Holidays

The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart,
When the full river of feeling overflows;--
The happy days unclouded to their close;
The sudden joys that out of darkness start
As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart
Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!
White as the gleam of a receding sail,
White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,
White as the whitest lily on a stream,
These tender memories are;--a fairy tale
Of some enchanted land we know not where,
But lovely as a landscape in a dream.

---Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This is a photo I took of the fog rolling in as the sun went down over our field. I'll be back blogging soon with words of my own and more photos. Wishing you all a joyous New Year!

Winter Solstice

my thoughts are with the earth today

the changing seasons

moving from the darkest day of the year

towards the lightest

once again

on my walk today i found these

lovely tissue-paper-thin leaves

clinging to moss-covered trees

transparent skeletons

form a perfect reminder of the darkness

we're leaving behind

i collected a handful

and ironed them flat

between snow white

tissue

these leaves

how beautiful and delicate they are

still.

On the Nineth Day of Christmas...

A personalized pendant made of a brass stencil and vintage ephemera made by Crystal
Such an original piece of art, creative and very cool!

She's homeward bound

Marissa's flight arrives this evening and we get her for 5 days, i'm so excited and happy - i know the time will go all too fast but i'm going to enjoy every second! many of you know what a rough year she's had (this is a photo i took before she left last july) but this strong young woman has made her mama proud and is creating a beautiful life for herself, new job, finishing her degree, new friends and a boyfriend she is quite serious about. which is why she will be leaving Minneapolis the day after she gets back, and moving to Denver Colorado, where the two of them can continue dating without him flying her to Denver every other weekend. She got a transfer from the bank she's now working at, so she's got a job waiting for her there, a room ready for her in a house with a couple other college girls (thanks to Craigs list) and she was accepted into University of Colorado Denver's business school, and will start up with her classes in a couple weeks (i can't believe i have a daughter who *loves* math, she takes after her dad in that way, certainly not me!). She is super busy, like any working college student, but she is excited with her new life. I am SO thankful every day for the 'wedding-that-never-was'.

Another Blustery Day

The weather is cloudy and rainy; another rain and wind storm is on the way. Hopefully we'll get through this smaller one without losing power but just in case we do, I plan to make one of my favorite soups (i've been making it for over twenty years) that I can warm up on the wood stove if I have to. This soup is comfort food at its best; you know the kind of food that tastes and feels so good in your tummy that you just don't want to quit eating it? This is one of those soups, and it's easy-peasy to make. It's from The cookbook Diet For A Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe.

Turkish Barley-Buttermilk Soup

Saute 2 large chopped onions in some olive oil

Add and stir till lightly toasted 1 cup barley

When onion is well browned add 5 cups of stock

Cook until barley is well done - about 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool a bit, than slowly add 2 cups of buttermilk or yogurt, add more stock if it's too thick. Sprinkle in about 1 tsp of dill (more of less according to taste) and stir in a bit of butter. Voila!- it's ready to eat, enjoy!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

A beautiful cd collage with a soaring bird made by Liz Smith ; isn't it just fabulous?! And another bird theme; i love birds, and like so many others, i can never get too much of them.

12 Days of Christmas - Catching Up

because of the power outage, i was unable to show you gifts 3 - 7; here they are:

day 3: a beautiful 4" x 4" collage on canvas created by Edina Tien

day 4: a sweet little collaged notebook created by Deb Lewis, the perfect size for my purse

day 5: a lovely pendant made by Kristen Robinson

day6: is the day the gals opened the gift from me, a 4" x 4" mixed media collage on canvas board coated with beeswax.

day 7: this cool paper book necklace from Penelope

some journal pages

i promise to photo and post pictures of gifts 3 - 7 on my blog tomorrow. time got away from me today and before i knew it, it was too dark to get good shots. while the power was out, i did catch up on some of my art comittments - i made these five pages for Reiny Rizzi's calendar journal.

back on the grid again

we've got power again, how exciting! you don't realize how much of your life is entwined with electricity until you don't have it. i spent lots (most of my time) in the studio, day and night. I bundled up and lit the candles at 4:00 when it got dark - I kind of enjoyed the whole experience actually, except for the feeling a bit cold and no hot showers :-)

anyway, i'll be catching up with photos today so you all can see the 12 Days of Christmas packages i've been opening. it was so much fun to have a little gift each day to open, it warmed my heart.

