Thursday, February 21, 2013

A Powder Puff, A Woman

Along the roadside near the fish market, I spied this flower blooming prolifically. After two nights of freezing temperatures I was amazed it had survived. Gary stopped the car so I could capture a photo. He called it a red puff ball, and indeed, it's common name is powder puff ball, or Calliandra haematocephala. At first I thought it was a bottle brush tree, it is related but different, having a more round flower.

In addition to the fluffy red flowers, being a broad leaf evergreen doubly endears this plant in the landscape. The name powder puff instantly brought forth images of ladies of yesteryear powdering themselves with soft cotton puffs dipped in a fragrant powder after a bath.

Julian Mandel

Julian Mandel, 1872-1925, was one of the best known commercial photographer's of female nudes of the twentieth century. 

Georges-Pierre Seurat

Georges-Pierre Seurat, 1859-1801 was a French post impressionist painter and draftsman. He is noted for his innovative use of drawing media and for devising the technique of painting known as pointillism.

Georges Barbier

Georges Barbier, 1882-1932, was a French painter, designer, and illustrator and popularized the style of art deco of the roaring twenties. Barbier's posters are still popular today.

Did  you ever have a powder puff. Do you know someone who did? A grandmother or an aunt perhaps. As a young child I remember my mother had a powder puff in a small cardboard container. I vaguely recall opening it, smelling the powder, dreaming of becoming a grown woman some day. This post is part of Mud Colony what's happening in the studio. Thanks for reading and for all  your comments.

15 comments:

  1. Hello Linda:
    Powder puffs are so romantic somehow. They do conjure up images of gloriously elegant women, perhaps of a golden age. The images you show here capture that glamour so beautifully!

    And, as for the Powder Puff flower, what a striking presence it must have in the landscape. The primped and preened glamour girl of our times, no less!!

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  2. Hi Jane and Lance, thanks, so curious and wonderful how a flower's name can bring up a memory of a powder puff from childhood.

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  3. It's so nice to be seeing and thinking about flowers in Feb. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  4. Very interesting post...I didn't know about powder puffs, though an elderly Aunt gave me one of those boxes full of powder and a puff, I hadn't had the "training of a lady" enough to know when to apply, nor did I have the dressing table with mirror. Alas!

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  5. I have vague memory of having a pink powder puff at one time... geez that seems like a life time ago!

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  6. Lovely post! Although I'm not a powder-puffer, they're a nostalgic draw. My grandmother kept a box in her bathroom, the orange- and white-swirled box. I remember once opening the box and getting my nose too close and sneezing! LOL at the memory!

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  7. It's called the LEHUA flower in Hawaiian. According to Hawaiian legend, when the Lehua is plucked, it will rain -- symbolic of a woman's tears. Do google the romantic tragedy if you are interested.

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  8. Well named. I remember the celluloid dresser sets of my great grandmother and grandmother. The mirror, the comb, the hair catcher with the hole in the lid, and, of course, the poweder container. The Georges Barbier lady's powder container is the black container on her table.

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  9. Lovely and fun post, Linda. I remember my Aunt in Louisiana having a silver container with a powder puff. It looked so elegant and rich to an eight year old!

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  10. Thank you. I loved the powder puff plant and the memories of things past as well.

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  11. Thanks all I was so happy to see that beautiful red flower, we are having a yard sale this weekend so tied up with that and some interior painting that is taking much longer than I expected. I hate painting walls. Ugh.

    Gigi, thanks, I'll have to check out the legend later, sounds very interesting. I love learning about cultural legends

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  12. This may sound a little strange but I was thinking about powder puffs the other day. I don't know why, but my mum had one that was pink that I was fascinated by as a kid. I haven't seen them in years.

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  13. Hi Amy, it is strange the things that pop into our head, my mom didn't wear much makeup but she had the powder and chanel no 5 perfume.

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  14. I had a powder puff that came with a fancy box of powder you put on after a bath...that was around 1957. The flower is amazing....

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