Dear Friends,

Hello and welcome to my new jq loves u blog. So many new things are going on that I can’t wait to share with you. A new jq loves u website is coming soon and new fabric is c for a new dress and shrug. I am so excited. I am also so excited to start blogging and particularly to start with this series about the Lotus flower and I hope you enjoy receiving them. I will be sending a little newsletter to your in box that will let you know to come over to the blog.

As many of you know, I am passionate about the Lotus flowers. The series that I worked on when I lived in Echo Park, Los Angeles, changed my life and ultimately is what lead me to start my company. I photographed the flowers that grow in the Lake from the year 2000 until I moved to New York in 2003. Being in the presence of the flowers brought peace and joy back into my heart and I will forever be grateful to them for being my friends and teachers. For the next few months I will be sharing the images I took during that time along with stories and insights I have about the flowers. I hope that you enjoy them.

The Lotus flower in Echo Park Lake start to emerge in early March and that is when I would start to visit the lake with my camera. I wanted to be there when the flowers first leaves appeared above the water. I took these images to show what the lake looks like during the winter months. The palm trees reflection on the moving water looked like abstract paintings to me.

This is one of my favorite photos. I like it because it shows the infamous mud that all spiritual teachings refer when talking about the Lotus flowers message. What you see here in this picture are the flowers first leaves. They are not the huge leaves that you often see next to the flower blooms. These leaves stay on the water for the flowers entire life. More on this subject in the next post.

This past fall, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh came to New York on his world Tour. He created beautiful meditative calligraphies at ABC Carpet that were then exhibited in the store. I bought this card and keep it on my desk.

Please feel free to share any insights or comments you have here in the comments section I would love to here them. Until next time have a beautiful day and remember “no mud, no lotus”