"My Four Contributions..."

...to the Louis Comfort Tiffany
Stained Glass Window ATC Swap

at Illustrated ATCs.

Domestic landscape triptych with hollyhock detail.

"Landscape with Birches"

"Rest"

One of 5 window panels depicting the four seasons

Battel Chapel...Church of Christ

Norfolk, Connecticut.

Wisteria transom detail...

Tiffany's personal residence...Laurelton Hall

Long Island, New York.

Lastly...the whole ATC swap package...

totally signed...sealed...and delivered...well ahead

of today's April 30th deadline.

Whew! :)

I will post my swap returns as soon as I receive them.

I cannot wait!

“People are like stained-glass windows.

They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,

but when the darkness sets in,

their true beauty is revealed

only

if there is a light from within.”
~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"I Could Not Stop Myself..."

It all started in my Canson sketchbook

with a simple circle...
then it blossomed into cactus inspired buds...

and blooms.

Then my mind told my hand

to keep adding layers upon layers of color. Finally,

I was forced into

double dipping within my

Microsoft Digital Editor options menu

choosing both

a delightful color flip and a textured mosaic

all rolled into one!

Wheeeee!
I just couldn't help it!!! LOL :)

I love days like this!

(My Muse does too.)

(BTW...Original is approx. 6.5" square...images enlarge with a click.)

"95 Degrees..."

...in the "Valley of the Sun" yesterday.

Yep! It's true...

things here in the Sonoran desert are definitely

beginning to sizzle!

Fortunately, the nights are still cooling down

with at least a refreshing 30 degree

drop in temperature.

And...

it really is a dry heat...and that is a blessing.

The "snowbirds" are now flocking

homeward in droves.

Daily, enormous RVs with cars in tow

parade northbound in their seasonal migration.

This is a fairly accurate sign

that

our delightfully beautiful desert spring days

are about to be history.

However...

a significant "Low" pressure system

off the coast of California

promises a drop of 20 degress in temps

by the weekend.

Relief for a bit...but I still know what lies ahead.

I just have to mentally adjust! :)

(NOTE TO SELF: Dry heat...remember it's a dry heat!)

"Happy Blooming Tuesday..."

...from a gorgeous little cactus garden

found decorating the scenic grounds of the

Rancho Mañana Golf Club

(see views from their spectacular golf course here)

nestled sweetly in the hills of

Cave Creek, Arizona.
(Click on images to enlarge...)

"A Kiss..."

...of romantic moonlight
almost always makes a girl blush...
no matter what her age...or her botanical species...:)
Have a super magical day
and
a moon beamed filled night!

“The loveliest faces are to be seen by moonlight,
when one sees half with the eye
and
half with the fancy”
~Persian Proverb

"A Bit of Mish Mash..."

A two page spread in my red Hand.Book journal...

which was actually

started in a restaurant in Tucson in 2009...

then

worked on while "waiting" this week

(see key...right hand corner)

and

finally completed last night while watching

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

on TV.

Oh, and of course...

digitally flipped just before posting...:)

Images enlarge when clicked upon...:)

"Six Word Saturday..."

"Stamps...

postal bling...mail art jewelry!

(P.S. I LOVE them...all shapes and sizes...

domestic and foreign.

♥

I cannot seem to get enough of them!)

Might this be another

art related addiction of mine???

LOL :)

View other "Six Word Saturday" thoughts HERE...:)

"A Quick T.T. Flashback..."

...Thankful Thursday...that is...:)

...first, a frilly zentangled "Lacey River"

from Kristy in Texas...

...next, a gentle, but definitely assertive,

"No Boys Allowed"

from Melody in Utah...

and, last, from Lucie in Canada...
a blooming magnolia and some perched corsairs...:)
both drawn in ball point pen, no less!
Ahhh!
Such beautiful art from such beautiful spirits!
Thank you each and every one!
Why not drop by their art pages and say
"Ahhh!" too! :)
Pssst...
click on any image to enlarge...:)

"Happy Earth Day 2010..."

...from my little corner of the planet...
...to yours...! :) ♥

Be earthwise and thankful this beautiful day!

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."
~Chief Seattle, 1855

"Wordless Wednesday..."

"Retro Posting..."

...the very first spread in my Red Hand.Book Journal...
drawn April 4, 2008...

and, then, following it up with a current post of...

...the final page and end pouch of the same journal...

dated April 10, 2010.

What a difference in artistic personality!

Now, I must ask...

during these past two years

have I just become a whole lot messier...

or busier...

or just more free spirited...

Maybe, a bit of all of these!!!!???

;)

"My studio has a personality of its own.

It can be a monstrous clutter from one end to the other

or, at times,

the very model of simplicity."

~Harley Brown

"I Have Been Diagnosed..."

...with an acute case of

Echinocereus Triglochidiatus fever...

or

as they say in layman's terms:
an unbridled passion for claret cup cactus blooms!

WARNING:

These blooms are very potent...

vivid and alluring...tempting and seductive....

especially to the eyes and spirit

of the beholder.

