Weekend Journal

It's been an extraordinary week for me.  Mike and Nadia arrived safely from California last Saturday, so the entire family has been together for the whole week.  Yes - I'm happy beyond words!  There have been family cookouts and way too much food (but I've enjoyed every calorie!), quiet strolls along the beach, visits to parks, and hours just sitting around reminiscing and laughing.  I really hate to see it come to an end as Mike and Nadia head back to CA tomorrow.

Heather has been making mouth watering desserts for us all week.  My personal favorite - Biscoff Truffles.  Biscoff spread. Cream cheese.  Chocolate.  Speechless goodness.  Heather is amazing with the baked goods and has a wonderful blog: Bake, Run, Live.  If you want to see some great baked goods and sweets and collect some wonderful recipes, this is your ticket!  And the most importantl part - they're "made with love, not calories".  I've been telling myself that all week.

Other family members got in on the sweet action, too.  Mike and Nadia sent Keith this unbelievable box of chocolate covered strawberries from Sheri's Berries for his birthday.  They're deliciously sweet and crazy big!  Sis also contributed awesome chocolate peanut butter brownies to the dessert table.  

And let us not forget Nadia's creamy, luscious homemade flan.  Definitely no calories in this! (Ha!)

Of course, we had to offset all the food (a trip to Melt, breakfast at the 50's Diner, cabbage rolls, chicken curry, etc., etc.....) with some activitiy, and I also had to sneak in some journaling via camera.  Here are some snippets of our trip to the Cleveland Metroparks / North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills.

Squire's Castle front

Squire's Castle rear right

Looking up through the tower

Crab apple tree blossoms

Red Bud tree

Spring Beauty flowers

Yesterday was all about "the guys" as they washed, polished and "prettied up" the Mustangs.  Four-wheeled Mustangs, that is.  Mike, (videographer extraordinaire), attached his camera to the back window of my car and took video footage of the trip to and from the beach.  I can't wait to see the finished product and I'll be sure to share the link with you.  Here are a couple pictures from yesterday's photo shoot.

Mustang photos:  Keith Thompson

Nick's 99 Saleen, Keith's 69 Coupe and 96 GT Coupe

I have to admit to just a little journaling activity.  Remember the 29 Faces Challenge?  Mike helped me iron out my tech kinks and make a short video of the project.  Here's the finished video.  For the best viewing, watch on YouTube in full screen.

As this week winds down, I hope you are finding ways to not only create, but to celebrate and love this amazing journey we call life.  I hope you're surrounded by loving family and friends, and all the wonderful things that bring you pleasure.

Heather, Nick, Keith, Nadia, Mike

As for me, life just doesn't get any better than this.  I'm an extremely blessed and happy woman.

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Outside the Journal: The Cleveland Museum of Art

This past gray, rainy, Saturday, I had the pleasure of spending the day at the Cleveland Museum of Art with my Keith, our son, Mike, and his girlfriend (our wonderful, new daughter!), Nadia, who were here visiting from CA.  I always enjoy my visits to the museum, and it's been more than just a few years since my last visit. We were there for 6 hours - until our sedentary lifestyles rendered us helpless to take another step!

"Gray and Gold" John Rogers Cox

The museum has been undergoing extensive renovation for several years now, and the refurbished section that has reopened is beautiful.  We spent a great deal of time examining the artifacts in the Medieval, Egyptian, and African galleries, as well as the Near Eastern, South Italian and Roman galleries.  Eventually, we succumbed to hunger and enjoyed a late brunch in the museum's cafe.  Afterwards, we toured one of the special exhibits, "The Indian Kalighat Paintings", one of the museum's rarely shown collections. These drawings were originally created as souvenirs for early 19th century tourists, and contained images of Vishnu and Ganesh as recurrent themes.

After a brief tour of several American galleries and the Armor Court, we finally migrated to my favorite galleries - Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art, where all of my favorite artists live.  Here are some of the photos I took. (Yes - photos permitted without flash - a happy surprise for me!)

It doesn't matter from what direction I enter this room - this Renoir painting always calls to me first.  His use of light and color has been a definite influence in my own work.

