Art From Trails End

2011-12-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's very simple, really

Let's open up our hearts

And let in all the love and light

For that's when Christmas starts

Gather round your family

Your neighbors, foes and friends

Don't leave out a single soul

For that's when Christmas ends.

How ever you celebrate this amazing time of year

please accept all of my best wishes

to you and yours.

new post

2011-12-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

Dia de los Muertos

2011-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Moving to California nearly 30 years ago has brought many interesting things into my life and the celebration of the Day of the Dead with it's altars, sugar skulls and marigolds has been one of the most striking. This takes the All Saints Day and All Souls Day of my Catholic upbringing to new heights and somehow seems to resonate with me.

Here's what I'm thinking. I miss my Dad and am grateful for all of the jokes and family stories he shared. For his concern if he even thought I was having a bad time. For the most important lesson I've probably ever learned; to know it's never too late to own your past behavior. And I am grateful that when he got older, he started calling me "honey".

What is as soothing as the crashing sea?

2011-10-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

As much as I cherish the wild beauty of Trail's End, I do love to be near the ocean. I'm not so much an "in"or "on" the ocean girl as I love being "next to" the ocean. You know, a shore bird.

Here's a little peak at the two days we just spent in Laguna Beach. Our room hung out over the sand and the waves crashed and pounded the rocks right under us. Magic...

Looking toward Main Beach, Laguna

May I see a million sunsets and always be stunned.

Just after dawn.

Nobody up yet!

The Pacific Edge Hotel is all about The Endless Summer, Cowabunga!

I'm thinking that it is only my arrogance that leads me to believe that I can ever know where I am going. It seems that the paths have chosen me and I think that, regardless of my current plotting, it's happening again.

Ride 'em cowboy!

2011-10-05T01:43:00.001-07:00

I have mixed feelings about rodeos. Of course there is a sports medicine trailer right outside the ring and the announcer assures us that the animals are safe, all precautions are taken and there are vets on hand in case of a mishap. But it is hard to watch a cute little calf chased down, roped and tied. I always feel better when they cut them free and the little cuties saunter out of the ring with their heads held high. Seems like it's always a win for them. The bull and bronc riding seems a little more fair. The animals are clearly the winners in many instances and it's the cowboys in these events who seem a bit worse for wear. The barrel racing is exciting and the horses look like they are having the time of their lives, the trick riders are a beautiful marriage of horse and rider and the pageantry, the clowns and the verbal acuity of the announcers are most entertaining. Rodeos seem at least a little more animal friendly than a circus and are way less disturbing than the bull fight I saw years ago in Cancun. Now that I think about it, I think I like them better than a zoo. At least the horses, bulls and even the little calves have an opportunity to get one over on the humans.

Having said that, watching a rodeo is also like a living scrapbook to me. It seems that at least some of these guys are actually working cowboys doing what cowboys have done for ages. I am a bit of a sucker for tradition.

They have matching faces!

This looks like a Norman Rockwell to me.

I am surprised I got these, the best of the 100 or so I took. Rodeo's move fast and my shutter doesn't!At any rate, some of you will hate these photos and some of you will love them. I'm going to be plumbing the depths of my soul for awhile yet to decide how I really feel about these spectacles. But I did have a lot of fun. That may have had something to do with the fact that I was with the husband and our granddaughter! The granddaughter used my camera for a bit and got some good shots herself. The next two are hers.

I never get tired of taking photos of our beautiful hills and mountains. After 28 years of living here, seeing these everyday, I am still in awe. This rodeo was also a reminder to me that Trails End Ranch is right here in the midst of what was once real cowboy country.

It is very late, I should be long asleep. Hopefully I am now tired enough to some shut eye, as the cowboys might say. Here's what I'm thinking; that I'm going to try to cultivate a constant state of wonder, never being too sure about what's right and what's wrong, but keeping my eyes and my heart open while life sorts itself out.

A Day Apart

2011-09-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent 7 hours in a collage class led by Sylvia at The Art Box in Claremont. The icing on the cake was being there with my darling daughter #3. I finished this piece (boy, I have a black and red thing lately don't I?) and have two more that are off to a good start but not quite ready for prime time. One of them is simple and needs no more that some cutting and glueing.

The other is a wonderful lesson in expectations. I know that planning is such an important factor for success in many endeavors, but I have never been very good at it and usually get all tangled up when I attempt to "make a plan and follow it." My art attempts are no exception. The lesson is also about investment. Things don't seem to work out as easily for me if I allow myself to be too heavily invested in the outcome, in life as well as in art. And lastly, there is deliberatenessness (hey, it's MY word). If I forget that there is always magic afoot and keep brushing off the stardust that I think is messing up my project I struggle to a disappointing end. When I think of all the art I have done in the past several years, the pieces I like best, the pieces I enjoyed making most, are the ones that seemed to make themselves while I was in some sort of delicious trance.

And this piece, which is now a disappointing mess, pretty much covers all three of those lessons. I ignored my instincts, followed the rules instead and lost my mojo. The subject is near and dear to my heart and I planned it to be a gift. I have some doable ideas on getting it back on it's proverbial feet, then I'm going to get into one of those trances and let it finish itself. Yes I am. Hopefully you will see it here in the next few weeks. (That doesn't sound like a plan, investment or deliberatenessness does it?)

I have also been in a writing mood. Here is what I was thinking just the other day. Seems to belong in this post.

Falling in Love

I am finally falling in love with my own spirit,

slowly losing the ability to judge

myself or others, falling in love

with all things eccentric, eclectic,

odd, beautiful, foreign and mysterious.

Discernment and propriety

are silently slipping away.

Daily life is becoming perfect serialized fiction

in which to lose myself in the beautiful,

the hideous, horror, knowledge,

humor, intrigue, lust!

When I'm through I close the book and place it

in the glass-doored case of my collections

where I can appreciate its exquisite bindings.

lm/2011

Be well my tender friends and remember, it's all GOOD!

Just to let you know

2011-09-18T20:16:00.001-07:00

I am still alive! And still blogging! Things have been crazy for me, a bit of traveling, some fun-some not so fun, and a very stubborn cold. Got lots of good things cooking and the plan is to keep you up to date a little better from now on. (I never get tired of promising this.)

Remember her?

Well, she is hanging in a Southern California Collage Society show in at the Filipi Winery in beautiful Rancho Cucamonga Ca. Just a little tale of self discovery regarding this piece. I love her. She is on distressed cardboard, a technique I discovered while visiting Katie Kendrick's wonderful blog. But when I saw her hanging amongst the very beautiful pieces in this show, I had that icky feeling that I know some of you are familiar with. You know, the "who-the-heck- thought-I-should-be-in-this-show-anyway" feeling. I know, I know, but I had it BAD.

So I hung out on the bench facing the wall my stuff is on and now I not only appreciate the art I have created, I have a new poem as well.

The Artist Observes Yo Soy Flamenco

"Look at this", he said,
standing before the
artist's favorite,Yo Soy Flamenco,
with a look of a man
who treasures old
sweaters and worn out
jeans.

The artist sat, unobserved,
on the bench meant for
contemplating the exhibition
with the look of the person
in a dream who shows up
for school late, lost and
naked.

Sighing, the woman left the finely
crafted and expensively framed
piece that held her captive looking
like the reluctant bride
who has been
given by her father to his
rival.

"It's cardboard," she hissed
as she approached
Yo Soy Flamenco
affecting the look of a woman
wearing Jimmy Choos
who just stepped in
dog do.

"I know, that's what makes it so cool"
he said waving his arms
with enthusiasm
looking like a man
who just found the '57 classic
convertible of his carefree teen-age
dreams.

And for the first time that day
the artist smiled with the look
of someone who realizes that her
art does have a voice and that
she actually belongs in this
show.

lm 9/2011

Here's a little disclosure: If you are this couple, I apologize for the poetic license taken with the facts. I'm a writer, I embellish. What is 100% true about this encounter is that this is exactly how I felt! And in my little corner of the world, that's how we grow.

Here is the rest of my work at this show.

another piece on cardboard. I LOVE doing this! My husband says our trash has decreased significantly since I've started mixed media upcycling.

This is a collage journal that I made to be a piece of experiential art. I just got got a wild idea and thought this show would be a good place to try it out. Below is my message to the viewers, if you click on it, I think you can read it. I will be anxious to see if anything comes of this. So far, no emails :(

This is a statue I finished a couple of weeks ago based on what I learned in the wonderful sculpture class I took from Healing Woman in August. More on that later.

I always enjoy the first time I take what I've learned in a class and use it on my own. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Not perfect, but not too bad considering it's my second sculpture.

Be well my friends and make art, your kind of art. Maybe it's the art of smiling at strangers, just make art! The planet needs it.

Ah Life!

2011-08-23T20:29:00.001-07:00

More good things

2011-08-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have so many exciting things on my horizon the next few months I am close to bursting! Here is a piece that is mostly finished that I will put in the collage show in September. Most of you know, I am crazy for book arts and this is a collage show. I just got rolling and the next thing I knew I had a piece of hybrid art!

The Humanities in the back is the front cover of a wonderful old book, which was already in pieces, and the collage pages are between the covers of another recycled oldie.

There are a total of 16 collages in here. Some still need a coat of gel medium and some need a little text. I feel really happy to have figured all of this out. Normally, I would have just settled on an easy application which would mean I settled on a finished piece that was not exactly what I wanted. The book is bound with rings that go through the Humanities board so it is secure and won't flop around when people go through it. Believe me, it was a huge achievement for someone as technically challenged as I am.

There is a hanger on the back of the Humanities board so it can be hung up. I am trying to imagine how I can include a sign encouraging people to look through the book. I recently read an article that reminded me of the theory that simply observing a thing actually changes that thing. I want to invite people to "change" this exhibit simply by looking at it. Tossing and turning on a sleepless night last week, I went so far as to imagine a traveling exhibit of somethings like this by a variety of artists with the theme being "Look and Change: a challenge for our times."

Then there is this:

a journal made from the cardboard "sleeve" that Amazon sends your books in. Inspired by my friend Aleta who saw the potential in that bit of trash. I'm going to enter this as well; it is not filled with collage but it is a journal that IS a collage.

The black and gold paper covering the back board is over 200 years old, courtesy of my friend who sells antique prints. So, this piece is a repository of things and people that are dear to me.

There are two facing journals inside. Sort of the Drost effect.

This can be taken from the wall to write or art in them.

The frosty piece of glass that holds the book closed was a find made by my granddaughter. As you know, we had a huge fire up here several years ago and our greenhouse burned to nothing. Now bits of this amazing glass are working their way to the surface. The technicalities of making this work as a closure were suggested by the husband.

Here's another bit of thinking I've done.

The potential of the butterfly

motivates every caterpillar

and the wisdom and patience

of the caterpillar must be honored

by every butterfly.

I'm probably the last person on the planet to "get" this. Of course I have heard all of the metaphore, but for some reason I just GOT this bigger (or is it smaller?) picture.

This art and this writing are entwined in my mind. I feel like I am moving to the next place. It's not that I am dissatisfied, it's more like differentsatisfied.

Oh how I babble on. Thanks for listening while I self- obsess.

Summer at Trail's End

2011-07-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all my friends and family for the nudging to post!!!!

We have been keeping cool thanks to our solar panels. We run the air night and day and have the satisfaction of sending even more power back down the grid. You are welcome.

In August, I will perform my first wedding. Yep, you read that right. I have attended several weddings officiated by what I call "Yellow Page Ministers" and I always thought how wonderful it would be to do this. After much procrastinating and with much urging from friends, I got what I need in the State of California to perform legal weddings. I am excited and have a few butterflies, this being the first and the fact that it is for good friends. Wish the beautiful couple all the best which means wish that I will do as good a job as I want to!

The day after this great affair, I am off to Roanoake Va. to attend a sculpture class with the most talented and gracious Cheryl Dolby. Take a peek here at her lovely blog and click on the side for a look at her Faces Sculpture Classl. You WILL be jealous.

Several months back, I went to Malibu for a class with another art goddess, Judy Wise and I have been working in the journal I started there. It is a bigger book than I usually make and I am getting used to having more page to work on. Here are several examples in various stages of completion.

Any thing you read on my pages are the seeds, the embryos of poems. I go back into my journal for writing prompts. It seems that the drawing inspires the writing, never the other way around. For me, that is. How about you?

Then there is the doodling! I have evolved and learned to love my doodles enough to move from scrap paper to painted journal pages.

And, the iPhone camera is still my pal. Always there, in my pocket, ready to get as excited about an image as I am when we happen on one.

See, the iPhone camera and I are still clicking away at 2 A.M.

Let's just say "several" years ago I delivered my first baby. How could I have known that gifts like this would be showered upon me from then on?

Lovely Laura demonstrates what the Husband calls the Recessive Sewing Gene. Actually, it just skipped a generation. My grandmother sewed up a storm and my mom spent her time at the machine. This lovely case, which makes carrying your favorite drawing instruments so convenient,

is actually a little quilt. Two of the strips are my journal pages that Laura printed on fabric.

This whole thing just touches my heart. It's not even my birthday or anything! A JUST BECAUSE present...Thank you little Katie!

This photo captures one of those moments that remind me that I am on an incredible journey of discovery. This guy would not budge. We tapped his tail, etc. He would just look at us. Click to enlarge and take a look at that face! He did not seem injured and moved on of his own accord later. Here is Spirit Come to Take a Look, as my old friend Martha Lou used to say.

