Monday, May 31, 2010

"A Past Post Remembering..."

...those who gave their all this Memorial Day.

"Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died.
America can't you see...
All gave some
and some gave all...
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall.
And if you ever think of me...
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all..."
~BillyRay Cyrus

Sunday, May 30, 2010

"By the Light of the Moon..."






...Sunset Jack left Illinois Saturday just after midnight for his
5:00 AM flight
back home to Arizona...
it was a "Hard Day's Night" for sure.
This weekend Jack will be doing nothing but resting
and
catching up on his blog friends...
It's good to be home!
(Past adventures of Sunset Jack can be found here.)

"It's been a
hard day's night,
and I've been working like a dog...
It's been
a hard day's night,
I should be sleeping like a log...
But
when I get home to you I find the things
that you do
Will make me feel
alright..."
~John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Friday, May 28, 2010

"A Heartfelt Tribute..."

...To those who serve unselfishly-
bringing light into darkest corners with a warm smile
or a tender touch...
To those who give lovingly from their hearts daily
to perfect strangers who have been
placed in their care...
To those who provide unceasingly
remarkable levels of dignity, respect, comfort, and support
to the terminally ill...
To each of the professionals and volunteers
of health care and hospice
systems worldwide
who bolster inner strength and peace in so many...
who serve from their hearts
and
love from their souls...
You are the best.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

"Hanging By A Thread..."

...to a wispy world of limited wireless connections.
Guess that's part of the deal when
trying to "make do" when
travelling.
This heart was made on scratchboard...
carved with various tools
and then washed with some watercolor paint.
Very rough around the edges...
a perfect partner for a very piecemeal post.
Never realized how internet spoiled I am
back in AZ.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

"Cottonwood Snowfall...!"







...down like, fluffy tufts of seed...they are nestled EVERYWHERE!!!

"The smallest seed of faith
is better than the largest fruit of happiness."
~Henry David Thoreau

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

"Meet Coral Sunset..."

...a perfectly petaled peony from the infamous Blumen Gardens
(a little slice of gardening paradise) right here
in Sycamore Illinois...:)
Happy Blooming Tuesday y'all!

"Bread feeds the body,
indeed...
but flowers feed also the soul."
~The Koran

Monday, May 24, 2010

"A Doubly Delightful Day..."

...my 700th blogpost and a Cactus Monday
all rolled up into one!
How sweet...and so superbly serendipitous!
Let the party begin!!!!

"Serendipity is putting a quarter in the gumball machine
and have three pieces come rattling out
instead of one-all red!"
~Peter H. Reynolds

Sunday, May 23, 2010

"Balancing Act..."

“Toleration
is the greatest gift of the mind;
it requires the same effort of the brain
that it takes
to balance oneself on a bicycle.”
~Helen Keller

Saturday, May 22, 2010

"Six Word Saturday..."

An African Violet..."Floral Zen" style...:)

See other six word Saturdays here...:)

Friday, May 21, 2010

"There Is Nothing Like..."

...cherry blossom time in Washington D.C.
I remember
when I was a little girl
my parents would take our whole family to
see my grandparents who lived in D.C.
We would travel the seemingly endless miles by car...
nonstop...
weaving in and out of tedious road detours
throughout Indiana and Ohio.
And then we would reach the "magical highway"...
the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
It was breathtaking...
complete with wide smooth driving lanes,
tunnels through the mountains,
and the wonderful Howard Johnson rest stops.
This is the always the spot in the trip where
my car sickness bouts would come to an official end.
It also meant
that quite "soon" we would finally reach
my grandma and grandpa's house...
a comfy bed to sleep in...
and all the
wonders of the Capitol city.
As majestic as all the formal marble monuments were...
it was
the simple and natural springtime display
of the lacy fluttery
Washington D.C tidal basin cherry blossoms
which holds the most special place
in my heart's memory.
Those blossoms were the inspiration for this card.
Someday I will return to D.C....
in the spring...
and take it all in...with childlike wonder...once again.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

"TaDaaaa! Here They Are..."

...the three ATC cards I received from the
Louis Comfort Tiffany Window Panel ATC Swap
at
From L-R:
"Riverbrooks" from Sandra In Oregon...
"Floral detail" from Cheryl in New Hampshire...
and
"Landscape with Irises" from Amy in Illinois.
What beautiful work in each piece!
NOTE: If you click on each artist's name
you will be directed
to their personal galleries at iATC...
well worth your time!
Be sure to also click on the image above so you can
see the marvelous details
easily.
You can see my trades for the swap here. :)
Thanks, ladies!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"Ancient Petroglyphs..."

