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From Diana Howard

This piece is called “Coming Storm” and was painted using oils by Diana Howard, Member 41,003.  She told us it’s of the Ste Victoire in Aix en Provence.

Cloud Timelapse over Burnie, Tasmania

Gary McArthur, Member 5,353, sent us this timelapse of mesmerising patterns produced by an upper altocumulus floccus layer projecting shadows onto a lower layer of Altocumulus stratiformis .  It was captured from his home in Tasmania, Australia in February of this year.

The Gladness of Clouds

Chris Tetley, Member 10,338, sent us this poem composed to encourage us to wonder what our lives would be like without clouds.  The image was one he took locally of the sky over Devon, UK.

The Gladness of Clouds

The sky would be an empty stage without its cast of varied cloud,
Lacking daily interest with no shapes its sphere to crowd.
Though sunny bright and pleasant, days would lose what cloudscapes bring,
And all those kindnesses and insults that our way they’re apt to fling.

And what would we then talk about to strike up conversation,
Those introductory lines expressing joy or indignation?
What future, outdoor outfitters that count on rain and snow,
The meteorological media whose raison d’être cloud is to know?

And what of temperate gardens that enjoy cloud cover’s hues,
All who so much benefit from its shifting greys and blues?
And those who like the chance to snuggle up safely with a book,
When a storm is raging beyond brave walls and cosy sheltered nook.

And where would be our literature, much music and the arts,
Without the different cloud types and the influence each imparts.
Gone would be the rivers and lakes on which we so rely,
Not fed from heaving boulder-burdened blister-bursting sky?

Then what of useful reference; what becomes of cloud computing,
And that foggy place to have your head where absent thought finds its rerouting?
No ninth to share its happiness, or edged with silver lining,
Misty metaphor forever lost and in need of redefining.

Heavenward contemplation would be little but blue-sky thinking,
Much lost as a source of inspiration, if sky from sea no longer drinking.
And leaden would lose its meaning as dread divide of sky and land,
Weather from being moods arbiter, then little help and rather bland.

No more those clouds chameleon-like that mark days start and end,
As from and towards night’s sunless vault they with glamour arrive and wend.
Unnoticed as if not present for every hour then in between,
Horizon’s margin brief inflamed, in distant solitude serene.

Then what of this society that so appreciates their wonder,
From timorous playful newborn cubs to roaring lions of fearsome thunder?
Where every form and unique shape that commands its keen attention,
Acquires an immortal presence, and to the wide world gets a mention.

A sky without vast mounds of vapour, wind-jostled or scenic set,
Would be a lesser world for all where hope and rainbow never met.
And I could no more live without this flock that cossets Gaia,
Than I could its welcome shade; its forms, and fancy to inspire.

© Chris Tetley

From Marilyn Murphy

Marilyn Murphy, Member 41,144,  is an Artist and Professor of Art Emerita at Vanderbilt University.  This is one of her graphite drawings entitled “Air and Dreams”.

You can see more of her work on her Marilyn Murphy website

She also has a solo exhibition at the Haley Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee  with some of her cloud series, including the one above.  The exhibition also includes 19 of her relief prints.   It opened on 24 February and will be up until 22 March 2024

Earth Movie Theatre – Watch Earth from space

Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 and Education Mission Specialist at the Association of Space Explorers introduced us to the ‘Earth Movie Theatre’.  Working with world-class musicians they combine music with ISS moves of Earth.  This video shows a flight path along Peru, Chile and Atlantic Coast – such a peaceful flight accompanied by the guitar of Steve Thomas

Ethereal Skies I Clouds of Freedom © Laurel Sherrie

From Laurel Sherrie

Laurel Sherrie, a lifelong artist, paints landscapes of treasured places.  She uses traditional oils and rich colours to create her pieces, which of course include wonderful skies.  Here is the first from her Ethereal Skies series entitled “Clouds of Freedom”

You can see more of her work the Laurel Sherrie website

A curtain of precipitation falls from a storm system over Charlo, Montana, US.

