04 Dec Gardening As ART
News from THE ART OF SALEENA KÍ & GARDENSONG PROJECT:
SOOTHING MY TROUBLED ARTIST
Recently, inside of me, I noticed a kind of yearning niggling around; an uneasy feeling because I haven’t created much ART this year. It is that MAKER inside of me. Suddenly it dawned on me that my ART this year has been GARDEN ART so that soothed my troubled ARTIST, as I looked around at the amazing creations in GARDENSONG and our POLLINATOR HABITAT. I even helped my MOMSY, who just moved to Booneville this Summer, to manifest the beginnings of her MAGICAL GARDENS. So that set me into creative flow to tell the story of my GARDEN ART.
GARDEN ARTIST
Now I can say that 2016 Spring Summer and Fall have been consumed by the ART of GARDENING. My creative impulses have been mostly focused on my GARDENSONG PROJECT http://saleenaki.com/gardensong/. My rather obsessive “LOVE OF FLOWERS” began with the creation of several modest FLOWER beds and has morphed gradually into the realization and co-creation of a Pollinator Wildlife Sanctuary Habitat. My co-creation is mostly with Nature and the many Nature Beings that live and play and take care of Nature and us. Being the GARDEN ARTIST, I get to do the physical labor to help shape something beyond Mother Nature’s natural wild tendencies. I am grateful Handy Hugh helps when I need it. Momsy has helped me, too. I also listen and respond to the myriad of ideas that come from my Nature Allies, as we have agreed to co-create GardenSong together.
LIVING CANVAS
I activated GardenSong2 Booneville several years ago and it has matured from a tidy flatland with mowed grass and a few large TREES into a gorgeous LIVING CANVAS of COLOR MOTION SOUND SCENT & TEXTURE. A variable gathering space for some of Mother NATURE’s finest LIVING ART. This Summer and FALL has been so blistering HOT and DRY, so I add the element of LIVING WATER to the COLORS and this keeps my WATER COLOR colors fresh and alive in the Gardens.
I love waking up daily in an environment of LIVING breathing moving ART! During the first thing I do is walk to my back door and look out. In Spring-Summer-Fall it is Flutterville. The terraced FLOWER & VEGETABLE GARDENS brighten my HAPPY MORNING SUN GARDEN. Up until a few weeks ago it was blooming with purple Verbena and covered with white, brown, orange and sometimes yellow LIVING FLYING BITS of BUTTERFLY COLORS. I grab my camera, pin the back door open and stand inches from these lovely ALIVE FLYING COLORS as I snap PHOTO STORIES I hope to share with you.
NATURE’S PALETTE
Tall dried gold and brown Sunflowers rustle at the back of the garden. They all grew from the Black Oil Sunflower Seeds I spread daily for our FEATHERED FRIENDS all last WINTER. Tiny bits of LIVING FEATHERED STROKES, from Nature’s red yellow brown blue PALETTE, visit to enjoy the rich feast of seeds.
LIVE PERFORMANCES & ART MOVIES
One day I watched dramatic LIVE PERFORMANCE and filmed a short ART MOVIE through the glass-paned THEATER SCREEN of my back door. I was first alerted that the PLAY was about to begin by a high chittering bell-like tweeting. On the STAGE was a Mother Cardinal sitting on the browned dried Sunflower props with a baby bird, near her size, all puffed up, flittering his wings and mouth open. “FEED ME, FEED ME, MOMMY!” it chirped in BIRD TALK. Mommy was laboriously pulling the tiny seeds out of the giant Sunflower, cracking them, then stuffing them into the open squeaking mouth! What fun! I grabbed my camera and filmed my own ART MOVIE while enjoying this LIVING PERFORMANCE with its spontaneous volunteer ACTORS and ACTRESSES.
Soon another baby Cardinal joined in and Mommy was almost frantic trying to stuff both hungry mouths! At one point, with two twitting babies to feed, one of them got impatient and actually tapped her head with its beak! I had to stifle my laughter in case it might frighten them away…
Then another brilliant red cloaked actor, I assume it was Father Cardinal, lands and watches them while casually eating his own seeds. Finally Mommy flies off with a kind of flippant “Your turn to feed ’em.” attitude. The babies instantly flew to Daddy and one fluffed up and spread her tail so pretty, while twittering her wings to invite Daddy Bird to feed her. He did just that. I clapped quietly, cheering them for their heart warming genuine performance.
