Welcome to My Sketchbook

It occurred to me, that I hadn't shared some of my sketches of India, nor many of my photos. Seems like it might be a return journey I would enjoy: sharing photos, especially of the tea plantations and sketches of the elephants. An Elephant Journal has a nice ring to it. Yes, dear friends, help me remember to do this very soon.

For you a few sketches very simply done with watercolor, brush and Micron pen.

If we are not living an optimistic life then what is there?

                                                                               Veer Bhadra Mishra

Namaste....may these few sketches brighten your minutes: Sharon

Texture Tuesday: India

Like pungent cardamon, a thousand shafts of seed falling on soiled saris of silk., blaring Sun beats down like a heavy crown of gold. Survival--life-- comes through cooperation and care of one another.

original painting 

Adding textures to this painting seems to make it more REAL, more AUTHENTIC. Life is hard from a physical stand point. However, Life is lived to its fullest potential, family, children, faith, home, food and companionship. 

Thank you Kim Klassen. for lovely textures. Peace, Scratched Magic textures, plus brushes around edges.
Heart Thought: put yourself in another culture, another place, another home. You would still be who you are, your essential core stays the same. We blossom where we grow.


Until another day, stay happy. Sharon

Summer's Favorite Things: #1 Farmer Markets

I have been thinking about how much I love summer. Light weight clothing, sunshine (for us mixed with huge thunderstorms), BBQ's and S'mores, painting outside, surrounding field crops near our home, community swimming pool full of splashing kids, trees chock full of dense leaves and song birds, out door art shows, inviting white wicker chairs, open windows, and our wonderful gurgling porch fountain...

This little posting is the first in my list of favorite 
SUMMER ACTIVITIES.

Number 1

 FARMER'S MARKETS

Half a mile from our home is this colorful market. Just love to go there. I am not sure if it is the wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables to choose from, or the very quaint, European market styled red umbrellas that cast a rosy glow over everything.

Behind the scenes of a market can be as interesting as the front. Those gigantic sunflowers make me smile....

My painterly interpretation of  summer's many markets...complete with little floral bouquets wrapped in lacy 
paper doilies. This is a large painting and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute creating it. Available on website or through RiverView Gallery in Maryland.

Four years ago I participated in an outdoor art show in western Maryland, up in the scenic high hill country. Near my booth was this amazing market with its blazing oranges, rusts, and greens. 
Amazon sized pumpkins, stacked corn stalks-squirrels darting in and out, from the awning hung bronzed dried corn, everything autumnal sprawled every which way. Yes the building was a beautiful shade of AUBERGINE!

Now if only one or two fruits seems recognizable, you are probably correct. 
Bali is the setting for this open air market.

No brightly colored umbrellas to protect sellers 
from the scorching sun.
Cement and dirt to put one's wares and produce on.
Rustic, hand-woven baskets filled with fruits 
and vegetables which to me considered EXOTIC.


So many colors. So many textures. So many tastes.
So much to experience.

I love the way this smiling woman's green head scarf matches the green of the plantains.

Patiently she will stay in this position from EARLY morning until afternoon. 

Aren't these baskets wonderful. Weaving baskets is part of the economy and provides a minimal wage. This woman is sorting very hot peppers, a key ingredient in delicious Balinese food. 

Always my favorite, the fragrant, brilliant colors and textures of cut blossoms. 
Many of these flowers are used to make DAILY offerings to the GODS.
Others are used in cooking and adornment.

Along the side of a winding narrow road we saw this dilapidated  wagon. This is a typical
"market" on wheels found in India. Corn is roasted right on the spot, providing a tasty snack or dinner for a passer by.

One does not need to go half way round the world to enjoy an open air market. But it surely is fun and informative. These women are very proud of their fruit and vegetables; just like the energetic 80 years young woman, selling her produce near our home.

The following are pages from my sketchbook inspired by markets around the world.

These paintings are in an 8 x 8 brown paper sketchbook. All are painted with gouache. 

