BirchLane.net

November 2006
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Wednesday 29

The Intensity Season. How true.

Pisces. You have both a poetic license and an astrological mandate to squeeze at least three times more fun and insight out of every single thing you do. It's the Intensity Season.

Someone today wrote re: my photo of Nina on the steps in Eastworks:

"This is the most compelling pregnancy photograph I've ever seen."

Also: it seems certain that I will be hired by BrookView Studios. I meet with the owners next Thursday night to review the contract. On Wednesday night I will be going to an open-house here in Easthampton to be a substitute teacher; all interviews will be conducted this night.

Meanwhile, I need to change my diet. Today the doctor said "More fruits and vegetables." He didn't say it, but if he had thought of it, he might have said:

My dad would buy it for us all the time. Yummy. I wonder if Rachel Ray knows about Ovaltine? I will write to her. And to Bobbie Faly. And Giada De Laurentis. Emeril Lagasse and Sandra Lee. Sara Mouton. Nigella Lawson. Alton Brown (Probably my best bet.). And let's not forget Marc Summers (Another good bet.)

And I should have friends over more often, too!

February 2005

Tuesday 28

Discoveries.

Garry Winogrand at Smith College. Why didn't I know about this until today? Often, people have compared my New York City photos to Winogrand's. Thankfully, the exhibition is up for  a few more days. Here are a few recent (the Famous People Famous Places images are here) New York City images of mine:

Ubu Web. WOW!

Another e-mail from Karen:

dear bruce... these images are so so Beautiful... beautiful beautiful... like a human being's soul...Self...or galaxy...being recognized, discovered, known, the work feels seen...in these portraits... each one, a facet of the larger soul, Story...Song...Dreaming...of the Whole... each facet of the gem...each one of the photographs...shows that the fullness of the energy and voice and spirit of the Place, the piece...is felt by you. what a wonder a blessing and a gift to have you on board in my journey... my work is singing with joy... i so look forward to conversations about what we can create together that helps round out the incompletion that exists in my work, without the right collaborators to bring this language into the larger world. i so so love that it now is experiencing a Home site...on your web site aptly named...in your language poetics...celestial light... birches...the Tree of beginnings.... something so rich, so good and fruitful is taking root with the seed planted by kathleen, when she spoke with you about my years of struggle and challenge ...in seeking the right match for photographer collaborations in my ephemeral, time and natural light sensitive works and process.... i only look at the photos for a small time... they are rather breath taking...so i pause let go...then return and reconnect, breath deep, then pause and let go...only to return again...without tire. i love this piece LOOM As Instrument and Cascade...so much...i will truly miss it when it is taken apart and released...and i so love these photographs and the way they will hold the space and form for memory and Story of the work into the future. thank you so much bruce! Namaste karen # 1 friend

Monday 27

Religious Icon. A long unwritten poem. I have the photograph.

Angling out of mainstream
 

Some things to remember:

"The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the great enterprises and ideals of American society.” ~ Robert F Kennedy

Another note from Karen arrives today:

Dear Bruce, what an eye you have. it seems to be located somewhere between your crown chakra and your heart center...perhaps rooted deeply in your creative Soul...branching widely outward to the celestial realms...hence... these amazingly Beautiful images! portraits of the heart, body soul and spirit of the piece...i can see how you see the work...i am so happy you were able to see it and visit when some light flowed through...even a semi overcast day blocks the real music that plays along the threads and other elements there, the histories architecture and spirit of the place itself... the light keeps a strong ever transforming presence of visual shifting forms and colors, golds, soft yellow, whiteblue, even rose colours, throughout the day, until around 4pm...then drops below the horizon completely...but it is best to see it when the sky is completely uninterrupted by clouds...as you were seeing it when these photos were taken... the late light is really the strongest presence...very dramatic and changing from moment to moment all up and down the full expanse of the piece, like a dance across the threads from high to low and very wide, across the full floor space and ceiling rafters as well...so i hope for a bright day again this week...nonetheless, i believe i have the ok from the owner to keep it up at least this week and next as well. thank you for your interest in helping me with the collaboration of your talents and gifts joining my quest. i really look forward to tonight after Taliesin is asleep, looking at each image with a rich amount of time and peace to fully appreciate this group that you have already taken. they are beautiful, each one. you are a generous artist spirit and a valuable, wonderful colleague to be fortunate to feel and experience the support and respect of...i hope you are well and your own creative work is getting all that it needs and deserves and that blessings flow all around and within, and through you. namaste all my best, karen

Speechless. It was what I needed to hear today. That is all.