What a wonderful Spring

2011-04-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

we have been having here at Trails End.

Too much rain, too many clouds for some, but not for me. It may be because I'm from Cleveland, but I need rain and some overcast days. And the lush, green results are a sight to behold.

This next photo is one of my car shots, attempting to capture the magic of all of the screaming yellow on the hillsides and road sides in SoCal in the Spring. Wild Mustard and Scotch Broom everywhere. Needless to say, roaring down the freeway is not the way to capture these golden wonders. So I had some fun altering one of the shots I did get.

I'm thinking of painting this. Maybe adding a Tuscan villa in the background.

Easter was all about flowers here. I got these beauties from a dear friend

and these are from the husband. I am so lucky, I get roses all of the time.

And, we all know how addicted I am to shadows. Each season has a distinct quality of light and a distinct nuance of shadow, something I never noticed until I lived here on the ranch. Another gift of this magical place, along with the views and the opportunity to meet the nicest people on the road.

I love TED and this clip really moved me. I found it interesting and entertaining as well. It certainly is a worthy hope.

Speaking of right brain, I wish I was 5 again. I would so wear my granddaughter's shoes.

It is my intention (but we all know about intention) to blog more frequently. Next time I have some art to share with you.

Right now, I'm thinking of all of the blessings that Spring and life in general have brought to me. I'm so grateful for all of you and your kind words and encouragement. Join me in a nice cuppa?

As seen on FaceBook!

2011-03-27T17:28:00.003-07:00

Many of you have seen multiple photos of our beloved ranch, but now you have a chance to see it like never before! Some of you know we have it on the market. We have always wanted to live at the beach and we realize we aren't getting any younger. Our realtor has arranged a beautiful web site for us and I would like to share that with you. Trails End Ranch Help us spread the word that our little piece of heaven is for sale.

I have been in Malibu

taking a wonderful class with the very special Judy Wise,

Great teacher, great food, lovely surroundings.

Photos of the many things I learned will be coming soon.

In the mean time, here is some iPhone fun.

Let me leave you with a new poem. I'd be interested to know what it says to you.

The Woman at Land’s End

You will see her at the ocean's edge

catching the lacy tide in her arms, ignoring

the moon as it demands the return of ebb and flow.

She traps stars in the tangle of her hair and when

the diaphanous Milky Way drops it’s net to retrieve

it's sparkle, it is lost to the heavens in her raven waves.

She swallows the wind in a greedy breath, starves the

snake when she steals his fangs, feeds her cats

the birds whose wings she has taken in envy.

Beware the woman at lands end.

She walks the planet trailing foaming white Chantilly,

crowned with heaven's jewels. With poison dripping

from her lips, she casts spells that conjure the whirlwind,

so desperately does she long to fly.

3/2011

As seen on FaceBook!

2011-03-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

Sleeping Goddess

2011-02-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Neither Woman nor Child,
she sleeps in the misty
light of myth, sleeps in-spite
of the din of mayhem, wars
of aggression and coercion
are being waged for her soul.
Awaken, dear goddess, awaken
and proclaim your own myth
and show us how to wage wars
of love and understanding.
Awaken in nubile wisdom,
teach us to value innocent hopes and spirits.
Share the lessons of your green dreams,
tender as the first buds. Can a salted tail
catch a bird? Can a talisman protect
us from our own evil? Can the codex
birth enlightened minds?
Rise goddess, like the butterfly, deceptively
new with the old soul of that which
has crawled upon the earth.
lm/2011

The words below are part of a long piece of writing. I find it interesting how they seem to mean something different taken from their context. The woman in the photos, from which I made the stamp for the mono print, is my grandmother who raised 7 children in the depths of the depression with a hard drinking husband who regularly beat her to unconsciousness. The story does have a happy ending. My grandfather got into one of the first AA programs in the Cleveland area and once he got sober, God love him, he stayed sober. He called my grandmother his Queen and spent the rest of this life making it up to her. So my little verse is fraught with meaning.

This is a photo I took years ago in Monterey. One of those moments when you are sure that the universe put something out there just for you. I could not believe my luck when this image crossed my path. Something like the perfect shot of the three ducks that you will find many posts back. Forgive me if I've posted this before, but you know I'm on a poster kick. I think it makes a great poster and I think I'm going to go have a big one made!

I've been thinking of our Canadian friend, Tony, who passed a while ago. I took this photo while driving through the beautiful Canadian country side that you must pass through to reach their town. We took the trip to visit him, knowing he was very ill, and he died the night of the day we left. Another blessing, he was lucid and in great spirits and we were able to enjoy his company one more time.

I'm thinking of assurance that there is wisdom and love enough among us. Based on personal experience, I am sure that peace, prosperity and justice for all is headed our way. But, also from personal experience, I'm guessing it might not look like I'm expecting it to look. I just need to be open and ready to embrace it. And I need to remember we have to share, to lift each other up. Pay attention to each other, respect each other. In the meantime, I am remembering my grandmother, who not only survived, she thrived.

Camera fun

2011-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

It never occurred to me that I would enjoy taking photos except for the awful compositions I attempted on family vacations and the kids birthday parties. Now, I am constantly amazed and entertained by the camera on my iPhone. That Steve Jobs is a genius and I consider myself a photographer!

The apps just keep commimg and iPhone Hipstamatic is one of the best.

Then, of course, there is just the old fashioned iPhone camera with a sepia setting and the photo ops that abound on this old ranch.

And then we get around to Photo Booth on the Mac, Magic Trick, and waaaayyy too much time on my hands.

Here's what I'm thinking about today:

"I am interested in how the wild beast lives in the jungle, not in the zoo". Morton Feldman
What's on your mind?

Another trip around the sun

2011-01-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

For the first time in months, I took a ranch ramble with my big girl camera. It is such a beautiful day and the light is magical. Here is a bit of what I enjoyed.

This is the first Periwinkle of the season. These are so beautiful and hearty. We have them all over the place.

The neighbors stopped by. I'm pretty sure this is a big and little sister enjoying the tender new grass.

There are certain places that I always get orbs in my photos. Today they came in beautiful colors.

And of course, no ramble is complete without a visit to the horses.

A day is so much more beautiful when you share it with your friends.

Now, for a complete change of pace.

Without realizing it, I'm off on something new.

I'm not usually big on making resolutions or any conscious changes in my life. They just sort of happen. Because I've had more days of feeling a bit off than usual, I've started journaling with a pen in a store bought (gasp!) blank book. Much easier when lying in a recliner than trying to cut and paste and paint. My poems have always had their seed in my journals, so that hasn't changed, but I've tried to discipline myself (OK, stop laughing) to do a sketch a day, (or at least more than I have been) and I see improvement in my infant ability.

This is a sketch of a corner of my den.

This is inspired by an ad I saw in the N.Y. Times.

Doing abstracts is one of the most calming and centering things I have ever experienced. Combine that with the fact that I was obsessed with the recent mass bird deaths in Arkansas and it turned into an afternoon of magic. I am also obsessed with the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Over the years I have used this as a starting point for speeches and several pieces of art.

This was inspired by something the beautiful Judy Wise said in one of her blog posts. I am signed up for her class in SoCal in March and I cannot wait to sit at her knee for two days on the beautiful sands of Malibu.

Can you stand just a bit more? With these two final offerings, I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2011. I'm going to try to remember what is real and what is rhetoric this year, I'm going to look out for wolfs in sheep's clothing, I'm going to run my own mind lest someone else try to run it for me. I'm going to try more new things, as additions not replacements. And I'm going to be thankful for the opportunity to bear my soul here and be grateful for the gems you share with me.

2010-12-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

I've been incubating and fermenting quite an array of ideas, beliefs and conundrums of late. Seems I am living more of an internal life the past few weeks.

This is my photo of a mysterious old greenhouse that was on the property when we bought it. Sad to say, we lost it in the fire. I used to wonder about all of the things that came to life inside of it's glass walls. I'm sure many of the plants now growing wild around here took root in tiny pots carefully started and nurtured by someone long gone but still so vitally present every where I look.

Anam Cara

I have been to the place

where you sleep.

I have seen you at rest

in that land. Your bed

a bower amongst the briars.

And I long to lay my simple pallet

beside you and dream your

sweet dreams, breathe your peace.

lm/2010

Invisibility

Invisibility drives the chameleon’s change,

not the need to impress or entertain,

not the need of change for change’s sake.

Invisibility prevents being eaten.

lm/2010

Night Walker

After a restless night

wandering the dark house,

lonely in my wakefulness, I arrive,

shivering in my night clothes,

at the dawn of never.

lm/2010

The Best Defense

Confidence is the best defense

when confronted by a snarling dog.

The maddest beast will respect

a command to sit, to down

if it issues from a tongue that’s sure,

a back that’s straight and an eye

that finds it’s mark and holds it.

lm/2010

I am off to katydiddy's Embroidery Bee for some relaxation and fun. If you live near Orange County California put one of these sessions on your schedule.

I am going to try to remember to take some time for "inside" in the midst of this Holiday Season which seems to be all about "outside". Join me?

Dreaming

2010-11-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

Shadow images fascinate me, especially when they are so sharp. Looking at them gets me to one of those places where I feel like I almost get that esoteric "thing" that explains everything. This is the side of my refrigerator in the morning light.

Reading this now, I realize it may sound a little fatalistic. It really came from a good place, an ah- ha moment.

The ocean is really calling me. I love this old ranch, but I am ready whenever the powers that be see fit to bring the perfect buyer.

I do some of my best thinking and day dreaming in the shower or the bath.

So, by now I am sure you have noticed that I'm off in a bit of a new direction with my journaling.
I am trying to sketch everyday. The experts teach that daily practice can really improve technique. I am learning by doing. Many years ago I drew everyday and surprised myself with some of what I produced. Hoping for a repeat of that experience.

Happy Turkey day tomorrow. Baked 3 pumpkin pies to take to Katydiddy's tomorrow where the entire clan will gather. I love having all my chickens around me.

Holy Mary, Mother of God

2010-11-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

My youngest granddaughter's night prayers include a Hail Mary. Although we have fallen far from our Catholic roots, Mary is still near to our hearts. The best part of listening to her recite this ancient homage to the Mother is when she whispers, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us 'sisters', now and at the hour of our death." The word, according to the church, is 'sinners'. I like her version so much better.

This sketch and this poem come from the same place in me that loves listening to that sweet bedtime request.

Learn

Hello little bird
hop, hop, hopping
from Spring into Fall.
Collecting, inspecting
all manner of twigs,
grass, lint, dog hair,
tiny bits and pieces
to weave into the
very best of nests
which you then place
carelessly, actually
precariously, into
rolled shades, onto
the tiniest of ledges,
into the adjared corners
of shutters, and balanced
on unprotected eves.

In heartbreaking shades of
blue, soft speckled brown,
you leave your hopes for
the future, your contribution to life,
proof of your faith in tomorrow,
in your carefully planned,
exactingly executed but
so carelessly placed incubator.

You will sit for days, faithfully
guarding your laughable fortress,
until the day, that one moment
when you must fly, to eat, to breath,
to scan your surroundings. And that
one moment is all it takes for a stiff breeze,
a squinting human, a hungry snake, a
thieving jay, with no effort at all
to sweep in, to break, to eat your tomorrow,
to send your hopes crashing to the ground.

But you silly little hop, hop, hopping bird,
you collect and inspect, you repeat the
careful crafting, the careless placing
and the hopeful laying of, dreams
and tomorrows. You never stop. I shake my head,
say that you never learn.

I no longer carefully build,
I do not trust my choices of placement for
my hopes and dreams, my faith in tomorrow.
I have learned,
I have stopped.
Then I marvel
when one blustery day, from a precarious
perch, I hear hungry chicks chirp, chirp, chirping.

lm/11/2010

Feeling low, but making the best of it.

2010-11-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever posted this water color I did when we were in Catalina. But Katydiddy said I should make note cards of it. She may be biased, but I love her comments.

This is how I finally managed to feel after days of struggling with Fibro. It's so much better when I just give up and float.

I started this quite awhile ago and just finished up.

This is new, kind of dark and broken, like I've been feeling. Ready for some words.

BTW, the shadows on the left of these paintings are deliberate. It's how I feel, just coming out of the darkness.

I can't stop with the iPhone camera apps. The lovely Swan at Heart put me on to the Pano app. It is for panorama shots and this is the first one I did. Technically, a mistake. Artistically, I think it's fantastic!

This is what it's meant to do. Again, not perfect, but the effect really tickles me. This is where I play, paint, write, languish.

The light this time of year is so magical. I usually post afternoon golden images, but this one surprised me earlier in the day on the East side of the house. I love shadows.

It amazes me how much art can heal. If you know about Fibro, you know that during a flare your whole body can be zapping, vibrating, hurting, burning, fizzing. And there is no way to get comfortable. Doing this page led me to that magical place, out of time and space where I found some relief.

Another thing to be grateful for, Bougainvillea. Even this late in the year, so lovely. And right outside my den door.

The pool, late on a Fall afternoon. This was a few weeks ago when it was still warm enough to swim.

