The Old Ash Tree

Thou beautiful Ash! thou art lowly laid,
And my eyes shall hail no more
From afar thy cool and refreshing shade,
When the toilsome journey’s o’er.
The winged and the wandering tribes of air
A home ‘mid thy foliage found,
But thy graceful boughs, all broken and bare,
The wild winds are scattering round.

The storm-demon sent up his loudest shout
When he levelled his bolt at thee,
When thy massy trunk and thy branches stout
Were riven by the blast, old tree!
It has bowed to the dust thy stately form,
Which for many an age defied
The rush and the roar of the midnight storm,
When it swept through thy branches wide.

I have gazed on thee with a fond delight
In childhood’s happier day,
And watched the moonbeams of a summernight
Through thy quivering branches play.
I have gathered the ivy wreaths that bound
Thy old fantastic roots,
And wove the wild flowers that blossomed round
With spring’s first tender shoots.

And when youth with its glowing visions came,
Thou wert still my favourite seat;
And the ardent dreams of future fame
Were formed at thy hoary feet.
Farewell–farewell–the wintry wind
Has waged unsparing war on thee,
And only pictured on my mind
Remains thy form, time-honoured tree!

~ Susanna Moodie

Awhile ago I received a mint green Bijou Box from Case for Making, filled with my 8 favourite Ultra-Blend watercolours: algae, monarch, hibiscus, lupine, lagoon, tidepool, topax, and mermaid (my fave!). I had the opportunity to use 12 colours in the Art Toolkit Demi palette (1/2 the size of a business card) in England in Feb/Mar and loved the colour palette. The paint reactivates well when I wet them and dries quickly so that I can sketch on the go and pack up easily. They probably don’t act like a traditional watercolour, but I love it as I tend to use a sketchbook rather than a watercolour book in a soft ivory colour, so the colour and marks left on the page suit me very well. Having a nice selection of colour means that I don’t need to do much colour mixing, so that isn’t an issue for me either, and also hastens my travel sketching time. I may add some sponge or a piece of Swedish dishcloth in the center well where I store the paintbrush to make painting on the go a bit simpler and, though I will probably stick to the demi palette when travelling, I will be able to use this palette when I’m out and about in my community.

I’m 1/3 of the way through my perpetual journal for the year, and continue to look forward to working on it each week. It has surprised me to realize how many different plants we have in our garden and the fact that there are still so many to document. I enjoy the fact that I’m using an extremely limited palette of eight colours as it is making the project cohesive and allows me to be creative in colour mixing and application. I have never liked being ‘beholden’ to realism, so this is a lovely way for me to keep working in the manner that I prefer.

In interviews, I have often been asked if Funk is my real name or just an art name as my work is so ‘funky’…it is my name, but I do like that they have pointed out the connection. Earlier this week, I heard someone say, “I am unapologetic about what I desire and I trust that what I focus on will grow.” Trusting myself as an artist does not always come easily for me, but this quote feels relevant, particularly in regards to this project.

It is surprising how often one sentence, jotted in a notebook,
leads immediately to a second sentence. A plot
can develop as you write notes. Close the notebook and
think about it for a few days – and then presto! you’re
ready to write a short story.

Even in our unusual microclimate in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, we have always been able to grow grapes which I’ve added to make jams, syrups, and jellies as it is a great organic thickener. The birds love them, too. Grapes have anti-oxidant properties which prevent blood clots and naturally regulate insulin. This particular hybridized plant is part of the vitis riparia family (aka riverbank or frost grape), a cold weather blue-black berry which can be quite sour, and is known as the Valiant. They definitely have enjoyed our early wet summer and warmer autumn weather as the vines are full of these small fruit.