my heart sings in color

my heart sings in color
mixed media collage on
9" X 9" X 3/4" aspen wood
copyright 2008 julie king

as promised, here are the hollyhocks!

this piece is unique in that i added a little dowel rod
to the back of the wood to make it self-standing.

the 9" x 9" size is perfect for displaying on a sofa table or bookshelf.
it will ship wrapped in my signature handmade wrapping paper
and with a gift tag. it's for sale in my etsy shop.

hope everyone had a great weekend!
peace, love, joy . . . and goodnight!

square fish bowl in a round, round world

square fish bowl
8" x 8" canvas board
mixed media collage
copyright 2008 julie king

looking thru the glass
at life beyond my reach
longing for adventure
a creative life i seek

what if my square fish bowl
is all there really is
what if all the roundness
is someone else's bliss

life is oh so simple
when you live inside a square
no risk, no expectations
there is such comfort there

but squareness is a trap
that doesn't let us grow
or let us spread our wings
or let us truly know

the heights that we can fly to
out in the world so round
the goals that we can make
to soar by leaps and bounds

so let me step outside
my fish bowl oh so square
get outside the comfort
be artfully aware

eat spot eat

my second post today. woo hoo! i sold "garden cat" below after i posted it here earlier this evening. i'm so glad my little orange calico cat is going to a good home with other kitties. she'll be in great company at auburn kat's house!!

so, i thought i would take advantage of whatever good karma is floating around out there today and post my "eat, spot, eat!" collage as well. this little guy always brightens my day and makes me smile! he is available in my etsy shop or send me an e-mail to inquire direct.

i'm working on a hollyhock piece tonight that i am loving. pics to come soon!

garden cat

liquid languidity

feline fluidity
lack of rigidity
malaise in the sun

robust profusion
kaleidoscope confusion
floral inclusion
stalking is fun

morning solitude
afternoon gratitude
evening interlude
cat watch is done


"garden cat"
12" x 12" x 3/4" gallery canvas
mixed media collage
copyright 2007 julie king
available in my etsy shop

divine inspiration

i have been less than inspired lately. every day for three weeks or so i've had the intention of collaging when i get home from work. but, it just hasn't happened. there are a lot of excuses i could throw out there. my new job is demanding. between car pooling with bill and the long commute i am usually gone for 12 hours every day so i'm tired when i get home. after sitting all day i want to walk instead of being immobile at the art table. the list goes on and on. yesterday morning i woke early with an overwhelming urge to collage. i longed to hear the sound of tearing paper and feel the press of rubber stamps against my fingertips. i couldn't wait to mess around with the pastel chalks and sketch out a few new ideas. it was exhilarating! i couldn't help thinking that this was some kind of divine inspiration (intervention??) giving me the nudge to get back to the business of creating. the feeling lasted all weekend and has truly been the wind beneath my wings. i'm taking it as a sign that i truly am meant to pursue this art gig even if it is only part-time. i'm back to staying the course to continue to create and grow as an artist.

the above piece is a commission titled "island bird of paradise" that i finished this afternoon. it is all torn paper with a few chalk and oil pastel embellishments on a 26" x 18" on 3/4" piece of solid aspen. i've e-mailed the image to the lady who commissioned it so see what she thinks. i'll keep it sitting out and walk by it several times a day over the next few days. each time i pass i'll cock my head to the side and look at it to see what i want to change or tweak. as with most things in life, it is in these quiet, reflective moments that i seek divine inspiration. it's there if we simply pause long enough to receive it.

comfort zone

aaaaaahhhhh! relaxing in the back yard with a good book and a glass of iced tea. i'm reading the memory of running by ron mclarty. it started kind of slow but now i'm really enjoying it. sometimes it makes me laugh out loud.

today while reading i was thinking about my comfort zone. it seems that at my previous job i let myself get into a somewhat lazy groove of not pushing myself to learn or grow. of course, the situation there was very strange for over a year with our fate as a company hanging ingthe lurch, not knowing if we were to be kept or sold, no knowing how long we would have jobs. the fear of the unknown and the frustration of the emotional roller coaster ride gave me the push i needed to look outside my circle of comfort, asking myself what is the next new adventure for me? it made me want to be in control of my life, to chart my own course and not be dependent on others for my well-being or happiness. looking back over the last year or so i am pleased that i have pushed myself to take on new ventures -- my art, teaching classes, my etsy shop, blogging, photography and, maybe best of all, writing which i used to love so much. my new job is also challenging me in so many ways. i've coordinated my first photoshoot with babies (so fun!) and have the adrenaline rush at least once a day of learning something new and having to stretch myself.