From Jan Boles

Jan Boles, Member 13,316, sent us his humorous cloud related limerick.  We have paired it with an image of a curtain of precipitation falling from a storm system over Charlo, Montana, US by Ruth Quist.

A cloud spotter, known as Horatio,
Was keen on words rhyming with “ratio.”
He often would sigh,
Looking up at the sky,
“That’s not ‘rain,’ it’s ‘praecipitatio.’”

© Jan Boles February 2024

From Sue Hendry

Sue Hendry, Member 60,264, submitted her oil on canvas painting “Late Afternoon Clouds over Auckland“.  She painted it from a photograph taken from Devonport Ferry Terminal and told us she is “purely an amateur cloud loving artist”.

The Yukon Aurora

In September of last year, George Preoteasa, Member 41,445, travelled to Whitehorse, Yukon.  Although the  aurora was the main attraction, he found that the Yukon is stunning.

He told us:  “as you know, I take timelapse pictures and turn them into movies, so of course I have one from this trip. The aurora was let’s say, subdued, not as powerful as when we were in Yellowknife, but I managed to get some reasonably good clips, I think. What I really like about them is how the clouds roll in and cross over”.

“The Light Within” by Sheila Finch

Sheila Finch, an award winning artist, has had her work exhibited through the USA and Europe.  This is one of her latest pieces “The Light Within”. The description on her website states “As the sun slowly falls to the horizon in the afternoon, I’m offered a visual gift of light and color from layers upon layers of clouds out over the Pacific Ocean”.

You can see more of her work on her website, Sheila Finch Fine Art

Prelude in C – welcomes you to Namibia

Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 and  Education Mission Specialist at the Association of Space Explorers introduced us to the ‘Earth Movie Theatre’.  From Earth orbit, listen to Bach’s flowing Prelude in C, as you watch Earth below – clouds over the Atlantic and the land of Namibia. Stunning! Harpsichord by world-class Bob van Asperen. Earth photography by astronauts of ISS 63

Anti-crepuscular rays over Idaho, US.

“Cloud-Whisperer” by Kathy Miles

Kathy Miles is a poet living in West Wales; her fourth full collection was published by Indigo Dreams in 2020.  This is a poem she wrote about Luke Howard with a photograph by Jan Boles of Anti-crepuscular rays over Idaho, US.

Cloud-Whisperer
after Luke Howard, 1802

He named them because he could.
For the thrill of cirrus on his tongue,
cumulus and stratus a banquet
on the palate. Obsession ached
inside him, the need to claim
and classify. The logic of shape.

He envied their resolve,
the purpose that kept them feral,
wandering from place to place
like nomads, always heading
to the next clear patch of sky
that argued its blue emptiness.

Seeing them submerged in sea
or lake, he wanted to raise
them like a grounded swift,
throw them high as he could,
then call them back to his side
by the names that he had gifted.

Now I watch their floss and bustle,
like a woman hurrying to work
worries building inside her; ragged
fractus, weary with the day,
shapeshifting into mist, keeping
its nose to the grindstone.

Their bellies are full of storm
and fire, while mine has emptied
of passion. I think of the man who
organised the skies; how nothing
pleased him more than waking
to quilts of nimbus, cirrostratus.

© Kathy Miles 2023

From J Pogalies

J Pogalies from Madison, Ohio recently sent this example of her art and told us “I live on the shores of Lake Erie, a Great Lake! I photograph clouds and more almost daily. They are not altered except I then flip them or stack them to form new images and have them printed on large metal panels 1’x5’ up to 4’x5’“. 

You can see more of her cloud art on her website

A full moon over Bigfork, Montana, US.

“Clouds” by Nick Houvras

Nick Houvras, member 7,347 is a longstanding member of the Cloud Appreciation Society and sent us one of his cloud related poems. We’ve paired it with a photograph from our Photo Gallery of a full moon over Bigfork, Montana by Ruth Quist.