While I've been out of commission, many things that should have happened have not happened and I was struggling to be OK with that. Then, Dispatch From LA brought me just the message I needed to hear. It's so good I have to repost it here. "The cracks. They are big. Sometimes people (things) fall through." Just reading this made all of my angst disappear. Thanks Mary Ann!

Just playing

2010-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

More iPad, Zen Brush fun.

Saw Elton and Leroy together in concert on Friday night. Good fun.
Yesterday we saw Red. More good fun. Especially for the Baby Boomers amongst us.
Those of us of a certain age like this movie because it reminds us we still got game.

More art coming a bit later.

Let's be kind to each other, just for today.

Been busy..

2010-10-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

making art. It is amazing how much better I feel if I spend a few hours mindlessly painting, cutting and pasting. Oh, and photo editing.

This will eventually support a collage
or cover a book.

This is one of those balsa wood cheese boxes. My granddaughter and I painted a couple of them one afternoon. I have cut pages, accordion style and am collaging them. Then I'll glue them so that I will have a concertina book. Never did anything like this before. Fun.

A dear lady who I admired greatly passed this last week and I spent a lot of time thinking about the card I wanted to make for her family. This is an altered photo of the angel who lives in my front garden. I also have her up as my desktop right now. My gift to you, in honor of my generous friend, if you would like her on your desktop. Just think of me when you look at her. And please don't put her on anything you will sell or mass produce.

I'll close with a quote that I am thinking about a lot this week.

...(life) is like a chick refusing to be returned to the eggshell. Yiyun Li

What a soft day

2010-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

An old Irish priest used to start his sermon with this phrase on misty Sunday mornings. I thought of him today. I love this weather, it brings out the best in me.

The Ranch is so lovely. All sounds are muffled.

That bird bath has been here a very long time. The Birds of Paradise are giving it their best for a late season bloom.

This bird bath is the one we bought new for our first granddaughters christening. Over 35 people gathered on the lawn to welcome her into their lives.

Wish you were here.

More Zen Brush Painting

2010-10-07T20:57:00.001-07:00

Once a Juggler

Once I was a juggler,
a very good one actually.
I juggled balls big and small
all day long, never dropping one.
I wanted to stop but the balls
just kept flying, my hands
and eyes too busy catching
and tossing to see the right
moment in each trajectory
to capture and hold. I asked
for help. I explained that
it just wasn’t fun anymore.
Who was I kidding, it
was never fun. It was survival.
And, while I no longer consider
myself a juggler, I still have balls in the
air. Balls that long ago, I threw so
high they don’t come down
for months, sometimes years.
But they do come down
and my heart stops with
their insistence and urgency.
I want to stop. It isn’t fun anymore.
lm 2010

On the other hand, alone can be very enjoyable.

Very soothing. Sometimes just fun and silly. Something about using this app is stretching my drawing. Somehow I feel more confident. I think it gets me past the terror of thinking of "ruining" a piece of paper.

When I look over this poem and the art, it strikes me as kind of depressed. I'm really feeling pretty good. Got a new prescription that just might work!

Lets all just feel how we feel and enjoy it, whatever it is.

Wow, it's been a long time

2010-09-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

I have an iPad. I am totally smitten. Obviously, yesterday's experiment in blogging from said iPad was a flop. Need to work on that, but there are so many others wonders to be had. Here are some early efforts in the Brush Painting app that is great for whiling away many-stress free hours. I have sprinkled in some scribbling that came from the truly funky place I have been lately.

All of these are my originals, written this month.

Like a monkey with a banana
in each hand, I’m afraid to put
one down so that I can eat the other.
I’ll starve to death with nourishment
in my grasp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My arms are not
nearly long enough
to reach all of
the places I itch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I pray to you to open a new door
for me. But I wonder if you already have
and I’m here trembling on the threshold.

What is that unknown
thing out there on the horizon?
Is it the monster fed to huge
by all of the times
I chose the right thing
instead of the human thing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A monk in a funk
afloat in a boat
has, I’m afraid
been swept out to sea.

He dropped his oars when
the noon bells rang and
the Angeles dropped
him to his devout knees.

If I could I would travel
to that kingdom
far across the Milky Way.
Back in time to the day
God was born. Then I could
watch him, listen and learn
how he came to be so benign,
so mysterious, so very far away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I see Moses come down from
the mountain with an armful of
heavy stone laws and I’m afraid to
climb up and step into those misty
heights. Afraid I’ll come back
with even more responsibility
and crazy to boot!

This is How the Wind...

This is how the wind whistles
through a four chambered heart,
as if it were no more
than a low desert landscape.
Dreams and desires whipped
into dust devils that put
on quite a show but, in the end,
come to nothing.
Piling up regrets like the
ever shifting dunes. Driving
small bits of memories into
stinging eyes that can only
be relieved with a wash of tears.
Old loves are turned into ripples
that look like a quiet pond stirred
by a gentle breeze but are only
the trails of an unseen hand
drawn mindlessly through the sand.
lm 9/2010

I have been many places and done many things since I last blogged and I had planned to post it all. But, really, life (yours and mine) has gone on. To sum it all up, I'll quote, again, John Denver when he sang, "some days are diamonds, some days are stones." All in all, I'm happy to riding around the sun on this crazy planet.

Claremont has developed, in the midst of much controversy, an addition to the old "Village" which is quite well known in the area. If you are nearby, be sure to visit The Claremont Folk Music Center on the original side. People come from all over the world to visit the place Ben Harper hung out as a kid. It is quite charming and is totally a hands on place. They also have an extensive collection of unusual and antique instruments from all over the globe as well as concerts and open mike nights. Tell them you saw it here!

The new area is in no way an addition to the original, but we have been taking advantage of Friday nights in the common area. There are plenty of places to get a bite, great frozen yogurt and a live band until 9 or so.

My other favorite "i", my phone, is filled with camera apps that I love playing with. Here is a peek at last Friday night. I don't know the woman at the table but the scene was so perfect I have made her part of my collection.

And how about this big old moon???

I'm wishing for you the blessings of constant opportunity for the new.

First post from the iPad

2010-09-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

108 in the shade

2010-08-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's what is was earlier this week. Thank the gods it's cooling down. Although they tell us more heat is coming. We should be grateful. This little heat wave is really the first of the year. Usually the entire August is Hot Hot Hot.

Because of these

we can run the air with impunity. AND send power back down the grid. These panels provide electricity for all of the buildings on the ranch for an annual bill that is less than our old monthly bill. If you haven't talked to someone about solar, look into it today.

Been doing some experimenting in the polka dot journal

This was inspired by a wonderful video of belly dancers.

And have made myself a new "painting practice journal" from an altered book.

I don't know who she is, but she sure looks like a sour puss!
I will practice face shading until I get it right!!!

These colors and shapes come from the ranch. The tenacity of life
in the midst of moisture sucking heat amazes me.

Tomorrow my daughter and I bring our art home from the Collage Show. Realizing that the things you imagine happen. And they come almost as a surprise. Wishing you all some lovely surprises.

Polka Dotted Journal, the final episode

2010-08-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

So, apparently I do not know how to post date posting. Hmmm.
Here are the rest of the pages I'd intended you to see late in the week.
I like to think that someday in the distant future, someone will look at
this page and wonder what Starbucks Coffee was.

If you have never seen the play of the Lion King
go now. Glad to see it coming around again. The quote
on this page seems a thing I really need to remember.

That gospel story of the hemorrhaging woman
has been stuck in my head since I heard it as a little
kid at Mass. There is something very cosmic and
timeless hidden in there.

The lovely lady standing at this window is on
a postcard made by Vanessa of Fanciful Twist
and sent to me by my daughter who knows I love
that blog.

Thanks for looking through my journal.
Now I'm off to look through yours!

A man once told me, "the most powerful force on
the planet is friendship among women."

More of that chunky journal

2010-08-03T15:46:00.001-07:00

now turn the page and...

I love that sardine photo. I think it is an ad
for foil wrapped chocolates.

If you click on this I think it will be large
enough for you to read my confession
regarding my mother and more chocolate.

I have been a writer and journal keeper
for far longer than I have been making art,
and I am amazed at the words I am prompted
to write when I look back on a page I "arted"

Wishing you all "coolness" in
the summer heat.

Vacation

2010-08-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

The husband and I had a nice long weekend on Catalina Island with our darling grandson, our son, his wife, and his mother-in-law. Great weather, good food and excellent company. Here are some photos taken from the patio of the condo we rented.

We returned just in time for my youngest daughter and me to get our art hung in the gallery for the Collage Show mentioned a few posts ago. Very intimidating and very exciting for me. This is my first. Her's too, but she is sooooooo cool.

Here is a photo of my work hanging

And here is daughter's. All so lovely.

I have been working in this journal

for awhile now and I don't know what the magic is
but I really like how this one feels. It has gotten all
fat and irregular with things sticking out every where.
The pages are all envelopes most of which I left as pockets.
I have filled those pockets with all of the wonderful
ATC's and misc pieces of art I've collected and received
from others over the past few years. You can see through
the windows a glimpse of the goodies tucked inside. This
one is also an experiment in being more of a glue stick
monkey. More pasted images, more markers and pens,
less actual paint.

I'm going to spread my sharing over the next few days.
I don't want to bore you all at once!

My final thought for today

New Blog

2010-07-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

that I will spend time on. This artist is right up my alley, as the old saying goes. Jeanne gives us great photos, wonderful books and fun conversation. Go see.

Just to keep blogging

2010-07-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's so easy to lose track of my blogging. I'd say I don't know where the time goes, but I remember that time and place are made up. Time goes nowhere. But maybe here

and here!

I've entered my first art show and am full of impostor syndrome. If you are local, come on by. There will be lots of good art hanging around. (get it? "hanging" around?) I'll post photos of my entries soon. Right now they are on top of a shelf, ready to go.

Big news! Our place was Home of the Week in the LA Times last Sunday. If you have the Times you will find the article in the business section. Otherwise you can look here to read the article. Doesn't come with the photos they used, but if you have been looking at this blog you have seen plenty of pictures of the ranch.

"They" (when I was a child I thought "they" were Christ and the Apostles on my mother's plaque of the Last Supper.) say that the best ideas are the ones that make us uncomfortable. This quote made me VERY uncomfortable, but I think I get it now. Hope this does great things to you.

Journal pages

2010-06-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

I love throwing paint around, mindlessly, and calling it a journal page.

These are all ready for the next time inspiration hits.

This one has extra magic. It came alive in a frenzied painting session with one of the grands.

I learned to make these "people" in the painting class I took a few weeks ago.

Is it obvious that I hate to waste paint and I had a lot of these colors on my pallet?

I wish I could remember where I saw a painting of people flying all over a page. If it was yours, please say so and thanks for the inspiration.

It has come late to my life that I can allow myself activity that has no specific purpose. The surprise is how many wonderful things have come from this. So many gifts...

Just who am I?

2010-06-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Today gave me pause to wonder. A friend once told me that I am simply the universe experiencing itself as Laura. When my mother was outraged by something I'd done, she would say, "Just who do you think you are?" When I was a teenager, I would chafe at this, when I was a young child I would worry because I didn't know. Who do you think you are?

iPhone

2010-06-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

iPhone Photos

Don't get me wrong, I love my big girl Canon camera, but, like Misty Mawn, I think there is just something fun and magical about the photos you can get with that iPhone and just a few of the amazing apps available for it. Add to that the fact that I am somewhat obsessed with taking pictures from the car and you get these, taken on the fabled So Cal freeway system heading home to the ranch from an afternoon with our darling, darling grandson. All in all, a great day.

Hidden Poems

I have recently made a discovery, here in blog land, that has my head spinning. I have a wonderful friend who gifts me with damaged but still lovable old books that I alter for journals. I've discovered that old paper takes paint and ink like no new paper can so I use these for signatures but, maybe because I also write, I always feel bad about covering up the text. Many book artists are now selectively scribbling out patches of the text and discovering hidden poems. I wonder about the person who wrote the text, the printer who set the type, all of the people who have read the book over these many years. I wonder if any of them knew that my poem was right there, hiding in plain site.

Here is one of my pages with an example of a poem that I "discovered" hidden within.

Solutions

Interesting and incomprehensible,
they are here in very old apothecaries
but the sick men of tradition
will have none of them.
No longer are the olden rites
in the housewives memories.
The husbandmen fear them,
the gardeners hate them.
A mercy upon them all.

lm/2010

The book this page is from is an etherial and colorful volume on gardens and gardening written in early 1900. How can these words be so meaningful more than a century later in a very different context?

What if time and space are illusions and there is really only right here and right now?

Think about this until your head spins. Then lie down for a nap and a wonderful dream. That's where I'm headed.

Gleanings

2010-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

You all know what gleanings are. The food left in the field after the big harvest. Here are random bits from my past weeks of painting and writing. All of the painting was done in the class under the spell of Robert Burridge. All of the writing was done under the spell of my very own self.

I task myself to perfecting living in the moment that I might enjoy this dumb and endless comedy.

The Lord said, “I go before you always” but sometimes I need someone to have my back. I can usually avoid the devil before me, it’s the one sneaking up behind that I worry over.

This piece of writing was soooo prompted by Mary Ann at Dispatch from LA. If you don't read that blog your life is not as rich as it could be.

