Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
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tree that Foley had to hold the digital camera over her head and shoot blind into the nest. What she saw through the viewfinder amazed and captivated her: four incredibly blue robin's eggs. Foley recalls her maternal instinct coming out as she kept taking photos. She has images of the chicks' first hours and as they grew. One stormy night as the rain came down in torrents, her husband Stephen had to remind her that nature was in charge. "I wanted to go out with an umbrella to protect them," Foley said. But instead she and her dog Wrigley kept a vigil on the front steps through the early morning hours. Finally the mother bird returned and spread her wings fully to protect her brood. And a male robin, one Foley had not seen before, perched on a branch not far away until the rain stopped. "I can only imagine it was the father," she said. Retelling the story brings a slight quiver to her voice and a quiet pacing as she shares the experience of seeing the chicks fly off one by one to make their own way in the world. The symbolism of parents protecting their young, the natural progression of time, and the reminder that, as humans, our own children will eventually leave the nest one day resonate deeply within her as she looks at the photo series of that robin's nest. Foley wants the images on her notecards to evoke heartfelt emotions in others. She has an image of a perfect rose in one of her collections, but she prefers the one with the slight imperfection – a petal that is wilted and misshapen. The rose is still beautiful, of course, but it is far from perfect, Foley said, "like most of our lives." One friend told her she chose that card specifically to send to someone going through a difficult time. The words written inside were those of encouragement, to persevere through a setback, and to remember that life, on the whole, is beautiful indeed. A notecard is experienced twice, Foley said: first by the person who selects it and crafts the words inside, and then by the person who receives it. "The card should look and feel right to both." Foley took care to find a vendor who could reproduce the photo- graphic images at the highest quality directly on the heavy card stock. 162 W e l l e s l e y W e s t o n M a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 artist profile "evoke heartfelt emotions" 160-166_WWMa14_artist profile_lisa_v2_WellesleyWeston Magazine 2/2/14 1:06 PM Page 162