Sunday 26

Light. Celestial Light. Celestial Loom. Art Installation by Karen Dolmanisth:

More of the installation here:

She writes; in an e-mail entitled "yes, You See:"

dearest bruce.... i thought about you all day...have been waiting for the moment when i can focus on calling you ... and thought...tomorrow am... i was at the space just after you were at the LOOM sunpiece... these photos are so moving and wonderful.... i will call you tomorrow am...i hope we can talk or meet and see what occurs...in the meantime... you and the creation there are getting acquainted....it is Alive, and dances with ever changing form, energy and light paintings from the sun, if you see it on a day of bright sun, clear skies...the sun is the musician playing visual music  of song on the threads...the piece is teaching me so much...i am blessed with permission to keep it there a while longer... so i am learning how to represent its life and changes and dimensions...as the light brings forms that collaborate with what i have made, into existence from sunrise to set. i love !!! love , both images you have sent me! wow and thank you, blessings and gratitude.

Read some of Drunken Boat. I found this story captivating.

Saturday 25

When Two Vowels Go Walking. I went looking for this grammar lesson today and along the way I discovered Rubies In Crystal. Direct link.

Friday 24

Reminder:

Thursday 23

Tamago-Yaki. Danielle and Daryl came over for a Thanksgiving brunch. We made waffles, country sausage and Tamago-Yaki.

Dinner found me at Briana and Jim's house. Jim owns Mt Tom Ice Cream. Funny; we didn't have ice cream for dessert.

Wednesday 23

Brown. Nadine enjoys resting on my UPS jacket.

Tuesday 22

Red. Today was all about the color red.

 

Monday 20

Meditations.

Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin. Imagine that it represents the object at which you are grasping. Hold it tightly clutched in your fist and extend your arm, with the palm of your hand facing the ground. Now if you let go or relax your grip, you will lose what you are clinging onto. That's why you hold on. But there's another possibility: You can let go and yet keep hold of it. With your arm still outstretched, turn your hand so that it faces the sky. Release your hand and the coin still rests on your open palm. You let go. And the coin is still yours, even with all this space around it. So there is a way in which we can accept impermanence and still relish life, at one and the same time, without grasping. ~ Sogyal Rinpoche from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Sunday 19

What I Did Today. I edited photos of Nina. She writes in her journal today:

I've been an LJ friend of Bruce's  for a couple of years now, thanks to an introduction by our lovely (and missed) Edie. :) I've always loved his stuff and wanted to do some work with him for a while, but I had to jump on the chance to perhaps pose for him in my current state of pregerdom. lol He was incredibly warm and sincere in person, something that should not be surprising if you've ever seen his work/website, and we had a lovely afternoon. So thankful to him for... well... everything. From waaaaay beyond when I could have ever imagined actually being pregnant, I've loved the way a woman looks when she's carrying a child. I remember thinking how beautiful mom was when she was pregnant with Tony. So I knew I had to have that captured now that I've, er, blossomed I suppose, lol, and Bruce did such an amazing job.  He's shown me a few so far and I really love them... they seem to capture so much in an instant. So thanks so much, Bruce... :)  I really hope we can work together again.

Nina loves this one:

I edited photos of Gabby:

I went for a walk. I photographed the building on Ferry Street.

Along the bike path I photographed this:

For dinner I baked a chicken breast which I marinated in honey, brown mustard, plum sauce, orange juice and curry powder.

Saturday 18 (editing_

Gabby and Nina. Suzanne. And Science Digest Magazine.

Friday 17

Ron Sexsmith. Concert here. 3, 7, 15, 18

Thursday 16

Preparing to Photograph Pregnant Woman. First--reminded of this tonight:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, It will be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, to bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed To turn, turn, will be our delight, 'Til by turning, turning, we come round right. Written by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr., 1848

This resonates with me tonight for many reasons. First, on Saturday when I photograph Nina, who is pregnant (and her friend Gaby), I will be using only one light. Second, how do I continue to find the essence of a subject (nature or person) without my art becoming cliché? (A friend wrote to me this morning: "I don't know how but you make the mundane so beautiful, you really have a gift.") Third, how do I find balance in my life; how do I be simple, so to speak? (Another friend writes this morning: "you truly are a beautiful human being.") How do I then continue to give when now I have so little; here I am speaking of finances. I read today:

I slept, and dreamt that life was joy.  I awoke and saw that life was service.  I acted and beheld that service was joy. ~Rabindranath Tagore

A year or so ago, I wrote:

Often, I ask myself "what am I called to do" and "how can I make the world a better place." To paraphrase Rumi; I remind myself: you need to be permanently astonished--this is the real work of religion. Maybe of art. The second thing you need is love; draw upon love for energy. And the third thing is sacrifice--give the drop that is ourselves; we are given an ocean. To be astonished, to become more like a child, gifts are all around us, be nourished by being amazed--it is a great thing to be alive. Simone Weil said: "Absolute attention is prayer." Seeing. Astonishment. Prayer. ......Of course, our goal is not to change the world all at once, but of reaching out with our eyes wide open--seeing; being astonished; mending the part of he world that is within our reach--to bring light where there is darkness. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes in her book, "Women Who Run With the Wolves:" Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take "everyone on Earth" to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale. William James writes: To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.