Clouds

The clouds are the roof over our head curiously they break apart and you see the blue sky And sun above.
At night there my appear a star winking at you.
Or a big white round full moon that comes partly through.
The oceans adrift in the sky above but no sail boats there flying high.
Just occasionally white streaks planes leave behind like trails one can walk on.
You maybe, so for now just say hi, high to the clouds in the sky!

© Nick Houvras 2022

Shadows in the Sky

Jurene Phaneuf, Member 45,173 , sent us the link to Mike Olbinski’s video “Shadows in the Sky”.  The images are mesmerising and the accompanying music very atmospheric.

“Before the Storm” by Larissa Gray

Larissa Gray is an award winning artist based in Kyneton, a town in the Macedon Ranges region of West Central Victoria, Australia.  Although she specialises in small scale bronze and mixed media sculptures, she also likes to draw clouds.  This one is called ‘Before the Storm’.

You can see more about Larissa and her work on her website

A Circumzenithal Arc over Broadway, NYC, US.

To Have the Honor of a Cloud

Holly Payne-Strange, Member 52,979, from New Jersey was enjoying the clouds at Thanksgiving when she dreamt up this poem.  We’ve paired it with an image of a Circumzenithal Arc over Broadway, NYC, US by Judy Schramm

To Have the Honor of a Cloud

Ice crystals in the sky,
Reflecting sunlight, conjuring shadow
An ever moving gallery of whimsy.

It sounds like magic.

Surely it should be, by all rights
This beauty we ignore, day by day.
I think it’s because they’re so far away,
Glory and valor we assume is out of reach.

There’s a certain proud nobility about them,
Stately and serene.
It all seems so easy, slow, even boring.
An illusion fostered by distance and assumption.

I can’t help but think
That if only we looked,
Really looked, and noticed, and appreciated,
Then maybe grace could be an everyday occurrence.
Maybe we would notice.

Lofty ideals, unencumbered and honest,
Could curl above us
Natural as the wind.
Maybe generosity would need no excuse
And sincerity would be easily accepted,
Suspicion and shame falling like shadow,
To some distant terrain we can’t imagine.

I have to say,
When I think of you,
I only see the clouds.

© Holly Payne-Strange

Astronaut video of Sunset Serenity – with Steve Thomas Guitar [ Earth Movie Theater ]

Sunset Serenity captures the rich colors and serene drama of a sunset, seen from the ISS.  ISS orbits Earth in 92 minutes – that means 16 sunrises and sunsets every day!  Steve Thomas plays guitar and does sonic magic to help us experience Sunset Serenity. 

Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 and Education Mission Specialist at the Association of Space Explorers introduced us to the ‘Earth Movie Theatre’.  Working with world-class musicians they combine music with ISS moves of Earth.

By Anna Watts

Gerard Watts, Member 62,339, sent us this painting by his Anna Watts.  He told us

“Anna is an artist from Greystanes NSW Australia. She specialises in abstract art drawing and painting. Much of her art is inspired from nature and her surroundings. Anna’s other interests are music composition and puppetry”

From Sophie Keir

Artist, Sophie Keir, sent this detail of an Oil on Canvas painting of stormy, dramatic clouds inspired by the often in the background skies of Old Master paintings. These skies are sometimes more interesting than the main focus!

You can see more of her paintings, prints and cards on her website.

Ladder to the Clouds

Chuck Metcalfe, Member 61,468, sent us a poem he wrote in November this year and a photograph he took at his camp in Stockton, New York, that inspired it.

Ladder to the Clouds

If I could build a ladder to the clouds, we could climb so high into the sky.
We could frolic and play, and stay all day, just the two of us;
while we jump and bounce from Stratus to Cumulus.
We might sing and dance on Altostratus; or perchance ride the mares’ tails of Cirrus Uncinus .
Amongst the Cirrus we would search freely in, until we find a parhelion; petting that sundog we could do, and maybe see its halo too.
Nimbostratus would not ruin our day, if above the rain we were able to stay.
Even Cumulonimbus with its flashy show would look different from above you know.
We would have our own park without the crowds, if I could build a ladder to the clouds.


