Thomas Alexander KolbeIn spring, the quality of light changes quietly. The low, clear light of winter gradually softens and spreads, drawing out the colors inside a room. When flowers are placed by the window, this change becomes easy to notice. The petals catch the light and seem almost translucent, and the air slowly fills with the presence of the season.
From time to time I arrange flowers by the window. My girlfriend enjoys doing this as well, and sometimes I notice that she has quietly arranged them in her own way. A branch from the garden, a few seasonal flowers, a small adjustment of stems. In those moments, a small landscape appears on the windowsill.
Outside the window lies the spring garden. Pale cherry blossoms, the yellow of rapeseed flowers, small blossoms scattered like points of color. In the vegetable bed young shoots are pushing through the soil, and in the distance a range of mountains stretches softly across the horizon. Everything rests in the calm brightness of spring.
On the windowsill stands a Kintsugi vase in deep royal blue. I have always liked this color. It has a quiet depth - in the light it glows gently, while in shadow it becomes calm and grounded.
Across its surface runs a thin line of gold, the trace of a former break. I have always loved the combination of royal blue and gold. Within the deep blue, the gold appears as a soft light. The contrast is not loud; it exists as a quiet harmony.
When flowers are placed in the vase, this harmony becomes clearer. The pale tones of cherry blossoms, white petals, small purple and yellow flowers. Spring flowers are light and delicate, almost dissolving into the daylight.
And yet their time is brief. The moment of full bloom does not last long. A gust of wind can send the petals drifting through the air.
The Kintsugi vessel carries another kind of time. It holds a past. At some moment it broke, and at another moment it was carefully mended. The golden line does not hide that event. It allows it to remain visible.
While arranging flowers, I often think about this. The flowers carry the time that lies ahead of them - the certainty that they will soon fade. The vase carries the time that has already passed. On the windowsill those two directions of time meet.
In the spring light, the petals and the golden line glow softly. The flowers will fall. The vessel will keep its time.
And the light of spring quietly illuminates them both.
#spring #kintsugi #flowers #stilllife #gouache #painting #japanesegarden
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