With the arrival of another October tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about pumpkins. Naturally. Their funky shapes. Their rainbow of colors from signature orange to yellows, browns, creams and even blues and greens. The odd “noses” their stems make when cut from the vine. Their unmatched association with fall, my favorite season. And in this case, their reminder of field trips with little ones gone by! These goofy vegetables (or is it a fruit?) are giving me autumn vibes and a wee bit of inspiration today. I hope this mini gallery will give you some fall feels to start the season, too…
Street art. My favorite kind of city wandering, and it always seems to offer endless inspiration. I consider it a parenting win that my children have no qualms about stopping on the side of the street and getting out to take photos. In fact, they often suggest it now! I guess it seems perfectly normal after years of my traipsing around various alleys and byways in cities and small towns on the hunt for hand painted signs and graffiti art.
I love stamps. Their glimpse of history and what nations choose to honor. Their mini artwork masterpieces. Their throwback to times when receiving correspondence from someone was more precious. From portraits to places to historic artifacts, stamps display so many versions of what we see as important. In honor of President’s Day, I decided to take a look through my stamp collection to see how many presidents I could find.
Hello, friends! I’ve been on hiatus from the Field Guide through Covid recuperation, end of year holidays and adjusting to new school and work routines to start 2021. Valentines week seems like a fitting time to share some blog love! Maker’s Dozen highlights my love of vintage, oddities, and general silliness found around the studio. I’ve gathered a few artifacts of love for today’s post to get you in the mood. Love stamps, Pez, my vintage Hallmark heart pin, heart hole-punch (because why use only circles), and an elementary school book of poems from the Scholastic “Weekly Reader”.
Out of the blue as we were driving to dance class the other day, my daughter sighed and said, “I miss trips.” What a concise reflection of our collective hearts over the last six months! Although we really love home and have enjoyed the nesting and strengthening time brought on by the pandemic, our spirits still miss the wandering trips and travels to favorite places we’ve canceled because of it. When the shutdowns and closures brought on by Covid-19 began in our state, we were actually on spring break from school and traveling in Tennessee. We were visiting the Great Smoky Mountains after spending several days on our Memphis “stomping grounds,” as my grandmother would say. So, naturally, talk of trips took us into a discussion of all the things about Bluff City we’ve claimed as our own. We consoled ourselves by remembering that, yes, they are the things we miss, but that’s because they’re the things we love.
That conversation with Baby Girl sent me into my photo archives for a quick glimpse of walking in changes of scenery, taking in sidewalks and experiences – familiar, but so distant from us right now. I know I’ve shared that some of the scenery we seem to always seek out is street art – the murals, graffiti, and public art installations that lend vibrance to even an already bustling scene. From driving through back roads to wandering down alleys, finding these works of art seems like a treasure hunt through even the most traveled sidewalks. And, whether it’s parked cars, moving transit, business folk, or the occasional three ring circus tagging along with their mom for photographs, we all become part of the story depicted.
Today, I’m taking a virtual field trip to the corner of Madison Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard in downtown Memphis, to find scenes of the city’s resilience set against the story of a gothic “queen”, a Bluff City matriarch, and hopes waiting to be fulfilled for a Memphis icon.
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.
The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.
I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages. I’m honored to have you here.