While exploring Golden Gate Park, I came upon a heavenly sea of nasturtiums edged by Mexican primrose (why I love San Francisco)

P.S. I've turned comments off because I want you to simply enjoy the photo. No words required.

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please visit CindyGarberIverson.com

Pain, pain go away come again some other day

Notes to self:

1. When it is excruciatingly hot and humid outside, don't try to fill up the green waste cans just because collection is the next day.
2. When Hubby tells you it's time to come inside... listen to him.
3. When you are staggering from heat exhaustion, don't try to do just "one more thing" even if it's just bending over to pick up your pruners.
4. When you feel a tweak in your sciatic region, ice it immediately and don't let it get so aggravated that it goes into full spasm.
5. When you ignore all of the above advice (because you know you will): lay down; let your back heal; don't try to go out and photograph anything; go through your archives of thousands of photos to find one to post (like the one above); re-post-process the photo on your iPad while you're still laying down... and try not to be too wistful about how you could be escaping this blistering heat someplace else cooler not too far of a drive away if you would have followed "notes to self" 1 through 4.

By the way, I shot the above photo 

while I was looking up 

from the streets of San Francisco's historic Chinatown 

on a visit a few summers ago.

A visit to the Conservatory of Flowers... like a trip to Hawaii without the cost of airfare

Sitting like a white palace in Golden Gate Park is a magnificent building--the Conservatory of Flowers. Constructed in 1878, it has been there for a very long time. The building strikes me as a "she" for many reasons. She has survived a major fire in 1883; the horrific San Francisco earthquake of 1906; another fire in 1918; and devastating windstorms of 100 mph shattered the 30,000 glass panes and the glass dome in the winter of 1995-1996.

I'd say that sort of tenacity has to come from a "she" wouldn't you agree?

She reminds me of many of the women in my family that lived in the San Francisco area at the same time the Conservatory of Flowers was built.

The above image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

For years after the catastrophic winter of 1995-1996, the Conservatory sat in a state of restoration. Whenever I would be driving through Golden Gate park I would wistfully look at her and wonder what she looked like inside. Fortunately, after a masterful restoration she is open to the public once again. And like any elect lady, her true beauties are within.

Stepping into the first of five separate climate rooms, I was enveloped with the warm moist tropical air of the Lowland Tropics room housed under the main dome. It was chilly outside so my glasses and camera lens fogged up right away. But once everything got acclimated, it was time to explore.

Stepping into the next annex, I found myself in the cool humidity of the Highland Tropics where more than 700 of the 1000 known species of high-altitude orchids native to Central and South America happily reside.

Then stepping through another set of double doors I was enveloped by warm moist air even denser than in the Lowland Tropics room. The Aquatic Plants room showcases a massive pond in the center with a breathtaking array of aquatic tropical plants growing within it.



Some pale blushing anthuriums were one of many tropical flowers growing around the pond.

Tracking back through the rooms and exiting the Lowland Tropics room on the opposite side, I found myself in my favorite room--the Potted Plants Gallery. Fashioned after what garden historians have termed the "Victorian Pot Culture", the room made me feel as if I had stepped back in time 100 years.

Click here to read more about the Potted Plants Gallery

Hubby and I sat for quite some time in this gallery on the large curved bench at one end. It was peaceful and serene. It felt like a home away from home. During certain times of the year this gallery's air is pungent with citrus blossoms, but on this particular day the air was only laced with the aroma of fresh soil and the smell of green life... and it felt like home.

More facts about The Conservatory of Flowers (from Wikipedia):

• The building remains the oldest in Golden Gate Park and is the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining in the United States
• The central dome rises nearly 60 feet (18 m) high and the arch-shaped symmetrical wings extending from it on either side make up 240 feet (73 m) in overall length
• Physical evidence suggests that the Conservatory of Flowers was constructed originally of redwood milled on the West Coast

In a not-so-far-distant land...

On the edge of a very big city called San Francisco, is a misty magical forest.

And in the middle of the misty magical forest is a beautiful palace.

The palace is guarded by a lion.

The lion lies at the palace gates every day

and gazes out beyond the misty forest to the sea and the hills beyond the sea.

Through the mist, the hills on the other side of the sea

appear to be giant's toes dabbling in the waters.