I dream of going to Merida. It seems so lovely, so comfortingly shabby and relaxed. The locals drive their horse drawn vehicles through the narrow winding streets as one with private cars and rickety buses. They have ballroom dancing on a roughly constructed wooden platform right in the middle of the square, and most afternoons you can watch the men and women, their bodies viejo, their hearts reciente , lost in punctuated executions of waltz, samba, tango. The markets flourish beneath beautifully ragged awnings that shade all manner of exotic produce and tempting trinkets. The fragrance of paper wrapped bouquets mingled with the spicy scent of street food calls to me, demands my presence. The magical pyramids of the Mayans, all of the hypnotic Yucatan, are but a short taxi ride away. Merida means “I can’t understand you”, as the Mayans answered Cortez when he asked, “Where am I.”

Life, it seems, comes in slices and I am sure to feel fragmented, incomplete, lacking, until the last slice reveals all.

A quiet yet urgent voice, calls softly through the phone,
Please, can you talk me off the ledge?
From my own precarious perch
I throw my rope of words
which she catches and ties around her waist.
I test the knot around mine
and together, once again
we cheat the abyss.

No one wants me until I want myself.
I see a ball tossed into the air,
climbing into the sky,
struggling out of the clutching arms of earth,
then, just before the inevitable descent,
a sacred moment.
The ball hesitates,
unencumbered in a state of bliss,
free of time and space.
It is that moment that
contains the hope of
me longing for me.

Her eyes tell me she is in a universe far away,
a place in a constant state of creation.
She nods in false assent,
directed by the shrieking phantoms
who whisper instructions,
whose commands protect
the gates of her mind
allowing no visitors, no thoughts
that might corrupt the hellish paradise
they have made there for themselves.

The porcelain hen lies shattered to powder and bits on the kitchen floor. The very last of my resolve as broken as she as I step into the shower to hide my tears.

My heart has turned to stone yet beautiful flowers still burst into bloom in it’s barren nooks and crannies.

all work by lm/2010

The remains of the day...

2010-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

It seems that every where I look in blogland, someone is talking about a ROD journal. This evening sky with it's bits and pieces of rag tag clouds strikes me as the remains of a day.

I love looking through my old journals, I see them as bits and pieces of what is left of me from the passing of time.

While searching for something to use in the Mother's Day cards I was making, I dusted off Image Tricks, a free app that I downloaded years ago. Posterizing photos is way too much fun and this app makes it a snap.

I know this can be done with Photo shop, maybe even better. But Image Tricks is such a no brainer to use I can't resist.

I am looking forward to taking a four day painting class next week with Robert Burridge. And it's right in my back yard! No flying or marathon driving. If you live in So Cal you might want to check in with the delightful Sylvia at The Art Box to see if there is still room.

Check out my blog list for a new entry. Galaxy Dreams is the work of a good friend. If you need some inspiration, go take a peek.

Here's what I'm thinking at the end of a day that had some rough edges: Take only what you loved about today. Leave the rest for the dust bin.

Today I feel random

2010-04-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

One moment relishing

the dumb and stilted comedy of curses,

blessings, redemption and damnation,

imploring the intervention of gods and goddesses,

longing for the deus ex machina.

The next moment, imploring

Cat-in-the-Hat to visit, to trick me

into turning my house upside down

and, in spite of my protestations,

to goad me into jumping on the furniture

and running wildly indoors.

Oh ye gods and goddesses,

you show me the righteous way

to blessings and peace.

Oh you Cat-in-the-Hat,

you cause me to tingle

with the delicious fear

of being caught.

lm 4/2010

Fruit of Your Mind

Pick it before it rots

before the birds ruin it

with their peck, peck, pecking.

By The Sweat of Your Brow

Heed the ancient formula;

be patient and diligent, thoughtful

and courageous.

Do as the seasons dictate;

plant, sow, tend, nurture,

harvest, and preserve.

Tend to the plowing, weeding

and the tilling.

Clear rocks and break sod.

Repeat your tasks as have those

who came before you.

Learn to tell weeds from crops.

Heed the ancient formula,

be patient and diligent, thoughtful

and courageous.

Learn to trust.

lm 4/2010

Playing with the iPhone, so many wonderful camera apps, scribbling a bit and thinking of all of you.

Lent

2010-03-17T16:05:00.001-07:00

I woke up early this morning and as I made my way to the oatmeal calling me from the kitchen, I had one of those moments when you ask yourself, "what was that, in the corner of my eye?" I retraced a few steps to be greeted by a most provoking site.

The sun was filtering in just right to create these images of the crucifixion scene that a dear friend and masterful carver of Santos, Eddie Johnson, made for us several years ago. As a lapsed Catholic, I love liturgical art and have a fantasy of having life sized statues of the saints, like I grew up with, in the house.

This one is shades of Dali.

Click on the photos to enlarge, you will see more of the light that I love.

The moment was mystical and I felt compelled to share this art with you.

Spring

2010-03-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

The ranch has enjoyed the rain we had this year. We needed it so badly and I hope we can get at least a few more showers before we head into Summer.

I am always amazed that beautiful flowers grow in great profusion, in unlikely places, with no help from us. In fact, I realize that they grow precisely because we leave them alone! I'm sort of like that, I tend to bloom best when left a bit wild and alone.

The flowers, vague ghosts of earth,

the heroic daughters of March, appear.

They sit in the sun, eager to greet our steps

if only we would venture

outside of the tended garden.

lm/2010

Even now, our highest good is rushing to us from unknown sources. Bless our efforts
to open our arms wide enough to receive it.

Art and Soul

2010-03-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

What happens in Vegas, gets posted here!!! That city is a photographers paradise.

Look up
look down, look around, go to the rest room just bring your camera!

Just spending time with my sweet daughter was enough of a treat. Then spending time with Katie Kendrick (I'll admit it, I was a bit star struck meeting her after following her blog for several years)

and making delicious books from cardboard and cheese cloth put me over the top.

I have been basking in an attitude of gratitude ever since.

I wish for all, an experience of the abundance of fun that makes the world go 'round.

February already?

2010-02-03T19:20:00.001-08:00

Here we are, rushing headlong to...well, somewhere! Life seems to be so fleeting, it's nice to know there are places that feel timeless. The photo above is of our beautiful San Gabriel Mountains. I never get tired of visiting this view.

I have been playing with my camera more than making paper art. Besides my new Canon, which I love so much, I have downloaded several apps for the camera on my phone. Some amazing stuff out there for little money: Toy Camera, TrueHDR, Camera Bag, just to name a few.

This is my guy Roy. He is the craziest dog I have ever had. I came very close to getting rid of him many times but could never bring myself to give up on him. Now I can't imagine living without him. No, Matt, he is still not for sale.

I have been exploring the shadows. Inside and out. Welcome to my kitchen.

Winter sunset, my favorite time of day. These were taken just before a wonderful dinner at Laguna Beach.

Here's to finding new in the same old places.

Happy New Year

2010-01-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

I know, it's already 9 days since the new year, but I am just catching up. Between the holidays and being sick...you all have been there, I know.

Update:

*We have a brand new member in our family. Our first grandson has arrived healthy and beautiful. Our amazing son is his Daddy and the beautiful Swan at Heart is his Mommy. Because of this awful sinus infection, I have not had nearly enough time with him. I am actually aching to get my hands on him again.

*The Husband continues to spoil me. A brand new Mac was my Christmas present this year. Now I can read all of your blogs in style.

*These opening doodles are my secret to passing the boring hours of being sick. I am also reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (beautifully written) but there were times when a headache made reading torture.

I'm off to lay down my fuzzy, throbbing head.

Rain!

2009-12-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

The rain in Spain may stay mainly on
the plain, but rain on the ranch brings relief to the plants. Many SoCal natives complain when it gets chilly and rainy, but I love it. Too much sunshine makes me nervous. Maybe because I grew up in Cleveland.

The bird bath in the photo is very special. Our first granddaughter, now nearly 9, was baptized in it.

I took many shots before I got this one. The husband loves these white roses but they are very fragile. The rain is going to be the end of them so I wanted a little present for him. I don't think I've ever before been patient enough to do what I had to to get the picture I wanted. In the rain no less!

Wishing you all a most refreshing day.

Sorry

2009-11-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

If posts have a jumbled appearance. Safari and blogger don't seem to get along and posting from Firefox produces a funky layout. So far, correcting this seems to be beyond me. Sooner or later, I'll get this figured out.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

While eating a wonderful dinner prepared by Katydiddy and her most wonderful husband, I took my turn saying what I was thankful for.

This exercise started something like a nuclear reaction of realizations and emotions. I'm still entertaining my interior version of the China Syndrome and thought I'd get a post
up about blogging and the wonderful people I've found here.

There is, as so many others have posted, something very satisfying about having a place to share what you create. I've wrestled my way through the life sucking ideas that it's just showing off, an immature need for approval/recognition, and the ever-popular self-accusations of egomania.

But the furnace of my internal reactor has burned off the negativity and helped me realize that it's the sharing that gives the work juice. I have learned to be more authentic, to get over myself and to be comfortable in my own skin. Thanks to this outlet, I am simply having more fun.

Thanks to Randi, Sylvia, Kelly, dj, Mary Ann and all of those who have led me to art journaling and all things that spring from that. Thanks to Katydiddy who prodded and poked until I put up a blog and who never ceases to amaze me. Thanks to Pippi who reminds me that writing should be read. Thanks to all of you out there who inspire me to make art and write here, in the light.

Only you can prevent the genocide of the imagination.
Rob Brezsny

Like the Header says, Images and Scribbles

2009-11-17T17:14:00.001-08:00

One, only one, of the million things I love about art journaling is that it gives me a place to work on my old passion, writing, and a place to develop my new love, art. Here are a few pages I have all ready for words, and here are some words that I call journal gleanings. The snippets of thoughts that I dash off in my book, when revisited, easily turn into poems that give me the format to say what's on my heart and in my mind. And, I must add that another thing I love about this art form, brought to me by the generous Randi, is that it led me to blogging and the opportunity to connect with all of you.

This piece of writing was inspired by Mary Ann Moss.

Art Journaling

One day, far into the future,
people will offer
journal pages from
these times,
from today,
as “must haves”
for those antiquarians
who want to know
what it was like,
in the beginning,
back in these days
when all of the
beauty was still unfolding,
when women had just begun
to teach each other to see,
to dream, to paint and to record
their witness of the mystery
that surrounds them.

Haunted?

Do spaces hold onto their pasts?
Can a ghost can be
an energetic and an event?
Maybe it’s not so much
that ghosts don’t want to leave
as places don’t want to let them go.
I often hear the parties
that were held here
years ago.

Yearning

A soul
dying of thirst
might believe
the smallest twig
can divine
sweet water.

The Con

Never spend
what you
see as
ordinary
on wishes
for what you
dream is
extraordinary.

Paths

It is only my arrogance
which leads me
to believe that I can
ever know where
I am or where I
am going.

It is folly to think
that I can choose a path
when it is the path which
chooses me. My only
choice is to keep
my feet moving.

The best of times

2009-11-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have not been blogging very much because the only art I've been doing is a scribble here and a doodle there in my journals. None of which, I now realize, have I judged worthy of an appearance on the blog. Sheese! Well, it seems I've gotten over myself and here I am blogging again.

I am always fascinated at what the journaling process produces. If I tried, I don't think I could come up with these images. The words are simply picking up a pen and writing down what's rolling around in my mind. I realize I don't always give myself time to simply "think" just for the sake of "thinking."

Today I'm sharing photos that represent some of the really good day's I've been having.

Here is one that I altered for a sympathy card I recently sent. This looks, to me, like the welcome into nature and light that I suspect awaits me when I'm done here.

You all know how much I love a sunset and this one offers color combinations that,
at Laura's suggestion, will inspire a future art project.

A few of the ponies got past the pasture fence and decided to graze, just below the house, on the tender little ferns and grasses that begin to sprout as soon as we get any moisture. I have an app on my phone called Toy Camera that adds this wonderful aging and makes the sun rays a shower of light.

The harbor is in Ventura California, as in the old song, Ventura Highway. I love that the mountains and harbor are in such close proximity. The husband and I had a nice outing with a seafood lunch overlooking this view.

Now I have a real treat for you. Especially if you are someone interested in plein-air painting and the art of Early California. While doing a little research on our beloved old ranch, we came upon this.

Painted in the 20's, this is our house. We have many times visited the galleries in Laguna and we are pretty sure we have been in this one. While I have no recollection of seeing this particular painting, I do recall enjoying their collection of Early California. I went outside and stood where I think the painter probably sat. It was a strange and somewhat eerie feeling.
Obviously, I am not comfortable posting the actual painting since it is not my property (yet, that is). Going to make a trip down there to check it out.

Then there is this
I celebrated another year of my life early this month. The husband gifted me with the latest iPhone and my writers group brought chocolate cake and a bottle of red wine. All of my children, the spouses they have enriched our family with and all grandbabies, including the one due very soon, got together at one of my favorite restaurants for a delightful evening. I was very touched by their love and attention and the fact that every gift was a true reflection of my interests. It feels good to be with people who "get" you.

Rumi says,
"Someone who goes with half a loaf of bread
to a small place that fits like a nest around him, someone who wants no more, who's not himself longed for by anyone else,
He is a letter to everyone.
You open it,
It says, Live.

Peace to all.

