Friday, January 22, 2010

SCIENCE (not) FICTION

When I was a little girl I grew up in a rural area where there were many streams and most fascinating to me was this big 'ole swamp just down the road from our house. It had towering trees that whispered to me and dark secretive waters to explore. When you hopped from rock to rock there were always little creatures that you woke along the way. I found these creatures fascinating and fun and could spend hours in the swamp by myself, just listening to the quiet... yet not so quiet life in this magic kingdom that was mine.

Part of the fascination was also those creatures that lived under the water. I would scoop up a handful of water just to see what I could discover hiding amongst the plants growing between the rocks and moss. Do you remember Jack in the Pulpits? There were so many of them standing regally in 'my' swamp along with Japanese Lanterns and other 'exotic' plants.

If you took a milk carton and strapped some plastic wrap across the bottom then pushed it down into the water it gave you a whole new look underneath... you were privy to a hidden world of wonder. Did I mention I've always had a huge imagination? (And a lot of mosquito bites) :o)

It's on this note and these remembrances that I wanted to share a remarkable illustration done by Ernst Haeckel. He has done many botanical and sea life illustrations, all of which appear to be science fiction. The colors and composition are magical. It definitely takes me back to my days playing in the swamp... a perfect place for the imagination to run wild.

I hope you enjoy this print and if you need a larger/higher resolution just let me know and I'll arrange a download for you.

Best...

Canace

4 comments:

pamelahuntington said...

Oh... very pretty - love those aquatic prints!

pixiegypsy said...

Boy that brings back some of my memories when I was little. We had a brook at the end of our street. I would slip through the vines and the thick shrubs to get there. I could spend the day jumping from rock to rock and sifting through in search of crayfish and other goodies. My mom always said you're gonna get sick fooling around in that dirty brook. But guess what I'm still here... Great post thanks for sharing it.
Jane

Anonymous said...

Gosh, you story reminds me of myself.!
I always wanted to be outside by the brooks and streams in Wisconsin. Toads, frogs, what ever I could find were my friends.. Bringing homes rocks, bark, and climbing trees was great fun.. I remember so many flowers.. Lady slippers and blood wart.. etc..
Btw.. did you know that I am your Valentine ATC partner?.. via Patti Koosed?
It is interesting seeing the things you enjoy.
Thank you for your nice post..
Hugs, Darlene xo

Artsnark said...

what a fun post! Enjoye your trip down memorylane