An Evolving Life. Get Away.
Get Away
Last week I took a four-day trip to visit my brother in his new home in Juno Beach, Florida where he recently relocated. Lucky for me, there was an extra bedroom right on the beach and a direct flight from MacArthur airport just 30 minutes from my door.
For one who sometimes struggles with the winter blues and lack of sunshine, it was the perfect get-away for a year-round East Ender when there’s not much to do but work and stay warm.
While there, I was awed by the wide waterways lined with colorful villas and palatial yachts; the whitewashed roadways dotted with palms, bougainvillea, and Bentleys. I marveled at this vast playland—this place called Florida—forever basking in the sun. Such a striking contrast to the grayness and grit of New York in January.
While Northerners withstand freezing temperatures, the government shutdown, a peripatetic stock market, Florida glitters, appears impervious—despite climate change and the monster storms that spread wider and churn faster, accelerating the threat to its shores.
With its natural resources and material might, I came to understand how this state has accumulated enough sun-worshippers, enough wealth, thus enough power and resilience to determine presidents and recover from devastation time and again.
Here‘s Sunburst—a new addition to my SPLASH series—reflecting these stark contrasts. It was taken while leaning over my brother’s balcony. Can you guess what it is?
Sunburst
An Evolving Life Series
Get Away (This one)
Warm Seas.
An Evolving Life is a Hummingbird series in which Meryl Spiegel shares her journey to become the creative person that was hidden within herself for so long. Meryl chose this image, Warm Seas, from her SPLASH series, to represent An Evolving Life.
Editor's Note
I have had the good fortune of knowing Meryl Spiegel for many years. We met during my BNB days when she was referred to me as a resource for a specific type of photography I was searching for. I also knew her as a writer. Over the years, I have been impressed with Meryl’s talent and creativity, and the honesty of her work. When Meryl began to sketch, paint, work with pastels, she truly overlaid one talent on top of another. The layers were intriguing. I reached out to Meryl recently because I thought that the Hummingbird audience would appreciate her work, and value her process. They say that timing is everything, and in this case it was, because Meryl was thinking about not only “showing” her work, but writing about it too. In our new series, An Evolving Life, Meryl will share the stages, challenges, and meaning of her art, and the journey that coincides with the pieces she highlights. Sandra Novick
Link here to galleries of Meryl Spiegel's work on her website and on instagram.
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