Ranch Photos

2009-10-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some ranch photos

BlogFam

2009-08-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Do yourself a huge favor and check out this new blog Notes From Pippi. It's not just mother pride talking, her writing is powerful. Now I have two daughters, Pippi and Katydiddy and one daughter-in-law Swan at Heart

here in Blogland. One more daughter and one son to go.

Forty One Years Ago Today

2009-08-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, it all started with these two crazy kids in Parma, Ohio. As the husband wrote in the lovely card he gave me, "it's been a great ride!" There have been heart warming moments and moments of heart break, sheer terror and sheer joy, dark days and dazzling days. You know, a life. The real sweet spots are our four children. And now there are 2.5 little sweet spots added to the mix. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family all of whom bring us magic and delight. We have come a long way in those years and we are grateful.

I don't think we looked old enough to get married. Would you believe me if I said we haven't changed a bit?

LAST EVENING, after dinner, the husband called me to come into the kitchen, quiet and slow. This is what I saw when I looked out of the door.
Can you see him? On top of the fountain? Because the house wraps around this patio, I was able to move to a window without screen and get these shots.

Just how beautiful is he??? Becoming a regular visitor at dawn and dusk over the past week. We had a mysterious disappearance of a rather large bottle shaped container of fish food from the potting table. We have been speculating everything from coyotes to bears. But I think we have found the thief. Of course he could see me taking his photo and he seemed pleased to pose. His hooing echoes around patio and it sounds like he's using a bullhorn. Once again, Spirit comes to take a look.

ONE PIECE OF ART before I go. This is a journal page I made several days ago. It helped a lot, getting my mind off of all of the fires that are burning around us. We are in no present danger but after our last experience, it is an effort for me to relax.
AND FINALLY,

Serial Salvation

A benign breeze blows,
a cooling kiss beckons
at the window
that has been shut too long
to the melting madness
of a mind gone
literally to hell.
Only this morning
have I been able
to rise to the risk,
to chance capture
by the caress
of that which
always returns
with promise of
a heavenly haunt.
lm. 8/2009

Wishing you all soft, velvety serenity

More Journaling

2009-08-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Got this two page spread done today in my little greeting card journal. Something about working in this book makes me especially happy.

My No Hunting plea is a result of many things coming together. I took a wonderful stencil class from Mary Ann Moss which made me purchase Ed Roth's book, Stencil 101 where I found that beautiful deer, and we just took down some old chicken wire, and I spent a bit of time this morning watching a mother and her spotted faun munching right next to the house.

The other piece was more of a stream-of-consciousness activity. I got a sample of that seductive, dark green paint and now I want to paint EVERYTHING phthalo green. The rest is old images I had in a box and the little copper color thing is a paint skin left on my palette from yesterday. I was listening to M. Ward's music, not really thinking, just painting, cutting, pasting and when I came out of my reverie, there it was. The text comes from a memory of a movie I saw years ago about ancient Druids and a seasonal celebration where the finest specimen of young manhood is chosen from the village and for a week he wears a head piece of stag horns, is fed and pampered by the women of the village and bedded by every eligible virgin in town. At the end of the week, the women 'hunt' him through the sacred oak grove and when they catch him, they nail him to one of the trees.

Toured a 1920's California Mediterranean house this afternoon. It is complete with a 4 story tower that allows you to see over three canyons. It is in original and impeccable condition. Great fun. Just finished up the evening having tea and ice cream with very good friends.

All in all, a most wonderful day.

Seeing all of us collapsing into the loving arms of The Mother where we may safely nap and sweetly dream.

What? Two posts in one week?

2009-08-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

In spite of my best intentions, I missed the Open Studio on Monday. We had workers here and doctor appointments there, it became a scheduling nightmare. But, I installed myself in my lovely studio and painted. I also spent some time writing for my writers group today. The writers have left and I wanted to put some final touches on the journal pages when I realized that one of the pieces I wrote belonged on this page.

I forgot I'd used some ink and started slapping on gel medium so I have few smeary spots. Actually, as my youngest granddaughter would say, I prefer my art a bit messy so no worries.

Blessings have rained down on me today. The writers are people I loved when we started meeting and after many sessions of really discovering each other through our writing, I feel a deep connection and the meetings really feed my soul. Add to that a day and a half of painting and you will know I am totally blissed out! (I have the urge to add "man" to that blissed out. One of the writers gifted us with an amazing memory of attending one of the mega concerts Woodstock style and I'm still feeling the vibe...)

Just a parting word. Many of you know that I have Fibromyalgia (I have never bothered to learn to spell it), and I know that many of you suffer from this and other painful and depressing conditions. This poem is the result of several years of struggling with this. My prayer is for all of us.

It's that time again

2009-08-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

I seem to manage one post per month. As soon as I figure out how "they" are doing it, you know-making time pass more quickly than it used to, I will demand "they" stop! There does, fortunately, seem to be enough time for me to read your blogs. Always know that I am lurking on your pages.

All of that flying time has been good to me. As I mentioned last month, Alison of Creative Arts and Crafts
proclaimed me a winner and sent a lovely package of goodies. She commented that one of the pieces would be coveted by the other Laura (those of you who know her will easily identify the piece in question) but I have successfully staked my claim. Thank you so much, Alison, for so many great things. They look happy here in my studio.

Speaking of that little devil Laura, be careful if she ever suggests you take a look at the shop of someone she is consulting with. You will not be able to resist a purchase, she associates only with the finest of purveyors! Take a look at this great necklace purchased from the most talented Marieken at Park Avenue Jewelry. Matching earrings are included with each necklace.

My adventures at The Art Box continue. The lovely Sylvia hosts an open studio each Monday and it is my intention to attend more than I miss. So far, I've attended one...and missed one. Here is another of the collage pieces made in her class.

and this
is my response to Sylvia's challenge to get outside of my box and use a pallet and a medium I am not comfortable with. I tend to neglect water color, so that was my medium of choice, and this barn was to be all soft and pastellie. Imagine my delight when then Sylvia directed me to now make this piece "mine". For me that meant deeper colors and, of course, words. When I look at this I remember how much fun I had in that studio with those talented women. My plan is to be there next Monday!

I could go on, but maybe I'll save the rest for a post later in the week. Or next month.

I "clean" my brushes on empty journal pages and have discovered that, completely by chance, I can find some great images, begging to be defined, hidden in the mess. They feel like "secret" messages, fun. So, for now, I am content; a monkey mind searching for pattern in chaos.

I won! I won!

2009-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

The fates smiled and I won a prize from Alison at Creative Art and Craft by Alison Gibbs. Her creations are lovely and I cannot wait to see what shows up in my mail box. If you like interesting photos of interesting places along with your art, go have a peek at her blog. Thanks again Alison for having the drawing.

How can it be

2009-07-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

July 10th already??? I have not been idle, oh no. Among other things, I have begun a 4 session collage class with wonderful and talented Sylvia at the ArtBox right here in So Cal. The jumble above is the result of our first session last Wednesday. I am looking forward to the rest of the class.

We have also had some wonderful family events. It feels so good when all of the chickens are present and accounted for. We have confirmation that the grandchild we are all expecting will be a boy. The girl cousins are delighted. And I have had some miserable days of not feeling well sweetened considerably by the attention of my most loving children. How did I get soooo lucky? And the husband, can't forget, takes the most wonderful care of me when I am down.

I also have an update on the results I have enjoyed from my attendance at the Multiple Streams of Income seminar that my darling Katydiddy held here a few weeks ago. Yesterday I taught not one but TWO classes on art journaling. In my past life I was a pretty successful business consultant, trainer and public speaker. But the thought of "teaching" anyone anything about art, well I felt like a real imposter. I kind of got my feet held to the fire in the seminar and made a commitment to teach some classes. These two were volunteer efforts at the recovery agency I have been helping out at for over 20 years, but I will soon have a firm date for a paying gig later in the year. I'll tell 'ya, stay away from Katydiddy if you don't want anything to do with success. Consider yourself warned. If, however, you are like me and willing to take chances, click HERE and jump in.

As I mentioned before, I have been part of a wonderful little writers group that meets twice a month, here at the ranch. Because of this group, I have begun to take my writing more seriously and realize I need to start sharing it more. Over the past few weeks I have been moved to words by some every day things. Here are two resulting poems.

An Inconvenient Death

I heard the thump
on the porch,
early in the afternoon.
Sure enough,
very still,
on the plump cushions
in the wicker chair
in front of the picture window
lay a tiny form.
I hoped he was just stunned,
but he was dead.
Orange and yellow breast,
black and brown body
white striped wings.
He was young,
still fluffy with patches
of baby feathers.

He’d been flying
free, just learning
to go where he pleased.
It was easy for him,
or maybe it was hard,
but he was alive.
He would have
had his fun this Spring.
Found a nice drab girl bird,
settled down to a nest,
a brood of his own.

Instead, in a blink
of his still open,
shiny eye,
a change of plan
or perhaps
a plan of change.

The endless sky
and inviting branches
that he was headed for
were, of course, a window,
illusions of freedom,
of soaring to that perfect
high perch
from which to watch
the day.
Reality was
the good hard smack,
the black humor,
that brought him down,
dead,
on the comfort
of the casual chair.

I tossed
the fearless fledgling
into the ground cover.
He may be eaten,
the realists feasting
on the corpse
of the dreamer.

Or maybe the lovely little form
will simply lie there
until it decays,
offers itself
as nourishment
to the plants and the poets
who also like to dream,
of recklessly soaring.

lm 7/2009

Saturday Night at the Buffalo Inn

The band is loud, Guns and Roses loud,
Even here, outdoors at our patio table.
The waitresses are friendly and all have tatoos.

She sits, rubber necking, in her eight year old splendor.
We order buffalo burgers. She asks for Chick-a-loo
and reminds me she is allowed one Dr. Pepper.

We sip iced tea and one Dr. Pepper, and wait for dinner.
No speedy service here, we all loosen up and lighten up.
The lead singer begins to wail an off key Axl Rose.

My heart warms at the sight of her and I can’t resist
stroking her perfect arm as she watches, riveted; listens,
keeping time with her whole body.

“Whoa,Oh,Oh,Oh,
Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
Indeed.

lm 6/2009

Sigh, it's been a beautiful Summer so far. Wishing for you that sacred space called "The Moment".

Relaxing

2009-06-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have only recently discovered how relaxing sketching with a charcoal pencil can be. Most of my efforts have been truly awful, and this one needs some work, but all in all I am celebrating great progress. The vine running up the right side and the Imagine that shows faintly on the bottom were a surprise. They are the imprint left from the scratch work I did on the previous page. I wish they were not there, but they are.

I love faces, to draw and to photograph. I'm just learning to ask people if I can take their picture but I was raised in a house where it was very impolite to stare and you did not want to get caught looking at anyone. I probably passed that on to my kiddos, so here is the public apology, "I'm sorry", and the admission, "I was wrong", and the therapy, "go out there and look at some faces!"

Here's to paying attention, living deliberately, fully conscious and seeing spirit everywhere we look.

Everybody sing...

2009-06-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

"Life's been good to me so far..."

I seem to be the Occasional Blogger in spite of all of my intentions. So here I am to catch up on all of the tender and good things that have found me.

Remember Nancy? Friends when we were 2? I found her, after 30 lost years on FaceBook, which I'd just like to say I was "forced" onto. Clucking and sighing at the silliness of it, I was. But the gods smiled and smiled again when Nancy came to spend 10 wonderful days here at Trails End. I'm still sorting it out, still trying to find words to describe more than the day trips we took, the things we laughed at, the things we discovered and rediscovered about each other, the meals we ate, the fun-fun-fun we had. I'm looking for the words to describe the amazing thing that happened in my heart the moment I saw her get off of the plane. Something so warm and loving, so soothing and enlivening that is with me still, all growing and glowing. Something that is whispering to me of itself. Possibly, this feeling is preverbal. Going back to days when we experience without having to name it. Back in the days when we were closer to heaven and still spoke and thought in the language of the angels.

OK, out of my heart and into my head! Here is a journal page I did recently that is all ready and waiting for me to write about the success I am about to step into.

My wise and talented daughter recently held a seminar at the ranch on Multiple Streams of Income. What an experience. Laura helped us discover so many ways to get paid doing what we love and her gifted co-presenter, Susan helped us discover what holds us back from accomplishing what we desire. A very powerful day. I had a major "ah-ha!" moment that I am quite excited about bringing to fruition. Besides the priceless information, Laura provided a delicious pasta salad lunch with cupcake desserts. You must watch for these smarties to put this on again and sign up!!!

These past weeks have filled my head and my heart and I find myself in a sort of perpetual state of contemplation. I am having the most wonderful dreams at night and am experiencing synchronicity nearly everyday. Here's one example; tonight the husband and I ate at a restaurant that we'd taken Nancy to and I wished she was with us again. Suddenly, I overheard the woman in the booth in front of us talking about someone named...Nancy! A few minutes later, the woman in the booth behind us asks her dinner partner if he's heard from...Nancy yet! The magazine image in the next piece looks like I felt. The addition of the leafless trees and the lack of a horizon all fit my current state of mind. The sticker told me it belonged on the page. I wonder what the H stands for. Any suggestions?

Oh, I have sooooo much more to show and tell. But lest I wear out my welcome on your computer screen, I'll go, leaving you with a final piece that I am a bit proud of. It is the first piece I have completed using a set of oil pastels that I have struggled with for years.

