About being creative:
I guess I mentioned a second video from the farm. I'll post it while realizing folks are probably more interested in seeing my other art. I started another journal page, just the plan, and did a tiny clip from that tonight. I'll be trying to combine the art with the other clips in the future.
About this video - I would recommend having your speakers turned to loudest position. It is mainly about nature, it's beauty - something I love.








I've also been enjoying some other videos in the past few days. Here's an Enya one I've been watching.



Angels be with you my friends,
Wendy

Creative Every Day:
I don't think I've taken time to say that I joined a group about being creative every day. It is for this year and started by the wonderful Leah who has done art everyday month (November). This is for the entire year. I know that there is rarely a day that goes by in which I am not creative, in one way or another, but this will be more about trying to document that more regularly. I realize that it is nearly the end of the month and I have not been documenting my art BUT I have been working slowly, diligently, at cleaning in the basement and particularly trying to organize my art supplies and room. As I've said before - it's about slow as molasses. But I think it will feel about as sweet as molasses too once I ever get it finished.
Here are a number of the boxes I've been decorating in the process of trying to organize all my stamps. I always had to dig through layers of stamps in just a couple of boxes to find the ones I wanted. With this collection of unusual boxes I will be able to, hopefully, have just one layer of stamps in each box. We'll see how it goes. I will be decorating a couple more boxes for yarn and fibres. I've got some of those already in purchased boxes but ran out. Good thing I found some more shoe boxes to empty. Now I can have the fun of decorating them.

















And here are some stamps I've been making - fun foam pieces and carved from rubber. I have plans especially for fabric:







I've also been doing a couple of videos in the past weeks for creating. I'll be sharing another one about the farm tomorrow.

angels be with you,
Wendy XO

Identify God's emissaries
By the light in their eyes,
By the lilt in their song,
By the glow of their skin
And the joy within;
Not with the face of a dried-up peach,
And a voice that would teach
Of doom and sin.

Elias Penn-Smith

Inspiration Peak

January at the farm:
The last time we were at the farm, just the past few days, I decided to record some of my walk so I might share with you the beautiful surroundings. On Thursday the wind was very brisk. It was also a cloudy day. I will share the following day's walk once I make the second video.



Just a reminder to click on the little speaker on bottom left side of "wondering" if the music is interfering.

I will hopefully have some other art to show you soon. I have been designing a number of new stamps. I also did some carving while we were at the farm.

Till then...

permission
to smile
to laugh
to cry
to create
to breathe
to express
to be
me

And most recently I've been giving myself permission to stay away from this technology a bit so I might have fun clearing my art room and creating containers for putting tools in - mainly stamps that I am decorating the boxes for. I'll share as soon as I have an extra moment.

In the mean time I have done this journal page with an old picture, slide actually, that I found when we were at the farm over the holiday season. We found many slides. Greg needs to teach me how to do the scanning. Because they are old slides it is being a bit of a challenge.

I chose this particular image

of myself because I believe it portrays very well what I have felt about my childhood. I would try to smile because I knew people wanted me to feel happy. Instead I probably looked even more sad. Certainly not all the pictures are that way. I'll share more along the way.

The journal page was looking quite "weak". I planned to add the texture with polyfilla. The part that was not planned was when I used walnut ink spray and accidentally got some on my photo. I went to wipe as I typically do, forgetting the ink on the vellum would smudge. Ahhh, blurriness - perfect. That's exactly how I often feel about my childhood. Images blurred. I'm not sure how I feel after I put the ink on for my eyes and glasses but I think, through it all, my eyes were seeing, learning, finding myself even as I was losing myself.



Back to more discovering, more creating, more fun with the organizing.



May angels be with you as you give yourself permission.
Wendy XO

Organizing and playing:
I've been trying to create while also continuing with the organizing. I don't know why I get bored so easily, not even sure if that's the right word. I decided, probably quite some time ago, that I would like to try making videos. It's lots of fun. This is my first attempt so please don't be too critical. :D Please note: On the slideshow called "wondering" there's a little speaker on the bottom left side just above the word "slide". If you click on the little speaker you should be able to get that music to stop.



It would have helped if I'd not put the camera in the vertical position for filming. I got kind of compressed. I don't care. It was fun. I WILL be making more.

Angels be with you,
Wendy

"You make my day award" - Quite a number of days ago my dear friend Suze presented me with this wonderful award: Thanks Suze. I would like to present it back to you and I would also like to give it to Elena, Susan, Darcy, Mandy, Debra, Mary Ann, Lisa, and Karen. While Elena does not have a blog she is very dear to me. I'm not certain if Lisa has one now either. Regardless, she also deserves the award. As it is to be passed on to up to ten other recipients I will suggest they can pass it to someone verbally. thanks to each and every one of you that sends me angels. They are so very appreciated.

