Central Park: Back Story

I was born in New York City. My parents lived on the Upper West Side at the time. My Mom planted a tree in front of the brownstone we lived in, and actually just a few years ago, we went back together and saw that the tree was still there — so it's older than i am, but not by much! We moved out of the city before either my sister or i started school. After moving around for a few years we settled in a suburb of New York, close enough that we could easily take a train to the city and be in mid-town in a half-hour. One of my favorite places was the Museum of Natural History with its spectacular life-sized model of a Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life. The Museum is on Central Park West, and we'd often head over to the Park to play, or for a picnic lunch, or sometimes a visit to the Zoo. It was always such fun.

Much later, when i lived and worked in New York after college, Central Park became an oasis where i could escape from the non-stop hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet. Hard to believe it could be quiet there, but it is. I'd walk, and walk, and walk through the park every weekend and hardly take the same route twice — after all, there are 843 acres to explore!

Fast forward to last January: i was killing some time around Columbus Circle and decided to hop into the park for a brisk walk. It was cold and all the leaves were gone from the trees. The afternoon light was low and bright and gave a rich contrast to the shadows everywhere. As i walked along...
...i started to notice the beautiful motifs on the lamp posts, sidewalks, sculptures, statues, fountains and carved relief stonework. It amazed me to know that i had been in this same place a thousand times and probably walked by the very details i was finally noticing. Ding! Inspiration. Tomorrow i can't wait to show you some of the things i spotted and their transformation to prints on fabric (in a much warmer and brighter season)! To be continued...