Hello everyone, I hope you and your family are doing well. 

It's been an incredible journey learning to adjust to this new world we are living in and still be creative. Some days, the urge to stay in bed a bit longer is quite strong. Other days, I'm up with the sunrise ready to take over the world. Ha, just kidding.

This photo titled, "The Banana Vortex", seems rather fitting for the day after a long weekend that seemed to start in March. I also wanted to share the story behind the photo.

Several years ago, when I was working as a volunteer at the Missouri Botanical Garden to earn my hours as a new Master Gardener, I was given this banana plant by another newly minted gardener.

Without much care, it grew quite large in a pot on my deck. Bob loved to tease me about my attempt at growing bananas. All in good fun, of course. One day, he put a ladder up to the banana plant and urged me to try photographing it from the top. 

I gladly took up his challenge. From five feet up looking straight down into 
the leaves, I was stunned to see fluorescent green swirls spinning into a dark hole like a vortex. The veins, backlit by sunlight, were perfectly aligned and orderly. Wow, this is cool. It's still one of my favorite photos.

From that experience, I have learned to take a closer look at seemingly ordinary things. Also, when challenges arise, I can look at this image and smile at the memories.

In that blissful moment of thought, I realize that no matter how dark the situation seems, nature can brighten the way out. It is possible to adjust to new situations and still find the inspiration to keep creating beautiful art. Eating a banana everyday helps too :)

Elizabeth (Betty) Moore
artist/photographer