A bit of creating, playfulness in past few days. I especially want to share as I have chosen to join creative every Day. I'll have to get the button here soon. I will also talk more about it another day.





I have tossed together another slideshow which you can find here.
Please remember to click on original view on top right side. There's not really new art on it but it appears in a different way. It also reminds me of creations I have done in the past.

I am trying very much to do more cleaning - inside my thoughts and inside my play space in the basement. If I seem to be slow in commenting, visiting, creating, know I am working with these hugest of tasks.

Angels be with you,
Wendy

Unfortunately our modem died last night and I was unable to submit this for Inspire Me Thursday as I would have liked. That is quite fine. Fitting to my resolutions I laughed and will share it here with you now.

Resolutions: while I am not much for New Year’s Resolutions I have decided to share with you a couple of hopes I hold in my heart for this year. I realize that it is also quite late to be sharing these but Inspire Me Thursday still has “New Year Resolutions” for its theme. I thought I would go ahead.

The art journal page is about laughter. It looks at kisses tickling. I was thinking of any kind of tickling, including tickles of one’s sense of humour. It all works. My hope for this year is to try to remember to laugh more often. Laughter is very good for my body and soul.



The flat canvas is 8 x 10 inches. “Sunshine on my shoulder” brings to me the hope that I might feel sunshine within my heart even on the cloudiest of days.





Angels be with you,
Wendy

Winnie and January: This is typically a very difficult time of year for me. I think I am doing quite well though in looking to "spring" within my heart. That will be the story for the blue flat canvas of which you can see the background. I've put the start of a sunshine as well. I'm not certain yet of the other one. The green was started probably in November. As usual the scan does not do the colours justice.

I've shown a couple of pictures of Winnie in the past week. I will tell you now that she was my auntie on my Dad's side. I never got to meet her as she died in 1933. Winnie had diabetes. She died when she was 13 years of age, of pneumonia, probably a complication of the diabetes. I have recently come to feel a connection to Winnie. I've done these couple of journal pages. The first one is "remembering the past whilst not even trying (consciously)".





The second is "growing in stature with each breath that I take". The parts below the vellum pictures of Winnie were drawn. They are representing myself. With the second it is quite amazing, I think how the eyes of Winnie correspond exactly with the picture I've drawn. They totally change Winnie's eyes. I feel so blessed to have found the picture of Winnie in a family history book and to have learned a tiny bit more about her in the past few weeks. I am feeling it is one of the gifts that has been given to me through the Advent and Christmas seasons. it brings renewed hope to my future, this new year.




My prayers would be that you may find blessings as well as you contemplate your life and your self.

Angels be with you,
Wendy

Laughter - where were you hiding?

Another brightly sunny filled day, while cold, and yet again filled with treed hoar frost. Yummm.

Yes, I've been writing again. This one has been tough but it is finished in about its first draft. It is about Winnie. I am presenting it tonight with my writer's group. I will decide what to do with my story then.

Here is a picture which I worked with for quite some time the day I was playing with my templates and blog set up. I think it was Sunday last. I was going to use this for a banner. Maybe some of you got to see it if you happened to stop by sometime on Sunday. I then decided it was too loud. I'll make a new banner another day. I just cut out the part I like best.
Yes Suze, there is definitely a resemblance. By glancing at it momentarily I notice especially our noses. I think it would be too difficult to take a picture in the same pose. Just as I said to Greg that I probably would have much difficulty visiting the grave site anytime soon - one day.

And the music which is being played over and over again for me this day, more about a love of family:

I realized I have not posted for nearly two weeks so decided to take a brief moment to tell you that though I have been doing huge amounts of work in the area of self discovery even over the last two weeks I am doing quite fine. I am trying to get to organizing my space a bit and at times it feels like it is slow going as molasses. I will be taking opportunities to still create. I need to get a couple of things out of the way first - doctor appointment, huge grocery shop, registering daughter for a new activity and other typical life things such as laundry - which I hate, in case you did not realize.
I have been posting a few pictures yet to flickr. This is one that drew attention, also the one at the top of my blog right now.



I am also posting a picture of Winnie. I might tell you more about her another day. I'm not certain yet if something I should share. I believe this young lady has had a huge influence on my life.



Until I have time to post more I'll give you this quotation from Inspiration Peak:

May peace fill all the empty spaces around you
And in you, may contentment answer all your wishes.

May comfort be yours, warm and soft like a sigh.
And may the coming year show you that every day
is really a first day, a new year.

Let abundance be your constant companion,
so that you have much to share.

May mirth be near you always,
like a lamp shining brightly
on the many paths you travel.

May you be true love.

Author Unknown

Angels be with you,
Wendy XO