It was one of those projects that seem to put themselves on the page and only when I looked at it the next day did I "get" it. Odd, isn't it?

Wishing for you the time and inclination for contemplation.

Just a few

2009-05-31T18:47:00.001-07:00

I am so backed up on things I want to post. We had a week long trip to Seattle and Vancouver with a return on Amtrack. I have 530 photos to share but just can't seem to get them ready. More on that later.

Right now I'm making time to share two heart warmers. My daughter, who you all know as Katydiddy, kept bugging me for a copy of the old photo of the house. And here's what she wanted it for!!!

When you come for tea, you will be sitting at one of these beauties. I love them, I love them. A friend, here for coffee and ice cream, said she felt like she was visiting a famous resort. Here's a closer look.

How lucky am I? Go to Katydiddy and see what she might be able to do for you!

Next, I have a "from the mouths of babe's story." I had been working on a clay art doll for weeks. Starting and stopping because it just wasn't going well. My 8 year old granddaughter visited me this weekend and, as usual, we were doing some art together when I said that I may just as well give up and just finish this doll up the best I can because she was not coming out as I had planned. The wee wise one said, "no one will know how you meant her to come out so they will think she is fine." One of the, probably golden, rules for making art being spoon fed to me by someone who I think I have things to teach. Ha! Those little folks are so wise and twice as dear.

I have her to thank for this piece

which looks nothing like I'd planned, but I kind of like her myself now. And I have the added bonus of always thinking of my granddaughter when I look at it.

Remember awhile back I posted about reconnecting with my friend from baby days? She is arriving this week and I am so excited I can't stand it. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be catching up on blogging until after she leaves. Then I should have even more to add to the stash I've already got. Looks like I might be doing some marathon blogging in a few weeks.

All the best of th last glorious days of Spring. Wishing excitement and anticipation, wise words and beautiful gifts to all.

Psst

2009-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't about this blog you should. I love this woman's mind and her art gives me courage to keep drawing and painting.

When I grow up I want to be an old woman

2009-04-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is a phrase from a song on a Kaiser Healthcare commercial...

and here is my 80 year old Mom demonstrating just what that would look like.

Mom said she always wanted to fly in an open cockpit bi plane so this is what you get the woman who has everything for Christmas! (a ride, not the plane)

How cute is she? We couldn't decide if she was Snoopy or the Red Baron.

And I got another chance to play with my new camera.

Beauty comes to my kitchen.

This little girl lives on the counter and seems to be enjoying her lovely companions.

And wait! There is more!

I am about the luckiest woman on the planet. The husband brings me roses for no reason.

These coral lovelies sat just down the counter from the Tulips. The morning sun comes into those windows and the warmth released the fragrance of these blooms. A very kind way to start the day.

Do you struggle, like me, deciding what to do with the precious cards you received at holidays? I have stacks, too many, of cards I have saved and I have regrets, too many, over cards I have tossed.

Add this dilemma to my passion for journal making and here's what you get. Pages ready to be collaged, painted over and transformed. I first thought I was a genius for inventing this, but further reflection brought recall of seeing something similar done with Christmas cards to make a seasonal journal. I wish I could remember which blog I saw it on so I could give credit. If it's you, let me know so I can acknowledge your creation.

Anytime I can hang beads off of something, I will and I find myself using more lace lately. The cover is doubled ivy covered tissue paper copied onto card stock.

It's a good size to slip into a purse to catch moments of inspiration.

If you enjoy reading, hop over to my friend's blog, R Mary Ann Reads and Writes for a delightful take on the written word.

The birds sound like an orchestra tuning up for a concert. I'm off to see if I can get a good seat!

A Sign

2009-04-14T18:54:00.001-07:00

We had our usual Spring fire-prevention-tree work done so the property was humming with lots of heavy equipment. I have to tell you that I don't like these days because it's all just so rough and scarring. But, when at last all was quiet and still, I ventured out of the kitchen door, across the patio and saw this where one of the trucks had been parked.

It's still there, a week later, to remind me that love is always in the air! My granddaughter thinks it's somewhat magical and I have to agree.

Hope you all enjoyed a beautiful weekend whether you call it Easter, Passover, Spring, Sunday or something I can't think of. I had a wonderful day with all of my chickens under one roof. Because I have always called my four kids my chickens, my darling Katydiddy made me this.
Next is an example of the cards I made for everyone. They said Happy Easter in the space to the right. How I love to throw paint around. I hardly ever use ink with my stamps anymore. I use paint and they get all thick and gloppy. Yeah.

The last time I blogged, I mentioned that I'd been to Mammoth Mountain with the husband, my son and daughter-in-law. They skied but I remembered, exactly, the moment that I gave it up. I was sitting on a stalled lift, in howling wind and sleet, freezing, with cramps in my feet that made my toes try to curl up which they couldn't do because they were strapped down tight in huge heavy boots. I was DONE. Now I am so out of shape I couldn't ski anyway. But I went along for the scenery, to enjoy some quiet time and to play with my new camera. I did a little shuttling to the lift, a little hanging out and journaling in the lodge,

a little cooking and lots of quality time with people I love.

Turns out it snowed and snowed while we were there so I took most of my photos from the car on the way up and the way home. I'm not complaining, I love car photos. I think it's one of my "things".

The scenery in California is so varied and beautiful. Here is a shot in the high desert on our way up.

The colors are, of course mineral deposits. This area is littered with the remains of old mining towns.

An early glimpse of the Sierras. I love the fact that desert meets alpine like this.

Don't these darling scattered trees look like scenery from a model train set. Those clouds are full of snow that will soon enough fall all over us.

This was the view from the balcony of our condo the evening we arrived.

And this was taken at the gondola that goes up the mountain right from the heart of downtown.

The following photos were taken on the way home.
The first part of the drive down was in some pretty heavy weather. Good thing we are from Cleveland and know how to drive in snow.

Remember those train-set trees we saw on the way up?

Another photo showing the contrasting conditions you find up there.

A farewell view of the Sierras.

We've made this trip several times and I never tire of the scenery.

Today is what Winnie the Poo would call a blustery day. Some pretty heavy wind coming off the desert clears the air and makes the scenery so crystal clear it almost hurts to look at it. We have a lot of pine up here and the branches are all rubbing against each other releasing the most heavenly fragrance. I'm off to see what my new camera can do with a day like today and to distract myself from the fire danger that comes with these drying winds. I think the Buddha said this; "who worries is a fool for then he suffers twice." I'm trying hard not to be a fool!

Just playing away

2009-03-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

in my space today. Had an early morning meeting then spent some time tying up loose ends on an 80th Birthday party for my Mom. After that is when a pretty nice day turned sweet! My childhood pal called and we spent awhile catching up. I am still obsessing over the fact that we have reconnected. It just makes me feel good.

Remember when I showed you all the beautiful journal that Randi made for me for my birthday? Well, I've filled it right up. Here are a few of the last pages I've done.

I've signed up for a stencil class with Dispatch from LA, so I thought I'd get ready and lay a stencil on one of the pages. Then, you know how it goes, the next thing I know I'm drawing a black old tree that reminds me of how the trees up here looked after the fire. I called it "the tree of life" because the gift of that awful time has been an ongoing reminder of the tenacity of life. You have to look hard to see what burned, there is so much new growth. The trees that didn't survive have finally fallen down and are disappearing into the earth, food for the next generation.

This page was inspired by a song I was listening to. For the life of me, I can't find it again. If anyone knows the song that starts "when I was born I started to decay" let me know. I also love the look of odd sized pages in a journal all messy and milling around each other.

The top page is sideways, obviously, and I didn't get a good scan of the little poem I wrote on the tape. And, actually I didn't copy my own poem correctly onto the page. Here's how it really goes: When I watch a bird dance, I watch myself dance. No one of us dances alone. When I see you suffer, I see myself suffer. No one of us suffers alone.

A conversation with a special friend inspired those thoughts in me. I don't know if he reads this blog, but if he does, he'll see himself here today.

The bottom page is actually an exercise in gratitude. I was having one of those why-doesn't- anything-exciting-ever-happen-to-me days when I realized that I have had a pretty eventful life.
What the heck is wrong with me, that I keep forgetting how blessed I have been?
That photo is not me. It is the model in the perfume ad sample that I clipped and pasted into the, now, best smelling journal I've ever had. I'm going to do that more often.

And this is today's page. I'm trying to practice drawing each day (not doing very well with the every day part) and I saw a very neat picture of Misty Mawn on her blog that made me get out the pencil and art gum and have a go. She is also responsible for the "what pulls at your heart" idea. She is such a beautiful person inside and out, her blog makes me happy. Of course, this looks NOTHING like her, she is beautiful. I've got a lot of practicing to do!

Last weekend, the husband and I went to Mammoth Mountain with our son and daughter-in-law. We had plenty of snow on our ride home and I took LOTS of photos with my new camera. I love car pictures and it's a 6 hour drive each way. I'll share those next time.

Wishing you all the blessings that come with a spirit of gratitude.

Can you stand one more sunset photo?

2009-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about California is the sunsets. The light is so magical sometimes.

These lovely ladies hang from the ceiling in the middle of my "studio". (I stumble over that word because this room serves so many purposes). They are papier mache and came from a wonderful little shop in La Jolla. I got them on one of the yearly get aways that Katydiddy and I treat ourselves to. I love the way the light sets them aglow.

And here is some art that I've done recently in a class on altered surfaces taught by Chris Cozen using Golden products.

These two were fun to make and I have plans to turn these into books.

These two were experiments using acrylic paints with gels, mediums, grounds and pastes. Not my best work, but fun.

Today, a friend sent me this link and I feel compelled to share this with art-minded friends. Be sure to look at all three pages. I cannot conceive how anyone can hold this in their mind and make it come out of their hands. Amazing.

The Husband just walked in and flashed a copy of the movie Milk. I'm off to my chair by the fire to enjoy movie night!

Peace and Love to all.

Reasons to keep our brains in working order

2009-03-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have been grousing about struggling to learn my way around Facebook, and I have this to look forward to!

Speaking of technology, I finally got my birthday present, a new Canon PowerShot SX10IS. My head is going to explode from all of the new stuff I'm cramming in there at once. Here are a few shots from my trial photo safari.

This a small fountain I have placed in front of a piece of my art.

This beautiful little girl enchanted me. I couldn't stop watching her. She was dancing about and at one point put on her Dad's huge shirt and let the wind blow it around her. I'm still trying to work up the nerve to ask people to let me photograph them. I guess I have to see myself as a photographer first.

My pretty new camera catches light and leaves shadow in ways that I only dreamed before.

Playing with settings. I could play like this for days and days. These are inspirations for sketching.

Clearly, I have a lot to learn about night shots. I forgot to set the flash on these but think they came out kind of cool anyway.

And THIS...This is that once-in-a-lifetime shot. I was just clicking away when the photography gods smiled on me.

I've never felt the need to say, please don't steal this, but I'm saying...this is my property!

Getting this photo and locating my long lost playmate today have really driven home, for me, the concept of each moment being perfect. Any moment that seems imperfect is simply a nudge, pushing us closer to the prize for which we'd never dare ask.

A most auspicious day!

2009-03-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

This is a great post for my come back.

Friends have forced me onto Facebook (yes, forced me I tell you) and I have done little more than try to keep up with their messages. This morning I realized that I can actually search for people and I hit the jackpot!

I found my absolutely best childhood pal.

On my first try!

The above art is a journal entry that I made months ago thinking that I would never find her.

Friends have always been at the top of my list and old friends are like no other. They may not know who you are now, but they know who you were.

Is your Christmas tree still up?

2009-01-11T17:33:00.001-08:00

Mine is!

So I took advantage of another great sunset and took this shot from the outside looking in. I like the instant collage mix of things outside and inside. We'll probably get it down next week. That's right, NEXT week. This week I am gone two full days to an art class. Details later, enough right now to say that I am really looking forward to this. My friend Carolyn invited me to come along with her. Visit her new blog. She is struggling, as so many of us did at first, but be patient. She has outrageous photos and stories and paints wonderful retablos.
This is one last shot of Christmas 2008 before it's off to the attic. It was a warm and wonderful celebration with the people I love most in the world. Believe me, I count my blessings each time I realize that it is possible for us all to gather together.

It is hard to believe that I haven't blogged for so many weeks. My daughter and her little sister have both asked me, in the past few days, why I don't post more. This might be a, gulp, resolution for 2009-more blogging.

I have a lot of art in the works but I'll share from the journal that keeps me company when I can't sleep. This took a couple of long nights to finish and I have absolutely no idea what is is or what it means. Something deep and disturbing I'm sure.
When you can, go to my friend David's blog and you will see that he has most dearly posted one of my poems. It is a gift to have a friend who "gets you". Spend a minute and read the posts. It will give you some grist for the old mill.

The weather has been just my cup of tea the past week. Cool, cloudy and even a bit rainy. I like to tell the Ca natives that I grew up in Cleveland so too much sunshine makes me nervous. Here, I'd like to take you on a little ramble around the place.
For years I nagged the husband to put this stuff away. Then one day I realized this is a great composition for a photo. I love the shapes, colors and mix of textures. Or at least that's what I told myself to get myself to stop nagging!

