I live in Newburgh, New York. Just above the Hudson River. Sometimes the view outside my window is an awesome sight. The building is Orange County Community College. It's a morning sunrise.
To me, the Hudson River Valley is resplendent with artistic inspiration.
To be able to share this with you in some way is my joy.
I spent many years as a floral designer, specializing in silk flowers. My skills brought me to China over many years. In China, I designed collections of flowers, striving for botanically correct accuracy and colors. This required that I work closely with the Chinese design masters in the production factories of China.
And this is how I got involved with photography. I would show them the photos of the flowers I wished for them to produce, and stood in awe of their amazing artistry and craftsmanship.
The "spiritual" relationship to flowers came through my study of Ikebana. For over fifteen years I studied with a Japanese Master Teacher of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana in New York. She taught a relationship to flowers that she referred to as "The Flower Path". A deeply spiritual woman. One of the most nurturing I ever came to know.
In Ikebana, flowers are positioned to face and "communicate". They have a distinctive relationship to each other, of space, color and texture. The arrangement is meant to engage and elevate one's viewing experience.
Meditation. Over 40 years of my life studying with masters of meditation and inner self awareness. What can I say. Meditation gives one a different set of eyes. I can no longer look at an object without seeing some dimension of light and energy. This is how I look at flowers. Not only flowers, but everything. At times, the flower I am working with evokes a message. I'll write it down. Some of these are shared in the section called Affirmations.