It Came From Beneath the Earth

Life, growing in different directions.

Like a sci-fi movie from the 50s, sometimes nature is a trip to behold. Take a look at this odd assortment of roots and bulbs that I walked past a week or so ago, growing out in tremendously interesting ways. 
I couldn't have conceived of it as a piece of fiction if I tried!  
Wild, America.

Springing up and out.

Profuse root system at work. Does that look like a bear claw to you, too?

Nature: The Hornet's Nest

Paper nest in snow.

I saw this beautiful paper wasp's nest on top of a frozen layer of snow, crossing a field one afternoon, and upon closer inspection, miraculous. After all, it's state has changed dramatically with the seasons. What was once a fearsome home in the summertime for fighter bees that stung ferociously upon invasion has become, in wintertime, yet another piece of flotsam and jetsam that can succumb to the elements at any time, long abandoned by those creatures who lived an entire lifetime in the mere speck of a few months to us as humans.

It looked so fragile and temporal, seemingly floating on the surface of ice that had hardened after a recent snowfall, and yet so firmly fixed in its' position. I touched it after taking a picture, and it revealed to me those dual natures under my hand as well: flimsy, light, papery, given to crumbling around the edges, but as a whole nest, it was also surprisingly hard and immovable, locked in it's winter home. I was moved by this, as I made my way to meet my own fates for the day in that sunny freezing weather, a day that was both cold and warm, hard and soft, beautiful and difficult.

Me, the hornet's nest, and a dog's tracks, at different times.

Beauty: Make-Up Free Marie

Tired, make up free me looks OK (with help from cleavage).

I was surfing Twitter last week, and I noticed a story about celebrity women without make up that freaked me out. They're not new stories, and of course, the shots were by paparazzi in a quest to catch these particular celebs at their worst, (women famed for their beauty), either in poor lighting, or very early in the morning, or just leaving the gym, or when they weren't dieting for a role. Jesus. The "with" makeup and "without" shots were gruesomely different, with the exception of one or two woman, most notably Kim Kardashian, who looks great naturally. I've written about my public stance on cosmetics before: I'm not against them at all, I just don't want to get caught out looking like a circus clown in plain clothes, or a drag queen on her day off. I blame overzealous Photoshopping production artists pushed by ad execs as much as I do the photographers, though. You have to be complicit with sort of thing to airbrushwoman into all irrelevance with regards to her day to day life.

Me, the morning of this piece, minutes after waking up, make up free.

As it so often does, pop culture lead me back to myself, to take a good hard look. I know I look great at 43, I know I look great without make up, I know I'm photogenic, and I know I 'm an exception to most rules, but I'm also a woman, vulnerable to the same harshness of society's gaze as any other woman walking the streets, and I've heard it all: "She's plain" to "She has, like, these little bumps all over her face that you can see if you talk to her up close" overheard by me as a bridesmaid to my soon-to-be sister-in-law. Yay! She ignores me mostly or takes weird passive-aggressive snipes under her breath when she leaves the room. For the record, my skin DOES have bumps, and pores, and some fine lines, and sometimes blemishes, just like all human skin does. It doesn't not have the excessive skin damage of say, a sister-in-law who thinks that tanning cures all her ills. Sorry, girl. I'm pale and I know it. But by knowing who we are really well, it prevents other  people's insecurities from getting under are skin, and that's the most valuable advice I can give any girls out there struggling with the crap thrown at them when they dare to look through a fashion mag: to thine own self be true, and the rest are just haters.

Me in natural light, with pores, bumps, blemishes, and some fine lines.
I'm wearing cover up set with powder, mascara, cream blush, & lip balm. 

So, in the interest of honesty, I shot myself in different lighting conditions, with makeup and without, while still trying to get a nice looking pic with good color, clarity, good composition, etc. And it really is true, I honestly prefer myself without make up because my dark eyes pop out against my skin tone, which gives me what I think is a unique appearance, one that holds the key to my ethnicity and cultural make up. I also train fairly regularly in gyms or dojos, and if there's one thing I know for sure, it's this: if you have even a bit of oily skin, the quickest way to ugly break outs is sweating profusely in make up. It's just so gross, plus it gets on my gi, and that stresses me out more. I may leave cover up on a raging blemish out of deference to my sparring partner, but even that I dislike. I wash it ALL off before I train, and I wash my face again afterwards, going home with a clean face. 

Diffuse light gives a warm glow to the skin that's favorable.

 It's one of the times when I feel most like myself. In professional settings, I prefer to wear make up because it helps me either blend in or knock 'em dead (like war paint), depending upon whichever effect I need to perform for that day. I famously took the summer off from cosmetics at one publishing house early in my career; it gives my skin a chance to air out, plus I get freckles, a little color that I find appealing, and my hair lightens up in the sun. Instead of saying kudos, the art director looked at me and noted I looked "surprisingly well". He's not exactly my biggest fan, but like I wrote, because I actually like myself, I can withstand just about any barb someone throws my way. Wanna-be photogs be warned: not only can I shoot better pics than you armed with just my iPhone (and ruthlessly critique said shots like an art historian in print), I fight, too. Let that sink in, and don't let me catch you behind a bush. When the lights go dim at the end of the day, who are you? Do you like what you see? Do you wake up looking at a stranger in the mirror, or simply like yourself?

Overexposed (highlights are blown out, losing some detail), though still showing some fine lines on the skin that make it realistic as a portrait.

Curly-haired, and you've accepted it? Same: http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/curls/.

Nature: Loud Bark

An exceptional variety of bark coloration.

Any good painter or textile artist or designer will tell you that the study of nature is essential for divining patterns. R.I.S.D. (The Rhode Island School of Design) has a Nature Lab devoted specifically for that purpose: chiefly, to school young artists in the ways of observation as it exists naturally. 

The Edna Lawrence nature Lab at RISD.

It was one of the places on campus that I loved best as a student, because it called to those interests already begun at my mother's knee (herself with degrees in Botany and Biology). Whenever I see a great pattern, I'm already thinking about its' inspirational uses, whether as a background texture or a beautiful photo or a funky fabric, such is the diversity of a well trained creative thinker. What inspires you?

Are you also a fan or flora and/or fauna? The follow me here: http://pinterest.com/mariedoucette/nature/.