August 1st to me is the beginning of Autumn. There is a change in the way the light falls through the leaves and brings just a hint of autumnal gold.
I used to think that winter was my favorite season, but I'm beginning to realize that Autumn has taken the lead.
It may still be scorchingly hot and humid here in the south, but cozy sweater and blanket days are on their way.
I took a stroll through the garden this morning and picked a couple of things and took a few pictures to share. (The last is from a few days ago.)
(This basil is from some old seeds I found in my seed box that Vanessa sent to me over 7 years ago. I can't believe they were still viable! She has garden magic, does our sweet Vanessa.)
Today's harvest. I feel salad coming on...
I found this little guy playing in the black-eyed susans the other day. I am so in love with him. I think you can click on the picture to make it bigger. Look at those little antenna!
That's it for me today. If you've been with me for a while, you may know that August is my hard month. I've opened the blinds a bit today, and have been doing little things around the house to try to keep my spirits up. And yet, the migraines are worming their way through my brain and starting to take over.
In fact, I have brownies baking in the oven and the house smells like chocolate nirvana.
So tell me...what is your favorite season and what do you love about it?
thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~
I have trouble with light. Bright lights are my doom and send ice pick daggers of pain through my eyes and into my brain.
The photos above represent the extent of the light currently in my life. If I turn on any lights in the house, it is usually twinkle lights. The blinds stay closed unless the sun has mostly set or it is a storm cloudy day.
Stepping outside requires sunglasses and they never come off in stores. The world is a very bright place for someone who is sensitive to light.
My poor houseplants aren't adapting very well. I've lost several and have almost decided to stop trying. But I love having plants in the house.
I'm not really sure why I felt the need to post about this. I doubt it is interesting to anyone, but I'm trying to go with my instincts.
If you come across someone in a shop, on the street or even in a home, and they don't take their sunglasses off, it may be because they have severe light sensitivity in their eyes. Don't give them a hard time. Don't make fun of them or ask them to take off their shades. (It happens more than you would think.)
The need for darkness has been getting worse the last few years. Looking at screens (phones, computer, etc.) are very uncomfortable. If I ever find a form of relief for these headaches and migraines, I'm going to shout it to the universe.
Anywho...
That's all for today. Hope you are all doing well.
love & blessings
~*~
One of the things I've been doing over the past months is playing around in art journals.
In late March, I came across a thing Effy Wild was doing. She's been hosting live video art journaling sessions, where she creates journal spreads using prompts. Effy is so fun and inspiring. Watching videos of people creating art is very relaxing and enjoyable for me, so watching these live videos was fabulous. It also inspired me to get back to creating and I've seen a marked improvement in my work.
I first came across art journaling back in 2013 (I think). I used to watch Suzi Blu videos and videos by A Magical Meliss. (I sure miss watching them work.)
I had no idea what I was doing, but I just went for it. I took an old hardcover writing book. It wasn't really built for art journaling, but I've managed to make it work over the years.
This is the first journal. I have four or five others now so I don't work in the same one each time.
I thought today I'd share photos of a few of the pages I've created in this journal.
Inspired from one of Effy Wild's Journal Jam prompts.
From last July.
The first page I did back on January 1, 2014. (That's me at age 3, I think.)
Another using the Effy Journal Jam prompts.
I can't remember when I did this one but I think it was before I found the Effy videos.
I really like this one. I've made my own deck of prompt cards (using Effy's list of prompts) and have been having fun doing my own version of the journal jam.
This one is a favorite and I'm thinking of recreating it on canvas or wooden board.
So these are a few of the things I've been working on. I'm expecting some new art supplies to arrive later today. I'm looking forward to playing around with them.
What have you been doing to keep yourself entertained during the lockdowns?
I hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~
Hello friends,
It's been a bit, hasn't it? Craziness in the world, craziness in here (here being my head), it's been hard to keep up. I've missed being here.
Sharing things is getting harder for me to do. Most times, I feel there isn't anything worthy of sharing. Sometimes, it's because I don't quite know how to express what I want to say.
I'm going to work on both.
It's been a dark, dark place for me this year. The migraines pretty much wiped out all of June, pandemic cancelled my May beach trip, and postponed for a year my planned October art retreat. Add a little depression and it's a big bag of sucks...
Hopefully sharing a bit here will help the crazy.
Here are a few bright spots of my year so far...
In January I rearranged my studio a bit and redid my work table...
February brought daffodils from the garden and tulips from the grocer...
March was homemade bread baking...
April had lots of flowering walks...
May was patio play and planting times...
(I already mentioned June was a black hole...)
