Did you know that the Ginko tree is one of the strongest and heartiest on the planet? Some are estimated at around 2,500 years old. There are Ginko trees within miles of the Hiroshima blast are still kickin'...
Extreme examples of the ginkgo's tenacity may be seen in Hiroshima, Japan, where six trees growing between
1–2 km from the 1945 atom bomb explosion were among the few living
things in the area to survive the blast.[32] While almost
all other plants (and animals) in the area were destroyed, the ginkgos, though
charred, survived and were soon healthy again. The trees are alive to this day.
I have an affinity for leaves... trees in general I suppose. My dad is a nature lover... and I am too. I remember many times him trying to impart some leafy wisdom to me... but my first exposure to the ginko tree came from my friend ami... she was an artist and she, at the time I met her, made jewelry. she was really good at it... she specialized in metal working... and specifically... she had a collection of jewelry that mimicked the nuances of the ginko leaf. she told me then that there was a difference between the male and female ginko trees... and you could tell by the leaves... one was split and the other was not... well... I will be honest... I can't remember at all which was which... but aren't they beautiful?
I will be honest... I just tried to do a little research to prove my memory... and maybe ami was just making a joke... maybe there is no reason for the split in the ginko leaf after all... but don't they look lovely when they start to fade? they are maybe more beautiful when they are about to die...
i just made it home a few minutes ago... I have had the most amazingly busy time this last week... work is exploding with success... which is so wonderful.... but I find the time i normally devote to non work activities... while at work (oh come on, you do it too)... has vanished.... i just came from hanging my show at gingko coffeehouse in st. paul... maybe now you will start to understand my "theme"
coincidence would have it... that my first show in Minneapolis (and by Minneapolis i mean st. paul) many years ago... was at Gingko... i remember that the only reason i asked to do a show there in the first place... was that my childhood best friend , Emily, was going to hamline at the time... this was her coffee shop... and she and i went there a few times. i remember thinking of it, at 20-something, as a very "hip" place to be. and so, when i first started sending out query letters... gingko was on the top of my list. it's sorta funny that this show coincides with so many other things happening in my life right now... that was quite a long time ago. i took another photo that i wanted to share here... but technology is working against me tonight... oh well...
sometimes i feel like i have the curse of a good memory. my mom tells me often that she can't recall exact details or dates... when i recount a memory from early childhood... i really think she believes i am just making it up. but... i do... i remember everything. it kinda sucks. while writing this... i have so many things that jumble up into a slurry of feelings... anyway... sometimes i think it might be better to not remember anything.
the first time i heard this record i was sitting on a porch with a friend... i was probably 17. he put this record on... telling me that i would love this song.... and i do. i very much love this song. the thing is... when i was 17... i liked it because it was romantic... and it had a cute melody... and it was fall and the wind was coming in the windows... today... i love this song... because i have been remembering my grandmother a lot lately.... the line in this song about how "sometimes i call her up... knowing she's busy... she drops what she's doing and rushes down to meet me and i'm always late" ... god... that is exactly my memory of her. she was the busiest person i know... and yet... the most available.. and one time... she cleared her schedule for me... and i was late... very late... i over-slept... i was probably 20 years old... and my grandpa called me because.... she had called him... after she had been waiting for me... for over an hour... oh... i wanted to die that day. i felt so horrible.
and now... being twice the age of 17... i have been in love. and i love this song... because i know what it is to be on both sides of the sentiment. i like aging. i love learning. today... hanging this show... i felt sorta jaded. i remember my intrepid heart the last time i was there... and this time... i was mostly rushing... and annoyed... and i thought.... jen, please see the beauty in this... and i did finally. but i had to tell myself to.
i am going on and on... without much hope for an ending... but here is one... tomorrow morning i hang my show at Palmers.... the opening party will be on the 21st.... we had to reschedule because i am tragically busy.... and tomorrow night i hang a show at moxie salon in st. paul... that's right... i will be showing in 3 places in the twin cities in the month of September... i am scared to think what might happen in October... just kidding.... it's pure coincidence.... but after tomorrow i might need to take a 2 day nap. ... as if i could...
sometimes i feel like i have the curse of a good memory. my mom tells me often that she can't recall exact details or dates... when i recount a memory from early childhood... i really think she believes i am just making it up. but... i do... i remember everything. it kinda sucks. while writing this... i have so many things that jumble up into a slurry of feelings... anyway... sometimes i think it might be better to not remember anything.
the first time i heard this record i was sitting on a porch with a friend... i was probably 17. he put this record on... telling me that i would love this song.... and i do. i very much love this song. the thing is... when i was 17... i liked it because it was romantic... and it had a cute melody... and it was fall and the wind was coming in the windows... today... i love this song... because i have been remembering my grandmother a lot lately.... the line in this song about how "sometimes i call her up... knowing she's busy... she drops what she's doing and rushes down to meet me and i'm always late" ... god... that is exactly my memory of her. she was the busiest person i know... and yet... the most available.. and one time... she cleared her schedule for me... and i was late... very late... i over-slept... i was probably 20 years old... and my grandpa called me because.... she had called him... after she had been waiting for me... for over an hour... oh... i wanted to die that day. i felt so horrible.
and now... being twice the age of 17... i have been in love. and i love this song... because i know what it is to be on both sides of the sentiment. i like aging. i love learning. today... hanging this show... i felt sorta jaded. i remember my intrepid heart the last time i was there... and this time... i was mostly rushing... and annoyed... and i thought.... jen, please see the beauty in this... and i did finally. but i had to tell myself to.
i am going on and on... without much hope for an ending... but here is one... tomorrow morning i hang my show at Palmers.... the opening party will be on the 21st.... we had to reschedule because i am tragically busy.... and tomorrow night i hang a show at moxie salon in st. paul... that's right... i will be showing in 3 places in the twin cities in the month of September... i am scared to think what might happen in October... just kidding.... it's pure coincidence.... but after tomorrow i might need to take a 2 day nap. ... as if i could...
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