And these guys and gals always give me goose bumps. They are so beautiful and fit so easy on the land. The rain has brought out a lot of nice tender greens which these kids make short work of.
Apparently, in the days of yore, previous owners of the ranch did a bit of logging. Husband tells me this is the remains of an old log splitter. Sure doesn't look like the log splitters we use today. Makes me feel better about getting older. This has gone from a noisy, smelly old machine to something that I think is beautiful. I still don't know when I started thinking that rust, which I used to work so hard to prevent and get rid of, was beautiful.

Old horseshoes show up all around here. More rust. I like the contrast of the reddish color on the blue of the concrete.
Here is Roy the Dog, Master of all he surveys, keeping close watch on his ranch. He is a handsome and loyal dog.
And this is his "big" sister Tessa. She is an aging Cocker mix who know how to use those big browns.
Geraniums grow like weeds around here. In Ohio I would have to dig mine up each fall and try to protect them over the winter and put them back out in Spring. They survive any thing that comes at them out here. I love them.
And here is proof that it rains in Southern California. I know that those of you who live in Washington are impressed.
This is where I'll leave you. Pretty much where I can be found most evenings, which could explain the dearth of blogging.

Warm comfort to you all.

This could be your lucky day!

2008-12-16T14:01:00.001-08:00

I love Green Chair Press and have purchased and received as gifts several kits for making books from this talented and informative lady. A prod from a friend sent me there this morning and here's what I found. I can imagine having this stack of paper, (the ultimate Chiyogami sample pack, an 8.5x11” sheet of every Chiyogami paper these folks offer in their online store – 637 patterns in total (retail value $1911.00) for my very own. Go to The Paper Place to enter. I don't know why I'm sharing this, I'm cutting my own chances to win!!! It must be because I love you.

Christmas is creeping closer

2008-12-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

Although this may not look like Christmas to a lot of you, the SoCal contingent will recognize one of the magificent sunsets we get in these late months. They reach their fingers into the house and turn everything golden. I look forward to winter for these.

This is one of the many paths here and it seems to beckon me. I have the feeling that a walk in here will involve magic.

This is a little camera fun with my treasured Nativity Set. While putting it out this year, I realized that I have had this for about 27 years. There is a serenity around it that makes room for me during this often hectic season.

While my efforts are well underway, I panic if I let myself think of what isn't done. One of the three parties I am responsible for went off without a hitch. Tomorrow night is number 2. Approximately 50 people here for dinner, a riotous white elephant exchange and the wonderful company of good friends.

The last is a party with my Kiwanis Club. I am all excited about this because I have a surprise for the members. Shhhhh, don't tell them.

Now, I'm off to the showers to get ready to be a guest at a party. Last night, we attended an Elizabethan Dinner complete with Madrigals. It was fantastic. Sunday morning, we are having bagles and coffee with friends we do not see as often as we would like. All in all, a season of love, appreciation and connection.

Wishing you magical walks, golden sunsets and the blessing of friends.

Post Turkey Post

2008-11-30T15:55:00.000-08:00

Here I am on the last day of the Thanksgiving Weekend, relaxing. I can hear the husband out there moving fence while I'm sitting here, at the open windows watching the sun begin it's swan song for today. The temp is mild and everything is looking pretty fresh from the recent rains.

Turkey Day was delightful. My daughter hosted the whole tribe for a wonderful dinner and lots of fun. See her blog for some of the activity she put us to.

If you look back a bit you will see the bounty I received for my birthday. Well, lucky, lucky me, it continues. Look what showed up in my mail from Randi

This journal, like everything Randi, is so beautiful and tactile. I have several other things etc. that she has sent me, and left me when she moved away. I love them so I tend to use them as decorative pieces. This journal came with a strict admonishment to USE it. And so I will.

After all, who could resist painting and sewing and scribbling on pages like these? Thank you so much Randi. She knows I have a big place in my heart for her, just because of who she is and because she is the person who got me started on all of this altered and mixed media fun.

I do have an excuse for not starting on this baby yet. Several posts ago I shared a journal of security envelopes inspired by Mary Ann from Dispatch from LA.
I have been at work in this wonderful messy crackly thing.
It has an addition to it's cover. The flower was on a birthday card I received from another Mary Ann, a very special friend. What I love about this is the way each page becomes part of another because of all of the windows. Journaling is usually a planned activity for me. I have been struggling to be more spontaneous and this encourages me. It sits right on the desk, handy for doodling or random gluing of whatever scrap I discover in my hand. None of these pages are probably finished. They just keep evolving. But I thought I'd share a bit of where I'm going here. I find it very satisfying.

This left page has a clear pocket with the 1000 Journal Pages card in it. It is a fold over so it is like a little journal in a journal. Do you have any idea how much that tickles me? So odd, how we have these little 'things' that don't really have words to describe them, but that are such powerful parts of our inner works.
I have been including the waxed paper I use when I am painting in the pages of journals that I make. Another one of my favorite things.

Do you work in several journals at once? The orderly part of me wants to finish one before I start in another, but the want-it-all-want-it-now part of me loves jumping around.

This started out to be a page on which I cleaned up the last bits of paint left from another project in the altered book I'm also using. She has crazy lips and her hair looks like mine felt the day I did this. A nice space all ready for some words.
This next page stinks. No really, it smells. I was in one of the corrals with my granddaughter awhile back and she began picking olives (we have a literal forest of olive trees) and squeezing the juice onto tree trunks, rocks, fence posts and the like painting pictures. The color variations impressed me so I picked up a baggie full and decided to use them in a journal spread. This is particularly meaningful to me because there is evidence that they used to grow and cure a large quantity of olives here on the ranch.
While I had fun experimenting with all the different shades and just smearing this juice all over the pages, it wasn't so fun trying to get the color out of my finger nails! Then, a few days later I discovered the smell. I have some of those perfume samples that come in magazines and I've actually been planning to put them into some of my pages. This seems as good a time as any to do it.

I think I've bent your ear and strained your eyes long enough. I'll leave you with this fragment from the Journal of Jules Renard (see earlier post)..."To seize the fleeing idea by the scruff of the neck and rub it's nose on the paper."

Joy and Satisfaction

2008-11-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

This has been an amazing week! The historic and momentous events that came to a climax last evening reminded me to sit for a moment in the gratitude I feel for simply being alive right now.

My birthday continued last evening when, as mentioned before, we headed to my favorite Thai place for dinner and MORE presents all wrapped in the love of the rest of my brood.
These

and these
were a gift from daughter #2 and Miss D. They came from laralewis

Because they know how much I love earrings, I got these from daughter #3

I love reading the blogs and always get inspired when I do. A few days back Mary Ann of Dispatch From LA showed us a journal she made from security envelopes and a padded mailer. For some reason that got into my head and I couldn't rest until I'd put one together.

It's all nice and fat and crinkely. Here is a peek at the pages. Can't wait to start pasting.

Like the song says, "there's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day."

Off To a Great Start

2008-11-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

Birthdays are big business in our family and yesterday my family made sure mine was super. Go here to see my first surprise.

Then, the husband and I celebrated my birthday with my daughter, her husband and the Divine Miss O, and my son and daughter-in-law. My son-in-law, who is a fabulous cook, made his famous Chicken Parmigiana which was followed by a yummy carrot cake, courtesy of my son and his wife. Of course there were presents! My daughter gifted me with a subscription to "cloth paper scissors" and the perfect apron.
Also, a pair of leather earrings made to suit by my daughter-in-law.

Tonight, I'm off to my favorite Thai restaurant with my other two daughters and my other granddaughter, the Growing-up-so-fast Miss D. And still there is more! The husband and I have a date to go shopping for a new camera. I need the rest of the week just to count my blessings.

Last Thursday, I practiced more face painting. One of the eyes is totally messed up, but I'm going to leave it. Otherwise how will I ever be able to see my progress?

This one I tried to shade as if the light were coming pretty much straight on. I also felt a bit more fanciful, thus the color choices, very different for me. Except for sketching out the features, I went on automatic and just slapped the paint and layers on. A friend was creating with me and commented that she sees me differently when I am painting. More freedom in my whole self. Makes perfect sense since that's exactly how I feel when I'm having at it.
"Waste not, want not", my mother always said and this is what happened when I attempted to use up all of the paint left from the Blue Haired Goddess. Sharon, who knows a lot about painting faces, has got me hooked on using napkins in my art so I added one of my favorites. This page is just waiting for some words. Just like this one

was the first time I posted it to show off my new Indian wood blocks. Although the Sunday L.A. Times has gone all stingy in it's coverage of books, what is now called Arts and Books is still my favorite section. Two weeks ago, they reviewed The Journal of Jules Renard and I fell in love. Do you find yourself madly attracted to something, for reasons you cannot fathom, to the point of feeling that the information has come screaming through the entire Universe just so you would find it? No? Uh-oh. I assure you I'm relatively harmless. Yes? Ah, a fellow eccentric. Please read on. I immediately ordered the book, which explains the little note on the lady's dress, and can't believe I don't have it yet! In case you can't read the quotes, here are my new, favorite philosophies:

"It should not be thought that laziness is unproductive. Within it, you live intensely, like a hare listening. You swim in it as in water; and are brushed by the grasses of self-reproach."

"Every time I want to settle down to work, literature gets between."

"Five o'clock in the evening. Silent, slow struggle between shadow and sun. Shadow gains ground. The trees have it up their waists, their crests still in the light. At the top of the field, the oxen dazzling with whiteness."

I love alliteration. Just ask the people in my writing group! I'd never heard of Jules Renard before that Sunday. Anyone familiar with him? I also like the idea that maybe, someday, someone will be going through my things and find this journal page of mine and will follow the clue to find the book in my library (which, at current rate of expansion will be HUGE). A bit of immortality for Jules and me. See what happens when I take my mind off leash?

The miracle I referenced in a previous post seems to be still in progress, so all things considered, I'm having a bountiful week. And my wish, for you my friends, is that you experience the same.

Let's face it...

2008-10-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

I've been very interested in the blogs I read by artists who do a variety of faces and after taking a wonderful class with dj pettitt where I learned a lot about shading and highlighting etc., I felt ready to give it a try. Here's my first real attempt since the one I did in her class. I painted another today and will post that in a day or so, after it is dry enough to scan. I'm learning that I can be patient or continually clean the scanner. More will be coming as my sketch book is filling up with a cast of characters.

This mixed media piece features a cut out of the old ranch house right after it was built in 1916. The end of the veranda, where the man is sitting, was enclosed years before we got here and is actually where I am sitting right now. The other end has also been enclosed and is our bedroom. I can't stop looking at this photo, I wish I could step into it and visit with the man on the porch (whose last name is, coincidentally, the same as ours) and his wife, standing in the front. He was the CEO of a new company called California Edison and he built the place as a hunting lodge and weekend get away for his family. From what I can tell, it was later used as a retreat and hunting lodge for Edison execs and was eventually sold to the family we bought it from. I'm going to try to come up with a good label that might attract someone who can tell us more about the place. I'll keep you posted.

Today, I got to participate in a miracle. It's a long story but it is just one of those things you pray for and believe with all of your heart can happen, then it does, and you get to be part of it. So, I wish you all a peaceful night and days filled with miracles.

Autumn is my favorite season

2008-10-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

and that's a good reason to put up a new banner. I took this photo right out of my studio window. As often as I, lucky girl that I am, get to see these guys up close and personal, they always leave me breathless. Something ancient and Druid stirs in me.

Because California is such a diverse place, within an hours drive I can be out of the canyon and at the beach. The next photos came from La Jolla, which is more like a 2.5 hour drive. We enjoyed a lovely overnight last Saturday.

These beaches are famous for their seals. People are very near by but they seem nothing but bored by all of us. Can you see the sandpiper in the foreground? I remember, when still living in Ohio, seeing an Elizabeth Taylor movie about a beach and something to do with sandpipers. Does anyone remember the title? The first time I saw one of these birds, I thought of Liz Taylor. I'm not sure if that would please her.

Purple seems to be THE color in La Jolla this fall.

My children make terrible fun of the fact that I cannot resist taking photos of rocks and water. I dedicate this next one to them. Amazing how they have no appreciation of how many shots and how long it takes to get these just right.
And here is a lovely little couple who had been having quite a spat. I like to think I caught them in the process of making up.
As if a beautiful weekend were not enough, today I was invited to watch my youngest granddaughter, Miss O, at her ballet class. All I can say about that is, priceless. I will share my good fortune with you here
Aren't those the cutest little legs and slippered feet you have ever seen? Ok, except for your own children and grandchildren. Oh, and equal to the cute legs and feet on my other granddaughter. Have I covered all bases? And, I must confess, I am pretty pleased with my photo editing skills. I have great plans for this to morph into something, ummm, bigger! More later.

The weather people tell us we are heading, once again, to high temperatures and a return of the nasty old Santa Anna winds which come from the desert. As many of you know, we are only too familiar with the fire danger that brings. These are hard days for me, please keep me in your thoughts. For now, I'm going to focus on the beautiful stag and think cool Fall thoughts.

Peace and Abundance to all.

Today I made mad, passionate art!

2008-10-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just get into one of those moods? I got home from sort of a stressful morning and took out the paint and the journal and just let myself go. It is actually hard for me to wildly paint, cut and paste without a plan of some kind, but I'm working on being spontaneous and authentic. And here, my dears, are the fruits of my labor.

