peace on earth

fitting in

Sometimes I know exactly what I'm thinking but don't have the words.

In times like that,

 be careful of letting others say it for you.

But on occasion, 

someone will have said it perfectly.

This above all: 

to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, 

as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

-Shakespeare 

viewfinder

I have an old Nikon F (c. 1966)

How it became mine is another story.

Last night my daughter was experimenting with her iPhone by shooting through this old camera's viewfinder and I was inspired.

Inspiration flows freely and abundantly through our precious young people. Never forget that.

But that's another story.

These are pictures I took this morning:

print

The lovely people at Stampington & Co contacted me about submitting my stitched art for their Sew Somerset magazine.

It's really fun to see my art on the printed page.

I have something to show friends and family (and you) that in a weird way validates my work. I'm beyond needing validation - but I won't turn it away either.

This is one of my more recent of this series:

I named him Russell.

He has big plans and he has a ticket.

Before you know it, 

he'll be all grown up and rarely at home anymore. 

But that's a good thing. 

*

These photos were all found in a flea market suitcase. 

They're someone's relatives. 

Abandoned for $1 a piece. 

One by one, I'm giving them each a story and hopefully, some self respect.

distracted

"excuse me if I seem distracted"

This is part of a new series I'm working on.

Creating faces is a comfort to me. 

I'm able to explain something in a face that is hard to explain. 

Then of course I can't help myself and must add a few words at the end. 

I'm not one for paragraphs when just a sentence will do.

Ingredients:

Teabag paper

Watercolor paint

Oil pastel

Watercolor paper

Wood block

Gel medium

3.5 x 5.5 "

As I'm creating these,

I'm listing them in my etsy shop. 

(this one is not listed yet, however )

safety

I am wearing a safety pin everywhere I go.

I keep a dish of them by the front door.

You can follow this link for the origins and how wearing a safety pin has become a symbol of peace in troubled times (or read on for my simplistic version):

https://www.good.is/articles/safety-pin-america-trump-brexit

The wearing of a safety pin signifies that you are a safe person and will stand with and welcome anyone no matter what they look like, who they love, where the originate, or how they worship. It has the potential to secretly encourage the discouraged or be a beacon of friendship to one who is in a threatening situation. It can also serve as a constant reminder to the wearer that love and kindness truly matters.

kindness

kindnesses in my life this week:

a kind etsy conversation with someone in Massachusetts 

a kind email from Hillary Rodham Awesome

a kind text from a friend in Calif who is sick at heart

a kind poem written by my daughter for her Dad

a kind game of scrabble on my bed to distract me from my tears

a kind laugh and smile from Kris when I keep forgetting her name and call her Lisa

a kind conversation on a park bench about the honeybees

*

Just reeling myself in ....

finished projects

The stitching projects I worked on last month are completed now. These are the mini art quilt squares I've done in the past using vintage linens from my stash.

I like to incorporate these random and anonymous photos from the past. In a way, these people become adopted family to me.

2 others that are similar to these will be featured in a December publication that is due out soon. But until then, I have to keep mum.

*

I also made a Cloutie for my friend who passed in September. It will hang from my white lilac until it blooms in the spring. It has thoughts and prayers stitched into it and is now left under God's great sky and winter rain in peace and gentle quietude.

moving right along

fall color at about 40 miles per hour

... enjoy!

processing

I turn to the gentler of handworks when I'm really processing some things and need to think and feel and just be. 

This time, I started with very old lace and linen given to me by friends and family.

 I add bits and pieces of things.

Scraps from the past - like words from a storybook and an old anonymous photo.

 Pieces of the present - like last summer's carnival ticket and yesterday's tea bag paper.

I begin to build a story separate from myself, yet somehow it still feels connected.

Some times creating art is just another form of story telling.

It can be a quiet and peaceful way to bring forth a story.

Someone I once knew died last week. 

We haven't spoken in years which was painful. 

But that's how it ended. 

That's how that particular story was written. 

In the end the words were brought forth silently.

modern naturalist

We are in a new epoch (like the dinosaurs)

- Anthropocene -

it refers to the impact of humans on our natural world.

I realized that my art reflects that.

I have gathered a still life of found objects.

Some of it is natural.

Some of it is human detritus.

Pictured above:

chair spindles; birch bark; clam shell; dried seed pods; thread spool; beach stone; flash card; brass tray; bottle cap 

All of these things will be used in my art at some point. They're things I have picked up in my natural world. Walking the dog, combing the beach,  parking the car, rescued from the trash, gifted from a friend.

A modern nature walk.

A modern naturalist. 

spelling

I've become a terrible speller

"tomorrow" is with 1 M, not 2

but even if my spelling is getting worse

I make up for it with a little OCD

I decided to completely re-do that part before popping it in the mail to someone - and they were probably oblivious

It was on Etsy like this:

No biggie 

- but seriously -

good spelling is a lost art!

how I spent my summer vacation

In between doing other things like:

camping in the rain (bracing!)

working as shop girl full time (not fun!)

sleep study for my youngest (adventure!)

a baseball game (love!)

first one leaving home for college  (wow!)

I made lots of crowns

(There are 9 in this picture, but 3 sold, so 11 crowns!)

Yesterday I posted about Rest.

Nothing is as restful to me as creating something ... and for whatever reason, it's crowns these days.

I start with a can that sparks my imagination  and from there the crown reveals itself. I've learned not to over think it and just create. Bending, hammering, piercing, soldering. It's like going for a walk and turning down this road and then that road until you arrive back home.

(The 2 crowns above are what I made  yesterday)

rest

welcome to a news free zone

that's what you'll find when you visit an art blog

no words to say about standing vs sitting or legal vs illegal or black vs white or red vs blue

I'm tired

today is a swim in the pool, a fresh tablecloth and flowers,  a cup of sharp strong tea ... thoughts of charcoal and paint and board and metal ... Gregory Alan Isakov on Pandora ... I know, I like sad music ... but I'm tired and nothing perks me up like a sad song about bootlegging. 

flash cards

I have these funky weird flashcards ...

I picked them up at the

senior center thrift store

I've been gessoing them and including them as a thank you note to packages that go out

But some are just so weird.

Like these about women:

"She works very rapidly, but her garrilous tongue nullifies the effect of this good quality"

"Take your girl home by the circuitous route"

Really?

Or: "She had a special knack for serving condiments in new and unusual receptacles"

And sprinkled in there are a few about communism and junk:

"The protagonist of communism was brought before the investigating committee"

"The FBI devotes particular attention to groups that seem subversive"

"The ideology of communism cannot be accepted in a democracy"

The good old days, right?

impressions

I bit the proverbial bullet and went out and got digital prints made of 2 of my watercolors from the sky paintings I did in March.

I say biting the bullet because this sort of thing is very tedious to me. 

How nice it would be to have an assistant :)

"River Road"

"Summer"

And while I was at it, 

I threw in these 2 abstract color studies from the class I'm taking. 

I really enjoyed this excercise and will be pursuing this technique more. 

They are in the mode of Paul Klee.

"Silos"

"Poppies"

If you are interested in purchasing a print, they are listed I'm my Etsy shop. The paper is a heavy 100 pound paper and I am very pleased with the color quality. I think I'll be biting more bullets in the near future.