06 Monday Mar 2023
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agave, art, blue agave, botanical art, botanical painting, botanical prints, desert art, modern, modern art, prints, sharon cummings, sharon cummings art, southwest, southwestern, southwestern art, southwestern decor, southwestern plants, succulent, succulent garden, succulent plants, succulent prints, succulents
A perfect companion to my Warm Agave piece. This one has lots of interesting thorny spikes. Perfect for succulent lovers and anyone who loves botanical beauty.
14 Monday Apr 2014
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art, art buyer, botanical, building, business, cacti, cactus, canvas, colorful, construction, contractor, corporate, decorating, decorative, desert, echeveria, floral, framed, garden, gardener, gardening, gift, homes, horticulture, hotel, house, houses, interior design, interior designer, jade plant, landscaping, model home, motel, office, paintings, photo, photographs, photography, plant, plants, prints, retreat, sharon cummings, southwest, southwestern art, spa, succulent, succulent garden, succulent plants, succulents, wall art, wall decor
The word “succulent” sounds titillating. You can almost “feel” what it means as it rolls off of your tongue. Say it right now. Slowly…
O.k. maybe I just wanted to use the words “succulent and “titillating” in the same sentence. 😉 But these beauties grow all over the place in Florida. They seem to be just as happy in our tropical swamp as they are in the dry air of the desert. But with thousands of varieties available, they do have varying care requirements. So if you want to grow some of these beauties inside or out, read the labels on the plants before buying. They do love bright sunlight, but they can get sunburned. I have seen a few wither and die myself.
I love the smooth feel they have and the variety of colors they come in. I’ve taken artistic liberty with this one obviously. I was intrigued by the interesting shapes and shadows in this plant. Nature is my inspiration!
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13 Sunday Apr 2014
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aloe, aloe vera, botanical, botanical photography, botanical photos, botanical prints, cottage, country, desert, desert art, desert photos, flower, flowers, garden, gardens, healing, herbs, holistic medicine, medicinal plants, medicine, plant, plants, sharon cummings. photograph, southwest, southwestern, southwestern decor, succulent, succulents, sunburn, vera, western, wildflowers
Another beautiful day in Florida and I was out early with my camera. We have the most beautiful aloe plants growing all around our property and the humming birds love them. I am not sophisticated enough as a photographer yet to start capturing those speedy little birds, but I did get some nice shots of the aloe flower spikes. They are so delicate. I use the aloe leaves for skin irritations and they are quite healing. I wonder if the flowers are useful? Here are some ways that the leaves benefit us humans:
Aloe Vera contains many vitamins including A, C, E, folic acid, choline, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6. Aloe Vera is also one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12.
Some of the 20 minerals found in Aloe Vera include: calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, sodium, iron, potassium, copper, manganese.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. There are about 22 amino acids that are necessary for the human body and it is said that 8 of these are essential. Estimates of the amino acids found in aloe range from 18-20 amino acids, with all 8 essential amino acids.
Alove Vera also includes quite an impressive range of fatty acids. Aloe contains three plant sterols, which are important fatty acids- HCL cholesterol (which lowers fats in the blood), campesterol, and B-sitosterol. All are helpful in reducing symptoms of allergies and acid indigestion. Other fatty acids include linoleic, linolenic, myristic, caprylic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic.
Aloe Vera is a well-known adaptogen. An adaptogen is something that boosts the body’s natural ability to adapt to external changes and resist illness. It is thought that aloe’s power as an adaptogen balances the body’s system, stimulating the defense and adaptive mechanisms of the body. This allows you an increased ability to cope with stress (physical, emotional and environmental stress like pollution)
Poor digestion is related to many diseases. A properly functioning digestive tract is one of the keys and foundations of health. Aloe is known to soothe and cleanse the digestive tract and help improve digestion. The interesting thing about taking aloe internally is that, because it is an adaptogen, it helps with either constipation or diarrhea, helping to regulate your elimination cycles in whatever way you need. It’s been a great remedy for people with problems such as irritable bowel syndrome as well as acid reflux. Aloe also helps to decrease the amount of unfriendly bacteria and in our gut keeping your healthy intestinal flora in balance. Aloe is also a vermifuge, which means it helps to rid the body of intestinal worms.
Aloe Vera is a gelatinous plant food, just like seaweeds and chia. The main benefit to consuming gelatinous plant foods in your diet is that these gels move through the intestinal tract absorbing toxins along the way and get eliminated through the colon. This will help the proper elimination of waste from your body and help the detoxification of your body.