BEAUTY OUT EVERY DOOR
Then I look out my side door into another LIVING PALETTE OF COLORS stroked into the various FLOWER GARDENS.
FLOWERS sway and dance in the breezes in BUTTERFLY HAVEN inviting Pollinators to sup a sweet breakfast. Brilliant LIVING SPLASHES of COLOR nectar there. BEES with brilliant yellow pollen packed around their legs, entertain me with their busy BEEness. I feel HAPPY that we are providing SAFE HAVEN where they can THRIVE and LIVE.
A brilliant yellow and red Gladiola is slowly presenting her LIVING FLOWER ART, opening her gorgeous blossoms one by one each day. Each one is a complete MASTER PIECE. Yellow Dahlias, orange spotted Trout Lilies, along with brilliant indigo blue BRUSH STROKES of the tiny mystery FLOWERS that adorn the HAPPY ONE EYED FROG GARDEN and POND.
SUCCULENT GARDEN sits atop clay pots cleverly arranged on an old weathered mossy picnic table. It is a mass of RED, YELLOW, WHITE, ORANGE, PINK and MANGENTA BRUSH STORKES on another LIVING CANVAS. The Flower Fairy and Bird Fairy enjoy the various kinds of buzzing BEES.
HEDGEHOG GARDEN hosts a large SMILING STONE that resembles a HEDGEHOG without its spines. The stately Brown Eyed Susans show off their rich GOLDEN YELLOW and BROWN FLKOWERS above splashes of DEEP PURPLE, VIOLET, BURNT ORANGE and SOFT PINK of the FLOWERS. A volunteer vine spirals and twines to add a grace to another lovely natural painting for my pleasure.
Ancestors Garden adds bold pink and yellow strokes to the painting.
The Lovin’ Mother Garden has overgrown with masses of tall green and orange giant Cosmos. Sweet potatoes vine intertwine with Watermelon vines and spread out their lovliness everywhere amoungst the spreading Strawberries.
The new HEART GARDEN is taking its time to catch on and flourish. Maybe it is like some of our hearts. BOLD RED DASHES of the PINEAPPLE SAGE in bloom hung with LEMON YELLOW ornaments, CLOUDY SULPHUR BUTTERFLIES nectaring. It brightens my HEART to gaze at this LIVING ART.
MUSICIANS, TOO
I look up and the sky is a brilliant BLUE CANVAS filled with astonishingly beautiful moving stokes of white to peach clouds. The AIR all around me is filled with MUSIC.
NATURE’s GREATEST MUSICIANS constantly trill, tweet, croak, laugh, bark, moo, bray and yip all around me. Trees and Bushes add their soft swishing sounds to the clicking and ticking of the INSECT PERCUSSIONISTS.
Small to Grand Trees sway and move as LEAFY DANCERS highlighting my BLUE CANVAS. A Tree friend calls me to come sit with him and listen, feel and share in this LIVING ART together that surrounds us.
In the wee hours of the morning BIRDS SING LOUD! I wake to a cacophany of SOUNDS; MUSIC seeping in from everywhere! They continue there serenades throughout the day.
Our many FROG PONDS and the 3 FROG FACTORIES host wonderful CHOIRS of SINGERS whenever it rains. The sound of the WIND, RAIN, rushing WATER add instruments to the NATURE’S ORCHESTRA of rich SOUNDS.
All Summer the WAVE GARDEN is full of tall Red Fennel blooming yellow blossoms and covered with a very specific kind of striped Wasps. Their buzzing adds to the music. Knowing that I have been a part of making sure all these POLLINATORS have good food makes my HEART SING, too.
A sleeping Dragon, Flutterleaf, adds PERCUSSION as she snores softly in DRAGONWOOD, all the while dreaming in a NEW REALITY.
ART OF FAIRIES
The FAIRY GARDEN has adopted the BLUE FAIRY and the “My Blue Garden” sign from my Momsy after she moved here this summer. Blue Fairy still hasn’t found her wings that got broken in the move.
The BELVES of BOONEVILLE tend their little Garden, keeping the orange, yellow, purple, pink, peach, and gold vibrant and alive. Their Den/Cave is lined with soft green Moss, brought in from FAIRY GROTTO by their Creator, Momsy. Little magical beings of all kinds hang out on the rocks and in the cave, waiting for their BELF friends to come out and play.
So you see, I LIVE INSIDE my COLORFUL MAGICAL LIVING ART every day. I am one lucky woman!
