When we last met for flower practice, Ariel began our silent meditation with a quotation from May Sarton's Journal of a Solitude: the Intimate Diary of a Year in the Life of a Creative Woman. The passage she read was one I was familiar with; however, I had forgotten some important details.
Having described some flowers she was living with, May Sarton said, "When I am alone the flowers are really seen; I can pay attention to them. They are felt presences. Without them I would die. Why do I say that? Partly because they change before my eyes. They live and die in a few days; they keep me closely in touch with process, with growth, and also with dying. I am floated on their moments."
Ariel and I had determined to work with leaves, curling, weaving and otherwise manipulating them. In preparation, we made a special trip to the flower district for aspidistra leaves and came up with a couple others--plus bittersweet, whose coloration and form were irresistible.
When we began creating our arrangements, I was intent on showing the purple underside of the calathea leaves, but mostly this was to little avail. It was a surprise a week later to notice that the leaves were curling around and showing that underside I so wanted to see! Not only was the leaf curling naturally but also it was curling more beautifully than I could ever manage.
This was "the process" of which Sarton had spoken. And the process keeps going, offering up new perspectives on beauty on a day by day basis. "Their moments" touch, move and inspire me.
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