"filled was the air"

Continuing with August Break

"to see the summer sky
is poetry, though never in a book it lie -
true poems flee."
                                                     ~Emily Dickinson

"then followed that beautiful season... 

summer....
filled was the air 

with a dreamy and magical light; 

and the landscape lay

 as if new created 

in all the freshness of childhood."
                                              ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

self portrait practice

a painting exercise for class

I have decided to finally, I think, call this good enough and move on to more painting. I believe the paper was giving me the main problems making colour blending extremely difficult. Part of what this class was about ~ being loose. I was not. I was becoming extremely tense with each time I tried to work on it. I finally have this at a place where I feel I can share, but please do not linger with studying it. There are far too many things wrong.

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."

                                                                       Oscar Wilde 
 
I will choose to move onto something else and to work with more wonderful advice from our teacher                                                     
                                                  practice, practice, practice.

today's recipe

for contentment

begin with one huge dollop of creativity for the day

and another

of creative portrait practice

 remember some blue,

flowers too

 must choose some animals

sprinkle with laughter 

add some music

with meaningful words

mix together well
and always remember
to believe in miracles

looking forward

sharing some art which I have not yet shared. some has been done more recently like this "peace" art quilt. some fun with paper, part of a vintage doily, fabric, some of which was from a shirt I did not care for any more, and some free motion stitching



some is from a few weeks ago. another fun sewing project with card stock, hand painted fabric, brads, free motion stitching, flowers, lace, ruffle, fabric scrap, a paper doily, paper scrap and little fabric squares which I was recently gifted



finally an art journal page with a bit of a self portrait



you may not see me here much more this year. I am mostly posting at my wonders of winterland blog.

I am truly looking forward to much more art sharing in 2011. I hope you will join me again on the continuing  journey.

Angels be with you

have fun,

have more fun, and have even more fun



I think it was a couple of weeks ago when I decided that perhaps to help my problem of procrastinating I should start a "to-do" list. Anyway, that's what the information I'd found about to-do lists proposed. And so I chose to start a list. But I have been very much on a path of self-discovery over the past years. I know myself really quite well. My "to-do" lists are probably somewhat unique. Someone with which I shared my "to-do" list certainly felt that was true.



My list is more like a journal page and I have also chosen to put some kind of quotation, my own words typically, on the adjoining page. And the list is not something which I am going to allow to totally direct my life. Instead I am using it as a guide, and also kind of a "reminder" to not procrastinate.



The idea of having fun was something I frequently used with our daughter particularly when she was going on a new experience. The three levels of fun were the three rules I tried to give her. Now I have been wondering where those rules have vanished to within my own life. And so I have found something to remember on on my life "to-do" list.





I will personally continue to look through my eyes with wonder, ever watchful for some fun, and hope that you may also choose to do so.

"Your soul doesn't care what you do for a living - and when your life is over, neither will you. Your soul cares only about what you are being while you are doing whatever you are doing." Neale Donald Walsch
Inspiration Peak

Bits and pieces:
If you haven't already, please take a moment to check the pink artist doll. I believe this is a spectacular project to raise funds for breast cancer. Love Squared, as she is known, has been a wonderful collaborative project of Monica and many artists. Thanks Monica. I have chosen to put my blog in pink for a few days to honour those who have lost loved ones to this painful entity of cancer. Also I want to recognize those who are survivors. Interestingly, I have a cousin whose name is Monica, that is a survivor.

As I plod along my artful path I have chosen to share this video which contains one of my favourite songs. It's a little bit of a unique presentation.



And finally I'll share a self portrait from this morning. I did it mostly in preparation for some of the videos with which I'm working. I've written words to go with that speak a bit to where I am at the moment:



relax?
WHO? ME?
I don't remember
what that means
maybe
I could
try

WOMAN

of self