A garden is a room of imagination. Planting a seed I imagine the portrait of the coming inhabitant, and how she will adjust to the surroundings. Will she prefer to live close to a beautiful Aquelegia, or maybe a lime colored Hosta will make her shine?
Everything about gardening takes time, and meanwhile another inhabitant might have taken the spotted place. Some of these wonders are true vagabonds. You retrieve them on places they have chosen themselves, and you have to admit it, you could not have made a better choice yourself.
This is how dreams come alive. We have our visions, our dreams and fears – our experiences. Mixing it all together a new flower, a new scenery appears in front of us. It is up to us to enter the stage, or we might think something else is more important right now. We will come back later, when time allows us. Or we want to watch it on a certain distance, just for safety – till we know…
On our return the gate is closed. Sorry, no entrance!
On the wall in front of my desk I have written a line from a song (yes, I write directly on the walls – I am allowed): “cash your dreams before they die.” It is from Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones. Sometimes I need to be reminded of that simple truth.
Actually, I set down to write about my new book. No, I did not forget. I just took the winding road to get there. I prefer that road to the highway. Always so much more interesting stuff to discover. It takes time, and I admit, sometimes I forget my goal getting totally absorbed in some detail on my way. Maybe it was the tale of a dream. A tale of a fairy? A fairytale? I do not want to miss that for sure.
Yes, THE BOOK! It has a name. I called it Mandala.
Mandala is a circular, religious symbol – a manifestation of the gods and cosmos, or according to Jung a symbol of self. In Buddhism it is used to help focusing during meditation.
I approach the mystery of life through the language most familiar to me, the visual language. Living in my garden means taking the winding road. Passing a flower I have seen hundred times before I suddenly sense the mystery behind. The reflections from the sun creating dark shadows might have helped me to see, or maybe it was the shower that made it shine. Whatever. Maybe it is not the flower I discover, but the magic connecting everything together in the huge weave of life?
The photos in this book are built upon these discoveries – adding layer by layer from photos taken in my close surroundings: a flower, a leaf, branches on trees during winter, frost on a window or the ice on the pond conserving petals from the surrounding plants. Repetitions creating new patterns, and I can see a rhythm building up. The fine lines between art, nature and science are shivering. I recognize the shape of a ring. I enter the ring. I am in my garden, my viewpoint to the mystery.
MANDALA
is now available at Blurb.com
You can browse through it, and if you like to stay there, on the stage of the book, it is easy to order. You can have your Mandala book made with softcover or hardcover.
I will have a few copies in softcover available here, so if you prefer you can contact me at elly@ellyp.com
Beautiful, Elly – and mysterious…. this book is a fairy tale!
thank you so very much Sara!
Wow, a book Elly! Congrats; it looks like a feast for the eyes. Looking forward to perusing it!
Solveig, it was a real feast to create the pictures and to follow up with the book. I loved the commission and could go on and on and on…The book is adding my personal views.
Gratulerer med boken! Du er så dyktig, det er en fryd å se dette du deler med oss
Håper jeg en dag får sett noen fullskalaarbeider av deg, de må jo bli vidunderlige i et større format hvor man kan drukne i bildene og detaljene
Anne, hjertelig!! Og igjen – takk i lige måde. Jeg håper også jeg skal få vist bildene til deg og mange, mange andre. Slik det er nå ses de av mange, men er ikke åpent tilgjengelig. Hos KLP må man ha en avtale, men en venn av meg tok kontakt og fikk en omvisning. Det er jo en mulighet vet du. Veldig stor forskjell på det lille, intime bokformatet og det overveldende store. Jeg ønsket at bildene skulle ha en form som er spennende på avstand, og så detaljer som fyller ut bildet og gir nye opplevelser på nært hold.
Very beautiful book indeed and I love meandering in the back roads too. Lovely garden
Susan, thank you so much – happy to shear it with you.
Hei Elly!
Jeg kjenner at den boken bare må jeg kjøpe! Mulig å legge av 2 til meg? Jeg kombinerer gjerne henting med en hagevandring : ) Kanskje sammen med Bjørg?
Klem. Marit
So beautiful! Just saw you post to Sabine and thought I’d check out what you’ve been up to. Congratulations on a wonderful creation.
Lari, thanks a lot!! So happy to hear you enjoyed.