And July had a little plant dye experimenting going on...
And through all of this (well, since late March), these have been my constant companions whenever I walk out the door...
Tell me a couple of your bright spots.
Thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~
I've always loved mountains. I grew up a few hours from the Blue Ridge and spent my childhood visiting every year. The endless sweeps and drops of green and blue and gray. So much beauty.
Now I have new mountains to admire and love. All the rust, gold and tan with splotches of green. So much beauty.
And inspiration...
The photos above are spreads in one of my art journals I did not long after my return from New Mexico.
When I first returned, I was obsessed with painting an image that had formed from my flight home.
I call it Above the Clouds. I'm not sure if I'll keep it this way or if it will go into my re-use stash. At one point on the flight, I looked out the window and all I could see was the blue above and clouds below. It seemed like that was all that existed.
One of the New Mexico sights I've found inspiration from is Cerro Pedernal. I already shared images that I made in our class project.
This is Pedernal Weeps. If I remember the story I heard correctly, the indigenous peoples of the area believed that the world was formed from that mountain. I think the creators came from there. I really wish I could remember the story I heard. I've tried to google it and could find nothing.
Anyway, I'd done the painting and while I liked it, it just didn't seem finished. I remember waking in the middle of the night and going to the studio. I took the closest matching acrylic inks I had and dripped along the sections. I kept thinking, the world weeps because of all the chaos and terror in the world now.
I really like how it turned out.
Just before I left for that trip I was experiencing bouts of insomnia and ended up in the studio late night/early morning several times. This acrylic and pastel is what came from those couldn't sleep sessions.
I call her The Guardian.
I think this about wraps up my experience of New Mexico. I'm going to have to find something else to share about. :-)
I guess I need to go on another trip. Or maybe just leave the house. ;-)
What have you been up to lately?
Thanks for stopping in to read...
love & blessings
~*~
Back to Ghost Ranch once again. This time I want to share the art made during the trip.
Our project was a book, with a stitched cover. The photo above is where I headed with my cover. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the fabric is representative of the mountains with a heart shaped rock I found on one of my walks there. I'm actually still working on my cover, so I can't show it yet. Once I finish I'll post it.
Here is my book, put together. The stitched piece will be glued over the current orange fabric. The piece of paper will be incorporated somehow. I used a burning tool to try to make it look branded.
The inside cover and the pages all tied in. There are several blank pages that I can still work with. I want to get some of my photos printed to place inside.
On my initial walk around the area where I was staying, I found a couple of pieces of charcoal from a nearby firepit. So I did a couple of sketches, the top is of chimney rocks and the bottom of pedernal. (click to make the photo bigger)
This is a watercolor I did from my view from my room or pedernal.
One of the pages of cyanotype papers.
An acrylic of pedernal.
An impressionist type of the mountains using milk paint and a tongue depressor.
This is a few of the things I brought back. Some large rocks, a bag with small rocks and sticks, a bag of clay from the creek and a few art supplies I picked up at an art store in Santa Fe.
I think that's enough photos for now. I'm sure I'll revisit and share once I finish putting the book together. Most people would be done by now and I'm sure the majority of my classmates have long finished their books. I tend to take things slow and I'm okay with that.
Soon I'll share the art I've made since my return that was inspired by my time in New Mexico.
Have you been on a trip that had a profound impact on you? I'd love to hear about it.
thanks for stopping by,
love & blessings
~*~
I'm choosing Gratitude as my word for this new year, 2020. I spent time the last few weeks trying to decide if I would choose a word for the year. I don't think I've done it in a long time. One word kept coming to mind and I'd pretty much settled on it. Then yesterday, as I was working with my tarot and oracle cards I thought to pull an oracle card to see what word they would recommend.
Gratitude was the card and just seemed perfect...
I do have a lot to be grateful for and I think too many times I ignore that and focus on what I feel I lack. So, gratitude for this new year and I'll see how things shift.
Three things I am grateful for from 2019...
The gift of a trip to the beach to celebrate my 50th birthday...
The amazing adventure that was my August trip to New Mexico and all the wonderful people I met there...
Last, but, most importantly, YOU.
I am so grateful for those who read my blog and take the time to comment and interact with me. I know I've been an intermittent blogger and not very good at replying to comments. (I hope to do better this year!)
Truly, there are more things I'm grateful for from 2019. But I think those are the top three.
Wishing you a fabulously happy new year and new decade!
thanks for reading...
love & blessings
~*~
ps...the top two photos were taken today, it's the last night of our neighborhood holiday light display and my traditional southern New Year's day lunch just before we dug into the food. :-)
