To marvel at the water's edge

More frequently do I arrive at the river

to marvel at the water’s edge,

to walk against the current, or to walk with the flow,

to sit on a rock contemplating the wondrous day,

to hear burbling,

to meditate how deep reflections of trees are

with upside-down trunks playing trickery,

causing my mind to think that the course of water runs so deep,

when in reality

the river bed is not much more than a metre below the surface

on which leaves float,

where here and there

a surprise splash of frog or fish breaks the quiet surface tension

between wetness and air.

Towards the evening sun of October

look up high

to the bright blue sky and watch a distant plane paint its path,

look down low

to see the ball of heat reflected with sparkling, twinkling, diamante rays.

A small breeze buffets newly grown poplar shoots arising from old trunks cut down last Autumn before Winter 
to make way for Spring growth.

Passers by with dogs,

elderly arm in arm,

young in a different embrace,

family scenes,

solitary ones,

all enjoy pleasure from this garden.

I alone, learn to be alone, walk alone at my own speed,

having to wait for no one else but only me alone in my world,

not lonely,

yet sense aloneness

as I frequently arrive at the river to marvel at the water’s edge.

Evp

October 2011

L'art et Lard at Le Petit Pressigny

What a wonderful day!

I can't possibly show you in photographs all the artists' works that were exhibited around the village in houses, gardens, sheds, caves (pronounced as carves but some were trogladyte caves...) as I did not take photographs of their talent.  There was such creativity and inspiration. One young female painter whose exhibits were the earthy colours of Utah ...... told me how she walked in those canyons about 20km each day all by herself for 6 weeks !!!!!!!
I think my favourite art work at the festival exhibition were:
photography: Rieja Van Art avec les textes de Michele Guignandon and also those of Serge Lopez. The photographic content was the traditional cotton and linen of France.
sculpture: Claude Eybert  - he worked in wood, zinc, glass and broken crockery and the work is very tactile.
pottery: Dominique Maroille makes beautiful garden flowers and I love the miniature coffee mugs of Magalie
paintings:Charlotte Guérineau captures the subtlety of the ochre in rocks and sand and charm in her confident self is expressed in the passion she has for the desert.

If I were to have the time, I will later learn how to make a slide show of my humble photography.  Meanwhile here are some of my own art images, as taken apart from the first which was cropped: