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While doing some very late spring cleaning, I came across two butterflies I created a few years ago.  At the time I think I was at a multi-pronged fork in the road.  As my mind mulled over next steps, I needed to keep my hands busy.  This is what I produced.

I once wrote a short story that had so many different shades of blue sprinkled throughout that an editor wrote to ask, “Cynthia, do you think you can insert one more shade of blue?”

Now, she may have been kidding, but I can be slow about things like that.  So I went online to a site (probably Pantone) and after careful consideration decided that the sea in my story would be cerulean.  She accepted it.

Growing up in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, it is hard not to love blue.  Plenty of blues in New England of course but …

… I look forward to visiting the mountains of my childhood, and seeing if I can capture with my camera the beauty I remember in my dreams.  You know I’ll be sure to share.  😉

it grew even more beautiful

its original greens and pinks (seen here) deepening into many shades of gold.

Only moments before the bag had held zucchini or scallions perhaps.  Now it lay crumpled on the table fodder for my imagination as sunlight filled its cavities.

At first I thought of folds of cloth and crinkled skirts like women wore so long ago.  But then as the rays of light shifted, I imagined glaciers and ice caves illuminated in rainbow colors throughout an arctic day.

The sun soon dipped behind a building and with it most of the light but just enough remained for one last shot that made me think of a cavern opening.

What you see is the culmination of one man’s work over the course of 15 years now named the Philadelphia Magic Gardens.
From their website:

“[Isaiah] Zagar started working on the Magic Gardens in 1994 in the vacant lot nearby his studio. He began by constructing a massive fence to protect the area from harm and then spent the next fourteen years excavating tunnels and grottos, sculpting multi-layered walls, and tiling and grouting the 3,000 square foot space. The installation pays tribute to Zagar’s many artistic influences, as well as the events and experiences of his life. Enveloped in visual anecdotes, the mosaicked walls refer to his wife Julia and sons Ezekiel and Jeremiah through playful images and words, but also reference important elements of the wider world. Las Pozas and Day of the Dead, the dance community of Philadelphia, and even the airplanes of the nationwide 9/11 tragedy.