Power outage here

the storm took out our power as well as 1.5 million other peoples. it's been three days now and we still don't have any power - it could be 3-4 days or longer till they get to us, so i wanted to let everybody know i didn't disappear. we have a wood stove going that keeps a couple rooms downstairs fairly warm, and a generator going to run our well pump so we have water, albeit cold, and can use the toilets as well as run our freezer. we are roughing it for sure, but, i've always got my pot of hot water on the woodstove and as long as i've got my hot tea, i'm happy. i'll be back online soon!

On the Second Day of Christmas

Look what I found in the precious little package I opened this morning! A beautiful soldered pendant created by Amy Huff. I only have one other very small soldered pendant, so I'm tickled to have it. To see what lovely gift the gals in group 2 opened, check out the 12 Days of Christmas blog.

Well, I am very happy to report that I'm feeling good again!!! The doctor put me on antibiotics as he was convinced I got some kind of bacterial infection after the flu- and after 3 days, I can feel the difference in my energy. I am so very thankful; I found myself smiling at everybody while doing my errands today.

One of my errands was an early Christmas present, for me, with my husbands blessing :-) I bought a brand new sewing machine; a computerized Janome DC3050. I am so stoked! I have a small sewing machine collection but they are all older mechanical machines from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. This new machine does 50 different stitches, 3 one-step buttonholes, and only weighs 20 pounds, which was the reason I got a machine; I needed a light one I could travel with. I think this machine will be perfect!

We have a BIG storm coming in this evening. We've already had lots of rain and the winds are going to pick up later. They are predicting gusts of 60 miles and hour, so there are going to be a lot of power outages around the sound. We've already lost our internet satellite; thank goodness we keep dial-up for a backup.

I played in the studio last night, and finished up this collage that had been sitting around for over a year. It was almost done, but not quite. It feels so good to have it *finally* done and on its way to a new home. I photographed the piece at a slant, unfortunately, so you can't see much of the green wooden frame around the edges.

On the first day of Christmas...

Today is the day! I finally got to open package #1 of the basketfull of twelve little bundles I have sitting on the buffet, constantly luring me over, tempting me to unwrap just a corner and take a wee peek, but i stayed strong. And it was worth waiting for- lovely silver earrings with the most beautiful blue beads made by the talented Shari Beaubien. Thank you so much Shari; the craftsmanship is amazing! This swap was the brain-child of of project hostess Lelainia Lloyd who even started a blog to commemorate the whole process through photos here. I'll be unwrapping one handmade gift each day until Christmas and sharing it with you here.

and grace will lead me home

I haven't written about it, but ever since I got sick with a bad case of the flu late last September, I haven't been the same physically. It's like the virus has burrowed somewhere into my body and every time I exert myself (by exert I mean spend a day shopping, or playing with the grandkids) by evening I find my glands swollen up like little balloons, sore throat, cough, and general fatigue and malaise. This has been a repeating pattern now for over 2 months, and I am puzzled at the viralancy of this bug. Has anyone else experienced something similar this winter? I haven't been to my doctor, so i made an appt. for tuesday. I found myself feeling discouraged after spending all day yesterday in bed (again!) and then waking up and feeling no better. I am drinking boatloads of tea with honey and lots of fluids.

Anyway, the point here is, my physical body has been challenging for me to live in these days, and I found myself feeling sorry for myself and even a bit fearful this morning, wondering if I'm getting the same auto-immune disease both my sibs have. Bad combination - fear and self pity!

As I sat here this morning reading some blogs, I read something that shook me back to myself. I'm quoting this from my very sweet and wise friend Judy from her interview with Artella which you can read on her website.

DM: What is your favorite piece of your own art and why?

Judy: "My favorite piece is whichever one I am working on that day. That is the piece that has my full attention and love. Actually, I am not all that attached to the work I create. I accept that my work, like my own body, will vanish one day and that in the bigger picture is not all that important. The joy and love is in the act of creating it.After that it is just an object to be cared for, admired or discarded."

You might wonder what this has to do with physical suffering? I'm not sure exactly, except that I know that the conditions I experience today, are part of a wonderful gift, the gift of my life, the life and reality I take part in creating. Everything is impermanent, I don't need to dwell on the future, as the future will take care of itself. To find joy and love in the moment, regardless of my conditions is the challenge. So today, although my body is hurting, my spirit is once again soaring. Thank you dear Judy! You never knowhow what you say, might effect someone else.