More on giving:

Five years ago: At the high school soccer banquet, the coach says, "Danielle Barone. What can I say about Danielle? Team Captain. All-League selection. Also plays basketball and lacrosse. President of the National Honor Society. A true leader on an off the field. Always ready with a smile. Always making everyone feel welcomed, at home. Always inspiring her teammates to do better, again, on and off the field."

WOW!

Danielle and Bruce, Rockefeller Center, March 2006

Who knew then in March my dad would soon pass away in April?  He (and my mom) taught me (and my sisters and brother--and all they came in contact with) all about giving, about love--about unconditional love. About service and joy. So tonight I find myself thinking about my son and daughter, about my Dad, and life and death and birth.

A reminder which seems to relate to my focus:

About Matta's early paintings, Duchamp once wrote, "His first contribution to Surrealist painting, and the most important, was the discovery of regions of space until then unknown in the field of art." Matta talked about "inscapes," morphologies of the psyche, maps of the mind. Martica Salwin, the Matta expert, described inscapes as "visualizing the psyche, which means not just looking at one thing in one time, one point of time and space." Inscapes encompassed, she said, "the past, present and future all mixed into one."

How does this (inscapes) relate to simplicity? One source lighting? Short lighting? Pregnant women? My photography? Birth? Death? Re-birth? Love? Joy? Service? Astonishment?

Wednesday 15

Colonoscopy. I drove my neighbor, David, this morning to Cooley Dickinson Hospital as he was scheduled to have a colonoscopy. On the way there he said, "I am going to ask the doctor if I can watch it on the monitor that way I can say I had my head up my ass." We both burst out laughing. Hours later, I picked him up and he treated me to coffee and a bagel at Evolution Cafe in Florence.

Tuesday 14

What Has Never Been.

The painter who has found his technique does not interest me. He gets up every morning without passion; calm and peaceful, he continues the work he began the day before. I suspect he feels a certain boredom peculiar to a virtuous worker who continues his task without the unforeseen flash of the happy moment. He has not the sacred torment whose source is in the unconscious and the unknown; he expects nothing of what will come. I love what never has been. ~Odilon Redon, 1908 And here

Portrait of Violette Heymann, 1910. Pastels, 72 x 92 cm. Cleveland Museum of Art

The Fall of Icarus, pastel, The Rothschild Art Foundation

Monday 13

Peace.

In a friend's journal I read:

People talk a lot about peace, but what is it really? It is a vastness in consciousness that is boundless. It is beyond all the ordinary activities and cares of this world. It is who you are when all the things you do, think about and worry about are seen from a distance. If each blessed being here on earth could take a moment and experience peace, how different this world might be! Be still and know that you are god. God is in the stillness behind the scenes that make up your day to day life. That is why I say walk in the woods, meditate, and find out from the Source who you are. The cares and worries of physical reality may still be there, but with this perspective their pull on you may shift. It is my wish that each one here on earth experience deep peace and who they really are.

Sunday 12

Brunch and Art. We had a get-to-know-each-other brunch on our floor this morning here in Eastworks; what with all the new people who have moved in recently, it made sense. I made Soy Eggs, which were a big hit and a number of people asked me for the recipe. What a great group of fascinating people live here in Eastworks.

Saturday 11

More Serendipity and Easthampton Arts. I ran into my friend, Kathleen Treska, this afternoon outside The Blue Moon Grocery. What was so serendipitous about this meeting was she had just left her studio as I returned to the building after a walk; she mentioned how she was talking with Karen Dolmanisth the other day about me; how I might be able to photograph Karen's art installation as if they were portraits. This would be a great honor as I love Karen and her art.

Karen received her BFA at Parsons, Cooper Union, and The New School for Social Research in New York, and an MFA from UMass. Karen has presented her contemporary experimental and performance art internationally and is currently showing at the Canal Gallery in Holyoke, Massachusetts and the Pierogi and Dabora Galleries in New York City. She has received critical acclaim in the Village Voice, Art New England, New York Magazine, Newsweek and on several occasions in The New York Times. Karen has taught in the Netherlands and across New England.

