A Cross Through a Window . . .

After several days in the bustling city of Florence, we decided to head out into the Tuscan countryside and do a little sight-seeing.  Besides, my 17 year old son had seen enough Renaissance Art to last two lifetimes and I had to bribe him with a little field trip.  But first, one more shot of Florence . . .

Other than the Uffizzi Tower growing out of the top of my head--not a bad family shot!  My daughter was in classes that day and had to stay behind in the city but she was loving her study abroad program too much to miss us!

The famous and picturesque Ponte Vecchio bridge and River Arno . . .

. . . and the lovely Duomo one last time from across the River.  Did I mention I LOVE the Duomo (hehe)???

Oh, I could just stay here for months.  But as promised, a little trip to the countryside and our first stop was the darling fortress town of San Gimignano . . .  It was a quaint little town that could be walked in 30 minutes, full of charm and a little touristy but sometimes you need a little of the kitschy with the culture, no?

I wandered around all morning with my camera looking for good snapshots of things I could paint when I returned to the States.  The architecture was lovely, but I was looking for a pop of color amidst all the stone buildings and walkways. As I turned a corner into a lovely little piazza, I snapped this shot . . .

 Interesting wall of windows.  Hmmm, I can always paint the truck out of the pic, but a little boring.  I decided to zoom in a little and maybe focus on a couple of windows.  I love the idea of an open window.  To me it represents possibilities.  You know, "when God closes a door, he always opens a window."  An open window is also a metaphor for a glimpse into one's house, or soul.  Yes, I believe I will paint an open window.  So, I zoomed in . . .

A bit better, but still I am not feeling the whole "window" effect.  Besides, when I paint this, my focal point will be the lovely red flowers in the window box so I'll need a better shot of those . . .

















Holy Cow!  When I zoomed in, I couldn't believe what I saw in the window directly above the door.

Look inside.  There it is, the possibility that God is giving me--the window He left open.  In my search for art, I found something much more important.  It was a gift, a truth.  I need look no further than into the window to my soul where I will find Him waiting there for me.  Serendipity at its finest!

Sigh . . . Labor Day Already {or} What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Where did it go?  Summer was just here . . . it seems like we were just celebrating Memorial Day and now it's September and Labor Day Weekend is over and the kids are all heading back to school and {sigh} we will be looking at Christmas before we can blink again.

So just like my son, I will write about "What I Did On My Summer Vacation."

Well, {deep breath}. . .  I visited 9 countries and 27 cities.  I sailed the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Seas.  I cruised through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorous Straits.  I saw Art and Ancient ruins.  I walked in mythological places where pagan gods were worshiped and I visited Cathedrals and Basilicas and Chapels and Mosques.  I stood in places where miracles occurred and also succumbed to a few tourist traps.  I accidentally ended up on a nudist beach in Greece with my teenagers (YIKES)!!!  I took the trip of a lifetime and quickly ticked off item after item on my bucket list.

Even now as I revisit these places in my mind and in my photographs, I realize that there is no way to ever capture those moments again and to try and describe it is a futile effort.

But did I say that there was ART everywhere?  I mean EVERYWHERE!  So as I work on my goal to blog regularly, I will try to share a little art from my journeys and hopefully it will inspire others.  Did I say there was ART everywhere?????

So I'll leave you tonight with a few breathtaking shots of Firenze (or Florence, as us Americans call it) 

My first views of the Duomo--it literally took my breath away. . .

My first real Italian espresso!

Did I say ART is everywhere?  Street artists creating masterpieces - and then at night, they are sadly washed away, forever gone . . .

And what trip to Italy is complete without gelato?????

Just reading this post makes me long to be back there . . . some day, if you can, you must see this magical city!

Sketchbook Project 2012

What if you could submit your artwork to an organization to be exhibited and it would not be turned down?  What if you were told it would be displayed and it would travel and it would be SEEN and there would be no judge or jury--only people who would appreciate it and admire it?  What if you knew your art work would become a permanent part of an exhibit where generations to come could potentially see your talent?  If you knew all of that, wouldn't you submit your work?  Wouldn't you just put it out there?  Well, guess, what?  You CAN do all of the above and there is still a little time left to get your Sketchbook.  The Sketchbook Project is sponsored by The Art-House Co-op.  Check out their website and sign up so you can share your art with the world!

I've started mine--here are a few pictures of the process . . .

Half Retreat - Women & Art

What I learned this past weekend . . .

Art is meant to share
Creativity is contagious
Laughter purges the soul
Heart talks are healing
Tears are cleansing
Sleep is overrated
Meals are not about nutrition, they are about fellowship
The smell of mod podge, paint and staz-on are perfume
and especially . . . 
the love of a friend is a precious gift!

The birth of "Half Retreat" was a spinoff of my friend Sandi's very special dream: "Secret Lake Retreat." After 4 amazing days with 5 women armed with stacks of paper, two sewing machines, a bucket of paintbrushes, an assortment of paint, dyes, sprays and GESSO - we decided that once a year was not enough. And so the birth of "Half Retreat" was born--a little respite halfway through the year!  And it was just what we all needed;  there is nothing to compare to being in the bosom of your friends who have a way of knowing just what you need.  So for three nights and four days we laughed, we created, we played, we talked, we cried and we just were . . . I am safe with these women.  No judgment. No criticism. No accountability.  Just unconditional love and acceptance.  I've decide that God gave us girlfriends so we would have someone who could understand our needs and our hurts and our loves and have compassion for us because we've all been there.  Can I just say that I love these women?  I do.

