The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Several friends recommended The Hare with the Amber Eyes to me, given my interest in both Japanese art and Jewish history. This nonfiction paperback from 2010 reads like a mystery. When artist Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of 264 Japanese carvings, he decided to trace these netsuke through five generations of his family's tumultuous history.

The Ephrussis were once influential bankers and art patrons, like the Rothchilds, but after two world wars, little remained of their vast collections beyond the netsuke. De Waal travelled from his home in England to Paris, to Vienna, to Japan and to Odessa, collecting photos and documents, and interviewing survivors. Like a detective, he pieced together the clues to learn about his collection, the collectors, and how the Nazis nearly obliterated his Jewish family. Old photos illustrate his narrative, taking us back in history. His book was well written and very original.

While reading The Hare with the Amber Eyes, I had the opportunity to visit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which has netsuke on display. The tiny figurines were designed as toggles for purses hanging off traditional Japanese garments since kimonos didn't have pockets. Carved of wood or ivory, the netsuke are small enough to hold in hand but are exquisitely detailed. Their often grotesque humor reminded me of gargoyles. The netsuke were invented in the 17th century and were popular until 1868, when Japan was opened to the West. I loved the story of how the Ephrussi collection returned to Japan, and how these small artifacts survived so much history. I wish the museum would let visitors hold their netsuke in hand.

While in California visiting my son at UC Berkeley, I took the train 15 hours south to meet Barrie Summy in San Diego. Although we've been crit partners for years, this was our first time meeting in real life. We talked enough for all that missed time. It was so much fun! I'm so grateful to Barrie for hosting this wonderful book review club for more than a decade and for connecting all of us through our shared passion for books and blogging. Thanks, Barrie!

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In-Flux-Out by Isabelle Pelissier & friends

I was walking in the woods when my usually quiet dog started barking: Men with chainsaws were chopping down trees! I shared Scout's dismay, but this was not our property so we continued on our way. A few days later we returned, and to my delight, instead of a clear cut, we found a sculpture garden.

Scout was transfixed, wagging her tail like she'd spotted a wild animal.

Then she turned to me grinning, inviting me to come closer.

I walked around the installation, watching how the iron caught the sunlight through the trees.

The tentacles seemed to move like an octopus underwater. I wondered who had created this gorgeous work of art and why it was installed in these woods.

Once again, Scout retrieved the answers from a pamphlet hanging from a tree:

Isabelle Pelissier's In-Flux-Out can be viewed from the paths 

off Pickard Fields at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

Happy Rosh Hashanah! 

May this new year be better than the last.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens with my Daughter

Before my daughter started her summer job, we enjoyed a staycation in Maine. At the top of her list was returning to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, an hour up the coast from us. For her high school senior project Gemma designed a guide to Maine medicinal plants.

CMBG also combines botany and art; sculpture is an integral part of the gardens and seaside trails. My favorite was this supersized pinecone made of rusty old boat propellers.

We first came here with my kids' playgroup, so many years ago Gemma can't remember. There's a children's garden and fairy house building zone in the woods. We were relieved to see that no lady's-slippers were slain for this fairy abode. These woodland orchids grow naturally in Maine at this time of year.

For the botanically illiterate, such as me, plants were conveniently labeled. There was a Japanese accent to the design too, reminiscent of the gardens of Kyoto. At one point, I considered a career in Landscape Architecture until I learned that most work comes from designing parking lots.

We loved the exuberant colors of these Candelabra Primroses. The bright sunshine and dappled shade made photography challenging, but it was perfect weather for exploring the grounds.

The lilly pad pool reminded us of Monet's Garden in France.

Our favorite bloom was the Showy Lady's-Slipper, glowing in the midsummer light. I'm savoring these glorious June days. All too soon, I'll be back to work revising my manuscript. Boothbay Harbor, where these gardens are located, was another town that inspired my fictional Port George.

CM Botanical Gardens:
May 2015 Visit: spring blooms
August 2012 Visit water & sculpture

Blog Watch: if you enjoy botanical posts, check out garden bloggers Tina in Tennessee & Skeeter in Georgia, Les in Virginia, Rose in Illinois and Vivero in Texas. I'm a lazy gardener and prefer admiring the work of others.

