was showing by local artist Linda Hoffman.  Despite the weather a few visitors were admiring her work, and the artist herself was there.  The gallery is available for a variety of events, such as concerts, poetry readings, conferences, and other art exhibits.

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Taking a right out of the gallery, past Acton Coffee House and near Home, we entered the Wellness at Villageworks, where Revolution is located, besides like-minded practitioners with a focus on health for body and mind.

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Revolution’s staff is great, with a focus on helping you feel better. The approach they take to knowing what and how your body needs to function is a sensitive one, and your time is well spent.  While sitting in their comfortable waiting area, another artist was on display, Annelie Connolly. Her photographs show local scenes of New England, through her eyes as a native of Sweden who lives in the central Massachusetts area.

While waiting for my better half to get treated, I popped into the cafe as a shortcut to the gallery upstairs. Another local artist was showing her works at the cafe. Veronique Latimer works with encaustics, and had on display a series about her grandmother that was quite touching. Instead of unnecessarily burying one’s head in one’s mobile device while waiting for one’s coffee, it is definitely worth to take a few minutes and gaze upon her various pieces and read about what inspired her. 

I met the owner of Revolution, and discussed how Villageworks benefits individuals in search of a specialist.  It is convenient to direct a client to a neighboring business owner who may better help their condition.  Of course, the local businesses too benefit, and with local art on display, it makes visiting the center a pleasant experience.  She kindly explained how the building had been responsibly made with sustainability in mind; for example, floors in the building are made out of cork, with solar panels on the roof.

Overall the quick visit was a fun one, seeing what is new as far as local arts, and meeting friendly professionals who want to make a difference in their community. Next time, I will try the coffee!

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Origami cranes greet you as you enter Wellness at Villageworks.

Westford Leaves 

I am sharing some images from a previous blog I created, loweaperture.wordpress.com. For some reason, there was a snafu with wordpress when publishing so this blog was hidden for a while. WordPress promptly apologized and fixed the situation, (thank you!). Now it is public, but I since created this during that period. So I will time to time repost original material from loweaperture.wordpress.com. Thanks for looking!
I hope you enjoy the images.