A GREAT day

is what today turned out to be. I went to bed last night feeling not well at all. The alarm went off early for my Kiwanis meeting and I just didn't think I could get myself out of that nice soft bed. Several of us take turns writing the weekly newsletter, and today was my turn. Of course all it would have taken is a phone call and someone else would have done it. And, even if no one was available, in the course of human events this newsletter would rate pretty low. But every now and then my old Catholic training sets in. Words like commitment, promise and responsibility began to swirl about my sleepy mind. Of course, I got up. The first promising change was brought on by a shower. Then I wore a new top, remembered that the program today was by a group that reported on a humanitarian trip they took to India. Complete with wonderful slides of amazing photos.

I was already feeling better as I went out to the car and was greeted by this on the patio
Then this
This is the second round for both of these. Reminds me of an old cowboy song, My Adobe Hacienda. Phrase is "cactus blooming on the patio."

Then I saw the last of the water Iris. Looking pretty good for a straggler. The pot this is in is full of tadpoles.

Then, as well as 'things' looking up, 'I' looked up.



Throw in a cup of coffee, lots of hugs and laughs with friends and things were really turning around.

I did promise that I would take it easy today. So, I came home and planted myself in the den and cut, pasted, wrote. Made cards, journaled, drank lots of green tea and played with the dogs. Snuck out for a brief out to lunch with the husband and came right back to play with photos I've taken recently. That brings us up to right about now and feeling pretty good.

The husband came home the other day very excited about an angel statue that he saw at the store. He insisted I go back with him and see it. Guess what? We bought it and she looks great in the yard right outside of the den. She begged to have her picture taken and I obliged. Here is a two page journal entry using her.


Then I made a transparency transfer that came out better than any I've done so far. I glued it to cardboard and think I will make it into mail art. I just need to find someone to send it to. Hmmmm.
This next journal page is one of a couple I've done around a Nun theme. I am a product of these mysterious women and for some reason find myself thinking of them a lot lately. My first page was a bit of a juvenile rant that turned into a very different and mature perspective.

This is the power of journaling. Over the years I've filled composition books with my thoughts, dreams and fears. I've worked out a lot of difficult issues on paper as well as discovering that my daily writing could be seed for poems and prose. But I have to say that art journaling has had a much more profound effect on me.
On this page, I found myself thinking not of myself but about them; young women who stepped bravely into the unknown taking no familiar comfort with them. I have lots of Nun Stories for another day.

These "Nun" entries brought my internal housecleaning to life. I wasn't aware of any connection in these two pieces until today. Quite the experience having my Self point something out in the concrete to myself.

So, how can a day that started out reluctantly, evolved to angels and nuns and ended here with all of you be called anything but "great!"

Peace, Love and Mystery to all.

Potpourri

A most amazing week has just passed for me. A mixture of sweet and difficult moments. The biggest sweet is that I have had the delightful company of my youngest granddaughter, nearly 3. So smart, so pretty, so wise, so good!!! I have learned many great things from her.

And today my other daughter came to visit us with my 7 year old granddaughter. The two girls played and played. The 7 year old is soooooo good to the little. She helps her on the swings and even helped give her a bath tonight. They are constant reminders of how blessed I am.  The phrase on this journal page about grandchildren is stolen from someone, but for the life of me, I can't remember who to credit.  I think the actual quote was:  Grandchildren are your heart walking around outside of you.


And, this week brought a bit of a disappointing surprise. Seems my intentions were completely misunderstood and someone ended up feeling very offended. 'Impugned' is a word that was used. I was horrified. But I do believe, along with Rob Bezsny, that the universe is conspiring to shower me with blessings (otherwise known as Pronoia-the opposite of paranoia) and that was certainly true in this misadventure. I'll spare the details, but I have had several positive exchanges over this, which I sincerely appreciate, and I am hopeful that a relationship will be mended and this can be left behind. Even my home page horoscope on the day of the affair felt like a personal message.

Daily Scorpio horoscope:

Don't try to force your ideas on anyone, dear Scorpio. It is important to maintain a point of neutrality so that you can act from a stable state of mind when someone confronts you with an issue that needs to be dealt with right away. The key is to act on a situation instead of reacting to it. If you know that you are right about something, keep it to yourself.

Back in the day, I did seminars on discovering The Beloved. One exercise I devised was to have the participants look at their horoscopes in the daily paper and view them as personal love messages from The Divine.

I have been working on myself for years and have begun to see the fruits of my labors, but this event helped me see real progress and that encourages me to keep working. I want to leave the planet calm and at peace with myself, with others and the world around me.