Huffington Post posted this beautiful image in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey last night. ISIS attacked a Muslim country during the holy month of Ramadan. When will this senseless violence stop?

Botanical Illustrations of Native Maine Medicinal Plants

Gemma at Pettengill Farm on the Harraseeket River in Freeport, Maine

At my daughter's school, Waynflete seniors research a month long independent project. Gemma combined her love of art, nature and wilderness survival for her project. She did the first drawing (the Balsam Fir) at Chewonki Semester School junior year, which was her inspiration.

It was a fun bonding experience to accompany my daughter into the woods this May. I was her location scout and guide, but she identified all the plants herself and researched their medicinal uses now and historically. I learned a lot from her.

One of the highlights was an overnight trip to Monhegan Island, ten miles out to sea, but most samples were collected within a half hour drive from home. Some, like the Mountain Ash, grow in the old growth forest behind our house. We also explored the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor.

I was impressed by Gemma's ability to render these complex plants and trees with botanical accuracy and artistic acumen. Each drawing took five or six hours to sketch in pencil and then ink. With the help of her art teacher, the results were bound into pamphlets for her peers. In her powerpoint presentation, Gemma included maps and DSLR photos too. She would make a fine teacher/professor some day. I love how we share a passion for art and nature.

The American Mountain Ash has berries rich in vitamin C, 

which have been used to treat kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis and diarrhea.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Yes, it is still winter in Maine. Give me the sun on fresh snow, and I'm blissfully happy.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson won the 2015 Printz Award for young adult fiction. This literary novel set in Northern California explores artistic creativity and sibling rivalry. I had hesitations about reading a twin book since authors tend to treat them like circus freaks. There was also a dead mom, which has become nearly a cliché in YA. Nelson, however, has an original take on these tropes.

The narrative alternates between thirteen-year-old Noah and his twin sister, Jude, three year later. In between the twin narratives, their mother's death pushes their lives in opposite directions, alienating the once close siblings. Jude sounds more like a typical teenager with her sassy quips and amusing superstitions while Noah has a more quirky perspective. He sees emotional moments as paintings and can't express his true feelings in words. The duality of sibling rivalry versus loyalty made for a powerful dynamic.

I'll Give You the Sun pushes boundaries for young adult fiction but doesn't quite break them. Jude has a crush on her model, who is an art college student from the UK. Oscar flirts back because he believes that sixteen-year-old Jude is his age. She is young enough to believe that her "soul mate" will overcome his long history of substance abuse and womanizing. The resolution did at least reinforce that their age gap would be seriously problematic.

The amorous feelings between Noah and his new best friend were more age appropriate for a young adult audience. It was wonderful to see a homosexual relationship treated as a romance instead of as a tragedy, although there were barriers and no easy resolution.

The gorgeous writing captured the emotional intensity of the teen years:

"I didn't know you could get buried in your own silence."

"How can I hate him and wish I were more like him at the same time?"

"This guy makes me feel like I'm actually here, unhidden, seen."

"I feel pinned to this awful moment like a dead insect."

"In one split second I saw everything I could be, everything I want to be. And all that I'm not."

I'll Give You the Sun was at its best on art, showing how artists see the world and describing the fascinating process of sculpting in stone. Art shapes character, propels the plot and is used metaphorically. The twins' art historian mom fostered their passion for creativity, and her spirit haunts them, blurring the line between mourning and the paranormal. My favorite relationship was between Jude and her mentor, a sculptor who challenges her in art and in life. Guillermo Garcia was a nearly mythical character:

"I...watch him work, watch him rake his hands, dripping with wet clay, through his hair, over and over again, until it's not clear if he's making the sculpture or if the sculpture is making him."

This beautiful novel spoke to me as an artist. I could see glimmers of my teen self in Jude and in Noah, who define themselves by their art. I was lucky to have had wonderful mentors and an artist mom, who is still very much alive and not haunting me. I would have loved this edgy book as a teenager and I enjoyed it as an adult too.

Reviewer's Disclosure: I bought a hardcover copy at Bull Moose in Brunswick and was not compensated for my review. The charcoal life drawing is one of mine from high school.

