a little drawing time

While my sister enjoyed herself and laid out in the sun.  I sat in a chair beside her, my pencil in hand, my pencil box to my side, and I just drew away.  I'm having a delightful time drawing in my journal.  There are no expectations, just taking the time to practice my skill.  Here are the results.

Daring Greatly

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.

...believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path."  

This is an excerpt from a speech given by Steve Jobs.  The first time heard it, it resonated with me.  Lately I have been drawn to it again.  I know within my heart that I am moving in the right direction yet there are times that those little voices seem to be overwhelming and  trying to knock me off my creative path.  I've been here before, as I'm sure you have, too.  I am, as my Mom use to say, "stubborn as an ole mule", so there is no changing my course.  I'm sharing how I feel because I have been reading a book by Brene Brown titled Daring Greatly.   She speaks about shame and how it can haunt us.  One of the essential ways to loosen the grip and affects it has on us is to talk about it.  Well... that is what I am doing here, today.  Nuff said!  -  Thanks for listening!

out of the mouth of babes

Yesterday I had my grandchildren, Delaina and Brayden, at my house all day.  We ALWAYS have a good time.  When I really watch and listen to who they are, I am amazed.    These little beings  have so much to say and so much they can teach me.  I have absolutely no words that can express how much I love them!!!
Anyway...we decided (they actually coerced me) that at 10:00 in the morning it was OK to eat ice cream at Grandmas.  So we did!

Later in the day, while Brayden napped,  Delaina and I got out scissors and I told her we were going to cut some lavender to make some posies.  She was so excited to be able to cut lavender with big people's scissors.  Several times she told me how pretty the flowers were and how much fun she was having.  Then she stopped cutting, looked right at me with a quizzical look on her face and said, "Grandma... is a posie like in the song ring around the rosie,  pocket full of posies,  ashes to ashes all fall down."  

I smiled real big and said, Yes!

create art with a free spirit

My husband and I just returned from our vacation in Mexico.  We have gone there for the last 14 years. We just hang out on the beach, play in the ocean, listen the waves from the ocean,  take many beach naps, drink margaritas, walk along the shoreline... I'm sure by now you get the picture.  We simply go there to reconnect with each other and relax.  This time I took my sketching tablet with me and I made this commitment in my journal.  

Then I did as I committed and I followed thru.  I was going to draw each day and not be concerendd about the outcome. 

There I sat on the beach with a towel folded up as my make shift desk, my pad on my lap, and my box of pencils to my side,  just drawing away.

Here are the results of my very own artist retreat in Mexico.

This one I did not finish in Mexico, she will be done soon.  

"my bea-u-ti-ful amulet"

I just had to share this story with you and I hope it brings a smile to your face like it does mine. 


My husband bought me a beautiful necklace for Mother's Day  and I decided to wear to my daughter and son-in-law's house for Mother's Day. 


As soon as the grand kids saw me they came running,as usual,  for a BIG Grandma hug.  They give the best hugs ever !  Brayden kisses with his mouth wide open like he's going after a piece of food.  Love it, sloppy and all.  This time it was a little different with Delaina, my granddaughter, she's 3 1/2 yrs. old.  As soon as I picked up Delaina, she  said with such excitement in her voice, "Oh Grandma, you have such a bea-u-ti-ful amulet!"  I smiled and said Thank You but I had no frickin' clue what she was talking about.  Then she asked me if she could touch it!  That's when I realized she was talking about my necklace.  My daughter explained to me it is a gift that was given to Princess Sophia from her father and when she wears it she can hear animals talk.  My heart is filling with emotion by this time.  I am in awe how children find wonder in the little things. Periodically throughout the day she would come over and touch my "amulet".

As we were ready to leave she gently took my hand and pulled me down to her  and she whispered ever so softly in my ear, "when you come babysit can you bring the amulet so I can wear it?" 

I smiled the biggest smile ever and said, "absolutely".

 

Love those kids!

HEATHER

I have had the pleasure of witnessing a friend bloom into the artist she always knew she could be.  Pretty much like the flower in the short video.   I has been very rewarding to witness her growth.  Her name is Heather Hanson, read more about her by clicking on the following link.  http://www.therubyslipperscompany.com

Heather has always been creative and artistically inclined and claims that writing is her first love.  She gets really excited after her trips to estates sales where she literally brings home many bags of vintage this or vintage that.  When she tells me about her finds you can see the light grow brighter in her eyes.

Her love of all things vintage, her uncanny ability to formulate words that  inspires and delights, and her creative talents have finally all come together like putting that beautiful puzzle together.  She discovered mixed media art!  This past week end Heather was featured in a Trunk Show sponsored by Cindy fields Design downtown Naperville, IL.  Heather recently opened her Etsy shop where she is offering original whimsical mixed media art.  I invite you to stop by her site and see what she's been creating. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRubySlippersCo

a message of friendship

Thoughts of what is a friend and what it means to be a friend has been in my thought quite a bit lately.

So I decided to look up the definition, this is what Wikipedia had to say:
A friend is a person that someone likes or knows. People who are friends talk to each other and spend time together. They also help each other when they are in trouble. Friends are people that can be looked up to and trusted. A friend is one who admires a person's skill and helps or encourages them to make the right choices.

I wanted to pay homage to a friend of  mine which is what prompted me to make this piece.  I was soooo excited to share with her what our friendship had inspired in me.  Needless to say,  I never got the opportunity.  Which I now accept as being OK.

It is my 2nd original piece being added to my Etsy shop.  There will be more to come.

It's funny how the Universe can step in at just the right time to provide a message that is needed to be heard.

Lo and behold, I got an unexpected package delivered to me from this girl named Sharon.  I worked with her at Theda Clark Hospital in Neenah, WI back in the mid to late seventies.  I quit that job in the early eighties and saw her only occasionally after that.   Then later in the early nineties we reconnected.  We would take long walks together and just talk and talk and talk.  I learned lots about Sharon and she about me.  We are both the same age and both are Aquarians, somehow we felt that made us spiritually connected.  I am smiling!

Anyway... I wanted to show you the outside of her package.  In every possible place she put something about smiling.  Which is essence made me smile!

The beginning of her note, inside,read:

"Total surprise, huh?  I couldn't help it.  I just saw the enclosed gift, thought of you and imagined what a shock it would be if it appeared on your doorstep, so that's just what I thought I would do.  How fun is that?"

Thanks to Sharon for the gift and for being the one the Universe used to provide me with a message.