"Happy Spring..."

...or Summer...

or Fall...

or Winter...

or

"Whatever Season You Choose to Celebrate"

today

in this topsy turvy wacky weather world

of ours!!!

Enjoy this little artistic repost from the past

while trying to comprehend

56+ inches of snow in northern Arizona Monday...

snow at the 2500 ft level ringing the valley..

and valley floor

temps back into the mid 80's by the weekend.

Say Whaaaat????

"My Artistic Life..."

...much like this sketchbook page...

has been a mosaic of intertwined activities...

one layered upon the next...for the past month or so.

This page was started in December

with the heat lamp drawn in the lower right corner.

It was drawn while waiting for Marlene

over at Birt's cafe.

We were to have a zentangle inspired drawing date.

We met,

we drew a little,

and we ended up gabbing a whole lot more.

Since that was the only item on the page...

I decided to incorporate it

into a series of drawings...like a collage effect.

Well...

then came multiple health issues with my parents...

and my surgical waiting room time

quickly

became packed jammed with

tiny circles and crosshatching patterns.

I really had no intention

of filling in all the gravel areas

with such detail...it just happened.

It was my way of coping...and de-stressing.

Before I knew it

the page had become full.

The actual view is of part of my parents back yard

and if you look really closely

you can see that the dates I worked on the piece

are embedded into the drawing.

I painted it just the other night...in under

a half hour or so.

That was the first time in over a month

where

I was able to let the paint fly

and

allow my Muse to simply play.

It felt so darned good...it really, really did.

So very much more to share...later.

"The Finished Product..."

...my four and a half page spread in

Cathy's "Undersea Cave" themed Moly...Yippeeee!

Be sure to click on the image to enlarge

for better viewing! :)

This book flew from the desert Friday

and

is currently winging her way through the postal cosmos

to the artistic hands of Audrey

in Quebec, Canada.

Oui!

"The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.”
~Jacques Cousteau

"Book Two..."

...my work in progress on Cathy's

"Under Sea Caves" themed Moleskine sketchbook.

I promise to show

the completely finished reveal tomorrow...:)

♥

Stress Relief...

...yoga style...I only wish...♥

"Reflections About The Past Week..."

Almost nine decades...and...sixty seven anniversaries...

Two parents...

Two surgeries...

Two different hospitals.

(Both on the same day...

both unexpected...and both of emergency level urgency.)

One hip replacement....

Five+ weeks advanced residential health care rehab.

One nuclear stress test...

Two cardiologists...one surgeon...

Zero time to wait...

Four cardiac stents...

No driving...no lifting...no excuses.

Nothing is the same.

Reality.

Shock, Tears,

Tension, Fear, Worry,

Separation, Anxiety...Assurance, Success,

Appreciation, Understanding, Relief,

Clarity, Sighs

Reality.

A new normal...for all of us.

"There us no medicine like hope

no incentive so great,

and

no tonic so powerful

as expectation of something better tomorrow."

~Orison Swett Marden

"A Fanciful..."

...Tree of Life.

This was drawn lead free...ink straight in.

It started with one branch

and then just

grew and grew and grew...great fun indeed!

“Don't wait until everything is just right.

It will never be perfect.

There will always be challenges,

obstacles

and less than perfect conditions.

So what.

Get started now.

With each step you take,

you will grow stronger and stronger,

more and more skilled,

more and more self-confident

and

more and more successful.”
~Mark Victor Hansen

Mission Accomplished...!!

My "El Dia De Los Muertos" themed G8 Moleskine

is now complete...Yippeeeee!

Above are the introduction pages...

along with the routing order of my book...see candles.
You can click on images to enlarge...:)

Here are pages 1 and 2.
Here is my full 3 page spread: pages 1,2, and 3.
Being just a "wee bit" overzealous
my art seemed to have "mysteriously" crept
onto half of page 4. Hmmm...:)
So...
Juli, in Canada, will share page four with me
adding her own artwork based on the same theme.
I gave ATC prints as a thank you gift to all participants.
Each person will get 2 prints...
one of each style shown.
Here is the fun back pocket of my Moly...
this is where each artist will sign in.
The guideline booklet is just in case anyone needs
additional
reference sources or ideas for my theme.
It will be tucked snuggly into the back pocket
for safe keeping.
The book and the gift ATCs have their own separate little pouches.