Sketchbook Snippets

  In the the tiniest of bits and pieces of personal time, I have ever so slowly been creating sketches of our time in Asia. As I look through the photographs of our visit with cultures that are so magnificent,  ancient in their beginning;  people of so many complexions, traditional clothing and head coverings; the exotic blend of spices, flowers, trees, palms, heat, humidity; experiences I would never thought possible in my American life, they beg for documentation outside of photographs. 

Ancient shrines, holy temples, sculptures of deities and animals; sunset skies framed by darkening palm trees; wavering reflections in the ponds, lakes and rivers  bring a sense of calm....but it wasn't always so. These countries have long histories of territorial, turf wars, clashes and genocide.

 Woman to woman confidants; gossip, musings of daily life, sharing of sorrows, worries, grief; giggles, teasing and jokes are filled with the patience of sitting, sifting, sorting, selling.

Men carry umbrellas. Women carry umbrellas. We carry umbrellas, usually to ward off the rain; they to protect themselves from the relentless sun and heat. Clothing that is airy and light, let the breeze pass through to cool the skin.

Umbrellas large, massive, shadow producing, protecting, a place to sit and visit. 

In general the Asian populations have more time, or make more time to sit...to JUST BE.

 Singapore at Chinese New Year. The color of choice, RED. Red, crimson and garnet colored paper, plastic, silk lanterns with flying golden tassels, dance their way across the humid sky. At night they light up like a thousand fire flies. 

 In our home we hang these festive lanterns from our chandelier, doorways and along the windows of my painting studio. They makes us all smile serving as a reminder to "lighten up."

Asian cultures LOVE their puppets. Simple wood pulley toys for children to sophisticated cut out leather, hand painted paper and fabric, trims and embroidery. Some are found in museums a testament to their place in their cultural history.

Puppets tell stories. These three puppets were constructed from hand painted paper. They told a story that I could not read. But my imagination came forth with its own interpretation. 

So a little peak into my journal. It is a small journal, manageable, sketches to take the place of long narratives, just notes jotted down here and there. Pencil, pen, watercolor, colored pencils, charcoal...bits and pieces of collage fodder from Asia.

It will be fun to share more sketches with you, my friends.

Time Marching By

"It is not enough to stay busy. So, too, are the ants.

The question is what you are busy about."

Henry David Thoreau

It is the middle of March. March. An appropriate name for how life seems to March by.

Where did January and February go?

Did I live like a dizzy ant scurrying in circles?

Time has certainly Marched by.

What I seek is balance. Balance that allows me to live in a state of soulful grace. It is not easy. Clearly it is up to me and me alone to clear the clutter from my path.

And yet I reflect. What would I remove?

January was spent absorbing, learning; spiritually growing as we traveled through Cambodia, India and Singapore. I realized that I loved the MOST who had the LEAST.

The beautiful people who live in the floating villages of the Tonle Sap River.

Their entire lives are spent on the river and lake. There you find a floating market, church and school. The children float in their twirling dented tin pans, like silver minnows dancing about.

The women, weathered-chafing hands extended, hoping for an American dollar. One lucky dollar will buy rice for dinner.

This is a nation recovering from a devastating genocide. The marks are still there, daily reminders of the destructive power of evil.

But the people are resilient. Happy. Productive.

An orphanage outside of Siem Reap. There are one too many orphanages.

The children are shy at first, eventually huge smiles warm up when they share their art.

Art is an universal language. It breaks down barriers and opens doors.

Indian school girls dressed in cornflower blue uniforms, taking a break from their studies. They share the open meadows with lazy, caramel colored cows and lemon drop hued flowers.

Bring your camera out, they become fascinated and eager to have their photos taken. Of course they giggle and are delighted to see their photo on your camera screen.

Then there are more GIGGLES and SILLIES.

As I sit here writing, I wonder what this beautiful girl is doing today. Is she happy? Did she learn something new? Did she play games with her school mates?  How is her English doing? She is one of the fortunate children receiving an education.

Exploring Singapore with our Four Little Muggers....few stones were left unturned....few ice cream parlors missed....hours of play, parks and painting.