Disease cannot manifest in an alkaline environment. Most people are living and subsisting on mostly acidic foods. For great health, remember the 80/20 rule – 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acidic. Aloe vera is an alkaline forming food. It alkalizes the body, helping to balance overly acidic dietary habits
There hasn’t been a lot of studies conducted in this but there has been some research to show that Aloe Vera extract injected into the blood, greatly multiplies the oxygen transportation and diffusion capabilities of the red blood cells.
According to a study published in the 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal, beta sitosterol helps to lower cholesterol. By regulating blood pressure, improving circulation and oxidation of the blood, lowering cholesterol, and making blood less sticky, Aloe Vera juice may be able to help lower the risk of heart disease.
I think given the stresses of our daily lives, every one can use a boost to their immune systems. The polysaccharides in aloe vera juice stimulate macrophages, which are the white blood cells of your immune system that fight against viruses.
Aloe is also an immune enhancer because of its high level of anti-oxidants, which help combat the unstable compounds known as free-radicals, contributing to the aging process. (Free radicals are a bi-product of life itself, it is a naturally occurring process but we can overload ourselves with unnecessary free-radicals by living an unhealthy lifestyle) Aloe is also an antipyretic which means it used to reduce or prevent fever.
Because of aloe’s well-known healing properties for the skin, aloe is one of the primary compounds used in the cosmetic industry. It is a known vulnerary, (meaning it helps heal wounds) and is great for applying topically to burns, abrasions, psoriasis and even to bug bites. Aloe acts as an analgesic, acting to help relieve pain of wounds. It’s feels especially good to cut a stem of aloe, place it in the fridge and rub it on sun burnt skin – the immediate soothing effect feels like an absolute lifesaver. Aloe is also an antipruritic: A substance that relieves or prevents itching. Aloe Vera is an astringent: which causes the contraction of body tissues, typically used to reduce bleeding from minor abrasions.
Due to aloe’s high water content (over 99% water) it is a great way to hydrate, moisturize and rejuvenate the skin and fits within my general guideline: “Don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat!” Aloe increases the elasticity of the skin making it more flexible through collagen and elastin repair. Aloe is an emollient, helping to soften and soothe the skin. It helps supply oxygen to the skin cells, increasing the strength and synthesis of skin tissue and induces improved blood flow to the skin through capillary dilation.
Wow, I think that covers all anti- bases. Okay, I admit, that was just a sneaky way to add in another 8 good reasons why you should keep Aloe Vera handy and incorporate it into your lifestyle. Aloe Vera’s active ingredients are sulphur, lupeol, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid, urea nitrogen and phenol which are substances that prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms and act as a team to provide antimicrobial activity thus eliminating many internal and external infections, also active against bacteria. It also helps to treat fungal and viral infections.
Source: Sacred Source Nutrition
05 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Artist, cacti, cactus, cactus flower, D7000, desert, garden, gardens, learning, learning photography, macro lens, macro photography, new mexico, Nikon, Nikon D7000, photographer, photography, photography basics, plants, prime lens, sedona, sharon cummings, southwest, southwestern, southwestern decor, succulents
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/cactus-flower-1-sharon-cummings.html
Macro photography seems to be all the rage these days on online fine art sites. And let me tell you, there are some really stunning images that I could only dream of creating quality wise. But everyone knows I am a dreamer…..so I am going to see what I can do with my creative eye and my new Nikon D7000 with a fixed macro lens. Thanks to a photographer friend, I also have a mono-pod on order which should be here tomorrow. She explained that it helps with stability and better image quality.
I am not a professional photography by any definition and I have always been a point and shoot kind of gal. I am not a person of patience….and have always enjoyed the quick fleeting shots. I like photographing things that move and sway. Things that disappear. Macro photography takes a certain amount of patience and diligence that I know I will find extremely challenging, but I am up for it!
I am not new to photography in anyway including macro, but it has always been more of a hobby for me. I will be the first to admit that I do not fully understand all of the jargon…ISO….white balance…shutter speed…..depth of field, etc. These are things I am going to learn.
The image above was taken about 5 years ago with my Nikon D50. I loved that camera and the zoom lens with macro capabilities was perfect for my fast moving brain. I have sold a lot of artwork and photos with that little gem including this cactus flower here. It took really nice photographs.
Getting used to a Prime Lens (fixed without zooming capabilities) is my first challenge. When I first assembled it and started shooting there was much frustration and angst. My photography buddy had to walk away….lol. Change is hard.
So here I am a professional painter and hobbyist photographer diving into the complex, challening and detailed world of macro photography for real. Wish me luck!
My first offering with the new equipment:
Abstract Art by Sharon Cummings 