Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2006SYR08
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
Each Wednesday Morning
poster information
Description
Each Wednesday morning
rose lovers gather to tend
Thornden Park jewels
I live east of the University and love to walk in the Mills Rose garden. It reminds me of a smaller, circular rose garden my mother once had. On my way to work I always drive down Ostrom Avenue to enjoy the park and to check on the garden throughout the seasons.
Some years ago I started noticing a small group of women and men on Wednesday mornings, bending over the rose bushes, trimming, weeding and watering. The image evoked a gentle, almost spiritual companionship, as the volunteers worked side by side caring for the garden. That brief moment as I drove by always felt peaceful, honest and nurturing to me, during what was a challenging time in my life.
Now every year I look forward to seeing the Wednesday gardeners return in the spring.
When I received the haiku, it was still early in the year, and the roses were still in bloom. I was lucky to be able to wander around the garden and take lots of pictures of the beautiful flowers.
I enjoy using design elements in my work, so the poster started out almost as a surface pattern design, with all these roses interacting. I wanted to put in as many full-bloom roses—jewels, like the poem said—as possible, while still making it look clean and crisp.
Originally, the background was white, but black made the roses look brighter—popped them out. I put the bees in because I liked playing with the idea that bees are also the tenders of these jewels.