for me. for therapy. for memory

often, when the pondering in my head starts to outgrow my brain capacity, i feel the need to capture my thoughts. write them down. edit, slash, delete, rearrange, mix, mingle and ease them. perhaps put them in a little bottle for future inspection. uncork the bottle on a distant day and see what impressions the faded thoughts might make on an older me. for years, this blog was the bottle. i revisit my ponderings from time to time. so here i am again.pondering. sharing. recording.

i do this for me. for therapy. for memory.

some of my favorite bloggers are introverts like me. we may keep our thoughts to ourselves in large gatherings but we always have something to say.

spring has twirled her magic color wand and blessed us with flowers, blooming trees and green grass. she awakened me from my winter slumber, invigorating my senses and encouraging me to get out into nature. and, maybe, just maybe she has reignited my urge to record my life here in this safe place. if you're reading this, then welcome. if no one reads this, that's perfectly fine.

 i do this for me. for therapy. for memory.

vintage fork plant markers

 what fun i've been having in the art room!!! last summer i bought a big plastic butter tub full of vintage silverware. it's been sitting in my art room waiting for inspiration to strike. last week out of the blue i envisioned the forks holding little original pieces of mixed media art.

 the "canvas" for each of these is two pieces of vintage sheet music glued together. the art is made of acrylics, ink and pastels. i cut the words from a 1941 thesaurus of quotations. 

 i love how cute they look in my african violet pot. i have a couple of ideas for using the spoons in the set as well. not sure about the knives yet but i'm sure something will brew to the top of my creative brain.

 the forks don't match and are different sizes and patterns. fun!

i updated my shop with a few of these, some new originals and over 35 zines and art books!! 

as i destash all my art supplies, i'm thinking about moving my bedroom into this big room (the current art room) and moving my art area into the smaller bedroom where i currently sleep. i'm liking the idea of a cozy organized art space. we shall see!

happiness dwells here

she wakes to the sound of a motor purring softly at her side. radiating warmth and yawning widely the "motor" stretches out and then softly nudges to be petted. she stretches as well and gently scratches between the cat's ears. she hears the birds twittering madly in the trees and a lawn mower at work down the street. opening her eyes she senses the sunshine peeking thru the blinds. yay, she thinks, i can work outside but just a few more minutes of this blissful wakening. this quiet moment of gratitude for this much-dreamed of life that has come true.

with coffee on her mind, she arises and heads for the kitchen. cat meows and dances her between the legs sashay which translates to feed me, feed me now. a can of fancy feast turkey in gravy spoons its way into the red cat bowl. a few sprinkles of cat chow and she heads to the living room to open the mini blinds. satisfied with the luminous light filling the room and her life, she leisurely makes coffee.

she grabs her current read "and i shall find some peace there" by margaret roach and settles into her fave porch chair for caffeine and inspiration. this book is one of many that she has read recently about women leaving their corporate jobs to find happiness and fulfillment by simplifying their lives. she finds solace in their stories and affirmation that her quest is not completely insane.

a passing car diverts her attention to the bed of iris at the front of her house. planted by a long-gone previous tenant, she is delighted by the quantity and variety of irises that greeted her this spring. on a whim she grabs her nikon and heads out for an ab-lib photo session, her favorite kind. her heart soars as she sees the remains of last night's rain shower. millions of sparkling rain drops bling the flower bed. these are my diamonds, she thinks, my much-cherished gems. and she gathers them one by one, capturing each shiny droplet in eternal images of delight. and she knows that happiness dwells here just like she always knew it would.

fanciful flowers

i really can't believe how much i am enjoying my collage work now that the stress of my job ending has gone away. it feels so rejuvenating and free to just concentrate on being creative without all the political hoopla that engulfed my life the last few months. i titled the above piece "fanciful flowers". it is a combination of watercolors, torn paper, pastel chalks, ink and oil pastels. it looks so beautiful hanging in my art room which is painted a wonderful shade of apple green. i have several ideas for additional collages using this same technique of torn paper over a wash of watercolor. like many of my projects, this one took a completely different direction than my original plan. it just seemed to spread its wings and take on a whole new life of its own. it pretty much ended up much better than i could have imagined which is a good thing!

i was up in the night looking for a job because even though i'm having the time of my life with this art gig i know the realities of the world and that i truly must be employed. how else will i be able to continue my art hobby??? i had wonderful luck and applied to 7 jobs. i have my fingers crossed!