My encounter with Daisy
January 6, 2017
Detail from “Seaside Sampler” original design by Magie Hollingworth for Erhman Tapestry and stitched with adaptations by Meredith Eliassen.
How much time do we have before the tide comes in?
I head for the dunes.
I see a shoreline trotter.
She has a sunny friendly face…
And she answers to the name Daisy.
Detail of shoreline trotter named Daisy.
Time passes, and I begin to sing a song as I slow my pace.
A song comes to me.
The wind carried the words away.
Crabby today…
January 5, 2017
The beach empties except for a few seagulls.
A crab flirts with the idea of testing the sand.
He changes his mind.
The surf gently carries him away.
Detail of crab from “Seaside Sampler” original design by Magie Hollingworth for Erhman Tapestry and stitched with adaptations by Meredith Eliassen.
A breeze touches my bare feet, reminding me that I am here in search of treasure.
Which way do I go?
Towards the rocks or to the little lighthouse on the other side of the dunes?
I see a boy who is gazing into the sky.
He lifts a finger to determine the wind’s direction…
He takes off and soon his kite drifts aloft.
The wind is steady… let’s go fly a kite! He says.
Detail of kite from “Seaside Sampler.”
A Stormy Winter Morning…
January 4, 2017
As a child, I collected memories like sea shells that have become part of my psyche… piling into a car with my family, we traveled windy roads to the shoreline.
The tide ebbs slowly.
The seas calm like a child after many tears.
A climb down to the beach…
Seagulls beckon…
Letting go of my mother’s hand to explore…
I carefully edge over the grassy ledge to the soft sand below.
The cloud passes…
The sun is still there.
Detail from “Seaside Sampler” original design by Magie Hollingworth for Erhman Tapestry and stitched with adaptations by Meredith Eliassen, 2017.
In the distance, other families, and many children engaged in adventures of their own… I climbed to the highest rock and stand. I see a lighthouse in the distance.
Detail of lighthouse with seagulls in the foreground.
Where to the seagulls hide when storms come?
Prayers for Anyone in Matthew’s Path
October 7, 2016
LIFE * TRUTH * LOVE designed by Meredith Eliassen, 2016.
The Lesson of the Flying Fish…
May 7, 2016
“Flying Fish,” inspired by a circular fish motif from a medieval manuscript, was designed by Meredith Eliassen, 2016. TO PURCHASE NOTECARD
The flying fish originally had no wings, but having an ambitious and discontented nature, she repined at always being confined to the waters and hoped to soar in the air.
“If I could only fly like the birds!” She thought, I should not only see more of nature’s beauty, but I should be able to escape from those fish that are continually pursuing me that make me so miserable.”
The little fish petitioned Jupiter for a pair of wings and immediately felt her fins expand. They grew to be the length oh her body and were so strong. That she soon took on an air of disdain that her former companions did not appreciate, and soon felt herself exposed to new dangers. When flying in the air, she was first pursued by a tropical bird and then by an albatross. Distraught, she returned to the ocean, so fatigued by her flight, that she was less able to escape the larger fish.
Finding herself even more unhappy than she had been before, she returned to Jupiter and begged him to return to her original state.
Jupiter responded: When I granted you your wings, I knew they would prove to be a curse, but your proud and restless disposition deserved this disappointment. Therefore, what you begged as a favor, keep as a punishment!”
Source: John Aikin (1747-1822) and Anna Lætitia Barbauld (1743-1825), Evenings at home, or, The juvenile budget opened (New-York : Harper & Brothers, 82 Cliff-Street, 1839.) Barbauld was unable to publish because of her political stances, and collaborated with her brother to get this book published.
In Memory of the Weekend Storm…
March 16, 2016
“And Feel the scent of water above the scent of earth a faint wind makes me look up see the water.” English translation of words by Swedish poet Göran Sonnevi, design by Meredith Eliassen, 2016.
And another seascape drawn with a Sharpie pen last year…
Stylized drawing of waves by Meredith Eliassen.
Will the Bond of Friendship Hold?
February 26, 2016
Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer George Bizet (1838-1875) with a libretto by Eugène Cormon (1810-1903) and Michel Carré (1821-1872) that premiered in 1863.
An imaginary seascape for Les pêcheurs de perles set ancient island Ceylon featuring to pearl fishers. Design by Meredith Eliassen, 2016.
Set ancient island Ceylon, The Peal Fishers is the story of two men who vow eternal friendship, which is threatened by their love for the same woman who is conflicted with her emotions related to secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess.
New Year By the Sea
January 4, 2016
First design with another Robert Lax poem (expect more to come) in the new year, after a period of quiet solitude.
“I went to sit quietly by the sea. To think, to wonder about my friends. What I knew of them & and all I needed to know at least in those first moments was that they were or had become part of me they were part of my life as I looked out over the sea it was as though they were with me watching as though they had com to help me as I searched for what? for whom? they had come to help me as I searched for them” Words by Robert Lax (1915-2000) from “In the Beginning was Love: Contemplative Words of Robert Lax,” edited with an introduction by S. T. Georgiou (2015), design by Meredith Eliassen, 2016.
“I went to sit quietly by the sea” notecard and Survivors’ Hub Postcard
Wisdom from “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”
December 15, 2015
As the year winds down… this seems an appropriate thought… from Richard Bach’s epic poem. Happy Holidays!
Quote by Richard Bach from “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” reads as follows: “Overcome space, and all we have left is HERE. Overcome time, and all we have left is NOW.” Design by Meredith Eliassen, 2015.
Cool Campus Sunday!!!
April 19, 2015
Big news! I did my first 5K and finished.
Stylized drawing of waves by Meredith Eliassen.
My reward was a free concert (part of the Morrison Artist Series) by the Julliard String Quartet of Haydyn, Shulamit Ran, and Beethoven with a Schubert scherzo. Awesome! It was virtuosity times four. It is easy to forget how powerful the sensory experience of live concerts can be, and this should always be available. I came with expectations and was shocked how the Ran affected me. Thanks Julliard boys! You were exquisite. And thank you Morrison Artist Series for bringing these concerts to San Francisco for the public to enjoy! You rock!!!
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