As the northern winter winds send chilling temperatures, more and more activities take place in the warm atmosphere of the home. Midst the delightful aromas of holiday baking, evergreens and barberry, holiday music and cheerful greetings, people gather to enjoy one another’s company and the upcoming holidays. Homes have been decorated with numerous evergreens, and many residents include a sprig of mistletoe, hung near an entrance, in their decorating. Their idea of the mistletoe is that anyone caught beneath its glossy leaves and berries must receive a kiss.
The mistletoe, Phoradendron serotinum, is a parasitic plant, meaning it obtains water and minerals from the host plant (the one it’s found growing upon), yet is capable of photosynthesis and can manufacture its own food. The Cherokee Indians called the mistletoe by a name that recognizes the close association between mistletoe and its host plant that means “they are married.” Mistletoe has thick leathery, roundish and oppositely arranged leaves and bears small, whitish flowers that turn into the light colored globe-shaped, waxy-looking berries.
Mistletoe has been associated with magic long before myths were made, and one Scandinavian myth explains how kissing came to be associated with this plant. (Read the complete story here: www.johnstoncc.edu/arboretum/ ).
Another busy, busy, very late night - so though I sketched well past my usual bedtime last night, I'm posting the mistletoe I painted Monday for the article on our webpage ... hope you enjoy it!
Lin
8 comments:
Simple yet beautiful. Love the uncluttered space around it that pops those pretty leaves to the center of attention.
Just simply lovely! And I love the stories and myths too. I used to live on an old street with an old black walnut tree in the back yard and every year the neighborhood kids would scare me senseless climbing up ever higher to get to the mistletoe to sell it!
Hugs and try to get enough rest,
Lorraine
So simple and beautiful. Educational also!
This is such a magnificent painting... It is simple but very beautiful... I loved it... Try to get some rest today... Have a great Wednesday...
(((HUGS)))
Donna
Lovely mistletoe, Lin. Will you be using this painting as your Christmas card? Beautiful!
I agree......... this is beautiful. You've taken a simple subject and just did awesome things with it.
Pretty, Lin. Is that going to be your Christmas card this year?
I love the simplicity of this!! So lovely, Lin.
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