Dimensions

Dimensions 

Elena liked experimenting with colors, forms, dimensions and unexpected features. She used special software, sometimes, she blended two or more different tools.

Imagination, Illusions, Fantasies and Dreams

The importance of imagination has ben underlined by important thinkers, and by history itself. Clearly, visual and other authoring arts seem impossible without the aforementioned human capability. Scientifically, psychologists would try to explain this characteristic, while neuroscientists would look at which brain areas and/or neural clusters become especially activated during the procedure. Nonetheless, despite supported as well as disproved, scientific theories, the following pictures aim at conveying some of the imagery related to these imagined worlds, regardless of underlying motivations and applicable methodological explanations.

In order to open the thumbnail and see what she created and shared, just click the thumbnail once:

Perception and Afterimage. That's the title Elena chose for this strange artwork in dark colors. She created dozens of colorful images, and she continued.

Afterimages are an optical illusion, which consists of an image persisting after one has ceased looking at a picture or light source. Elena liked working with them.

I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with (Sonia Sotomayor)

Positive afterimages are less documented, and are believed to be due to neural adaptation.

A glimpse into the magic jungle (fictional, as all of the images on this page

I try and look up to the sky, but my eyes burn (Deftones, song lyrics, very nice view of our lives)

Conversely, negative afterimages are formed due to their imprint on the retina (the lining at the back of the eye).

Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore!" (Edgar Allan Poe, one of Elena's favorite poems, may be the only one she liked.)

Just a block of different shapes and forms in black and white, one of Elena's researches through the art.

As outlined elsewhere, vision is achieved thanks to photoreceptors, or rods and cones. But it may be just an illusion as everything else in our lives.

According to the opponent theory, cones, which are the ones that can register color, get less sensitive with prolonged stimulation and transmit a weaker signal.

Optimism is the key (Will Champion, but who knows if he realy wrote it or if it is an invention, another illusion, who knows. The wole world is an illusion.)

Optimist: I see a light at the end of the tunnel! Pessimist: I see a freight train! Realist: I see two dummies sitting on the rail tracks!

As can be seen in the images below, red leaves a green afterimage, blue a yellow one and yellow a blue one.

Black and white constitute likewise opposite colors. A perfect example of afterimage and perception. But there's no end to our vision.

One has to stare at the square for 1 minute, then look at the white space. A corresponding afterimage should appear.

Quality is not an act, it is a habit (Aristotle. But in the real life we cannot see a habit as if it were a habit, unfortunately

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years (Abraham Lincoln, he was a clever man)

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony (Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian philosopher)

I look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter (Walt Disney)

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision (Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.)

My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud (Henry Rollins, find yourself who is this guy.)

My optimism wears Loboutins and is heavy (Meg Jorgensen, one of the most famous writers.)

There’s a lot of optimism in changing scenery, in seeing what’s down the road (Conor Oberst)

Only the really young are fearless, have the optimism, the romanticism to take unimaginable risks (Olivia Wilde)

I don’t think you lead by pessimism and cynicism. I think you lead by optimism and enthusiasm and energy (Patricia Ireland)

I don’t think you lead by enthousiasm. I think you lead by depression, love and struggle (Megan Jorgensen, the great)

Benches

Benches

Photos of benches by Elena. She liked taking pictures of "solitary" benches. She admired their forms and loneliness. A bench’s function is not just to provide a place to sit; it is to provide a medium for self-expression. Benches are not about status. They are signalling something about oneself. That’s why the word bench means something ethereal. Well, as Napoleon said once, a throne is only a bench covered with velvet.

To see the photos in full size, just click the thumbnail.

A two-day weather forecast is as accurate as a one-day forecast was 20 years ago (Fred Gadomski, meteorologist, Pennsylvania State University).

“A lot of people ask, “What power is that telescope? Actually, magnification is irrelevant.” (John Shibley, editor, Astronomy magazine).

“In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides (Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician).

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily - Zig Ziglar

Motivation will almost always beat mere talent - Norman Ralph Augustine

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want the to do because they want to do it (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity (Bo Bennet)

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else (Albert Einstein)e

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new (Albert Einstein)

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits (Albert Einstein)

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop (Confucius)

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to success is always to try just one more time (Thomas A. Edison)

The will to win, the desire to success, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence (Confucius)

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can (Nikos Kazantzakis)

If you can dream it, you can do it (Walt Disney)

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going (Sam Levenson)

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail (Benjamin Franklin)

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines (Robert H. Schuller)

Cayuga. Miles Keller – Dystil. An innovative modular public seating solution made from salvaged and sustainable materials. Cayuga’s gently sloping, rolling shape recalls the layers of glacial till that form the landscape in this part of southern Ontario. Named with respect for the Cayuga nation of the Grand River, this artwork recalls the piece and spiritual feeling of the land there. The base of the seating, made from a sustainable composite material of cement and reclaimed wood chips, was manufactured in a way that echoes the brick making technology once used at Don Valley Brick Works (Winner of the 2014 Design by Nature competition).