Ta Daaaa!
Everything is all wrapped and ready
for a final blanket of bubble wrap
to protect her on her long postal flight to Canada.
She was mailed out yesterday...
You know, I actually feel like I am 10 pounds lighter!
Ahhh!:)
Now on to Cathy's book...her theme is "Sea Caves"...
My imagination
is already going like gangbusters!:)

"To be yourself in a world
that is constantly trying to make you something else
is the greatest accomplishment."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Take a Peek..."

..at my latest W.I.P...Work In Progress.

I have joined in on another Moleskine Exchange

but this time it is at Illustrated ATCs.

It will be an 8 way artist exchange of

the small Japanese fold Moleskine sketchbooks.

Each book will have its own theme chosen by

each individual artist.

The theme I have chosen is

"El Dia de los Muertos"...

more commonly known in English as

The Day of the Dead...a Mexican folk festival celebrated

the first couple of days of November.

My book will honor the spirit of the lives of those

who have gone before me

and will include many of the traditional Mexican

artifacts and symbols

(such as sugar skulls, calavera catrinas, and offerendas)

associated with this

unique fall celebration.

My due date for mailing is February 1st...

so if I am not around blogland for the next week or so

you know exactly what I am doing.

I am really excited to share the progress of this

art exchange with you throughout the coming year.

I should have my own book back

by mid October...just in time

to celebrate this festive Mexican holiday.

A Forest of Tree ATCs...

..."Faerie Dusted"...
..."Ancient Arms"...

..."Fuji Sentinel"...

and ..."Misted Mountain Moonlight"...

All painted and ready to mail to Canada for

the February ATC Tree Swap

at Illustrated ATCs.

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles

through the deepest snow

to keep an appointment

with a beech-tree,

or

a yellow birch,

or

an old acquaintance among the pines."

~Henry David Thoreau

"Nothing Much..."

...beats a night time walk

under a full moon in the Arizona desert...

especially in January.

Ahhhhhhh!

And...

BTW...Have a happy "Cactus Monday" all!

"The night

walked down the sky with the moon

in her hand."
~Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant [1 of 3]

Although she talks really fast...this is TOTALLY fascinating...:)

"Yesterday..."

...was the day all the

"Lights went out in Georgia"

...um...

I mean Surprise, Arizona, that is.

Sad, but true...Christmas festivities are but

a mere memory now...

especially

with the unseasonably warm

"spring break" like temps in the upper 70's

we are having.

All the outdoor lights have now been

carefully packed away.

Time for the pool!

Ahhh...Winter in the desert...what a treat!

"Fresh and Frosty..."

...a card from my "Winter Heart" ATC series

entitled

"Winter Berries and Snow Flower"

as my first post of 2012.

♥

And...

I am STILL working up my 2012 resolutions...go figure!

"How soon 'not now' becomes 'never'."
~Martin Luther

"At the Stroke of Midnight..."

... I wish you

the beginning of year filled with beauty...

peace...and serenity.

Farewell, 2011.

"The object of a new year

is not that we should have a new year.

It is that we should have

a new soul.”
~ G. K. Chesterton

"Some Desert Moonglow..."

...for my mom on her birthday...today! ♥

With love from...

Susan, David, Joya, & Jillian...

Jack, Sharon,

Vanessa, Lauren, Steve, & Myles...

Mark, Katie,

Christopher, Courtney, & Corey...

and

Scott & me.

“God could not be everywhere,

and therefore

he made mothers.”
~Rudyard Kipling

HAPPIEST of BIRTHDAY wishes

to you, too, JAN...

my dear, dear friend! ♥

"Let the Trading Begin..."

Well...

I am off and running

in another Illustrated ATC swap adventure

which will go for the next 5 days!

Whew!

I really don't know though if I can give this one away...

as

she is on of my "faves" thus far.

I call her

"Tree of Life: Swirled Starlight"...

my touchstone to the cosmic universe.

*sigh*

"When your heart is filled with love...

you will experience

the Divine

in the entire cosmos.”
~Sri Sathya Sai Baba

"Merry Christmas..."

...from my family...to yours.

♥

“Other things may change us...

but we start and end

with family.”
~Anthony Brandt

"This Magical Eve..."

...may your day be sprinkled with spiritual joy...

and nestled in moments of

serenity and peace.

I wish each of you a happy heart...

a joyful soul...

and

memories softly twinkling with smiles.

"Christmas

waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold,

everything is softer and more

beautiful."

~Norman Vincent Peale

Tree Rings...

...and starlit snowy branches,

a hearty, yet magical, winter solstice combination.

"Winter

is the time for comfort,

for good food and warmth,

for the touch of a friendly hand

and

for a talk beside the fire...

it is the time for

home."

~Edith Sitwell