It has been noted that

they actually force the uncontrollable breaking out

of cameras and sketchbooks.

Imagine that!

Often, vocal noises like
"Ooooh's " and "Aaaah's" and "Mmmm's"

have been recorded as symptomatic of this fever.

Once there has been exposure to this plant...

there is little, if no, hope for recovery.

Past medical cases indicate that

intense sensory stimulation caused by these blooms

may become embedded

in one's memory bank forever.

Even Sunset Jack has succumbed to their powers.

He refuses to come home until well

after nightfall...

and

would rather sit with his new lady friends...

bejeweled by their blossoms...

and bask in the heat of the desert sun

than

be indoors nestled within in the protective arms of my

Artist Trading Card binder.

Hmmm...I guess I really can't blame the guy..;)

and so...his story continues...:)

Happy Cactus Monday...from Sunset Jack,

his "ladies"...and me! :)

(Click on any image to enlarge...)

"Washed Silk..."

...a new texture I have been playing around with...

This is actually 2 layers of the

"Batik Effect"

and

then, of course, it was flipped for more fun.

The result in real life has a

very soft and well worn feel to the piece.

Have a great Sunday!

"Peace..."

...is NOT something you wish for;

♥

It's something you make...

Something you do...

Something you are...

and,

Something you give away.”
~Robert Fulghum

Lace, Lines, Loops...

...and "lotsa" swirls all drawn lead free

and

lavishly linked together...

not only in a leafy labor of (zen journaling) love

but also in
another last minute Illustration Friday prompt. :)

Illustration Friday : "LINKED"

"We begin to die as soon as we are born,

and the end

is linked to the beginning."

~Bret Harte

"Tangles...and Geisha...and Alice..."

...Oh MY!!!

...from Caroline in Australia...
...from Janet in Texas...
...from Melody in Utah...
... and from Deborah in Canada.
What a treat to receive artforms so beautiful
and so varied in format.
It really makes one appreciate all the different styles
and artistic talents there are!
Thanks again to each of these fine artists...
...just click on their names
and you will be wisked away to a Wonderland
of imaginative treasures!
Don't forget to click on any image to enlarge...
maybe even have a cup of tea...but then
things might get
"Curiouser and curiouser."
"Have a cup of tea," indeed!
Well I'm sorry, but I just haven't the time!"
~Alice

♥HAPPY ♥BIRTHDAY ♥

♥VANESSA♥!

XO:)

"Some Well Chosen Words..."

"Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regret.

Appreciate your friends.

Continue to learn.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is."
~ Mary Anne Radmacher

"Where the Wild Things Grow..."

Groggily she awakens from

being sequestered between the stark white pages

in the depths of my Zen Journal.

Seeded from the black ink of a trusty Pitt pen

and

shimmering with wild metallic highlights

she reappears here...

impetuous...flipped in persona and hue...

rebellious...

all passionate, mysterious

and dramatic!

:)

“Every woman is a rebel,

and usually in wild revolt against herself.”
~Oscar Wilde

"The Arizona Adventures..."

...of the infamous Sunset Jack!

He was born of Cactus Monday fame-

birthed in a happy little art studio in Rhode Island

and sent to me weeks ago

as a get well "smile bringer" from Laurel.

First...his formal portrait...

...then out to play in the Agave...
...and to bask in the Bougainvillea...

...later, only to frolic a bit in the Baja Fairy Duster...

...then, from being perched in the Canary Island Palm...

Sunset Jack spots a comfortable(?)

and shady little hideaway

in the sweet green buds of a prolific prickly pear.

What fun he is having in Arizona! :)

You KNOW more adventures are surely to follow!

So...Stay tuned...there's lots to explore!

Have a happy Cactus Monday

wherever you choose to hideaway.

Adios...for now...from

me

and Sunset Jack!

"Hmmm..."

“To imagine is everything,

to know

is nothing at all.”
~Anatole France

"Six Word Saturday..."

"Painting

with strawberries...

Gladys' legendary recipe...:)"

See other Six Word Saturday's here...:)

As always...

click on image to enlarge...:)

"Taking an Artistic Dip..."

...into the clear blue seas

for a focused and flipped...frilly and frivolous,

far fetched and funky

take on an Illustration Friday prompt.

:)

Illustration Friday: "Dip"

“When you shoot an arrow of truth,

dip its point in honey”
~ Arab Proverb

"Six Splendid Selections..."

...to share with you today...:)

...a fabulous "Blockhead" mixed media card

from Cynthia in Kansas...
...an origami Sphinx from Carey in California...
...some painted sunflowers from Debi in Illinois...
...Two oriental maidens on embossed paper
from Cheryl in Utah...

...a magical "Sky Unicorn" from Maricela in Mexico...

...And, lastly, a tea bag fold origami paper design

from Janet in Texas.

It never ceases to amaze me

to see all the varied styles and types of art

people are making.

I am very thankful to have so many beautiful

examples in my collection.

Pop on by and see the more comprehensive work

of these

lovely artists if you find some time.

Enjoy!