Blog entry

Flaunting Flowers - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" – Buddha

Spring is in full swing here in the Desert Southwest.  Since there was more rain than normal during the winter and on into spring, the flowering trees and the wildflowers, especially the poppies in the Franklin Mountains, have been spectacular.  The various cacti and succulents haven’t started blooming yet with all their sometimes garish colors, but they should be extra pretty, as well. This time of the year, my thoughts always turn to working in the flower beds, trying to decide where to put “just one more” plant.  Watching plants reawaken and start their flowering is indeed a miracle . . . and does change my life for the better.

With flowers in mind, I decided this week’s Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday would feature flowers.  Three floral inspired handmade pieces, which turned out featuring mostly pink flowers, were chosen from the shops of handmade artisan friends.  The artisans are: Jacki of Christie Cottage; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy the handmade beauties.  And be sure to visit the shops of the artists for even more gift ideas - for someone you love or for yourself.

Shades of Purple - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

Up until the 1850’s, the color purple was most often associated with nobility.  Cyrus, a Persian king, wore a purple tunic, adopting it as his royal uniform. Some Roman emperors even forbade their citizens from wearing purple clothing - under penalty of death. During the Byzantine Empire, rulers wore long purple robes, used purple ink to sign their orders, and their children were described as being “born in the purple.”  Why? The reason was that a pound of purple wool cost more than most people earned in a year! The color purple was produced from a species of rare sea snail, centered in the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. It took as many as 250,000 of the snails, which produced a purple staining mucus, to yield just one ounce of usable dye. After the fall of the Byzantine empire in the 15th century, the upper class monopoly of purple fabric waned - but it was still expensive.  It wasn’t until the 1850’s with the creation of the first synthetic dyes that the color purple became more widely available.  

I, for one, am glad that the color purple is now easily attainable.  With that in mind, this week’s edition of the Three for Thursday blog is titled “Shades of Purple.”  Three items from three handmade artists are featured. The artists are: Cathy of Crafting Memories; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  I hope you enjoy all the different shades of purple found in the beauties shared.

Beautiful Blues - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

Blue is a much beloved, favorite color of many, many people worldwide, especially in Europe and the United States.  But, if you look back at the history of blue, it was an ignored color for quite some time.  The Greek and Romans had no word for the color - it was never mentioned in any of the many texts produced at that time.  The color itself was barely distinguished from neutral shades. In the Odyssey, for example, Homer mentioned white and black hundreds of times, rarely mentioned red and yellow and used the term “wine-dark” to describe blue items, such as the sky or the sea.  What we think of as blue was associated with the Celts who were said to have painted their bodies blue before going into battle, women with blue eyes were believed to have loose morals and descriptions of rainbows omitted the color blue altogether!

A Moment of Zen - Three for Thursday

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to garden, mainly growing flowers.  There is something so gloriously fundamental about putting my hands in the living soil and planting something that will benefit bees, butterflies and/or hummingbirds (my way to decide what to plant - plus drought tolerance once established is a must since we live in the Chihuahuan Desert).  Planting and tending to the plants is my meditation and I experience many moments of Zen when I feel deeply connected to myself, to others and to Mother Earth.

Just what is “Zen?”  It’s to explain, especially when it is often tossed around so carelessly in popular culture (maybe like I just did above).  Zen is an authentic spiritual tradition, a path to an awakening: awakening to / realizing who we really are, and awakening the aspiration to serve others and take responsibility for all of life.  Zen is believed to be our true nature expressing itself moment by moment.