John Haber writes (Autumn 2002):

Karen Dolmanisth's circles of sand and mud manage to bring earthworks inside a gallery. They may connect, too, to the circle used at Ground Zero on the anniversary of the killings. Although the show had opened the day before, Dolmanisth was still installing the work with her feet and bare hands, happily ignoring me. Just in case I thought her work entirely site and time specific, up on the gallery mezzanine a video shows her doing much the same elsewhere—only then not while talking on her cell phone. At what point had the work gone from installation to performance? I have no idea, and that is what creates such a nice space between entropy and ritual.

It was Art Walk Easthampton tonight but I only had time to dash out early (@5:00) to visit Jeff Mack. Daryl and Kiley were coming over for dinner and I had to be back home by 6:00.

Kiley and Daryl (and Nadine):

After dinner and we said our goodbyes I visited a few open studios here in Eastworks. My first stop was the Red Horse Press where I photographed Brandon:

And then Brandon, Shoshana, and their adorable baby:

Then I headed down the hall to the infamous Invisible Fountain where I saw the gifted singer/songwriter Flora Reed.

Later some strange looking man in a metal hat and goggles invaded the opening:

Friday 10

Will You? Won't You?

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat: They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are, You are, You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!" Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl, How charmingly sweet you sing! Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried: But what shall we do for a ring?" They sailed away, for a year and a day, To the land where the bong-tree grows; And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, With a ring at the end of his nose, His nose, His nose, With a ring at the end of his nose. "Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will." So they took it away, and were married next day By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon;   And hand in hand on the edge of the sand They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon, They danced by the light of the moon. ~Edward Lear, 1871

Thursday 09

Serendipity.

The more you talk and think about it, The further astray you wander from the truth. Stop talking and thinking, And there is nothing you will not be able to know. To return to the root is to find the meaning, But to pursue appearances is to miss the source. At the moment of inner enlightenment There is a going beyond appearance and emptiness." - Seng Ts’an (yr. 606)

Nothing happens without a purpose. Whether we attract success or repel it depends on our willingness to stay open to a wide range of possibilities and to embrace concepts like synchronicity. The universe is always ready to care for our needs, but we must not write off its loving attention as mere circumstance or chance. Likewise, we must endeavor to ensure that our egos do not become a barrier that prevents us from recognizing that even perceived mistakes and strife can be profound lessons that smooth the progress of personal evolution. When we understand that we only need to enthusiastically try our best to realize our objectives, the universe will take care of the details, propelling us forward in its unstoppable current. We may not always immediately understand the significance of certain experiences, but our trust will help us choose wisely at each crossroads. Today's Daily OM

Wednesday 08

Valley Free Radio and Halibut Creole. This morning I was interviewed by my friend Mo on Valley Free Radio. It was more of a conversation, which is the way I have always approached job interviews---not an interview, but a conversation. I am reminded of Theodore Zeldin's book, An Intimate History of Humanity, in which he writes: "...no life can be considered to be fully lived if it has not benefited from all the encounters of which it is capable." And:

The first know conversationalist was Socrates, who replaced this war of words by dialogue......Before him, the model for all speech was the monologue: the wise man or god spoke and the rest listened......His (Socrates) brilliant idea was that if two unsure individuals were put together, they could achieve what they could not do separately; they could discover the truth, their own truth, for themselves. By questioning each other and examining their prejudices, dividing each one of these into many parts, finding the flaws, never attacking or insulting, but always seeking what they could agree between them, moving in small steps from one agreement to another, they would gradually learn what the purpose of life was...... But conversation is not made just of questions: Socrates invented only half of the conversation. Another rebellion was still needed, and it came with the Renaissance. This time it was a rebellion by women...... The model whom everyone ultimately copied was Madame Rambouillet (nee Pisani, she was half Italian)......(she) showed what it meant to sociable in the most refined way, so that it no longer mattered how rich, or how well born, or how physically beautiful one was, provided one knew how to take part in a conversation. She organized conversation in an entirely new way......People of all classes and nationalities met in her salon--and in many other salons which imitated hers--for conversation......they concentrated on expressing their thoughts with elegance. "I look upon every day to be lost in which I do not make a new acquaintance," Dr Johnson. (I have always loved this quote.) Only when people learn to converse will they begin to be equal.

On my way to converse with Mo I passed this cornfield. I made a u-turn. I got out of the car. I photographed it.