so as much as i enjoy my comfort zone of reading in the backyard, i am proud to be stretching and growing and reaching for new heights!

lazy mornings

one of the things i look forward to most on the weekends is having my coffee on the back patio. we usually plan our entire weekend schedule around this special event. bill will say "on saturday, we need to go get plates for the van early so we avoid the crowd" and i'll reply with "not until after i've had my coffee on the patio". it's quiet and sunny there. the birds are twittering and i so enjoy all the landscaping and bright flowers. it is a languid time to count my blessings and enjoy a bright spot of nature. of course, presley enjoys this time as well. when it is warm like it was on sunday, he'll take a little sun bath, sometimes rolling around in the grass, luxuriating in the fresh air and good company.


some days it is hard to pull myself out of the reverie of this quiet time. there's work to be done and errands to run but i think "just a few more minutes of this heavenly haven from the hustle and bustle of the world". it's a joy and privilege i've earned by getting up extra early to go to work all week. so let the dishes sit a bit longer and the laundry lay idle in the pile. when i'm 90 years old it is these lazy mornings with presley that i will recall with fondness.

tonight i'm thinking "only 3 more early workday mornings until another saturday rolls around!!!" yeah!

weathering the storm

as i was walking this evening i was thinking about how i have (or have not) handled the curve balls life has thrown at me over the years. all the years that i was a single mother raising my two kids by myself i had a fantastic outlook on life. i found humor in everything and laughter was my best defense against stress and hard times. i used to joke that i wanted the inscription on my grave stone to read "regardless of what life threw at her, she laughed!"as i've aged, i feel like my sense of humor has waned a bit. i tend to take things a bit more seriously and worry more than i used to. i'm sure that part of this is just a natural part of aging. after all, with age comes failing bodies, loss of memory, worries about retirement and the battle to keep up with the 30 year olds at work. so today i vowed to play the humor card more often and surround myself with people and situations that make me laugh. i'm going to say "let it roll" when things are out of my control and "lighten up" when i get a bit too serious. as my daughter likes to say, "life isn't about weathering the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain". it looks like rain again tonight so maybe i'll get a chance to practice.

the above storm blew in out of nowhere last night and was really quite a spectacle to see. i was out taking photos of it when a family of four people and 3 dogs came hustling up the street trying to outrun it on their way home. bill immediately said jump in the car and i'll run you home. no, we didn't know them but it was the neighborly thing to do. i love living in a place where you can still do that. when bill came home it had just started to lightning and he snapped this photo. he won the prize for best hero and best photo (and my heart all over again)!!

summer afternoon

“summer afternoon, to me those have always
been the two most beautiful words
in the english language.” –henry james--

this afternoon bill and i grabbed our cameras
and headed to the englewood dam
for a hike and some exploration.
what a gorgeous day!

i am very interested in the play of light on objects and reflections.
the sun filtering thru the trees made some
interesting patterns on the rocks and the stream.

we were delighted with this waterfall flowing
over a bed of shale. my camera captured
this magical place just perfectly.

i also like to capture my shadow
in my shots. not sure why, but it always gives me a kick
when i see the download on my mac.

what a wonderful place this was to explore!
i can't wait to go back to hike and take some more photos!

sing merry birds!

as i sit reading e-mails and checking out all of your blogs, i can hear birds happily chirping in the back yard. they are gathered around the two thistle seed feeders we have hanging off the fence. two hybrid honeysuckle vines are growing up the lattice behind the feeders so the little birds have such a colorful backdrop for their dining pleasure. it is such a joy to have such a good bird presence in a suburban neighborhood.

the above mixed media collage is titled "sing, merry birds" and can be seen in my etsy shop.

i'm off to fill the bird feeders and stretch my legs with dear presley!

peace, love, joy!

a mother's song

no fancy words or sing song rhymes today. i just finished this piece. it's been sitting around waiting for the little finishing touches for a couple of weeks. it has a variety of torn ephemera in the background including a little piece of beatles music (in my life and let it be) which i love. i was going to write a little poem to go along with this but i really want to get back to the art table tonight. i'll be listing this on etsy eventually.

hope all is well with you. peace, love, joy!

