Glass Orchid

Glass Orchid © Lynne Buchanan

All Rights Reserved, Watermarked by Digimarc

Sometimes it is amazing how delicate, and precious, and exotic life can be.  We are invited to share and be touched by wonder, and it is our choice if we accept the invitation or not. From the moment I saw this orchid, which my daughter's boyfriend gave her following her final dance performance at the performing arts school they both attend, I was captivated.  It was so appropriate too, given that her piece was entitled "Echoes from Within."  The lines, the colors, the movement all embodied repeated phrases, just like her dance.  I felt the flower simultaneously turn in on itself and unfurl, in a state of dynamic balance.  Both aspects are so essential for creative expression. We turn inward to connect with our deepest source in order to bloom and as we open up we draw in energy.  The inspiration we absorb is then integrated with our core beliefs and we bloom again, in a slightly different manifestation yet still reflecting our own unique inner light.

Normally, I only photograph flowers growing outside in natural conditions, but this flower was so unique.  I knew if I placed it on a light table with another warm light source near by, it would bring out more of what I experienced its full potential to be.  I was not disappointed.  When I looked through the lens, it reminded me of a Murano glass sculpture I own.  Suddenly I realized why I had been drawn to that sculpture and why I had been called to preserve the flower in this way.  Both the flower and the sculpture were comprised of soft, sensual shapes, yet they either were or appeared to be of glass which is stronger and more enduring than organic matter.  Still glass is fragile and can break, when it isn't handled with care.  This is how I strive to live my life these days–being strong but soft and still allowing myself to be vulnerable enough to break down old patterns and let in positive vibrations.