Table Tops

Henri Burkhard

Like so many American artists at the turn of the century, Henri Burkhrad had to leave his native land for Paris in order to find his painterly voice. Paris was the centre of the avant-garde, a melting pot of radical ideas, experimentation, and wild characters who encouraged each other to push the envelope further in a single minded journey towards subjective truth. Burkhard had a by-the-numbers artistic education, attending three of the great Académies in the city and honing the traditional skills he had learnt as a young man in New York to novel effect. He returned home shortly before this work was painted, bringing with him the new way of thinking he had learnt overseas, and was quickly celebrated as a leading figure in the American modernist movement, exhibiting extensively at major galleries and museums across the country. Burkhard fell into relative obscurity later in life, and his contribution to a uniquely American painterly style is rarely discussed, but his cubist inspired still lives still retain a sense of potency today.

Monday 8th June

The Moon deepens further into Aquarius, continuing to bring a light and airy quality into the garden, before moving into Pisces by the evening. This gives the day a gentle transition, from the flower realm of Aquarius towards the watery, leafy influence of Pisces. Early in the morning offers a good opportunity for stirring and applying biodynamic preparation 501, horn silica. This preparation is usually sprayed as a fine mist in the morning light, helping to strengthen the plant’s relationship with light, form, and upright growth. The Moon also wanes towards the half Moon, drawing us into a quieter and more inward part of the lunar rhythm. By evening, as the Moon enters Pisces, the mood softens further, and our attention may turn towards leaves, moisture, and the living flow of water through the garden.