Modigliani's portraits always captured my imagination as a young artist, and it was his style the most influenced my portrait style in the early days.

Not my favorite Matisse, but how can I not give a nod to yet another artist whose work was an early influence to me?

My work was heavily influenced by Picasso during my early teens, and I am still thrilled by his vision.

This Picasso, "La Vie", is much larger than I had imagined it.  I'm guessing it's about 8' x 4'.   I don't ever recall seeing it displayed at the museum before.  According to the gallery notes, Picasso was only 20 when he painted this, and it is part of his "blue period" that came about as the result of his friend committing suicide.

Magritte

We finished our museum tour in the Modern and Contemporary galleries.  It was a good resting place as I sat and contemplated art on a philosophical level and tried to ignore that little voice inside my head that kept saying, "I just don't get it".  There were, of course, some paintings that garnered my attention and made me smile, as well as some old favorites like Pollack and Warhol.

When I saw this large work, I immediately thought that it was an early Pollack - Wrong!  It's actually a painting by his wife, Lee Krasner.

How could this wonderfully drippy painting of Homer Simpson not make me smile?  I wasn't able to get close enough to see the artist's name as there was a mother and her children sitting on the floor next to the plaque making art (apparently they couldn't find the classrooms?).  I searched the web looking for the artist's name.  I didn't find it, but I did find another blog that will give you another view of the museum!

Last but far from least, I return you to the Impressionist galleries where my favorite painting in the museum lives.  The last time I visited the museum I was heartbroken because it wasn't on display.  This small, unassuming Van Gogh painting, "The Poplars at Saint-Remy", is the only painting I have ever viewed that made me feel as if I was looking through the artist's eyes.  The first time I saw it, I wept.

As I studied each stroke, I felt as if I could feel what he was feeling at the time he was painting. I could feel the fervor.  I could feel the moment.  I could feel frustration, joy, emotions from every direction.  I felt the insanity of this obsessive thing we call being an "artist", and I felt the kinship of one who has gone before me.  I felt connected and I have never felt more moved by a work of art.

So that's a glimpse into the Cleveland Museum of Art.  We're fortunate to have such a wonderful collection of artworks so nearby, and it continues to impress me that admittance to the museum is always FREE.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Cleveland, the art museum is a MUST.  You'll be pleased that you went and you'll find it to be an inspiration as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

Journaling Outside the Book: Cleveland Botanical Gardens

Photo Journal of "Orchid Mania"


Sometimes you have to get out of the journal and "feed the well".  That's exactly what Ro and I did today!  We headed into Cleveland for the last weekend of "Orchid Mania" at Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  I took 195 pictures!  I deleted about 10 of them and found the best 20 to share with you.  It was a painful process - I would love to show you more but you can't wait all night for the images to load!


Here are some of my favorite orchid pictures:

My personal pick for "Best of Show"

Even as cold as it was, we had to venture outside to have a look around.  We made a pact to return after the weather warms, but there were still plenty of things to amuse and delight us.

An Incredible metal fence and gate

Mystery seed pods 

A stone sculpture - she's beautiful

Girls just want to have fun - even when it's only 30 degrees!

Not only did we have orchid mania, we also had bird and butterfly mania as an added bonus.  These colorful little birds were just a bit larger than hummingbirds.  I was entranced and spent nearly an hour trying to get some good shots.  The butterflies were too elusive, but I think my patience paid off with the birds. 

We had a wonderful time at the gardens, and once we left were eager to get something to eat as neither of us had the good sense to eat breakfast. We stopped at Red Robin for burgers and fries on the way home.  I didn't take pictures there.  No one needs to see that food frenzy!


I hope you enjoyed sharing our trip to "Orchid Mania", and I hope that if you have a botanical garden or arboretum nearby that you'll treat yourself to an outing there.   No one does art quite like Mother Nature.

Ro - a little "matchy, matchy", don't you think?

 I think I found a lot of material to "feed the well".  I'm sure you'll be seeing orchids and these colorful birds showing up in my art journal pages! Have a terrific weekend, and most of all, "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

"No Time"

This is a journaling spread created to the song "No Time", by Cleveland's Drunkdude 69.  Enjoy!