...with a contemporary, watercolor-batik style twist!
"Sky Visitors Dawn"...
...and..."Sky Visitors Dusk"...:)
Ummm...
Yes, I must admit I was glued to the television last night
watching the last new episode of "Lost"
(setting the tone for the 2 hour series finale event Sunday)
and the season finale of "V".
However,
as planned as it may seem...
might
this extraterrestrial posting merely be
an ''unplanned coincidence"...
from a
"sideways/parallel" universe...
or...
not???
Hmmmmmmmm...
:)

"We are all visitors to this time, this place.
We are just passing through.
Our purpose here is to observe, to learn,
to grow, to love...
and then we return home."
~Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

"What a Twavelin' Wabbit..."


...and
that would be the infamous Sunset Jack, of course,
out "on the road"
wishing you a butterfly-filled Happy Blooming Tuesday!
(Click on images to enlarge...no cropping options
available for Jack
while away from his "studio"...Dwats! :)

"Ideas are like rabbits.
You get a couple...and learn how to handle them...
and
pretty soon you have a dozen."
~John Steinbeck

Monday, May 17, 2010

"Arroyo Gold..."

Hmmm...
What's "Arroyo Gold"???
Well... It's not a brand of tequila...
nor is it some street jargon for an illegal drug...:)
It is just the name
I gave
a sweet little cactus
drawn totally from my imagination
and
splashed by my Muse with some juicy watercolor.
She appears here simply to wish
everyone
Happy Cactus Monday! :)
Have a golden day!

"More gold
has been mined from the thoughts of men
than has been taken
from the earth."
~Napoleon Hill
(American author, 1883-1970)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

"Some Sunday Thoughts..."

...along with some simple zen inspired art for you!

“Perhaps middle-age is,
or should be,
a period of shedding shells;
the shell of ambition,
the shell of material accumulations and possessions,
the shell of the ego.”
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

(American writer and aviation pioneer, 1906-2001)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

"Six Word Saturday..."

Tiny feet...vivid imaginations...
awaiting life...:)

See other Six Word Saturdays here...:)

Friday, May 14, 2010

"A Delightful Duo..."

First, yet another geisha from the "Geisha Queen" herself...
Janet in Texas...
And second, a masterful "OM"mantra card
made entirely in ball point pen
from Lisa in Arizona.
Lisa and I have made plans to do a Moly_X art trade...
(a.k.a. Moleskine Sketchbook Exchange)
Can't wait!
What fun it is to continue to receive
such tiny treasures
and trade talents with
kindred spirits from all over the world.
I am very thankful indeed!
(As always...click on any image to enlarge...)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

"Care For A Cuppa...?"

This is my "Me Time" mug.
I use it when I am feeling in a really
100% "zen-good" mood.
It was made in an artists' co-op in Nepal...
and
I found it at the Ten Thousand Villages boutique
not far from where I live.
Artisans whose merchandise is sold in this store
are paid fair trade wages.
I think that is so cool.
Hence, this mug has super great karma.
I love the feel and heft of it.
In reality it is actually more pale, pale stone gray in color...
but somehow when I painted her
my silver blue Daniel Smith iridescent paint
kept jumping on my brush.
Go figure! :)

EDinMay...EDM #04..."Draw a Mug..."

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

"A Little Black Purse..."

...every girl needs one, right?
Mine is made of black tooled leather
with silver studs and a silver center button.
I bought it on a lark
while playing tourist up in Wickenburg, Arizona
at a western leather goods store.
It happens to be one of my fave "Go-To" pieces.

EDinMay...EDM #03..."Draw a Purse..."

BTW...
as of this posting, I am currently
9 days of sketching behind
the rest of "y'all" in completing
an EDM every day in May.
I feel like
I have been flung hard from my horse
and am now
tumbling deeply into the thorny ravine of "Need to Do's."
I still have one more drawing in my sketchbook
done and ready to share.
Sadly though,
as far as keeping up with the group
and the future EDM sketches... I will honestly attempt to
"catch as catch can..."(whatever that means!)
I don't mean to disappoint...I'm just facing the facts.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do..."
~Mindy McCready

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

"In the Pink..."

