Let Blue Speak (in a Paris Taxi) — Diane Farris Photography

When we moved to the prairie almost twenty years ago, I envisioned a blue gate for the fence that defines the “yard” – and a talented friend built it. Beyond the gate in these recent, cloistered months, we’ve witnessed cranes, deer, fawns, doves, foxes, owls, hawks, turtles, armadillos, cows, calves, large and rowdy woodpeckers, new oaks and tiny pines, abundant weeds - and a welcome stand of wild blackberries. (The portfolio Beyond the Blue Gate gathers images of Sandhill Cranes there - and further afield.) We’re always grateful when we open the newly painted blue gate to tend the garden, walk, play with the children and dog or wonder at the ever changing prairie.

Though my work has been predominantly in a muted or black and white palette, shades of blue keep turning up: in the work, on tables, in closets, on shelves, doors and gates and – recently – in dreams. In one, I was in Paris, attending an art opening with a dear friend. We entered a taxi where a lively group of people was engaged in reading a play out loud, a play in which each character portrayed a color: Red, Yellow, Green, Purple… They became shy and thought they should stop the reading now that we were in the taxi with them, but the dream ended with my encouraging them to continue, saying, “Let Blue Speak”.

It seems a good time to consider some of my own work and see what Blue has to say. There are turquoise thresholds (windows, doors, gates), waters and birds of many blues, a bright bench, blue dolphins and…

…the handmade book, Isabella Blue/Isabella Blu, about a little girl who adores Blue…until Orange flies by. This is my only bilingual book. Learning Italian is an ongoing project.