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream (C. S. Lewis)

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground (Theodore Roosevelt)

The secret of getting ahead is getting started (Mark Twain)

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you (Thomas Jefferson)

All these pictures have been taken by Elena

Nobody knows the reasons, why Elena chose the benches as her point of interest.

Nobody pays attention to a bench, but everyone turns to it when the persone feels tired...

Or could it be that Elena just loved empty space? She has never taken a photo of a bench with a person...

A lonely bench at the entrance of the Black Creek Pioneer Village

I can'tell why Elena prefered red benches, but she took photos of every red bench she encountered.

A sleeping student, a bench at the entrance of one of Toronto colleges.

A white bench. I can't remember where Elena saw it, we may have been taking a walk in the city of Toronto.

Just another white bench, complitely different from the previous one, I think it's from the Guild park, not sure.

Winter benches. This photo, if I remember well, was taken in Ville Montroyal, on the Montreal Island, not sure though.

Elena cold the picture Solitude - Loneliness

Another lonely bench, this time a violet bench.

Station d'eau potable Chomedey, Laval, Quebec.

Little Butterflies

Little Butterflies

The secrets of evolution are death and time – the death of enormous numbers of lifeforms that were imperfectly adapted to the environment; and time for a long succession of small mutations that were by accident adaptive, time for the slow accumulation of patterns of favorable mutations. Part of the resistance to Darwin and Wallace derives from out difficulty in imagining the passage of the millennia, much less the aeons. What does seventy million years mean to beings who live only one-millionth as long? We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.

Anyway, what happened here on Earth may be more or less typical of the evolution of life on many worlds; but in such details as the chemistry of proteins or the neurology of brains, the story of life on Earth may be unique in all the Milky Way Galaxy.

We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever. © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Bic National Park

Bic National Park

Located in the St. Lawrence Estuary, the Bic National Park is a peaceful; and relaxing territory of breathtaking sunsets, unique bays, coves, islands, mountains, and maritime breezes.  The park was established in 1984. This 33.2 square kilometres (8,200 acres) national park is located near the villages of Bic and Saint-Fabien, southwest of Rimouski.

Many species of seabirds come to nest in the park, and rare plants bloom on its rocky capes. Visitors are delighted by seals basing in the sun near the shore, by Raoul-Roy, Pic-Champlain and other pics.

Twenty-five km of laid-out trails reveal the great beauty of this coastal park and non laid-out walking area can be taken along the coastline. Biker can explore over 15 km of bike trails, several of which are suitable for the entire family. On the trails or in the mountains, the forests of the Bic Park are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, which, with a little patience and caution, you can catch a glimpse of.

Biker can explore over 15 km of bike trails, several of which are suitable for the entire family.

In the spring, most birds of prey migrate from south of the Appalachians to the north. During their travels over long distances, the birds take advantage of the almost constant updrafts along the cliffs, such as Les Murailles, to preserve their energy. In the park, to the great pleasure of birdwatchers, the birds fly though a relatively narrow corridor near the Raoul-Roy lookout. From late March till early June, several thousand of these birds of prey fly over the lookout. Some fifteen species are counted every season, such as the Golden Eagle, the Northern Goshawk, the Osprey, the Red-tailed Hawk, the Rough-legged Hawk, the American Kestrel, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, the Peregrine Falcon and many others.

In the summer and early fall, seal watching is undoubtedly one of the park’s major attractions. Two seal species share the park’s haul-out sites. The harbour seal, also the park’s animal emblem, stays in the estuary year-round, while the grey seal arrives in about mid-July. Visitors can watch the seals from the shore. Also, seal-watching sessions with park warden-naturalists give tourists a chance to learn even more about their ways of life.

Bic National Park. Many species of birds come to nest in the park.

White-tailed deer are being spotted more and more often in the park. Several other species can also be seen, such as the fox and some small mammals.

In winter, guests can slide into their skis and explore over 20 km of ungroomed trails and discover less-travelled sectors. It is possible to take a break in the 2 warming huts: the Porc-Épic, located 1.2 km from the reception area, and the Pékan, 4.5 km from the reception area.

Bic National Park is typical of the southern coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, containing several characteristics of this region:  low-flow rivers, salt marshes (the marsh at Pointe-au-Spruce), rocky hills with a very steep northern slope and a relatively gentle southern slope (Pic Champlain, Citadelle, Cap-l’Original.)

Human occupation of Bic dates back almost 7,000 years, when Native Americans visited the site: the park’s interpretive center displays tools they left behind.

The park’s management was given to Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ) in 1999, by the same act which established Bic as a National park.

Twenty-five km of laid-out trails reveal the great beauty of this coastal park and walking area.

On the trails or in the mountains, the forests of the Bic Park are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, which, with a little patience and caution, you can catch a glimpse of. 

All the photos: V. Petrovskiy