The Coral Tree : Erythrina Lysistemon

That tree is the most beautiful of all, well, to me anyway.

It embodies Africa, to me still.

It loses its leaves in winter while its flamboyant red flowers are still in bloom. You’d have to drive down an alley planted with those trees to feel the beauty of it. Sometimes they stand alone, bright patches of red on the yellowing dry winter grassland. Better still, i have this image of a Coral Tree against the veld fires. Those fires are controlled (and sometimes out of control), the people/farmers …etc set it to the grassland to get rid of the high grass and manage habitat, grazing and so on. Those fires would occur naturally and they would be beneficial if only humans would let Nature take care of itself. Anyway to the point : i was in the car, heading to the Drakensberg and there it was, the coral tree, with only three or four blooms, standing against the dark grey of the smoking ashes. I wish i has a camera implanted in my head (or rather, a telepathy gift) so i could show you this picture from another world. If you are familiar with Kirikou (French film about a tale of West Africa, link below), you’ll remember  the alley of the flamboyants (which is, i think, a different tree), and the picture i saw that day was very similar, vermillion, bluish greys and charcoal. A poem.

I have been wanting to catch that beauty into my work, but to no avail so far. I have only been able to use the colour combination of it.

Here is a picture of coral tree blooms, and below a link that will give you further info on that wonderful natural…. wonder!

Here is the necklace that has been stuck in my head for so long! I hope you enjoy!

 

Links:

About the Coral Tree :
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/erythrinlysist.htm

Kirikou et la sorcière (Kirikou and the sorceress) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirikou_and_the_Sorceress

About veld fires in SA :
http://www2.dwaf.gov.za/webapp/Documents/ForestFire/192.168.10.11/nvffa.nsf/037495e53fc3007e42256dde0043eebd/64a7c7f6bea728c942256dff003131a502ec.html?OpenDocument 

The pic comes from : http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/

 

Underwater

Yesterday i was at a baby shower for a friend. I am rather new to baby showers since it is not a tradition in France (mind you it's like Halloween, it's on its way).We rather celebrate the baby and the mom when the baby is born. Safer, if you ask me. Anyway, it's a lovely celebration. The spoilt future mum was smiling so much she had to massage her cheeks!

Here are the booties i made for her baby (don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl) , from a pattern (modified) of MonPetitViolon's "Daisy Baby booties".
I called them "Underwater".

Dream house

Fifi and i started to paint the wendy house the other day. I painted the branch while she was busy with something else and i made a stencil for the flowers. Here she paints the finishing touches of white.

Bravo my little Picasso! Three sides to go!

Asystasia Aqua

Since the day i came to South Africa to live i have never ceased to be amazed by the luxurious display of its flora. It became a never ending source of inspiration for my restless hands.
Here is the first design that i submitted to the public. In fact it got me into the 30 runners -up of the south-african magazine IDEAS (same as the french Marie-Claire-Idées, except it's not featuring "La droguerie" at every page, those who know will understand). I will know in september if i am the big winner (4 days in Knysna!). But i am not deluded, i think the winner will have used mixed medias, and not a simple crocheted necklace!
Enough words, images will speak so much better than me!