julie

life's in the details

it seems we look for answers in ways that are untrue

we shop and dine, collect and hoard, looking for the glue

to make our lives cohesive, to try to find the cure

to emptiness and sorrow, our path feels so unsure

but always we’re surrounded by what we truly seek

it’s in the rays of sunshine, the laughter of the creek

you’ll feel it in the meadow and hear it in the trees,

a mother’s gently lullaby and the buzzing of the bees

you’ll find it in the bursting of one near perfect bloom

or in the early evening as rolling thunder looms

a robin’s chirp, the sound of rain, a lonely baby’s cry

life’s wonder’s in the details, if we don’t pass them by

so when the day is dawning or evening comes to call

look for all the details, god’s hints both large and small

that wonder does surround us, you’ll find the answers there

for when we walk in nature, we truly are aware

all photos in this post copyright 2008, william j. king

journal . . . blog . . . journal . . . blog

lone harvest tree
mixed media collage
24" x 20" x 1 1/2" gallery-wrapped canvas
copyright 2008 julie king art

SOLD

i’ve never had an interest in journaling. don’t get me wrong. i love journals and own a ton of them. i just never felt comfortable writing all my secret thoughts down in one. actually i use a journal to keep a list of blog ideas. when some random weird thought crosses my mind and i think “i should blog about that”, i write it down in the blog idea journal. i keep several journals for “lists”. there’s my journal where I write down all my passwords to etsy, pay pal, ebay, blogger, gmail, linens n things, and the list goes on and on. then there’s my “big fat art ideas” journal where i sketch and write notes and keep an ongoing list of what i need to do in order to “get my art up off the ground”. i use a journal for my weekly shopping list, my annual christmas list and whenever we start a new gardening or household project. like i said, i have a ton of journals.

so, we’ve established that i don’t like to journal. then what is the big obsession with blogging? why has this become such a fave thing to do? why am i comfortable writing my thoughts into my blog for all the world to see? i’m starting to think that it may be just a bit egotistical (okay, strike the word “bit”!). it’s all about me. it’s all about my art. i show off my art. i take photos that i would never normally take just to put them on my blog. yep, i can feel my ego getting a bit pink in the face as i type. blogging is also very voyeuristic. just as i enjoy reality tv, i enjoy browsing other people’s blogs and dare i say it, living vicariously through their lives while looking at their photos and lusting after their art projects.

so, i feel i must make a list (you saw that coming, right??!!) to justify the many hours i spend every week blogging. here goes:

it’s free (well, unless i have to count the i-mac i bought because i hated the way i had to edit photos on bill’s pc)

i get art ideas from other people’s blogs (of course, then i’m totally paranoid that i will inadvertently use someone else’s idea and they will leave a nasty comment on my blog (note to self—start a journal listing each art idea and where it came from)

it’s harmless (i could be out spending money, shooting pool with the local gang or downing a few shots of tequila hee hee)

it keeps me in touch with friends (well, actually, mostly people i’ve never met or verbally spoken to)

so, please tell me blogging world, why are we (you) blogging?

pretty pinwheel giveaway!!!

isn't this pinwheel cake topper just adorable? i love it. if you love it too, you should jump right over to crossroads cottage where they are doing their first ever giveaway!!! it's quick and easy to do which will leave plenty of extra time to check out the rest of the blog, full of many other pretty pinwheel designs, gardening photos and interesting happenings in indiana!

have a happy evening!!

butterscoth pie revisited!!!

i was thrilled today to hear that the lovely willow had not only made my grandma j's butterscotch pie, but she posted pictures and the recipe on her blog. willow manor is one of my staple daily blog reads, always delightful, insightful and interesting! please go visit; you won't be disappointed!

the above piece is my home sweet home apple collage. it always makes me think of grandma j. she and i spent many hours peeling apples together for apple pie, apple salad and fruit salad. i love the old vintage feel of it with all the torn pieces of ephemera including some recipes for apple desserts. it is available in my etsy shop!!

until tomorrow, my blog friends -- peace, love joy!!

patterns

i’ve been thinking about the patterns of my life . . . the ebb and flow . . . the constantly evolving kaleidoscope of colors . . . the rich and varied textures . . . the sights and sounds of nature that surround me and profound me . . . all illustrated here in photos i took while tooling around ohio yesterday.

blue skies in the morning

afternoon's sparse, sprinkled rain

dramatic, cloudy evening

viewed thru nature's window pane

the blur of my existence

where shadows make no sense

the image gets much clearer

when seen thru nature's lens

lost in a crowd of sameness

or standing all alone

it's all about perspective

and the truth you want to own

there's beauty in nature's details

and the grid lines made by man

i'm in awe of open spaces

and life's most wondrous plan