31.12.13

Winter Whites





New Year's Eve 2013, quiet evening in Chicago with husband, daughter and granddaughter. The snow is heavily falling, we peek out the frosty windows to the street lights, checking, wondering: will the soft white flakes continue through the New Year's Night?   For a southern gal this is quite an experience....Slowly I breathe memories on the panes: I am a small child, on a farm, running in snow up to my knees, falling, plopping, sinking into soft white pillows forming snow angels.
This silence gives pause for a moment's reflection....

Tomorrow will be a snow-white Day, a New Day in my blank white day-calendar. 
What will the pages hold?

26.12.13

Red Velvet Halos


Many of us have come from a place of busy-ness.
At times it can become compulsive and overwhelming.
Finding Time for a touch of  quiet, contemplation and creation can
add a valuable "slowing down" to our day.
This season I planted amaryllis bulbs in thrift shop vases. 

No matter the pace of the day, slowly and surely, without hesitation tips of green sprung from the soil, leaving their place of hibernation.
Eagerly searching for light, the thick stocks grew with great energy and enthusiasm.
Each day provided a few moments of respite to check on the plants' 
progress from bulb to blossom; gently, slowly pouring a bit of water now and then.

THE GIFT
A gorgeous halo of velvety red blooms, a gift of Peace.



I think I have found a new resolution for the New Year.


24.12.13

Rejoice for All



The wise man looks into space and does not regard the small too little; nor the great too big; for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.       Lao-Tse

You can count the seeds in an apple, however, you can not count the apples in the seed.

Rejoice for All are important, man, woman and child; animal, fish, insect and bird; day and night; sunrise and sunset; mighty evergreens and dandelion pillows....may we All together cultivate a season of Peace and Harmony.

Thank you, my many friends, those in my neighborhood, community and about the world, for joining me on my journey. 
I do not post regularly, but I do love sharing with you. 
It adds a lovely dimension to my life.
I feel a connection with you, which is paramount to Peace and Stability.

Blessings towards All wherever their Journey 
might lead them.

smiles: sharon

13.12.13

A Visit to the Past

It seems like yesterday, we were walking the cobbled streets of quaint Bavarian villages acting like children given too much candy to eat. Indeed eye candy abounds from  magnificent storybook paintings embellishing stuccoed walls, Hansel and Gretel cottages, crooked chimneys spewing real wood smoke, geraniums popping up like dandelions, feather comforters hanging over timbered railings basking in the sun, bratwurst with German mustard, thick pretzels and lebkuchen cookies, centuries old store fronts beckoning us to enter and indeed we did way too many times.

Each Christmas I pull out my precious little cache of card size German Christmas books. Can't read a single word of German, but the paintings tell their story on the walls of my mind. I am so delighted to share the covers of these little tiny pieces of art and see what your mind conjures up. There was a time in my art career when I painted these types of scenes, but that was so long ago I haven't a single photo to share.









I wish I could take you inside one of these books and share each wondrous  watercolor.   
Take Joy in your own Holiday Traditions.

Posting to Kim Klassen's Friday Finds
Kim is sharing complimentary new holiday brushes.


9.12.13

Sharing News......

Occasionally I treat myself to an online class. Without a doubt, the courses taught by the very talented Misty Mawn have been my favorites.  
She gives 1,000% of her time, talent and knowledge to teach in a very approachable way her form of art.
Personally, I have learned a great deal from her classes.  She shares her research, expertise, pdfs, links to further information and high quality videos. Misty is professional, and at the same time approachable and warm.
I rarely suggest classes on my blog, but with a new year approaching, I would like to
"pass along" information on great stores, teachers, and subjects you might be interested in.
I will start with Misty Mawn
 I have taken the liberty of sharing her written explanation.
Like any journey the concept of coming full circle can at times feel a bit daunting, but like most journeys it's not so much about the destination as it is the experience had along the way.  A full circle approach to creativity involves drawing from one's experiences, dreams,  and inspirations in life to add richness to the work that is to be created.   Gathering whatever we can along the way, filling our circles, and filling ourselves with feelings of great fulfillment.  That is what I hope to offer to you during this course.  A safe place to learn, create, gather, share, and expand as an artist and person.  

During the course there will be 3 new posts each week,  one on Journaling, another on iphoneography*/writing, and another on Fine Art. Each week video demonstrations, written instruction, assignments, inspiration links, a new music playlist, and other random bits will be shared to encourage and inspire you.  Being that it is a 12 week course the content will be stretched out, allowing more time to devour each lesson before the next is posted.  
*{If you do not have an iphone any digital camera will work just fine}

I will be focusing on a variety of ideas, themes, mediums, and projects for this workshop.  From Drawing, to Painting, to Sculpting, to Journaling, to Writing, to iPhoneography and more.  If you have ever taken an online course with me before you know there will be a lot to choose from on this creative voyage.   

If you would like to study with one of the best online instructors I personally have experienced  click on her link describing course below:
To visit her website:
Maybe we will meet up in class.

6.12.13

Finding Beauty

But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.
                                                   Vincent Van Gogh




Mary Oliver, The Sun

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea, 
and is gone_____


and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower



streaming upward on its heavenly toils,
say, on a morning in early summer.....
such wild love
do you think there is anywhere, in any language
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you, 
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you......    
                                                                    mary oliver

Finding love through the eloquence of a poet's words and nature photography.
May this give a moment's pause to your day.
sharon

a great place to visit.