...I'm feeling in the pink. :)
Well,
let's say I'm in the light pink...
not anywhere near even half as powerfully pink as these
bougainvillea beauties...
but definitely I am no longer in the
yucky gray zone.
Thanks for all your well wishes...
It was a looong five days.
:)

Saturday, May 8, 2010

"Feeling Bleh..."

...with a vicious attack of the stomach flu bug.
Blogging not very high on my to do list...
Hopefully, soon.!

Friday, May 7, 2010

"Shedding Some Light..."

...on the subject. :)
This little lamp
stands only about a foot tall
and was one of the first purchases
we made when we moved to Arizona.
We had no furniture or TV
but
we had this little lamp!
It originally lit our front hall table
(once we purchased one)
but she now resides on the kitchen bar counter
and serves
as a sweet bit of a night light.

Every Day in May ♥ EDM #02: "Draw A Lamp"

"An apt quotation
is like a lamp which flings its light
over the whole sentence."
~Letitia Landon

Thursday, May 6, 2010

"More Mail Art...YAY!"

...some swirly pink sand dunes and clouds
from Pam in Oregon...
...some funky cool modern art from Joss in the U.K....
...Pandora and her mysterious Grecian urn
from Erin in California...
...a suprise package
from Bonnie in Pennsylvania...
a wooden charm with my own artwork on it!
...a "Chasing Butterflies" geisha from Janet in Texas...
...the sweetest little violet fairy
from Renske in the Netherlands...
... and lastly, from Carey in California...
an teeny oragami crane on a hand painted background.
What treats galore!
If you haven't already checked out these artists
and their work
pop in on them if time allows.
You will find some wonderful artfilled delights!
Thanks to all!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

"Foot Loose and Fancy Free..."

Since moving to Arizona several years ago...
I hardly wear shoes any longer.
Now, my closet is filled with sandals
of all shapes and sizes...
and a huge variety of flip flops.
This pair of HotFlops is totally outrageous
and is great fun to wear whenever
I want to feel like
Chiquita Banana...:)

Liz Steel (aka Borromini Bear)
proposed the idea
to do the EDM challenges 1-31 for "Everyday in May".
Since I have really been feeling the urge to
go back to my roots lately...
(illustrated watercolor journaling )
I felt this might just be what the art doctor ordered
to set me back on the right path.
I hope you pop back in every now and again
and
enjoy my adventure this month...:)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

"Turning Gray..."


...and then snowy white...
while
fiddling around a bit with tonal values in my
2010 Zen Journal....(and Microsoft Editor.)
Hmmm...
That actually reminds me...
I think I may need to make a salon appointment
later this week. :)

Gray hairs
are signs of wisdom if you hold your tongue.
Speak...
and they are but hairs,
as
in the young.”
~
Rabindranath Tagore
Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist,
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913,
1861-1941

Monday, May 3, 2010

"Sending Zen-Filled..."

...Calla lillies, Butterflies, Cacti, and Sparkles
in the form of a
Happy Birthday Zendala
to my younger brother Jack...
as he celebrates his "something-something" birthday
this first Cactus Monday
in May!
(Me, Mom, Jack...on his 1st Birthday)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!!
We LOVE You!
XO♥:)

“And in the end,
it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.”
~Abraham Lincoln

Sunday, May 2, 2010

"Happy May...!"

"The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings."
~Joyce Kilmer, Spring

Saturday, May 1, 2010

"Six Word Saturday..."

"Drug Bust...
Art addictions start early! "

This stash (x's 2)
was recovered as part of some Christmas goodies
smuggled into Surprise, Arizona
in 2009
by the infamous and notorious "Eleanor the Elf".
Eleanor's addictive gifts
are on children's most wanted list
internationally.
The contraband is secretly brought into the country
direct from the North Pole...
so the street value of the items is
ranked in the upper reaches of one's imagination.
Beware of the addiction to similar items
in your own cupboards
and drawers...
they are known to cause spontaneous 'Art Attacks."
Also, be on the lookout
for various male counterparts to Eleanor.
Allegedly, they go by the names of
Jerry (Artarama),
Dick (Blick),
Daniel (Smith),
and Michael.

See other "Six Word Saturdays" HERE.