Today is one of those days that we look forward to and enjoy here in Arizona. This morning our usual expanse of blue sky was hung instead with marvelous, heavy, dark clouds. On the way to the kids' tennis lessons, humidity in the air pulled a sort of homesickness into my brain, so that while I knew I was driving in the Southwest, I was breathing the thick childhood air of my Midwest, inhaling the promise of rain. When we arrived, I heard a boy tell his mother "It smells like rain." It did. Arizona children learn to recognize the smell early on; it is so rare for them that it reeks of the exotic. Rain, when water falls from the sky! Imagine.
Later, as we drove home, a dust storm began to blow around us. A tumbleweed bounced across the road. As I pointed it out to the kids, an oncoming car struck the tumbleweed. We laughed as the car passed us with the massive tumbleweed stuck to its front end. A moment later, we nearly hit one ourselves. My daughter remarked, "I love when the sky looks like this. Everything looks prettier." I agree, although prettier is not the exact word I would use. In the light of an approaching dust storm, the sky changes and objects look grittier, and at the same time much clearer than usual. If you have ever experienced a solar eclipse, and the surreal light that shines at that time, you have an idea what dust storm light looks like.
Finally, this afternoon, the rainstorm began. In my family, we all love this rare desert rain, the kind that knocks the dirt and pollen out of the air. My son, with his plethora of allergies, gets a temporary reprieve. What marvelous air. Clean air! The humidity is gone, the water remains on the ground. In an hour or so it will be dry again and the sky blue. The evidence of the rain leaves so quickly it seems we've only dreamed it.
This fabric postcard was made for someone who is going through some big changes in her life, leaving her partner after many years together. She likes fabric postcards so I decided to make one for her. It seemed to me that the ones I saw online were symbolism heavy, so I went with that same theme. The postcard comes with a butterfly envelope, symbolizing metamorphosis. The postcard itself shows a figure performing the yoga tree pose. (The recipient practices yoga.) The figure is stretching, balanced in the outdoors, to show liberation and fresh beginnings. I hope that when she looks at this postcard, she can feel the freedom of rain fresh air.
Later, as we drove home, a dust storm began to blow around us. A tumbleweed bounced across the road. As I pointed it out to the kids, an oncoming car struck the tumbleweed. We laughed as the car passed us with the massive tumbleweed stuck to its front end. A moment later, we nearly hit one ourselves. My daughter remarked, "I love when the sky looks like this. Everything looks prettier." I agree, although prettier is not the exact word I would use. In the light of an approaching dust storm, the sky changes and objects look grittier, and at the same time much clearer than usual. If you have ever experienced a solar eclipse, and the surreal light that shines at that time, you have an idea what dust storm light looks like.
Finally, this afternoon, the rainstorm began. In my family, we all love this rare desert rain, the kind that knocks the dirt and pollen out of the air. My son, with his plethora of allergies, gets a temporary reprieve. What marvelous air. Clean air! The humidity is gone, the water remains on the ground. In an hour or so it will be dry again and the sky blue. The evidence of the rain leaves so quickly it seems we've only dreamed it.
This fabric postcard was made for someone who is going through some big changes in her life, leaving her partner after many years together. She likes fabric postcards so I decided to make one for her. It seemed to me that the ones I saw online were symbolism heavy, so I went with that same theme. The postcard comes with a butterfly envelope, symbolizing metamorphosis. The postcard itself shows a figure performing the yoga tree pose. (The recipient practices yoga.) The figure is stretching, balanced in the outdoors, to show liberation and fresh beginnings. I hope that when she looks at this postcard, she can feel the freedom of rain fresh air.
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