For dinner I made Halibut Creole. From WHFoods, we learn:

People have been enjoying halibut as a food ever since this beautiful fish appeared in the Earth's waters, basically since time immemorial. Halibut was considered a sacred fish throughout history and was oftentimes served on holidays, especially during medieval days in Europe. In fact, the English derivation for its name reflects the sacredness of this large flatfish since "hali" signifies holy, and "but" signifies flat.

Tuesday 07

Wow. Now available:

And then this I read today:

Trust me. This darkness is a place you can enter and be as sage in as you are anywhere; you can put one foot in front of the other and believe the sides of your eyes. Memorize it. You will know it again in your own time. When the appearances of things have left you, you will have this darkness. Something of your own you can carry with you. We have come to the edge : the lake gives off its hush; in the outer night there is a barred owl calling, like a moth against the ear, from the far shore which is invisible. The lake, vast and dimensionless, doubles everything, the stars, the boulder, itself, even the darkness that you can walk so long in it becomes light. Margaret Atwood - Interlunar (Excerpt)

Monday 06

Calling All Angels.

Santa Maria, Santa Teresa, Santa Anna, Santa Susannah Santa Cecilia, Santa Copelia, Santa Dominica, Mary Angelica Frater Achad, Frater Pietro, Julianus, Petronella Santa, Santos, Miroslaw, Vladimir and all the rest a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries and high above the church bells start to ring and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in somewhere you can hear a mother sing then it's one foot then the other as you step out onto the road how much weight? how much weight? then it's how long? and how far? and how many times before it's too late? calling all angels calling all angels walk me through this one don't leave me alone calling all angels calling all angels we're cryin' and we're hurtin' and we're not sure why... and every day you gaze upon the sunset with such love and intensity why it's...it's almost as if if you could only crack the code then you'd finally understand what this all means but if you could...do you think you would trade it in all the pain and suffering? ah, but then you'd miss the beauty of the light upon this earth and the sweetness of the leaving calling all angels calling all angels walk me through this one don't leave me alone callin' all angels callin' all angels we're tryin' we're hopin' we're hurtin' we're lovin' we're cryin' we're callin' 'cause we're not sure how this goes ~Jane Siberry

This evening:

Sunday 05

Rosary. This refrain: Back again: I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love. I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you.

From here.

Saturday 04

A Day In Photos. I went for a walk and I practiced using my external flash in daylight.

I keep coming back because I must. I must see the change day-in and day-out. It is a form of meditation to witness. "Absolute attention is prayer," said Simone Weil.

I have been looking at log ever since I moved to Eastworks and today I bushwhacked my way down a hill and stood in ankle deep water so I could finally photograph this log.

Yesterday Danielle called to say she loved the "ice blue" photo of Chelsea and she asked if I would make a few other photos from The Bridal Expo "sepia-toned." So here is one of Nicole:

And one of Satthra from The Bridal Expo:

Friday 03

Differentiation.

A friend writes to me today:

"It just occurred to me that the world has such a tendency to reflect back to us the "negative" aspects of ourselves. There is triple magic in your photos because in stark contrast, your photos reflect all that is best and beautiful in people and the earth. Your vision/gift is priceless."

Not sure if I completely agree with Margaret Atwood, but she did make me laugh:

"Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pâté." ~Margaret Atwood

I love this photo (and so does she):

Talked with Ana Maria on the phone for nearly two hours.

Late in the evening, Kim and a few other people from the Apollo Grill came upstairs to see my loft. Kim has been a great supporter of my work and she said something tonight that meant much to me as I am often filled with self-doubt; she said why would a bride hire someone to photograph her wedding and get photographs that look like every other wedding when she could work with me and get distinctive and unique photos that truly reflect her wedding.

Kim saw a photo of Maggie on my wall; I gave it to her. It's all about love.

Thursday 02

Rust. Rust colored leaves. A mountain of rust. Last week's brilliant bouquet of color gone. Vanished. Fallen. Rotting on the ground. On the cemetery lawn. On the mountain side. In the dark and dreamy water of The Lower Mill Pond.

Good advice:

The more you talk and think about it, The further astray you wander from the truth. Stop talking and thinking, And there is nothing you will not be able to know. To return to the root is to find the meaning, But to pursue appearances is to miss the source. At the moment of inner enlightenment There is a going beyond appearance and emptiness. - Seng Ts’an (d. 606 )

Today:

Wednesday 01

Finally. At some point during the course of the day it dawned on me that there must be website builder software online at my service provider. There was. And I built a site for Bruce Barone Weddings. Basic; but at least there is now a wedding site online.

From last week: