The Language of Art

After being refreshed by an evening of yoga , I was asked about my recent trip to Prague. Now, with my energy revived, I was excited to share my enthusiasm for this journey. I named the wonderful sites and gave a short description of what kind of things caught my eye.

I also shared the fact that upon return, a walk into town has turned into a comparison of visual observations. I live in a wonderful city; we have a downtown area to shop, eat and peruse our local bookstore while enjoying the cafe. But absence does not always make the heart grow fonder. I tend to compare the recent scenery of a trip elsewhere with the state of my home surroundings.

So, as I described the trip and my return, I noted the differences. Yes, the weather was the same, cold, snowy and grey. But....the streets of Prague were stone, wonderful patterned stone. The buildings were from all ages, and all designs. Architectural texts could photograph a few blocks and have some great examples for incoming students. (I know that my own photographs provide a multitude of samples!) Every day there is a new coat of posters layered upon the old, advertising the next night's concert in a historic chapel or synagogue. Color, texture and culture were in abundance.

My walk into my own town after the trip seemed bland. The streets were not hilly and curving into the unknown. The pavement was flat and smooth, surely better for preserving the ankles and knees, but less visually stimulating. The architecture here is pretty much of the same age, with some variation, thankfully, but not much.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my neighborhood and town. I can find interesting texture and color in my home surroundings. But traveling to foreign textures and colors sure opens my eyes. Art is a blessing and a curse. It helps to see things in a variety of contexts. It makes the enormous number of photographs so varied that surely someone will be interested is at least some of them.

As for the knitting...I would be surprised if some of these patterns and textures didn't start showing up in my designs. The wheels are already turning.....