© 11/17/2023 Chuck Metcalfe

Special production for new “Bach Forest” in Germany – One Earth

Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 and Education Mission Specialist at the Association of Space Explorers introduced us to the ‘Earth Movie Theatre’.  Working with world-class musicians they combine music with ISS moves of Earth. This production was in celebration of the new Bach Forest and the satellite image covers Ireland to Saudi Arabia at night.

The Bach Forest is situated in Leipzig and over the next few years a forest of approximately 29 hectares will be planted on the western side of Lake Störmthal. You can see more about it on the Bach Fest website

A sunset over Kiev, Ukraine.

From Vyacheslav Konoval

Vyacheslav Konoval is a poet from Kyiv, Ukraine. Many of his poems have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian and Polish but this is one he wrote in English for CAS members to enjoy.

Image: “A Sunset over Kiev, Ukraine” © Vera Uzhva

A dark blue cloud crawls across the sky

A dark blue cloud crawls across the sky,
It rains every day.
As if punishment is pouring from God.

Fluffy fresh caresses,
crowded street of
stockpiled ice fragments.

My body doesn’t obey
It seemed to be dozing,
limps tiredly in laziness.

© Vyacheslav Konoval

From Pauline Bailly

Pauline Bailly is a painter from Normandy, France who likes to paint Lady-Clouds, called “Les Femmes-Nuages” in French. She describes her work below:

My Cloudy Women are the link between reality and dreams. It is an ambiguity between two worlds, with a strong emphasis on introspection in a style sprinkled with surrealism, where onirism takes over and supplants all rationality.

The cloud is like a connection between the character’s states of mind and the world around us. Like an extension of the emotions, these cumulus clouds, for the most part, are a window onto thought. They are like dream vapors, melancholy clouds, like a veil of poetry rooted in the midst of landscapes, terrestrial or celestial settings.

These women are like guardians of their own universe, but also of those of others. The spectators can project their own stories and dreams into my paintings. A bridge is created, in a spirit of sharing hope and softness.

To find or buy my artworks, you can visit my website www.paulinebaillyart.com
Buy on Artmajeur https://www.artmajeur.com/pauline-bailly-1
Or contact me directly at pauline-bailly@outlook.fr
Social media @Les_Femmes_Nuages on instagram / Pauline Bailly – Peintures on Facebook

Aladdin's lamp spotted over Bhutan, south Asia.

“Go to Bhutan” by Minnie Biggs

Minnie Biggs, Member 4,330, recently sent her poem about the skies over Bhutan, which is situated on the Himalayas’ eastern edge. We’ve accompanied it with an image from Michael Ellis “Aladdin’s lamp spotted over Bhutan, South Asia

Go to Bhutan

Cloud heaven
we are looking at the clouds in the distance
we are below the clouds
we are in the middle of the clouds
We are above the clouds,
Looking at more clouds
in the clouds is different
Than above or below
Wet damp not rain wet
And the mountains
That meet the clouds
Embrace the clouds
Are embraced by the clouds
Intermingle with the clouds
seldom one without the other
In Bhutan
Clouds
Heaven

© Minnie Biggs

Annular eclipse ‘23 at Mexican Hat, Utah

George Preoteasa, Member 41,445, sent in his timelapse video of the recent annular eclipse.  He told us, “I was in Mexican Hat, Utah, which was on the centerline. It’s hard to capture the feeling in a movie or pictures, given that you have to use a solar filter most of the time, so you have to make a composite. But I tried”.

Steve Thomas guitar floats with us over the coast of Peru and Chile

From the Earth Movie Theatre, this is a composition by Steve Thomas whose guitar floats with us over the coast of Peru and Chile. Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 and Education Mission Specialist at the Association of Space Explorers introduced us to the ‘Earth Movie Theatre’ and we are thoroughly enjoying the music of world-class musicians combined with ISS movies of Earth.