Then, more sweetness. I got mail art from that crazed woman, Randi. Fascinating art and supportive messages. And, because the age of miracles hasn't passed, I finally finished a piece to send back to her. Ahhhhh.



The gods smiled upon me again by sending me all sorts of hidden messages in the reading I did this week. Here are just a few of the phrases and image makers I've picked up. The first two are from Poe Ballentine in this months issue of the Sun and the third is from a friend.

the thunder of migrating butterflies
the dust of dying stars
reflect the spiritual image of the Creator in the closet

All in all, a week heavy with growth, riches, light and love.

Wish me luck as I strive to walk with open hands, giving no offense and taking none.

Where have I been?

Time sometimes passes in such a blur or fog or whatever and one day you realize that a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

I am working in two journals right now, depending on my mood and how much time I have. The skinny little pages, in a journal my daughter made are usually done in a jiff with garden variety markers, pens and a handful of items chosen at random from the overflowing box on my work space. I also work on this when I am on the phone with someone who just needs me to listen. These pages interest me because they seem to represent the entire process of letting someone into your head then taking them into your heart and letting the experience come out of your hands. The square pages, from a journal I made in a class with Kelly Kilmer, can also happen spur of the moment, but usually these are more leisurely put together with paint, specific images and the use of technique.

This page was painted and the images pasted in at Kelly's class. I had no idea what to do with it until I wrote this quote in response to feeling like I needed to spare others my...lets just say emotional release.


The next one is different for me. I just used a black and a red pen. I read about Barron Storey on Kelly's blog and looked at his site. I think I was under his influence with this one. I have given up trying to find "my" style. I'm pretty much all over the place at this point, and having fun trying everything out. My daughter tells me that she can identify me by the colors I tend toward.


First attempt drawing with charcoal pencil. I love the trees that Katie of joyouslybecoming puts in her spell binding paintings and did this under her spell.
Just some quick fun one day after hearing "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt on Genius Loves Company. Made me thing of a long-lost young love.
Waiting for a verse. I made this while clearly still under the romantic spell of that love song.

I am a struggling, fledgling drawer. I feel like this is a bit of a mess and very primitive but I read about this in Eat, Pray, Love and had to express the impact it had on me. Not the best book I've ever read, in fact a bit annoying. But the chapter with the shaman really spoke to me.
And I can post this here because of my wonderful friend Randi who when I told her I couldn't draw held up one of my attempts and said, "Yes you can. You draw like this!" See, Randi, see what you have unleashed on the world?

I love this page. The text comes from a good friend who is kind enough to save me pages from the old books he deals in. Yumm! I love this type. And I have hoarded this image for a couple of years waiting for the right piece to put it in. I think I will type some journaling, cut it out and paste the strips over the text.
This page is an example of being ready to accept the gift of something gone wrong. I was attempting a transparency transfer of an image I really liked. Ink was still too wet and it smeared all out of recognition. My initial disappointment vanished when I really looked at this. I love it, so mysterious and all. Reminds me of a map to a hidden kingdom. Then I found this blue feather in my stash. Serendipity, such a comfort in a rigid world.

Keep reading if you can stand more of me. These are some photos of koi that I took at a shop we visited to try and get snails for our little fish pond. Out back they have several pools of all sizes of koi for sale. You will recall, from earlier posts, I love taking pictures of fish in water. None of these will ever win a prize, but I like the play of water, light and flashing colors of fish. I was happy with them. Then, while cropping etc. one of them got enlarged and holy schmoly! take a closer look. Does anyone else remember, back in the late 70's I think it was, that subliminal advertising was on every one's mind. (So sorry, I just could not resist) There were books and articles urging us to beware the "hidden" images in things like photos of glasses of beer, for example. If you studied them closely, the ice cubes and bubbling brew contained grotesque and sexual images. And they did...well, if you closely and long enough.

While my fish photos have not been deliberately encoded with subliminal anything, just look what chaos brought us. Click on them to make them larger, let your eyes go "soft" and have some fun finding the "hidden" pictures.



The next one has the most obvious magic. Can you see the little sea sprite, who actually looks a bit like Daffy Duck, petting the black and orange fish?



Got to get going now. The husband and I are off to a board meeting for the rehab we are involved with then to an installation dinner for the officers of Key Club, the high school Kiwanis Club that our club sponsors. I love these dinners. Seeing the kids in this environment gives me hope for our world. Peace to all.

In a Pensive Mood

No art to share. Just some photos and thoughts. Hey, wait! Photos are art, right? So here's my story.

I have made some pieces while I've been gone, but they were gifts and they flew out of here without having their pictures taken. I see change in my work as I get more confident and learn new techniques. I'm looking forward to a Summer of experimentation.

