Weekend Journal

MANDALA BOOK UPDATE


I finished my mandala book, just this morning!  I feel such a sense of accomplishment, and I can't wait to fill the pages with colorful mandalas.  I followed the directions in the video, but I used polyurethane to seal my covers, and I used cotton cord for the binding. (They didn't have waxed linen at my local craft store).  I'm quite pleased with my first attempt.  I did have to remove 3 pages because my hole drilling techniques are, shall we say, not quite up to par!  The universe even unexpectedly gifted me with some bells for the binding!  As I've said, you've gotta love synchronicity!

FEEDING THE WELL


I can't believe it's Saturday already!  There was lots of journaling activity this week, but more importantly, I took some time to enjoy the nice weather and soak up Mother Nature to "feed the well".  There were so many inspiring things to see and appreciate.

My dear friend (and adopted Mom), Tina, gave me these gorgeous eggplant from her garden.  I'm afraid the photo doesn't do justice to just how beautifully colored they are.  I can see some pages inspired directly from these colors, and as a bonus, I will be trying eggplant for the first time.  That's right - I've never had eggplant before!

I also took some time to linger among the remains of the flowers on my deck.  I know I will procrastinate until the last possible day to finish the chore of winterizing and making way for entirely too much snow shoveling.  In the meantime, I enjoyed a perfect dahlia blossom glistening in the sunlight.

I had the opportunity to finally welcome a dear, little angel to the planet.  Her name is Zoey, and I have her pegged as a future musician.  All the signs are there; long slender fingers, a dad who plays guitar, and she was happy as a clam as she and I danced to music.  

THE BEACH

Hubby and I headed down to the beach for sunset last night.  It's funny how life changes.  Last year there were very few days that I didn't make my pilgrimage to be next to the water, but this year, I haven't made my way there more than a dozen times.  We found this beautiful piece of driftwood to sit on and take in the sunset.  I see a little hand - do you?

Sunset was spectacular last night, and I'm so glad that we took the time to just hang out and enjoy the calm lapping of Lake Erie along the shore, and the gentle breeze coming in from the north.

I hope you've had a wonderful week, and I hope you're enjoying the things that you like to do this weekend.   Remember to take time out to enjoy life and nature as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

Reflecting on the Weekend

A LOVELY WEEKEND
I spent most of the weekend just enjoying the weather.  I did a little work, like water proofing my new vegetable planter.  We had a unexpected surprise when Nick popped in to hang out with us for awhile.  He enlisted his help with Keith to put casters on my vegetable planter. 

Keith and Nick add casters to my vegetable planter

 Mike and Heather also came over too, and before you know it, and impromptu "picnic" was born with help from our favorite hot dog and ice cream joint, Scooter's. We all had a great time, and as the sun slowly set, the gang headed home and Keith and I headed inside, exhausted.  After a few minutes, some other friends dropped in so we headed back outside.  What a full and joyful day it turned out to be!

Birthday Cake Flurry - it pays to try something new.  Can you say YUMMY!?

Sunday dawned with clouds and rain that quickly moved out and were quickly replaced by sun and heat.  I headed out to the beach.  It was quiet and misty when I arrived, and I walked the shoreline listening to the gentle waves lapping against the sand.  And of course, I found some wonderful pieces of beach glass.

It was hot by the time I returned home.  I made spaghetti sauce, some lunch, and headed out to the deck to enjoy the day.  I brought the laptop out and did a little work for my journaling class.  Try as I might, I just couldn't get motivated.  I didn't really even feel like journaling, but after a while, I decided that I wanted to play with my sepia and ultramarine colored inks and quill pen.


ANNOYED
I came inside, grabbed my moleskin, newspaper (so I could be messy), my inks, and a cup of water.  I went to get my pen and nib.  OK....nib - right where it should be.  Pen for nib - nowhere to be found!  I looked in every stack of art materials; not there.  I looked in every pen cup; not there.  I looked in the bags I used for class; not there.  I looked EVERYWHERE and still could not find my pen.

I took my moleskin, flipped it sideways and began writing about how I should have "a place for everything and everything in it's place".  I wrote about having to go to "plan B" all because I hadn't taken time to put my pen away properly.  I wrote a lot of things that I decided to cover!

I used water soluble wax pastels and rubbed them into the page with gesso.  I wrote on my pages with black India ink and a brush.  I was so annoyed that I couldn't find my pen.  I haven't looked for it today, but I know that I have to organize my supplies.  I don't like wasting time looking for things.  It's out of control.

I try to stay organized, yet despite my efforts I still end up with piles of art materials.  Some organization has become better, but I still have a long way to go.  Maybe that should be the next workshop I attend - "Organizing Your Studio".  


I hope you had a great weekend, and I hope that you aren't spending precious time looking for items that you want to use.  Enjoy the nice weather as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

PHOTO OF THE DAY

"Angel" - Maybe she knows where I put that pen!

Weekend Art-O-Rama - Part 2

Looking back through my journal, I really did create a lot of spreads!  I was very much into playing in my paints with my fingers.  I find it very freeing to put the paint brushes aside and to "become part of the paint." This particular spread was completed using my fingers exclusively.  I began applying black, fuchsia and cobalt blue craft paint in a random, swirly pattern all over the pages.  Even before the background dried, I began to see the face on the far right so I indicated the eyes, nose and mouth using black paint.  The next two faces followed, and while the black paint was still wet, I began applying white paint to better define the features and add highlights.  I don't know where these creepy images come from, but maybe someday I'll figure that out - or not!  I have titled this spread "We Three Creeps".

This next spread is one of my favorites from this past weekend.  Remember the "Junk To Journal" posts?  Well, I decided to flip through some of my treasures from the paint store and I came across the card with the pear.  I just love pear images and I've been saying I need to complete "the obligatory pear painting" for years now.  I thought I would cut the pear out and use it in a spread that would become a preliminary for my painting.  That was my intention anyway.  What I ended up with was a very whimsical character with a pear nose.

I applied these paint colors as the background in a random fashion using an old credit card.  While the background dried, I cut out the pear.  The moment I placed it on the page I saw a nose and proceeded to draw a face around it.  I was thinking about all the artists who painted pears and even googled a few "just to be sure".  After I finished painting the figure, I added the lettering and then wrote in names of artists who have painted pears. 

He still makes me smile when I look at him.  He's very European with his handsome mustache, beret and striped shirt. Is that an accordion I hear? Do I smell fresh baked croissants?  Nope - that would be my imagination manifest through inspiration, and I hope you'll let your imagination come out and play when you're in "Happy Creating!"