This one was a real stretch. I'm fighting the urge to call it "messy" because I do kind of like it. It will become something else after it gets some good journaling in the open spaces. Some of the layers are old, old, old Yahtzee score cards. My kids names are on them in that wonderful grade school cursive. It makes me happy to know they are under there.

This blue is, I guess, is as close to pastels as I get. See the pretty stamp? Made these with some very yummy old India wood blocks. Sunday, the husband and I went to the famous Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena and found an entire basket of these for sale. Of course I wanted them all, but settled on three and am having a great time experimenting.

This is my favorite. The design in the background is a transparency transfer of a large doodle I did unconsciously while I was on a long telephone call. The photo fragment is from an anniversary card we got describing marriage as an adventure.

Here is the facing page with the imprint of another of my new wood blocks. I layered lots of paint onto the block so that the print has texture.

To round out my day of creative release, I worked on a poem I roughed out last night when I couldn't sleep. I've learned to catch up on my podcasts or to get up and write, read or sketch instead of tossing and turning and am always excited the next morning when I see what I produced. I'm going to share this poem because it seems that several of you are struggling with a loss. My Dad passed 4 years ago and it is still a tender place for me.

I Was Raised on Adages

"If you believe it, you can achieve it"
has tortured my mind
as surely as the head busting
plummet from the garage roof,
as incredulously reported by my father,
temporarily scrambled the brains
of his younger brother
who believed that
the towel tied around his neck
looked enough like Superman's cape
to enable him to fly.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch"
was an often repeated mantra
of my father's
that I thought of while,
parked at a highway rest station,
I watched him scurry from his camper
to bring a lunch plate,
piled high with his favorite foods,
to a man he saw
eating from a dumpster.

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"
reverberated through
the halls of my memory
like a slammed door
as I woke, clutching at the trailing hem
of a vanishing dream
in which I sat with my father,
at the old kitchen table,
laughing and eating ham sandwiches
feeding scraps to my best
and now angelic dog,
Rudy.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk"
returns to me as
I finally experience
the cleansing relief
of unrestrained tears
set free by the memory
of keeping vigil
as the life spilled from my dying father
like a pure white puddle
spreading it's way to eternity.

"Out of sight, out of mind."
Never.

lm 10/2008

2008-10-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Seems I am on a once a month posting schedule.

Some work book covers left over from my consulting days have come to an excellent use! Spent last evening doodling with my oldest granddaughter, Miss D. Per her request, I am putting up our creations. I think her art is actually quite involved for a 7 year old. And mine, well lets just say I was under her spell.
Notice that the girl on the far right is waving. The D has discovered movement in her art.

Notice the wagging tongue.
Exploring ways to put our names and initials in our pictures.

I love to doodle! Amazing how much fun it is to spend time with a kid.

Here is a little piece that was inspired by weekend family camping (I use the word loosely, we were in our son's very nicely appointed camper) at Newport Dunes. A few palm trees, a heavy marine layer and a little digital manipulation.

More later, I have actually made a bit of art. Hope all is well with all of you.

I have been missing but...

2008-09-03T20:22:00.001-07:00

I have not been idle.

Many adventures to share. First, I have been playing with my camera again. Don't you just love running around for 15 minutes taking shots of whatever gets in front of you?

This is the view from my laundry room, which is an old enclosed porch, looking into the kitchen. The open door to the left is where I play and paint and write. To the right, you can see the last of the daylight through the dining room window.

Now I'm going to get weird. This is probably the biggest spider web I have ever seen. It went from post to post, ceiling to bricks on the front veranda. The interesting part is that when I put this up as my desk top, and it gets blown up reallllly big, you can clearly see numbers and letters resembling old fashioned type on the filaments and at the junctions. Remember, I'm the one who had so much fun showing you the hidden pictures in the fish photos?

I was sitting on the patio one evening admiring this little pixie I love so much. She was a gift from my Mom who said it looks like me, all into a book. Suddenly, all I could see was this, right out of the DaVinci Code. I know, I know. My brain is clearly begging for more creative time. Maybe I'll work this into a little story.

We run this old ranch on a bunch of solar panels and managed to keep 3 houses going all last year, in So Calif. where you NEED to run the air conditioning, for a total of $9 and change. That was the electric bill for all of 2007. And most of that was all the taxes and fees. When we are not using all the power we make, it goes back down the grid. Our power company does not pay for the power you supply them or else they would have likely owed us money. I pass this tower when I turn onto the road at the start of the canyon and could not resist this interesting shot.
Still here? OK, I'll keep going. When I was a kid in Ohio, the Goodyear Blimp used to fly over the house quite regularly. Advertising I guess. I was always fascinated by this huge balloon. Well, life is filled with surprises and the husband and I got a chance to take a ride! It was a real thrill. I felt like that little girl the entire time.

We flew around for about an hour. The pilot explained it is just like traveling in a submarine, only you are moving through air, not water. A once-in-a-life time treat.

THEN, we had a lovely evening at the Hollywood Bowl with friends. We usually manage one trip a summer and I look forward to them. The program was Les Miserables and, as usual, I was crying at the end.

WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Off to the Science Museum to see Body Works. All I can say about the exhibit is WOW. If you haven't seen it, do. I was a little hesitant because it seemed a bit disrespectful of the dead, but when I saw how well it was done and reminded that these people are bringing an incredible educational opportunity, I relaxed and was completely mesmerized.

No photos of the displays, for all of the obvious reasons, but wanted to share the museum buildings. The use of material, shapes and reflection make just walking up to the door art.

Then it was off to Pleasanton Calif.

for a great weekend with my daughter at the ZNE Convention. Besides really enjoying the visiting time with my girl the 6 hour drive up and back provided, we had a wonderful class with dj pettitt. She is a very generous instructor and I learned a lot from her. Here is my project, or as much of it as I could get to scan. The bird has a tail and there is a bit of detail missing. You have seen this lady before on a journal page and I was pleased to learn to replicate her in a larger piece. Per DJ's suggestion, I am shopping for a piece of upholstery fabric to stitch her onto. I'll do a proper photo when I'm done.

So many photo ops that weekend. There was a convention of antique car buffs sharing this charming little town with us. Here is one of my favorites.

Now for the big news. August 31 marked 40 years of marriage for the husband and I. We met in high school and dated for 4 years before getting married, so we have been together 44 years. Our wonderful children gathered the whole family together at an excellent Mediterranean restaurant where we ate an indescribable feast. They showered us with gifts and love. By now, you all know that Katydiddy is my very creative daughter. You can always count on her to dress up any occasion with a piece of art. She provided all of us with these special Anniversary Wands. She wanted everyone in the restaurant to know it was our celebration. They did, because we had these beautiful wands
and because we made soooooo much noise!

OK, you have been very courteous and paid wonderful attention. I'm working on a few things and will share more a bit later. Have a wonderful Fall, it was always my favorite time of year in Ohio. While not as dramatic in So Cal, things still get interesting in these last months of the year. Peace to all, love to all, life to all.

Chrysalis Inn

2008-08-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

This is a journal page I made a few weeks past, inspired by a poem written by my good and talented friend, David. I have his permission to share the poem with you here. I hope it speaks to you as it did to me.

There is no sign saying

"Welcome to the Chrysalis Inn."

That's where I am sleeping now.

That's where I stay,

not yet dreaming butterfly dreams,

but dreams of change, nontheless.

What caterpillar ever really knows

what's locked inside its genes?

But while I dream,

I still work magic,

I still write words,

I still see visions.

I am my own Messiah.

David Lintner 2000.0123/r2007.1109

Today has not been especially kind, nothing major, just a bout of angst. I love that word, angst. It makes this experience seem like dark, romantic literature. "Oh", she said collapsing on the fainting couch, the back of her dainty hand lightly resting on her pale forehead. "Why must I suffer this angst?" See, it makes feeling all edgy seem glamorous.

Revisiting this poem, however, made me feel rested, safe and whole. Wishing the same for you.

2008-08-10T16:01:00.001-07:00

Ok, I just posted Frogs and Fish and for some reason the dates are all goofey on the blog. Look back two to see today's post. ????

Whatever happened to...

2008-08-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

those Personal Ads with the wonderfully cryptic messages that used to be in the classified section of the newspaper? I loved reading them and used to search the paper in hopes of finding them. Then I could dream and imagine what their story was.

"Looking for Joe from the Dew Drop Inn. Call me. Wanda." Or "We met Sat at matinee. Call me. Blond in green." Or "Uncle Joe dead. Come home at once."

Seems there were a lot more of those when I was a kid. No email then and no google search for finding just about any one I guess. Do you ever see these in your local paper anymore? I'm curious.

Anyway, because I have a very demanding friend who has whined and complained that I mention every one but him in my blog, I will leave him a message. "Ken, Sun ten am at wallys is on."

He claims he reads my blog. We'll just see, won't we?

More later. Gotta go pay bills, even though I'd much rather play here.

Fish and Frogs

2008-08-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

While I have been painting and visual journaling for only a short time, I have kept written journals and crafted stories and poems for years. I am working on posts of a trip to D.C. and a recent flight on the Goodyear Blimp, but for today, here are two poems inspired by my fascination with fish and frogs. These poems, by the way, reflect actual events. I have lead a most magical life.

Fish Talk

One cold and rainy night,

exhausted from a long
day at work then hours of class

at the University

in the City, I boarded
the very last bus to
my home in the suburbs.

Sometime into this long

and miserable journey,

I looked up to see a

disheveled and wild eyed

young man standing at my seat.
He asked, could sit with me?

Surprised, a bit mesmerized
I moved my coat and books

from the seat beside me
and he sat down. We rode

in silence, shoulders nearly
touching. Then, quietly,

"Do you dream in the night?"

Though uneasy, I nod yes.

"What did you dream last night?"

So intimate, this question,

I tremble but answer, "Fish."

"People who dream of fish are
sensuous", he mutters.

We traveled on in silence

to my stop. I saw him

often. He always saved me
a seat on the empty bus.

I always took it though
we never shared a glance
or spoke another word.

lm 2007

Amorous Amphibian

I shine my flashlight in the pond

and search for the monster who

makes such a big noise.

Sometimes he feels most generous.

His gift, allowing me to see him

all puffed up.

Quite confident in his courting best.

Small in stature, but

large in voice, heart and lust.

His throat grows and he exhales
his longing. Some nights he is joined

by fellow bachelors

and the patio resounds

with their hopeful serenades
of passion and longing.

Flirty fellow,

I miss his ardent love songs

when romance wins and he has a date.

lm 2007

And the husband and I had breakfast this morning with Ken! I knew you would want to know. The food was awful and over priced but the patio seating is very pleasant and it was good to see Ken again. He is an accomplished Executive Recruiter (aka headhunter) who has moved to Arizona. We have been friends for 20 + years and he likes to say that he's taught me everything I know. (There, Ken, you are now properly mentioned on my blog. Enough with the complaining already!)

2008-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's hard to believe how long it's been since I've blogged. But, I haven't forgotten about any of you, in fact, I've been secretly visiting. My days have not been idle. I'm sure by now you have noticed the new header. This is a posterized version of a photo taken of the house at Trails End shortly after it was built in 1915. Notice the lack of vegetation? Over the years, it seems that nature and owners have been busy planting. If it still looked like this photo fires would be of little concern.

Art! Art! Art! I have been having wonderful fun with paints and photos, journals and friends. This first offering is unfinished. I want to put something symbolic and wonderfully mysterious in each corner near His Angelness. Still cooking that idea. He is my rendering of a wonderful wooden carved santo with metal wings that a friend gave me. I love him.

Although I have been traveling and having great adventures, these journal pages seem to suggest a bit of the shadow hanging around. Don't you love it when you start painting and cutting and pasting and writing and suddenly realize that you have just set free something that has been shivering, unseen, in the cellar? That and playing around with image altering software gave me this. Here, the muse dipped her brush into a deep well of angry frustration. I love the way it looks backlit.

A few days later, I was playing with some wonderful pages out of old, old books that an antique dealer friend brings to me. The quality of the paper and printing is absolutely transporting. And the smell, ummmmm. I know many of you know exactly what I'm talking about and are smelling it right now. Here's what came out of that. Don't ask me about the eyes on the finger tips. I have no clue. But it sure feels right. Oh, just a warning, don't read the little paste ups if you are feeling a bit down. This piece came from the basement!
Then there is this. I have been dreaming of snakes for over a month. Snakes are a common dream theme for me and usually represent wisdom that comes from taking risk. Snakes stand for wisdom in many mythologies, and while they are often portrayed as the enemy of woman, they are also befriended and tamed by women. This rings true for me and carries an enormous charge. Since we have moved to the ranch, I have had to learn to live with rattlers. Somehow, as much as I'm not crazy about this, it feels like something that needs to be in my life. This is the representation of a dream image that came complete with the instructions and explanations written. I actually dreampt this entire page.

P.S. I've always had great dreams. Back when I had my consulting practice, I used to dream entire seminars complete with illustrations and workbook lakyouts! I'd jump up in the morning and get to the computer before I lost it.

Looking this over before hitting the "publish now" button, I realize this post is a bit bizarre.
I hope I don't lose any of you. I'm perfectly safe, really.

Ok, I've been working on this post all day. Between blogger's unwillingness to cooperate and my weakness for distraction today, I'm surprised it's up.

Peace and wisdom to all.