Category: At The Seams
-
The Ides of March
“Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: He is a dreamer. Let us leave him. Pass.” – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar In ancient Roman times, the ides marked the full moon of each month. Since their calendar began with March, it was the first full moon of the year. As the ides were sacred to…
-
The Bloom of Spring
The flower garden bedazzles in springtime. First come snowdrops and daffodils in sparkling white and bright yellow. Then come a profusion of cherry blossoms and tulips in every brilliant hue. Finally Lady Banks’ roses arrive in thousands upon thousands of tiny bouquets, dangling like delicate wind-chimes. All is a gorgeous feast for the eyes, especially…
-
The Look of Love
If the 1960’s popularized twig-like Mod girls in mini-skirts and go-go boots and the 1970’s rebelled with the punk rockers, then the 1980’s ushered in the decade of the business woman. While women still earned less than their male counterpart, more and more were entering into high-status, high-paying jobs, and into power dressing. For a…
-
Danaë
In 1898, the literary critic Hermann Bahr wrote in the journal Sacred Spring, “Our art is not a combat of modern artists against those of the past, but the promotion of the arts against the peddlers who pose as artists and who have a commercial interest in not letting art bloom. The choice between commerce…
-
Cupid & Psyche
“O latest born and loveliest vision far Of all Olympus’ faded hierarchy! Fairer than Phoebe’s sapphire-regioned star Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky;” –John Keats, Ode to Psyche First appeared in Lucius Apuleius’ novel The Golden Ass in the 2nd century CE, the story of Cupid and Psyche was the latest born among the…
-
Aquarius
Aquarius means “the water-bearer” in Latin. The constellation Aquarius lies in a region of the sky referred to as the Sea, because it contains other constellations associated with water, such as Pisces the Fish, Eridanus the River, and Cetus the Whale. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy’s Almagest depicted Aquarius as a young man pouring water from…
-
The Snake
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3:4-5 Thus Eve eats the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,…
-
The Mermaid
Among the stories written by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid must be the most well-known of them all, so famous that the statue of the little mermaid by the waterside in Copenhagen has come to symbolize the city itself. And it is beloved the world over for good reason. Beside the beautiful writing that…
-
The Pink Flamingo
To muse about the pink flamingo, one must first look back into the history of American landscape design to visit Andrew Jackson Downing, considered the father of American landscape architecture. A devotee of the English school of garden design, Downing designed landscapes for country estates throughout the Northeast early in his career, while aiming to…
-
Bird of Paradise
Tourism is big business in Hawai’i. Between the balmy air, gorgeous sunsets, huge surfs, and all things American convenience, the stream of tourists flows non-stop year round. It’s pleasant enough to laze on the shore, admiring the view of pretty boys and girls running at them waves, licking up a cone of shaved ice, while…
hardlyplaying.blog 