Shortly after I read that, I opened a book I keep in my bathroom. i randomly open it usually once a day. This is what I read today:

"You can choose to think in a higher way more often. Giving thanks will lead you directly to your heart and your abstract mind. By giving thanks, you bring light into your crown center at the top of your head, through the doorway of your heart. Because of the increased light, and new heart opening, many ideas and gifts can be sent to you. They may unfold in a week, or month, but you have created a doorway for many good things to come to you". - S. Roman

Giving thanks seems to be a healing balm for everything. I feel thankful for all of you!

6 Weird Things About Me

okay.... i was tagged by Sally Turlington and Syd McCutcheon so I feel challenged to play.


1. i tried to think of something weird about me for 15 minutes (really!) and couldn't come up with anything...i think THAT is weird.

2. if i have to wear shoes, i wear my favorite shoes, the exact same shoe which i have in 3 different colors and i'm ordering another pair of them in black

3. i don't like to talk on the phone, it's a strain, but i love to hear my family/friends voices on the phone

4. i love people but i'm a recluse; i'll go for days at a time and not leave *the homestead*

5. i have the keen ability to totally ignore a messy house, piles and all, if i want to do something else instead of clean, which is most of the time

6. my favorite pants to wear in the studio are faded teal linen drawstring pants with holes and rips everywhere, the crotch is pratically missing. i keep another pair of pants nearby to change into fast if i hear someone driving up to the house

i tag anyone who wants to play!!

reading books and drinking tea

Oh, and most importantly, spending a lot of time playing with my grandchildren. Here they are in the snow, having a ball. Weird we've had snow on the ground here for over a week - it's just not warm enough to melt it.

I'm off to a slow start today, so I thought I'd slow it down even father by spending some time on the computer, cruising blogs and websites, googling, you know... I AM teaching myself Photoshop Elements, and I try to put in at least a half hour a day into that. I bought an excellent book called Photoshop Elements 3; the Missing Manual by Barbara Brundage. The best manual I've found to date, and one I can easily understand, which, coming from a lopsided right-brainer, says a lot! I look forward to learning the tools well enough that I can figure out how to do whatever it is I want to do with photos and artwork.

I've spent lots of time lately holed up under my soft, worn, quilt with a cups of hot tea and a book. Just as I have several projects going at the same time in my art, i have several reads going at the same time. I devoured 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath in three days and I'm now well into 'Ariel; The Restored Edition', also by Plath. I'm reading 'the WAR of ART', a book recommended by artist Lesley Riley, and am finding this book to be an absolute gem at addressing resistance I might have in any area of my life. My bedtime read is 'Pilgrim at Tinker Creek' by Annie Dillard and I've got her book "Teaching a Stone to Talk" at the ready when I finish Pilgrim. I also just bought a copy of 'Anne Sexton; The Complete Poems' that I'm reading bits at a time. I'm so grateful to be reading again; there was quite a stretch recently, when i just wasn't able to read much, but a new medication I'm on is making it possible once again, and opening back up a whole new world for me.

I hope you are all doing well, finding some enjoyment in the changing of the seasons.

Forgiveness is holiness, by forgiveness the universe is held together

--- Mahabharata

a page in my personal journal

the day before thanksgiving

i've spent the morning catching up in my november journal; this round robin will come to a close in December and then we'll all get our books back, I can't wait to see all the artwork people have done. Lou's theme is 'flying'; here is one of the pages i did.

now it's time to take a wee nap, then bake the turkey, dressing, and apple pie for tomorrow. I've already made the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe casserole, and the fresh cranberry sauce. Heather is making the pumpkin pie (her first pie) and i'll make fresh rolls in the morning. then all i have to do is heat everything up and i can spend the day playing instead of working in the kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends here in the US!

another rainy day

I like rainy days and it's a darn good thing beingI live in the Pacific Northwest! I feel all cozy and warm in the house today, sitting here at the computer, drinking a steaming cup of hot Numi Water Sprite Ginger Oolong tea (thank you, Misty!) with honey - so satisfying. My day started at 4:00 AM; for some reason I was wide awake and ready to get rolling. I've got several things on my 'to do' list done, most are still undone, but that's okay - it's early.

