Summer in Ohio
A Floridian snowbirds' vacation
As some of you know, my wife and I escape the oppressive heat of Florida during five or so summer months by going to Ohio where our daughter lives and works, and she graciously accommodates us in her beautiful little home in Columbus.
We always look forward to this time and consider it a vacation while entertaining old, familiar activities like lawn mowing, planting and tending a postage stamp sized garden, as well as visiting friends, some of whom we've known for over 40 years. Christina and us share a love for flowers, and fresh-cut arrangements grace her table most days.
Now those of you who know me also know that mowing grass and gardening alone would not satisfy my want for activity, so this time as we were packing our car while getting ready to head North, I loaded my Midi Woodturning Lathe as well as some tools and materials like watercolors, pens and brushes and the list could go on...With the back row of seats folded down, the car was packed to the brim, Ana was barely able to fit a small cary-on with her clothes.
Little did we know that circumstances would take us on a non-planned two-week trip to Romania, which I can only describe as a wild and blessed adventure, although not without a not-so-pleasant event - a fall that sent Ana to the ER, although thankfully it was just a sprained ankle. The good part was that nothing was broken, but it greatly limited her mobility, and those who wanted to see her had to come to the bed and breakfast where we were staying.
Spinning tops galore!
Once back, the one event I was looking forward to was the Doughty Valley Steam Show in Millersburg, Ohio, an opportunity to connect with some Amish friends and again, to demonstrate woodturning by making spinning tops for kids.
Another exciting development was the acceptance of one of my pieces in the juried show "Best of 2026," organized annually by Ohio Designer Craftsmen and the Ohio Craft Museum.
Breakfast is Served
That in turn brought an invitation from Wayne Center for the Arts to participate in their show with three pieces.
Console table in walnut with cabinet in cherry
I mentioned earlier that I had packed my watercolors with me, but I somehow lacked inspiration for doing anything with them, except painting a kitten for my sister's birthday.
Then one day, out of the blue, I pulled out some paper and the watercolors, and started doodling. A Romanian saying goes something like, "the appetite comes while eating." And so it was with me, and soon I found myself doing a few doodles each morning. From lack of a better term (or perhaps it's the best name for them!), I call these My Haiku.
In choosing that name I was inspired by the short form poetry that originated in Japan. While some pieces might bring to mind a particular time of day, like a sunrise or a rain-drenched landscape, they are not explicit in that sense, being mere abstractions; the limited color palette and the airyness in the images invite the viewer to a moment of rest and quiet meditation, giving ones' imagination the invitation to "fill in".
Some might bring to mind the urban landscape and the pulse of the city, although as from a distance, while others the joy of unexpected discovery. While these represent quite a diversion from my former watercolors, which were mostly rooted in objective representations of everyday things we're familiar with, like fruits and flowers, animals and lanscapes, My Haiku are an exploration into the realm of feelings and emotions, dreams and longings.
Having said this, may you, the viewer, find it exhilariating as your imagination transports you beyond the image, just as Haiku verse does beyond words.
An artist of the brusk - and quill pen? Loved it!