My understanding of the beauty and symbolism of the elm tree comes primarily from literature. Thoreau suffered when, in 1856, the Concord elm was cut down. Many novels and stories from earlier times cite the way elm trees arched over and shaded the streets of small town America. Sometimes their shapes were compared to fountains or wine glasses, green emblems of upward thrust and celebration.
None of this is part of my own visual vocabulary. I recall my girlhood confusion at the denuded city streets named “Elm,” yet it seemed I encountered one in every town. Perhaps that is why the title of Wes Craven’s 1984 film, “Nightmare on Elm Street,” has an eeriely apt echo of the macabre?
We are lucky to have a single example surviving on the boundary line between our property and the lot next door. Elm trees can live, they say for hundreds of years unless brought low by fungal pathogens. I hope this one outlives my human span. I’m pleased to say that the prognosis is good.
(The image above is of an ailing ash tree on the southeast corner of our driveway.)
My sister, Karla, is celebrating her birthday today, and it is a banner year for her. The poem for today hints at her many talents, kindesses, and wisdoms — each one better than the next. Happy Birthday, Karla!Many Happy Returns of the Day!
I thought a good companion post might highlight Northfield’s new public art, an actual banner of books created by a local artist, Rocky Casillas Aguirre, in conjunction with the Northfield Public Library and the City of Northfield’s Art in Public Places Program.
The 170-foot long mural is made of individual panels. It is designed to celebrate Northfielder’s love of writing and reading books, to screen the site of the demolished Archer House, and (once the current lot is built upon) to be able to be displayed in other locations, panel by panel, and to be stored easily. The line-up of more than 100 titles by authors with Northfield connections spans more than 100 years and every genre imaginable. I love walking by it and spotting works by people I know and being surprised by titles by authors whose Northfield connections were news to me. And I am thrilled to have one of my own titles included.
For more background on the artist, and recent thoughtful local commentary, as well as splendid photos, take a look at this article from SE Minnesota. Aguirre has work in the Paradise members show opening…today! …in nearby Faribault’s Paradise Center for the Arts. He is also the executive director of a visionary local non-profit called Sharing Our Roots. Their website explains that “Sharing Our Roots envisions a world where food and agriculture systems are profitable for farmers, fair to workers, beneficial to consumer health, restorative for rural communities, and regenerative for the environment.”
Below are a number of images of the banner and its vicinity. How many titles have you read?
My poem for today, “Snow Madonna,” was inspired by the art of two residents of New York City: Heide Hatry and Fran Dillon. Without their work, my poem wouldn’t exist. And maybe interdependence is the point?
I became aware of internationally celebrated artist Heide Hatry in October 2024 when her work, along with that of Francesca Schwartz, was discussed at the Artist Study Group monthly forum offered by the William Alanson White Institute for Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology. Hatry’s collaborative work with poet Leonard Schwartz, celebrating the Eurasian owl, Flaco, produced Flacofolio, which a friend– who shares my love of owls rural and urban — brought to my attention.
This past winter, with the help of volunteers, she created temporary public sculpture from snow and stones to draw attention to the phenomenon of global warming. Here is short news film on her work this winter. And if you would like to learn more about these amazing polar bears in their native habitat and the erosion of that habitat — take a look at the non-profit Polar Bear International website. Humans have a window in which to solve this problem that we have created. Awareness, activism, and action are all needed now.
It was another friend, Fran Dillon, who co-directs the Artist Study Group, who shared her photographs of Hatry’s ephemeral snow sculptures with me and gave me permission to share them with you. Thank you, Heide and Fran!
Polar Bear Family (Photo: Fran Dillon)
Fran also shared with me an anonymous — and universal — message of kindness, one sculpted from the natural materials of Central Park. I leave you with this!
It is also National Cheese Fondue Day, National 8-Track Tape Day, National Submarine Day, National Living Donor Day, and National Barbershop Quartet Day.
Phew! Who knew?
It turns out that all 365 days of the year have multiple celebratory claims on them, each quirky, possibly historical, and passionately championed by at least one other American. Curious? Take a look at National Day Calendar and look up your birthday or anniversary. Perhaps you’ll find even more reason to celebrate.
But I digress.
To observe National Pet Day, I want to celebrate our own Stella. As a five-year-old rescue, she came to us on March 7, 2022 already with her name. Since then, she has become our own North Star, our beacon of hearth and home. (Above, Stella in my office in 2022. Below, another early image, the one I use as my screen saver.)
The word “couture” has buried within it the root words for “suture” (or “thread”) and “com” (or “with,” “together”). I have been fascinated by this art form from afar for decades. For the first time, I am exploring it in an up close and personal way.
I tailor-make texts all the time. I design one-of-a-kind quilts for myself and for the people I love, and knit socks to fit unique feet. With garments, however, I have lived off-the-rack–department store, boutique, occasional consignment chic, but mostly catalog fare leavened by accessories.
Last autumn, pondering what to wear in my solo appearance as a mother of the bride next month, I decided I wanted to explore out of the box options. I was so very fortunate to learn of MHD Couture in Saint Paul, and my second fitting is today. Maggie Dayton, the couturière, is a true artist and an adept listener (to the said and unsaid). She is helping me (well, doing all the work!) fashion an outfit of separates (skirt, blouse, jacket) that will rise to the occasion of a wedding but can be worn in different ways afterward. The goal is an ensemble that fits not only my particular form at this stage of my life but, just as important, express my own quirky sense of style. I can report from the muslin fitting that is it an incredible pleasure to experience molding something “almost” into something exactly right in terms of fit. A perfect body? Never was or will be my experience. But a perfect fit–that is achievable.
Below are a few places you can, if you like, learn a little more, as I have about the technology and techniques. Muslin Fittings are used in couture, while Mock-ups are used by all kinds of designers mainly to acquire feedback from users. Mock-ups address the idea captured in a popular engineering one-liner: “You can fix it now on the drafting board with an eraser or you can fix it later on the construction site with a sledge hammer.” Love that! The couture version is a cloth-centric translation of the carpenter’s adage: “Measure twice, cut once,” where the cutting is twice but only once with the expensive shantung silk from Ginny’s Fine Fabrics in Rochester, Minnesota.
Shantung Silk Ginny, of Ginny’s Fine Fabrics Trusted Fashion Consultant
In a loosely related aside, I am thrilled to know that Meryl Streep and Co. are releasing a sequel to one of my very favorite movies. This May 1, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” will open in theaters all over. I already have plans with a fellow arm-chair fashionista and Vogue reader to rewatch the classic 1995 send-up, “The Devil Wears Prada,” and after, come hell, high water, or even high heels, to see the new release on the big screen!