I have been writing more and just noticed that I am going through, what I finally realize is, my "change of seasons mood."
I feel like I am seeing the familiar for the first time. Boundaries get blurry and it seems that the fantastical is possible.

Because I grew up in Cleveland, I am most comfortable in cooler weather with occasional dark and rainy days. People say that there are no seasons in California, but there are. And as we head straight into Sizzling Summer, not my favorite, I'm pausing to soak up the images I love from the Wistful Winter.

Late Winter brings amazing light in the afternoon. It seeps into our old house and does magical things. I find myself arranging my day so that I can be home for this show. Here are some examples.









Then we have overcast conditions that just seem to erase the sky. Suggests a kind of limitlessness to me. Some overcast can make me feel claustrophobic, like something is closing in on me. This one makes me feel exposed and boundless.


Right now, I feel a bit like I'm stuck on a shelf, waiting for someone to take me down and put me to the work I've come to enjoy. For years my camera took pictures of vacation spots and holiday gatherings. Only in the past few years have I come to appreciate what an entertaining companion it is for me. I had no idea it knew so many tricks!



But then I come into this room I am now calling my Den. Out of habit, I still slip and call it my Office. I can't quite call it my Studio yet. Still struggling with a bit of impostor syndrome. But whatever I call it, this is the room I have claimed as my own. A place for art, writing, reading, napping, meditating and playing with like minded friends. I'll guiltily admit it may be the best room in the house. Come on in.
I'll share the beautiful orchids a friend gave me because she missed my tea party. She is someone I don't really know very well, so it was extra touching to have her remember me like this.

Right now, I'm off to visit with two of my favorite people, The Queen and Princess of the Royal Icings. Later, I'll be popping in to visit many of you.

Here's to a Splendid Summer of art and friends.

I feel better now.

Blew off a little steam with the previous post. I've been making art hit and miss but not finding the kind of time I need to post to the blog. I have been reading your blogs, and having a most wonderful time doing so. Still in jammas at noon! but taking time to catch up.

I have been working in that little book I made from the scraps of paper I had laying around. I am mostly using it as a glue book, not a lot of painting, because the different papers are really what the book is all about. I love how the doily sticks out. Here a few pages that are ready for journaling.

I have no idea where I got this picture of money. I love the colors and was glad to find it in my stash.
These pages really touch my heart. They are a memento of the day I showed my granddaughter how to make "snowflakes". This was an awful snowflake, but she thought I was a genius! I have already filled this one up with favorite quotes, some of which actually come from my own writing. It was so relaxing to make all of those viney little flowers. Sigh.
Here's the other side of the "snowflake". The foil that shows through is from a candy wrapper. I love to use these, the page smells like chocolate!

And this is the tea set that was in a HUGE gift basket from the recovering women who put on my tea party. I still get all teary when I look at it. It's hard to surprise me, but they did.  They led me down a hall way to see the new meditation room with a big old brass plaque on the door saying it was named for me.  A most humbling and moving moment for me. Truly one of the most memorable days of my life. The graduation was, as usual, also wonderful. Like any graduation, it reminds me that everything is possible.

This little cutie is a gift from Mary Beth Shaw. Go look at her site. Wonderful and generous artist.
I told you this would be a catchup post. I wrote earlier that the husband and I are going to concerts at the new Disney Concert in L.A. Last time we went I forgot the binoculars, so I remembered my camera. Seems I have to choose because I'll never remember everything. During intermission, I take out my little Canon and click away. This isn't the best shot of the interior and that fantastic organ, but it shows the most in one photo. If you click on it to enlarge, you can just make out the seat covering. Lovely effect. Story goes that Mrs. Disney was an avid gardener and wanted the look of flowers. So, the lights flash for end of intermission and people stream back into their seats and there is an announcement. I know better than to take photos during the performance, but the announcement very sternly informs that "photos are not to be taken at ANY time in the concert hall. " This will apparently be the last photo of this that you see from me. Too bad because the photo ops endless.

I'm off to the shower. My writers group will be here very shortly, I really should be dressed!
Happy Days

Isn't it nice

when someone who is obviously as busy as Mr. Adam Brown (I am sure that's his real name) takes time from his busy and exciting life, flying around everywhere, to look at my blog and leave a comment.  And even nicer, he takes time to share an opportunity to make money, from home! Him being so busy and all, I guess we have to forgive him for mistakenly thinking that he and I ever spoke.  Imagine.  A perfect stranger cares so much about others.  PLEASE do NOT check this out.  It is the most annoying kind of SPAM.  Shame on you Adam and all of your friends.  Leave me and my friends alone.