I wanted to share a bit about my wonderful weekend in Portland, it was so much fun - just what I needed, lots of girl time and art time. Judy Wise is a wonderful teacher and talented artist; she generously shared a wealth of information with us all. I learned so many new things, the biggest being reverse painting, which I had never done. We did the paintings on acetate, but plexiglass and regular glass are other great options I would like to try. We experimented on small pieces in the morning, learning the techniques; in the afternoon, we started our large pieces. Diane brought all the materials, even mats to put our finished paintings in. She even made us little booklets where we could attach our small pieces and take notes. It also included information about supplies and techniques. It was a wonderful class in every way, I'm so grateful I was able to attend.

Judy and I stayed with Diane from Friday to Sunday, it felt like a slumber party, it really did! We ate, ate, ate.... did I mention that Diane is the most amazing cook? She created a wonderful spread for the workshop lunch as well as the additional meals for Judy and I. Talk about pampered, thank you SO much Diane, you are a real sweetheart. When the three of us weren't eating, drinking wine or telling stories, we were working on our art journals or other art projects. We were up till the wee hours of the night. I made 2 wonderful new friends that weekend and was inspired by all of my fellow artists during the workshop; a truly amazing weekend. Judy posted several photos on her blog, so you can head over there if youd like to see them.

This is the big piece I made. Everyone brought photos or pictures, but rebel that I am, I just wanted to create from my head and just have fun exploring the materials. Judy was supportive of us doing what we were drawn to do .... for me, that meant creating this odd little girl. I can't wait to go back to Innerstandings in January to teach the Feminine Icon mixed media collage class.

road trip, road trip!

okay, not a long one, but i am driving down to Portland for the weekend, a good three hours from here. i leave in an hour and all my bags are packed (not!! I'm still in my pj's). but i do have my mp3 player by the door loaded with songs recommended by several of you that I'll be listening to the whole way. and of course my camera is sitting there too, with freshly charged batteries.

what's the occasion, you might wonder. Well, it's two-fold; tomorrow i am so excited to be taking Judy Wise's reverse painting class. She was invited to come and teach by Diane Havnen-Smith of Innerstandings, who has guest artists come once a month to teach workshops. It's an intimate environment, the class is small and so there is lots of time to personally interact with the teachers. I'm thrilled it worked out that I could be one of the participants as I'm such an admirer of Judy Wise's colorful and often whimsical paintings. This is the same place where I will be teaching a Feminine Icon workshop on January 27th. Diane has graciously invited me to be her house guest for the weekend, so I''m looking forward to spending time getting to know her and Judy. She mentioned something about making pumpkin pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning...yum. We're going to walk about the Sellwood area of Portland on Sunday weather permitting (no rain, please). I haven't been to that neighborhood in 20 years, so it will be interesting to see how it's changed. I expect I'll be taking lots of photos too, some of which i'll share when i return. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, talk to you again soon.

the journey

today's painting

For Sale on Etsy

just because it pleases me

More practice drawing. i'm having so much fun with this drawing-every-day goal. although the results aren't always truly representational, i'm learning so much that i'm sure i'll incorporate somehow into my artwork. i experimented with charcoal in this one. i haven't really done any painting or fiber art these days but i'm making sure i do this. thanks to all of you who have been leaving comments - I appreciate them all!

surpassing the sounds of ordinary speech - Take 2

*sold*
I re-did the painting i posted a couple days ago, something just bothered me about it, and try as i might, i couldn't make it right. So i pasted the face of the sketch i did today and touched her up with colored pencils; I like this version much better.

more practice

today's drawing; i noticed my emotions ran the gamut of excitement to frustration to determination to intense observation, etc.... so far i've been keeping my comittment to myself and drawing every day for 20 minutes --- YAY me!!!

The Song

From somewhere
a calm musical note arrives.
You balance it on your tongue,
a single ripe grape, till your whole body glistens.
In the space between breaths
you apply it to any wound
and the wound heals.

Soon the nights will lengthen,

you will lean into the year

humming like a saw.

You will fill the lamps with kerosene,

knowing somewhere a line breaks,

a city goes black,

people dig for candles in the bottom drawer.

You will be ready. You will use the song like a match.

It will fill your rooms

opening rooms of its own

so you sing, I did not know

my house was this large.

------Naomi Shihab Nye

a practice sketch

After reading DJ Pettitt's last couple posts, i'm motivated to start drawing. i've always been afraid of drawing and never been good at realistic renditions, but i'd really like to be. i'm going to start with 20 minutes a day, which will probably turn into longer because it is so much fun, the goal is the regularity of the practice. here is drawing one, a picture of a woman in a book. I used the position of her hands and body in the last painting i did. i turned the book upside down to draw her as that works much better for me at this point. someday, i hope to be able to draw things right side up so i won't have to stand on my head :-)

there is an very talented artist in our community who is willing to give me drawing lessons in her studio; i'm planning on doing that after the holidays.

