Thursday 2 May 2013

a little is better than none at all

i've had a scant two days in New Orleans
a small detour on the way to Inverness in NorCal
arriving at the witching hour very late on Monday
and
while my visit fell in the calm between the two weekends of the Jazzfest
i've still had a splendid time
warm welcomes from good friends
and a literal full baptism in a rain storm that filled my boots with water
 - they and my leather backpack are still quite squelchy -


my trusty bicycle had been pumped and polished for me
:: together we sailed along favourite byways redolent with an intoxicating fragrance
[magnolia, stephanotis and sweet olive, tempered with a hint of rose and a dash of iris] 
while luminous green tendrils of poison ivy wound their way
seductively up the live-oaks
wickedly whispering "touch me, touch me"


so it is time once again
to thank the wonderful folk at the Joan Mitchell Center
for looking after me so kindly
+
tomorrow i'll be at the airport at dawn
to be in San Francisco by lunchtime
and driving across that Golden Gate in the early afternoon
there was a time when i thought i might eventually have my ashes hurled into the Pacific from there
but now i'm thinking, maybe,
 

but not for a while yet, i trust
i have an exhibition to fabricate
ready for March 10, 2014
right here in New Orleans

12 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post. Your pictures are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh i so wanted to be in inverness with you ... but instead we are waiting for our first grand baby . but i will be close by in SF at my daughters house . i love west marin .bolinas & stinson beach are wonderful too.
    have a wonderful time .

    ReplyDelete
  3. hmmmm.... I will be headed CA way on the 11th......following near your footsteps......safe travels

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dang, the 11th is the day I'm losing on the dateline...

      Delete
  4. Wow, you've been near to my neck o' the woods. It's wonderful to hear my Southland described so beautifully as seen through the eyes of someone from another part of the world so different from ours. It's like seeing it with a whole new set of eyes. Don't let the poison ivy beguile you, but the Virginia creeper is quite safe, and I've heard it can be used for dyeing........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leaves of three, let it be is still firmly drummed in from my childhood. As for Nee Orleans...the place has got under my skin in a big way

      Delete
  5. Safe travels and more wondrous adventures!

    ReplyDelete
  6. always somewhere else.....

    safe travels

    ReplyDelete
  7. india....i so love your work and your philosophy about clothes, dyes, everything! i have your book eco dyeing and it's a treasure. i have two questions if you have a moment to answer. i would love to take a class with you. i live in memphis, tn so it's a long distance to where you are scheduled to teach. by any chance are you thinking of a class in new orleans? that's very close to me. in lieu of that....i am considering trying to take your class this fall in van couver or the one next spring in eugene, oregon. will the formats for those classes be the same. the making of the book is especially intriguing. thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the Vancouver class involves book + cloth...the Eugene class is only three days and will not include paper

      not sure about a class in New Orleans yet, but i do have an exhibition there next year [march 10-April 14] so i shall be around. somewhere.

      Delete
  8. Beautiful New Orleans! Thank you for the lovely photos which bring back memories...

    ReplyDelete