Spring is nature’s art in motion: bulbs burst through the hard winter ground; wildflowers poke through rocky crevices; and white blooms cascade on green-leaf Andromeda. As we look skyward, blossoms dress the tree tops, framed against the vibrant blue we call sky. And it all unfurls much like the fiddle-head fern - tenderly and in its own time.

Remembering refreshes the past. This week Passover is celebrated all over the world, and the highlight of the holiday is the Seder - a dinner where history and symbolic foods remind us that freedom is the human trait that cannot be compromised. It’s a meal of simple food. The focus is on matzo, the flat bread with not much flavor that baked quickly in the desert sun, as families of newly freed Jews followed Moses toward the promise of a homeland. When a people has just been released from the chains of slavery, freedom tastes good.

I often think about my Dad and miss the close connection we had. I am fortunate to be surrounded by his artwork. He was creative, first in the world of music, as a composer and arranger, then later in life, in the world of art, as a painter and sculptor. His paintings are composed of intricate layers - pattern upon pattern - reflecting the mathematical complexity of music and life. The outcome is intriguing. He would want me to share these with you.

Life as we know it is being changed by yet another new technology, 3D printing. Last year, a Makerbot store opened on the main street of our small town. In a personal demonstration, my grandchildren sat in a round room as cameras scanned 360-degree specifications, to create solid images of them. We watched as the printer built three-dimensional likenesses from the digital file in the filament colors they chose: one red, one glow-in-the-dark green. And during a recent trip to London, we chanced on a jeweler who printed this 3D necklace to my specifications as we watched. These are simple examples of printed objects. There are more meaningful ways in which 3D technology offers new possibilities. Here are a few of the applications and implications I find especially intriguing.

When people discover that I write a blog, they’re curious about why.  I don't have a good answer. The author, Sylvia Plath, does. She says, "I write only because there is a voice in me that will not be still." I can't claim that level of passion. I know that as each title travels to you through electronic space, a new topic captures my attention and begs to be explored. I'm grateful that you are kind enough to read these living insights, and each week I look forward to your comments.