I hope you're all having a great monday!

surpassing the sounds of ordinary speech

for sale on etsy

rain flowing down my window

sitting here at my desk, listening to rhythmically sensual sound of stanley turrentine and his band.
the rains comes down, in streams or trickles but constant - typical weather for the northwest this time of year. i wonder why no one told us when we signed up for satellite service for the internet that rain and clouds may (will!) interrupt our service... for pete's sake, we live in the northwest, i think that's kind of an important detail to omit. we would have gotten it away probably, i don't ever want to go back to dial-up.

this poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer touched my heart this morning, and i wanted to share it with you all.



It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. or fade it
or fix it.


I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.


It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.

I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

grand farewell

Morning temperatures are in the twenties now, heavy frosts. i took a photo of this beautiful pink rose at twilight last night, using my macro and flash. one last breathtaking image of this gorgeous creature before she joins her leaves already scattered on the ground below.

a prayer to grow wings

i spent a couple hours painting in the studio, time just for me. this is what came out. i can't say i like it or i don't like it. it felt good putting paint to paper and now i'm moving on.

7
For years and years I struggled
just to love my life. And then

the butterfly
rose, weightless, in the wind.
"Don't love your life
too much," it said,

and vanished
into the world.
---Mary Oliver

busy with art i can't show you

for the past two days, i've been working on 12 gifts for an artists' gift exchange called 'the twelve days of christmas hostessed by the creative and organized Lelainia Lloyd of Tattered edge. unfortunately, Shhhhhhhh.....it's a secret, so i can't show you what i made but i can show you the pile of wrapped packages. Take a look at the beautiful tag attached to each gift, they are from Laini's Ladies collection, created by the amazingly talented Laini Taylor, aka Grow Wings .

i need to go set up my table at the autumn puget artist's league art show tomorrow. it's funny because puget artist's league stands for PAL; the only rule is that there are no rules, and no meeting - friends from the area just get together twice a year for a community art show. this will be my first, i've baled at the last minute for the past couple years. i feel like bailing again but i am going to ignore that thought and spread my introverted wings and go. i do enjoy meeting other artists and folks from the community and i'll probably have a good time. reading this poem, one of my favorites, by poet naomi shihab nye, always makes me smile and muster up courage from somewhere.

The Art of Disappearing

When they say Don't I know you?

say no.
When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.

Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
Then reply.

If they say We should get together
say why?

It's not that you don't love them anymore.
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees. The monastery bell at twilight.

Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished.

When someone recognizes you in a grocery store
nod briefly and become a cabbage.
When someone you haven't seen in ten years
appears at the door,
don't start singing him all your new songs.
You will never catch up.

Walk around feeling like a leaf.
Know you could tumble any second.
Then decide what to do with your time.

reflections on the falling leaves

i do love the wind. i'm sitting at my desk, watching the poplars and maples release their yellowed and brown leaves to the wind, each day less cover hiding brown bark bodies. the leaves are gorgeous, i do appreciate their suble and dramatic colors, the way they know how to float, tumble, or sail away from the tree branch, the only home they've ever known, to land somewhere unknown.

two days ago, the wind here was gusting, a sky of leaves, flying, floating. sailing, tossing about. standing in my yard, i bent over a pile of these gathering leaves, mainly big leaves from our giant maple tree, now as tall as the house. sadness washed over me as i picked up one leaf after another, noticing how each one was so unique, different from all the others, but bunched up one on top of the other, i tended to overlook them, see them only as a pile now. each autumn heralds pensive days, weeks, or months where beautiful and poignant feelings course through veins of meloncholy. I've come to expect this visitor, although there is little i can do to prepare for her. she just stays until she moves on, she has a room here, and will come and go as she pleases, heaven knows, even after all these years, i can't know her schedule.