(And a huge thank you to Roben-Marie for her amazing photo collage . . . she really captured the essence of our experience!)

A New Year. A New Chapter.

     This start of the new year has seemed much more significant than previous years.  I guess the reason is because I turned fifty and am looking at the passage of time in a much different way.  Most of my art journaling and projects so far in 2011 have centered around 'keeping track' of things.  I view them as sort of a way to document my life as I grow older so there will be some proof that I was here.  Strange, I know.  But if I had to sit down and analyze where I am in the creative process, I believe that is an accurate analysis.
     One project I started this year was a daily journal from Log Your Memory (http://logyourmemory.com/).  I found this concept while reading the blogs and immediately ordered one.  I love the idea of journaling using a weekly calendar concept.  The journal comes in two volumes and is set up to be used as either a date planner or a journal.  Along with a purchase, you also receive weekly minders and suggestions on journaling, scrapbooking, prompts and ideas to help you keep track of the small and significant things that happen in your daily life.  What I love most about this project is that you can personalize your cover, pages, create tags and basically decorate it any way you want.  The concept is designed around the idea of remembering one or two really special things that have happened throughout each day--the funny anecdotes or the cute little thing your child has done, or a feeling or moment that was important to you.  I find the journaling only takes me about ten minutes each night.  I keep it on my night table and jot down the special moments of the day.  I designed this cover and have begun to fill it full of little pictures of my family and things like ticket stubs and papers that you don't want to throw away, but really don't have anywhere to put them...sort of a mini version of scrapbooking!  I love my cover and decided to design my project around the different my life story and the different "chapters" in my life.  Each week is  When the book is completed at the end of the year, I will have a collection of all the amazing things I have experienced that would ordinarily be forgotten.  After all, our lives are not only made up of the major milestones, but mostly all the little bits in between!

Auld Lang Syne

Reflecting on the past year and marching head on into the next, the words and haunting melody of Auld Lang Syne play through my mind over and over as I write.  As a child, I would see family members and friends link arms and sing the song at New Years' celebrations and I always thought it poignant that amidst the partying and enthusiasm, everyone stopped at that moment to be serious and reflect. It wasn't until I was in college that I took the time to research what the Scottish song really meant.  "Auld Lang Syne," loosely translated, means "days gone by" and "For Auld Lang Syne" means for the sake of old times.

The song starts out with a rhetorical question about whether or not we should forget old times and past relationships, but then answers that question with the call to remember old friends and loves.  My favorite verse in the song says, "we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."  I love that.  It makes me think of sitting with an old friend and sharing a coffee and a moment of warmth and reminiscing about days gone by.  Of course in the original Scottish poem by James Watson, the author was referring to sharing a pint of beer, but either way, it's a lovely thought--a cup of kindness.

It's nice to reflect on the {good things} in the past and probably wise to set goals for the future, but this year I decided to take it easy on myself.  I've made my resolutions, but I won't beat myself up over them.  I'll work on things like my health and organizational skills, but more importantly I'll try hard to reach out to those who are important to me.  I'm going to be good to myself this year.  I'm going to fill art journals with affirmations and happy thoughts.  I'll try hard not to lend a single moment to things that I want to be free from and I will survive this year.  Just as I have the past fifty.

So my friends - the final verse to all of you . . .

And there's a hand my trusty friend
And give us a hand o' thine
And we'll take a right good-will draught
for auld lang syne!


My wishes to all of you for a blessed and prosperous New Year filled with love, happiness and friendship!  xoxo

Fallow???

I created my "C-R-E-A-T-E" banner, now I need to get back in my studio and actually create something!  Blasted creativity block!  I'm at a standstill and finding it difficult to break out of it.  I'm surrounded by boxes of beautiful beads and trinkets; ephemera and paint; paper and glitter--it's everywhere, but I can't seem to get past the distractions and let the magic happen.  I sit and push the colors around on my palette.  I sort papers and ribbons and line up bottles of ink . . . still nothing!  I decided to google "artist's block."  I actually came across several websites with ideas on how to ignite your inspiration! It didn't help much with my problem, but I did get a few laughs.

Here is a good one: "Tip #6  Remember that everyone has fallow periods.  I don't consider them fallow, just the subconscious taking a breather and getting ready to take a different direction."

What the heck is fallow?  I looked it up and here is what I found:

fallow 1 |ˈfalō|adjective(of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production : incentives for farmers to let the land lie fallow in order to reduce grain surpluses.• figurative inactive : long fallow periods when nothing seems to happen.• (of a sow) not pregnant.
Hmmm.  Okay, that sort of makes sense . . .  except that last part about the SOW!
I am hoping that my problem is just my subconscious taking a little break and is about to shift into massive creativity overload!!
Oh well - the drought has to end soon . . . bring on tomorrow!