By February we returned to the states. Our daughter and husband, immediately left to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary....in Singapore. Grandma Cathy and Grammy Shar Shar spent several weeks "mothering and loving" the Funny Bunnies.

And time kept Marching on.

Our son who lives in Utah, came for a five day visit, which led to our driving to the eastern side of North Carolina to visit our daughter and husband.

When families are together who are normally states apart, the time visiting is precious and does MARCH by quickly.

Life is more than travel. It has its peaks and valleys. And so I search for balance. How will time play out through the coming spring months.

I have missed not having time to paint. To get back to yoga. To read.

Balance.

Two paintings are now started. Pages are done in my Art Journal.

I can feel that some balance, some equilibrium is pulling me in, like the tightrope walker who reaches the end of the rope and with relief steps onto the platform.

I will always be the busy ant, but hopefully not running in circles.

A Touch of Love

Companionship with women, a place of safety and understanding.

Beautiful Indian women sifting cardamom pods in Heart shaped baskets.

 

It takes only one Heart to share Love.

 

Giving of one's bounty.

 

 

 

Love TANGLE  

 The Sweetness of Rejuvenation

Where I am Going?

The night of New Year's Eve, I sat with two little "Funny Bunny" grandchildren, thinking about their futures, their blessed family/home life and just who and what will they become in a few years. Such pleasant thoughts.  Tucked in bed, the evening hours turned into quiet moments for reflection. Nothing spectacular, no dazzling fireworks, no bubbly drinks and calorie-laden snacks, just sweet time to be still and ponder. 

I had high hopes for 2010 and remember writing a glowing blog about my expectations last January. But LIFE turned into REAL LIFE in REAL TIME. My mother passed away in the deep of winter. My husband  had an operation for cancer just weeks following her death. We made a momentous decision to sell our home and move to Charlotte, NC. A granddaughter in another state became chronically ill. We finally moved in the heat of July.  A month later my husband had another surgery. The high hopes seemed to be dashed to smithereens no matter where I looked.  And around me were others with equally compelling and poignant challenges of their own.

Then life changed, it always does. Life is not stagnant, it ebbs and flows, and so did our days. My husband recovered, we happily live one block from the Funny Bunnies that add so much joy to our lives and I quickly was accepted into an active art community.   I found my voice again in painting, art journals and photography. I paint my brightest paintings when the minutia of life clings to me like barnacles on a great coral reef. Like a vague, nebulous cloud, I was beginning to slowly gain sight into the potential of the remainder of the year. It was a very happy realization.

I wanted to write a blog honoring 2011 New Year's Eve to express my joy in the direction life was going. I wanted to wish you all a blessed 2011. But the words escaped me, I could think of nothing worth taking your time to read.  So I shall say it now,     "Blessed 2011, may it bring hope, goodness, and resourcefulness to your life." 

May I take this time to explain what is happening the next five weeks.

Tomorrow we fly to Singapore for a very long visit with our son and his beautiful family. It has been quite awhile since seeing them. (My but they will have grown.) While we are in Singapore we will take the truly awesome opportunity to visit Cambodia and Southern India. Such a blessing to be able to be with family and also pay homage to families much like our own, but living under different circumstances. 

My hope is to be able to post blogs "on the go." They may be a bit crooked and funky, but the sharing will be the same, straight from my heart to yours. I wish to be a lens through which you can see some of what I experience: the love for others and their culture.  I do not know if I will be able to post onto main FASO website. Blogspot will be the main place to read whatever electronically floats through the air. 

If you are interested in seeing my FASO website I have redesigned it, adding two new Collections: Art Journals and Photography. http://sharonfurner.com/

This will be a place to take respite for a few moments and see photographs (amature, amature please) and gain inspiration from some art journals. These collections will sprout like mushrooms!!!

Yes, 2011 is starting out with abundant opportunities and blessings. And I wish the same for you. 

Okay, okay...I simply have to post some sort of color, so here is a preview of one page from an art journal. There will be more in the next posting.  Hmmm Maybe I better add a photograph also.