...dust to dust
London, ON, April 2007 [Click to enlarge]
Quick note before I click the Publish button: I thought I'd briefly switch gears and post an image that's been embedding itself into my head for the past couple of weeks since I took it. The neat travel, the career shift, the photography and the writing all make for fun topics of discussion, but this picture reinforces - in my mind, at least - why all of those great slices of me matter in the first place. Simply put, they're meaningful because they allow me the luxury of lingering in my daughter's classroom (and by extension the [event/life's experience] of [fill in all of our kids' names here]) and taking in the moment. I wish for many more chalk circle moments in my life. And yours.
In my daughter's fourth-grade classroom, there's a box of chalk that just begs to be captured. As I stare into the dusty box, I see colors and textures that I don't want to forget. So while the kids play and their parents chat, I surreptitiously take a macro shot with my wife's camera.
Eventually, it'll all be dust. For now, however, it inspires me to keep looking for brilliant colors in unexpected places.
Your turn: Where do you find color in your life? Think metaphorically, if you wish.
One more thing: Bonus points if you muse on the significance of the title of this entry. Have fun with it...
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21 comments:
I love that picture, Carmi.
In a box of NeoCitrin at the moment. I have this cold from hell at the moment and the only bit of color that I have noticed all week is the yellow shade of the hot drink. Hopefully I will have shaken this cold in a couple more days so I can actually go outside and enjoy what spring has to offer. From the window I have noticed that suddenly all the trees have burst into leaf! Finally!!
Color in my life? The people....each person I love has their own unique color that they add to my life....they are each great on their own but I love to mis them up and see what happens! I am so blessed....
hhhhmmm....the title?
"Life is like a box of "CHALK"lates...." :)
Have a wonderful Sunday Carmi!
its a beautiful pic, Carmi.
I really like that shot. To answer your questions, I try to find color everywhere in my life. Chalk circle... circle of life. Chalk in a classroom (even the classroom called home) will spend its entire life teaching and/or allowing the expression of its users creativity. By the time its dust there's no telling how many minds it will have influenced. Even if it gets eaten, there's a lesson...
I interpret "chalk circle" to be that things are coming full circle in your life...back to the basics, family, walking kids to school, the little simple things that make life go around each day.
Great picture....
Chalk circles.....what is left behind after a flurry of creative play on the streets in our neighbourhoods?
Chalk circles....colourful playground art left after the game has been played?
Chalk circles....the pastels of love and belonging drawn around a family.
Brecht wrote a play with this in it's title......if i can remember back to my university days...it was about a tug of war struggle between two people over a child.....Not a happy thought.....so will stick with my first thoughts :)
My colour today? I am spending the afternoon making a big meal for my family and some friends .....colourful Italian simmmering sauces, rich in reds....
This picture reminds me of the 1970s british series "Simon and the Land of Chalk Drawings."
Cheers,
Patricia
http://careerspaceezine.com
The color in my life comes from friends and family, specifically grand-children; from the flowers I get to work with daily and from the foods I eat! Good photo, Carmi!
Colour is everywhere if we look.
Color in life, for me, is definitely when I'm out doing something in nature. In fact, today I saw a Baltimore Oriole and it was gorgeous!
But, I love your picture!!
Beautiful! They almost look wet they are so brilliant.
I have a hard time finding color in my life. I don't look for it often. Maybe I need to be more vigilant about looking for it.
Carmi,
I've just spent a delightful hour reading your and your wife's blogs. You have a lovely family.
Congratulations on your carreer/life changes--very exciting.
I've been tempted to comment on your blog in the past, but I've been a little intimidated. You are a terrific and thoughtful writer. My birthday wish (happy belated birthday to you, by the way) is to become less of a scardy cat when it comes to writing.
I have an unnatural affection for chalk, so this was the perfect post for me to jump in.
So here goes...I've always found the color in my life in words. I was the kid sitting in the tree reading, out of the fray of my younger siblings.
I only picked up chalk, crayons or paints when necessary -- for art class.
I was in my 30s before I discovered the power of chalk. Now I always have a box in my car. Friends get big chalk hellos and birthday greetings on the sidewalk and middle of the street.
I used to manage an independent coffeehouse and joked (unfortunately it was no joke) that our marketing budget was sidewalk chalk and word of mouth. Our customers looked forward to seeing what message or picture the morning would hold. Children would grab the bucket of chalk and decorate the patio. I often run into teens who tell me they have fond memories of creating art in the coffeehouse.
I love how chalk can be layered, and one person's art can be added to anothers.
I digressed from the color question, but I got to talk about my beloved chalk!
Color? In the mirror when I realize how very PINK my hair is, in the vibrant green of my lawn and the soft orange and red of the peaches on my tree, in the blue of Fuzzy's eyes, and, less literally, in the laughter of my troupemates when we warm up or rehearse, and don't have to "keep it clean" and in the laughter of the audience when they dig what we do.
I find my colour in my family and friends. In travel. In new experiences. In my dad's garden. In the strange little town I work in where I find no end to the entertainment it provides.
Michele sent me!
Carmi, I was hoping that you were playing Michele's game tonight, so you could tell me what holiday you are having. Happy Victoria's Day!!
Thanks!
I find color in my life (literally) in my kids wardrobe. We just celebrated their birthday and I'm staring at a PILE of summer clothes - shorts, skirts, and t-shirts in juicy, luscious, summer colors. Colors I don't have the chutzpah to wear myself, so I live vicariously through them. "Chalk" it up to getting older and more conservative I guess. Here via Michele - glad you're enjoying a great holiday weekend.
Chalk gives me the heebeejeebies. It dries out my fingertips and makes me shiver when I try to hold paper...
music is color to me...laughter of children is color...even the sounds of crying. It all has texture and color and depth. I'm an artist at heart, can you tell?
a wonderul colourful picture Carmi - had never really thought about chalk in that way before.... so colourful and yet here for so short a time really - the circle of life and chalk circles are intertwined... I am thankful for a colourful life, and when the sun shines it all glistens...
Somewhere over the rainbow....dreams come true!
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