Scanner art by Craig Cramer, gardening & more
Hat tip to Matt Mattus for his post about rice field art near the village of Inakadate. Designs are ‘painted’ into fields using rice varieties with different leaf colors. (Here’s what the plants look like up close.)
I was pleased to see one inspired by one of my favorite woodblock prints of Mt. Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai.
More rice field art images here. Or google image search.
One of the many houseplant analogies Gail Collins employs in her NY Times oped, The Leaves Have It:
Everyone agrees that even if Mitch McConnell does resemble a large, root-bound sansevieria trifasciata, the Democrats will keep it to themselves. But there’s such a thing as getting carried away with bipartisanship.
I was once a resident of the great state of Minnesota. Sorry I wasn’t there to vote for you. But when I first saw you do this on SNL on the eve of the ’80 election, I knew you had skills few polititicians possess:
Al Franken Draws The United States Of America
I don’t think Rodney (Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter that he is) means this literally. Well maybe the gasoline part.
[Full disclosure: I work in Cornelly University’s Department of Horticulture.]
If one of your new year’s resolutions is to become more creative and perhaps unleash that artist hidden within, consider:
Introduction to Botanical Illustration
Course starts Jan. 19.
If you’ve ever wanted to become proficient at illustrating what you see in your garden, this 6-week online course will teach you the basics of rendering plants in pencil and ink.
The instructor, my friend and co-worker Marcia Eames Sheavly, is an accomplished artist who also teaches our popular Art of Horticulture course, recently featured by Julie over at The Human Flower Project.
More info about the course. | View the full syllabus.
There’s also an online organic gardening course that starts tomorrow, Jan. 5. You can still register if you hurry.
