I spent the day before leaving for the ranch at my mom's. I took the new camera for a spin in her yard. Looking through the lense of the camera made me slow down and focus (no pun intended) on one spot - one small specific space, not only in location but time. And as I looked at that one small specific space I began to understand that it was busting with life and activity.
I instantly thought of Albrecht Durer's The Large Turf, which is hands down the most artistically and scientifically perfect rendering of a patch of ordinary, everyday grass ever depicted. Ever.
Secondly, I thought of my experience of visiting rock pools in New Zealand. These small pools filled with starfish, sea urchins, etc. are entire universes unto themselves - complete self-sustained environments. But you look up from a particular rock pool to see you are surrounded by dozens more. And that particular space is just one part of one beach and so on and so on. Infinite.
But the absolute lovliness of getting lost and savoring all of the life in that specific rock pool was important and fulfilling, it made the world seem smaller and less overwhelming.
That is the mind set I want to enter Madrono Ranch with tomorrow.
Albrecht Durer
The Large Turf
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