October Favorites in Maine

Reading in my hammock, under a canopy of gold,

Wearing flannel shirts without jackets,

Picking apples with my daughter,

Biking on country roads,

Shopping at the farmers' market,

Brilliant maples at Bowdoin College 
(my husband's lecture hall)

Painting en plein air at Lookout Point,

Bird watching on Seawall Beach

Hiking safely at Morse Mountain (before deer hunting season)

Happy Halloween!

10X10 Art Show, Brunswick, Maine

On Friday night my watercolor painting will be part of a group art show to benefit Arts Are Elementary, a non-profit organization which brings artists, writers and performers into Brunswick elementary schools to work with students. Local restaurants are donating tasty hors d'oeuvres. Come join us!

Reid State Park, watercolor by Sarah Laurence

At this time of year if I'm not online, I'm probably out on location at work. I usually complete my paintings in one afternoon, racing the tide and waiting for the sun to reveal the shadows. Watercolor captures the flow of the ocean, and it's easier than oil paint to take on location. My studio is a rocky cliff, a secluded beach or a peaceful lakeshore.

I painted Reid State at this time last year, feeling wistful about these final beach days. I might be the walker or I could be reading a book, painting or enjoying the spectacular view. That's Seguin Island on the horizon as seen from One Mile Beach at Reid State Park, Georgetown, Maine. It's a half hour drive from my house.

10X10 Benefit Art Exhibit & Sale 

At Curtis Memorial Library and St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Next door venues on Pleasant Street, Brunswick, Maine 04011 

Friday September 26, 2013 from 6-9 pm 

(art is $200, including 10-inch-square frame) 

Public Preview: 

Thursday 9/25 6-9pm and Friday 9/26 12-3pm 

or visit the online preview

(my painting is at St. Paul's Church)
More info: 10x10brunswick.org

Blog Watch: BookLust is hosting #Diversiverse, a link list to reviews of books by authors of color. My review of Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier was posted last week. Reviews must be posted during the last two weeks of September so it's not too late to join. Right now I'm reading a recommendation, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. This marvelous memoir in free verse is on the National Book Award long list too.

Painting at Reid State Park

On this wintery March day (6-10 inches due), I'm longing for watercolor weather. Let's flashback to September, my favorite month for painting en plein air in Maine. Working outside a studio requires meditative patience and a sense of humor about the hardships. Watercolor is the most challenging of paint media because you can only work darker, not lighter. Wet paper buckles and the paint is hard to control. Mistakes can't be erased. On the plus side, watercolors are portable and dry quickly. The flow of the paint mimics the flow of the water. I enjoy challenges. 

Reid State Park in Georgetown is an ideal spot for painting on location. Picnic benches are set to face the spectacular views. They're popular with mosquitoes and green-heads too so I cover up and bring bug repellent. The park is a half hour drive from my house.

After scouting out a location and testing compositions in my sketchbook, I line up my supplies.



The first step is a detailed pencil sketch on heavy weight Arches paper taped to a masonite board.

Then I use liquid masking fluid (the yellow) to preserve the white boulders and surf. After the mask is dry, I block out the base colors in thin washes of watercolor, using sponges and broad brushes. This is a leap of faith. The under drawing vanishes and the painting has to look terrible before it finds focus.

As I work, the tide falls, shadows lengthen and colors intensify. I enjoy the serendipity of working on location, of looking up and seeing kayakers paddle past. Fish jump and birds fly by. This is no still life.

The details are rendered in layers of paint, using finer tipped brushes. The penultimate step is rubbing off the liquid mask. The white areas are paper without paint. The final step is working detail into the white.

I work quickly to capture the grays, browns and blues in the boulders and the turquoise in the water.

Too soon the sun sets and the tide falls. There's not enough light left to finish my painting. Bother.

I pack up my paints and watch the sunset. A camera is best for capturing fleeting images in low light.

I return another clear day with a similar tide to complete the painting. In these two images you can see the differences between a photograph and a watercolor. The photo lacks definition, flattens the perspective and has no movement. This is why I prefer to work from life than from a photo. Once the painting was done, I removed the tape that held the paper to the board. Now the watercolor is ready for framing. I'll be painting more watercolors in summer...after the snow melts. Sigh. Please share your daffodils.