Monday, September 7, 2009

Patterning Portugal


Now that summer is coming to a close, I'm reviewing the summer that was, recalling it--though so much of this summer in the northeast didn't feel much like summer at all--before letting go. One of the pleasures of my summer was traveling to Portugal for the first time, and one of the many things that will stay with me from that trip is the tile patterns, particularly in Lisbon. They're rough around the edges, imperfect, exquisite, happy, unique, falling apart but holding their beauty, tinged with lost time and nostalgia, taken for granted until they're gone . . . much like the patterning of summer days. Or maybe I'm simply reading summer into them because another one is passing, bittersweetly, like travels you long to return to after they've ended.

4 comments:

casey said...

just followed your link from Towleroad. those tiles you photographed and posted here are gorgeous, exactly what i would have taken photos of also. i'm an artist, and 'elegant decrepitude' is exactly the feeling of much of my art and life. thanks for these. it's always nice to find kindred spirits.

and i agree about the northeast summer this year. i'm on the CT shoreline and we had approximately 2 weeks of hot, dry weather. it's already dipping into the low 50s/high 40s at night. bad year for flowers too, which i grow and photograph for layers in my pieces.

peace!
casey shain

casey said...

ah, i just checked out your blog a bit more. i think i've commented on Place in the Sun before. i definitely remember the name and enjoying your photos there as well. as you were, now! : )

Ernest McLeod said...

Thanks, Casey, very nice to hear.

And, from exploring your work a bit on Flickr just now, I see your interest in pattern, including life patterns. Congrats on the summer show.

f_l said...

just
beautiful!