“A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world.”
-Leo Buscaglia

“Sharp Thorns Produce Delicate Roses”
-Ovid

I found her in my friend’s garden in San Anselmo, wilted but lovely, her essence was at once light- filled and delicate, strong and complex. The scent was heady even though she was fading. In her state of decay, her beauty radiated. And this is exactly how I captured her.  I named her after a variety to which I am not sure  she belongs, but the name fit her and so it stuck.

Roses are evocative. They speak to all the senses with their powerful scent, exquisite velvety petals and sensuous shape. They conjure up beauty, grace, complexity, and stillness. It is no mystery as to why the phrase, stop and smell the roses has become a mantra in the English language. These mysterious beings are not only beautiful and magical but serve to bring us into the present. In mythology, the rose is associated with the Greek Goddess of love, Aphrodite who often was depicted with roses around her head, feet and neck. In Tarot, the rose is considered a symbol of balance, promise, new beginnings and hope. As the rose comes to bloom this time of year in it’s varying colors from deep crimson to blushing pink, stop and take a deeper look.