- Author: Cindy Yee
Karen Norton, my neighbor and friend, passed away peacefully at midnight after a brief illness. It seemed fitting to her master gardener friends that today is National Gardeners' Day. Karen was a very nice neighbor, veteran master gardener, and accomplished ceramist and art teacher. One of the things I will miss about her are the most enjoyable garden-themed ceramics classes she would hold in her garage studio twice a year.
When Karen put out an email re: a future class, if you were lucky enough to be on her mailing list, it was imperative to reply immediately. Her classes would fill within minutes. Even when I was late however, Karen always managed to fit me in. She even allowed me to invite my friends if she had space.
I really looked forward to her classes. They would always begin with a stroll around her gorgeous garden for inspiration. The first picture shows my leaf wreath, where I picked leaves in her garden that were then rolled onto the prepared clay, cut and affixed to the wreath form.
Karen's classes were so enjoyable partly because she greatly minimized the opportunities for mistakes by her students. Karen prepared and rolled out the clay herself beforehand, so we never had air bubbles in our clay (or resulting explosions in the kiln).
Drawing and painting seem to come naturally to me. But not so with ceramics. Karen was an unfailingly patient and helpful teacher, and never ever rolled her eyes at my many flubs. Thanks to her, every project of mine was a success and I love them all!
After the projects were glazed and fired, Karen would have an unveiling where we would "ooh" and "aah" over our beautiful work, followed by a potluck lunch in her lovely home.
RIP Karen. I will miss your friendship, and your ceramics classes. Have a wonderful time growing and tending your heavenly garden where everything blooms and nothing dies, until we meet again.
- Author: Paula Pashby
I recently received a gift from a friend, a lovely brooch pin that is shaped like a lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) flower, with beautiful oval-shaped petals. My friend said that she chose the lotus brooch because of my love for yoga and nature.
“Lotus” is a term used in yoga to describe a cross-legged sitting pose for meditation, where each foot is place on the opposite thigh. The lotus flower represents strength, self-realization, and positive transformation. The reason the lotus flower represents these positive elements is because the plant seems to be “reborn” each day during its bloom cycle.
The lotus plant is rooted in mud,and the flower will rise above water for a full dose of bright sunshine. At night, the whole plant - beautiful petals and all – will “dive” back under the mud where it instead will remain immersed all evening. The next day the flower will again push up through the mud and surface to open its petals for the day. The petals have a waxy protective coating that repels water and dirt, so the flower emerges cleansed of the mud and ready for a sunny day of nourishment. The flower petals will open clean and shiny each day, which is why the lotus has become a symbolic association with rebirth.
I now wear the lotus brooch gift on my favorite gardening hat. I appreciate the sentiment of the gift, which is the same feeling I carry whenever I am digging in earth while tending my garden.