The old lion thinks he is guarding the palace from the giant...

and no one tells the lion otherwise.

Just inside the palace gates,

one of the world's greatest thinkers sits and thinks very sage thoughts.

Inside the palace live many important people.

Courtiers converse with grand dames of elegance and refinement.

Queens grace the halls wearing their royal jewels and finery.

And despite the lion guarding the palace from giants that will never invade,

The world's greatest thinker pondering the universe,

And all the royalty walking and conversing with utmost refinement...

The palace cat must still endure all manner of indignities

at the sticky fur-grabbing hands of the palace tot.

All photos taken

at the Palace of the Legion of Honor museum of art

in San Francisco, California

Have you ever seen an Egyptian mummy smiling?

I hadn't... until I saw this one at the Legion of Honor art museum in San Francisco.

Dark pink hydrangea

This hedge of dark pink hydrangea is in Golden Gate Park. I made sure not to change the color of the blossoms in post-processing because they were so beautiful.

Creativity's journey

The background photo in the above piece came out of an old family photo album and really was taken in the 1950's in San Francisco.
The illustration is a watercolor of my own creation.
I'm hoping to do a full series called 'Frisco in the Fifties because San Francisco and its history are so dear to my heart.

I am coming up on the three year anniversary of this blog and also the anniversary of me embarking on the journey of self-discovery and re-awakening the artist within that had stayed dormant for a decade.

The journey has been interesting thus far. It's far from over. I don't think it ever will be... thankfully.

I'd never been very open about my creative process (I'm really a cynical introvert by nature). The blog changed that... a lot. I think it has forced me to create differently and explore niches and avenues that I otherwise wouldn't have.

Hubby is convinced that all artists are "tortured souls" to some degree or another. I admit that I have my fair share of artistic torture and angst. Here are some questions I ask myself that probably other creatives do too...

When I'm tortured about submission rejections of my work I ask,

"Do I want to be a trend-chaser or a trendsetter?"

When I'm tortured about my agent not calling or emailing I ask,
"Does it matter if my art sells?"

Or I ask,
"If I license my artwork, have I sold out?"

Or this is a favorite,
"Does anyone like my work besides me?"

When I sit in front of a completed painting I really like, I ask,
"Where did this come from?"

The funny thing about blogging my creative journey and deepest creative musings is that its out there... in perpetuity... for all to see. That's pretty scary, because if my creative journey suddenly takes a detour or a complete U-turn, readers that are "along for the ride" may feel like they're getting whiplash. Of course, those that are creatives themselves know exactly what's going on because they do it themselves. At least I hope they do.

"'Frisco in the Fifties: Shopping at I. Magnin" is available in fine art prints and canvases by clicking here

A Gardener's Surprise in Downtown San Francisco

Last Saturday Hubby, my mom, and I drove into San Francisco to see the Ming exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. The museum is located in the heart of the civic area of San Francisco, and one can see the beautiful historic San Francisco City Hall from the steps of the museum. As we drove by City Hall to park and go into the museum, my gardening sensibilities were intrigued by the sight of the pedestrian mall directly in front of San Francisco City Hall--it was blooming in sunflowers!

After visiting the museum, I told Mom and Hubby that I HAD to go and see the sunflowers in front of City Hall. So we walked the short distance and found that not only were there sunflowers, but there was an entire vegetable and flower garden covering the space. The garden was planted as part of Slow Food Nation '08. Hubby and Mom sat on one of the many burlap-covered hay bale benches while I slowly meandered through the garden with camera in hand.

Butterflies, honeybees, bumblebees, and birds all flitted about in the garden that felt like an oasis in the urban center of San Francisco. The juxtaposition of the large produce garden against the bustle of urbanity was striking. It made for some really fun shots. And it also drove home to me once again, that it doesn't matter where a garden is, nature will find it and thrive.

The following are some of my favorite shots from a delightful afternoon...

Sunflowers in front of San Francisco City Hall

The juxtaposition of pollinators (Tithonia Mexican sunflower) against the background of city life

The large round beds alternated with pollinator flowers and edible produce

California Poppies slipped over the burlap berms that formed the large round planter beds



A non-traditional pink California Poppy caught my eye because it was so striking



The round bales of straw that served as a fence around the garden were
a favorite of the birds looking for nesting material

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