anyway, back to fallen leaves. looking at the pile i had gathered in my hands, it occured to me that i needed to acknowledge them in some way, to say 'i see you - i saw you when you were a bud on the branch, when you grew into the beautiful vibrant green leaf that shown the greenest green in the sunlight, and i see you now, making your grand exit into the world of soil and stones. I had this ridiculous compulsion to pick up every leaf i could find and take a picture of it. when i look at something through my camera lense, i focus, i see what is there in my lense. i felt the leaves deserved that respect, to be seen. you may read this and think "she is being ridiculous, just silly", but these thoughts and feeling are compelling and true. of course i could never photograph them all, and i would certainly get bored of doing it after a very short while to be honest, but i did arrange my handful of leaves, one by one, on the deck, and took each of their photographs. i intend to do a piece with this collection of photos and thoughts, probably in my private journal one day. it's strange how these small acts feel so important sometimes, the deeper meaning wanting to be known, experienced.

down by the river where the green grass grows

i bet many of you remember the rest of that one, this is all i can remember:
down by the river where the green grass grows
there sat XXXXX? pretty as a rose
along came XXX? and kissed her on the cheek

it came back to me this morning when looking at some photos i took day before yesterday, while i was down by the river. as i sit here nibbling my peanut butter and honey on toast, i read this poem by jane kenyon that took me deeper into that place i know so well.


Evening Sun

Why does this light force me back to my childhood? I
wore a yellow summer dress,
and the skirt made a perfect circle
Turning and turning

until it flared to the limit
was irresistible. . .The grass and trees,
my outstretched arms, and the skirt
whirled in the ochre light
of an early June evening.

and I knew then
that I would have to live, and go on
living: what a sorrow it was; and still
what sorrow burns
but does not destroy my heart.

I love her poetry and also that of her husband, Donald Hall. I just bought his newest book, White Apples and the Taste of Stone. i just can't express how deeply his words affect me, they are like little threads of light that burrow deep down into my bones like magic.

It's a cold, crisp morning, still in the low forties, but the sun is bright and shining - what a gorgeous fall day. The meandering river, the rain, and all the forces of nature have created a new and beautiful little pool in the meadow where there was only field grass and it's creatures. Now there are cattails, and river grasses, dragonflies dive and hover there, and we even see tiny fish swimming in the dark clear water. Walter has set up a chair at the water's edge.he likes to sit there and read in the quiet. After a moment or two of sitting, i find myself wandering along the river's edge, mesmerized by all the beautiful stones, relishing in the fact that i am so delighted by something so simple as stones, and realizing what a blessing that delight is. I chose my favorites for the day, and picked a handful of dried thin wild sweet pea pods, the color of eggplant. I also found a neat little pile of pulverized deep brown jagged rock in the midst of large smooth stones, tiny little pieces i collected to use as texture in a future painting. i wonder what happened to that stone, what crushed it? there was no evidence of anything else being disturbed...curious.
today i plan on spending time painting and making art. there is a small art show in Belfair, our tiny community, on saturday, and i will have a table there. mostly i look forward to meeting some of the other artists and folks in the community. until next time......

clicking our way through a portland neighborhood

To top off a most wonderful Art and Soul experience, my dear friend DJ Pettitt (i just love you dj) invited me to spend Tuesday, the day after Art and Soul, with her and Deryn Mentock on a photo adventure extravaganza. Unfortunately, Deryn couldn't make it at the last minute, and although we were all dissapointed, DJ and I admired her decision to see her ailing grandfather instead of going on this day she'd looked forward to for so long. It made us admire her even more if that's possible. I've know DJ and Deryn through the internet for a couple years, but had never met either of them in person. I felt an immediate and strong connection with each of them when we met - it's so mysterious and special when that happens. Unfortunately, I only had a brief time to visit with Deryn, hopefully we'll have a chance to chat over dinner or tea one day in the future.
After we'd checked out from the Embassy hotel, DJ and I took off for the Hawthorne district in my trusty buick (thank you Nikki Blackwood for suggesting the Hawthorne neighborhood).It was exactly the kind of urban landscape we had both envisioned, and we immediately started shooting photos and didn't stop until hours later. After we were both tuckered out, and were ready to call it a day, we stopped off at Peet's Coffee House (i love peets coffee) and i had a coffee and almond biscotti, and DJ had a hot chocolate and chocolate dipped biscotti. Can you tell I have quite an interest in good food and drink??!! As we sipped and dipped and munched, we swapped cameras and had a chance to see what shots the other had taken. It was so interesting to see that often we were interested in the same subject matter but the how, what, and way we chose to capture the image was fascinating to see. I want to learn photoshop so I can incorporate more of my photography with my painting. Because I took over 200 shots, I'll be posting shots periodically.