Saturday, December 31, 2011

"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

Thursday, December 29, 2011

"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! ♥

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

"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

Sunday, December 25, 2011

"Merry Christmas..."

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

Other things may change us...
but we start and end
with family.”
~
Anthony Brandt

Saturday, December 24, 2011

"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

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

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

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"The State of the Weather..."

in Arizona:
soaking rains here in the desert valley...
and SNOW
in the higher mountainous elevations
around Flagstaff and along the Mogollon rim
with
24+ inch accumulation totals
predicted from just yesterday and today.
Winter is definitely here!
Brrr!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

How To Be Alone



I found this on my friend Lisa's Facebook page. It is simply delightful and full of love. Enjoy! :)

Friday, December 2, 2011

There Always Seems To Be..."

...something around to draw...
while sitting around waiting, and waiting, and waiting...
for "this or that"!
The fire extinguisher was drawn lead free...
ink straight in...
(which explains the wonkiness of it)
at the gate.
The swirls and botanical bits were drawn
in flight...
after awakening from a long snooze.
(Note departure time...yawn!)
Color was added back in Arizona.
:)

"A new idea is delicate.
It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn;
it can be stabbed to death by a joke
or
worried to death
by a frown on the right person's brow."
~Charles Brower

Thursday, November 24, 2011

"Sending Some Desert Love..."

...your way.
May your artistic Muse be energized...
and
your heart sparkle with thanks.
Have a most rewarding Thanksgiving Day!

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."
~Seneca

Monday, November 21, 2011

"Being Thankful.."


for those "little" things in life.
I found this on a friend's post on Facebook.
It is filled with exquisite, breathtaking photography...
and worth every second of viewing.
So grab a cuppa,
turn up the sound, then sit back and enjoy.
Thanks, Caroline...

"I would maintain
that thanks are the highest form of thought,
and
that gratitude is happiness doubled
by wonder."
~G. K. Chesterton

Saturday, November 19, 2011

"I Love Rust..."

...and things with
coppery green patinas and creaky handles.
Things that are so loving worn
and filled to the brim with silent storied lives
touch my heart.
Hmmm...wait a minute...
I could very well be describing myself!

“A determined soul
will do more with a rusty monkey wrench
than a loafer
will accomplish with all the tools
in a machine shop.”
~Robert Hughes

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Remembering...


...my Uncle Al...
who passed away over 50 years ago..
this day.
Some days, I feel he has never left me.

May you never forget what is worth remembering,
nor
ever remember what is best
forgotten.”
~
Irish Blessing

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

"Seasonal Fabric Design..."


...inspired from an ad I saw
this summer in Chicago magazine.
Drawn ink straight in...
and flipped into the negative format with
Microsoft Digital Editor.
Looks like a snowy branch...doesn't it?
Hmmm...
a rather an appropriate flip
(if I do say so myself)
as it is almost the winter season
and
I am just now posting
this quirky little summer drawing...
LOL :)

"To be interested in the changing seasons
is a happier state of mind
than to be hopelessly in love
with spring."
~George Santayana

Drawn Lead Free...


...without glasses on...
while waiting in a doctor's office this summer.
And, yes, it's another
from my "backtracking" vault of illustrated memories.
:)

The supreme accomplishment
is to blur the line between work and play.”
~
Arnold Toynbee

Saturday, November 12, 2011

"Backtracking..."


...in an attempt to catch up...
with all my summer journal drawings
so
I am ready for new art
for the holidays!
This was drawn "ink straight in"...lead free...
while awaiting an
optometry appointment this summer back in Illinois.
This was my view
from where I was seated in the waiting room.
I actually added watercolor just about a week later...
then
flipped it into the "negative" with Microsoft Digital Editor
a few seconds ago
and finally posted it just now...
almost 4 months
later.
Backtracking...at its finest!

"Never forget
the power of silence,
that massively disconcerting pause
which
goes on and on
and may at last induce an opponent
to babble and backtrack
nervously."
~Lance Morrow

Thursday, November 3, 2011

"Yeeuup...Some More..."

A "Cosmic Offerenda" (altar)...
...a tribute to "Pink Warrior" women...
..."Hera"...
..."Persephone"...
...and, finally, "Bones, Braids, and Bling"
I made and traded 25 such themed cards
last weekend
during Illustrated ATCs online
Halloween artathon.
(If you like...you can check them out
by simply clicking on the pomegranate heart
graphic on my side bar.)
My Muse has a serious addiction to these...
but...
I seriously think it's about time
to move on. :)

"Just cause you got the monkey off your back
doesn't mean the circus
has left town."
~George Carlin

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

"In Celebration..."

...of loved ones who have gone before us.
Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos)
is a Mexican holiday
celebrated throughout Mexico
and around the world in many cultures.
Here in the desert southwest United States
it is a very popular holiday indeed.
The holiday focuses
on gatherings of family and friends
to pray for
and remember loved ones
who have died.
In Mexico it is like a national holiday.
The celebration takes place on November 1–2,
in connection with
the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1)
and All Souls' Day (November 2).
Traditions connected with this holiday
include building private altars
honoring the deceased using sugar skulls,
marigolds,
and the favorite foods and beverages.
It also includes
visiting the graves of the departed
with these as gifts.
During the next several days I will be sharing
with you some of my own
Dia De Los Muertos art cards
as well as some photos of offerendas (altars)
made by professional artists
as part of a Dia de Los Muertos
celebration at the Desert Botanical Gardens
in Phoenix.
They were so beautiful and soulful...
they actually took my breath
away.

Friday, October 28, 2011

"Woo Hoooo!...50 Years...!"

Wishing all our friends, neighbors, and family
a super fantastic time
at the
50th Anniversary celebration
of the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival this weekend
in the beautiful (used to be) small town of
Sycamore, Illinois.
(Festival photos can be viewed here.)
Be sure to
enjoy every single second...every minute of the parade,
every pork chop sandwich,
slice of pumpkin pie, and cup of hot chocolate too!
Mmmm...life is indeed good!
Wish we could be there to party with you. :)

“The nice part about living in a small town
is that when you don't know what you're doing...
someone else does.”
~Author unknown

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

"On The Road Again..."


...in my sketchbook...
but this time back in Arizona
travelling between Wickenburg to Wikieup...
en route to Las Vegas Nevada.
(...flipped here just cuz I haven't done it in a long time! )
Lots of boulders, Joshua trees,
and beautiful, bold iron-red buttes decorated
our asphalt passage northwest!
Whew!
Do I have a lot of catching up to do!

“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.”
~Chinese Proverb

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
~Jeff Candido and Jason Hoff
...advertising slogan
written for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
2002

Thursday, October 6, 2011

In Memoriam...

"Your time is limited,
so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Don't be trapped by dogma-
which is living with the results of other people's
thinking.
Don't let the noise of other's opinions
drown out your own inner voice.
And most important,
have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They
somehow already know
what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary."
~Steve Jobs
1955-2011

Sunday, October 2, 2011

"Oh, Happy Day..."




October 2nd, 1945
they were wed at Alameda Naval Air Station
just outside San Francisco.
Tonight we celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary
complete with cream puffs...(it's a long story)
We love you Mom and Dad...:)
Oh happy day, indeed!

"Our wedding was many years ago.
The celebration continues to this day."
~Gene Perret

Saturday, October 1, 2011

"Happy October..."

...my most favorite month of the year! :)

"There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir,
We must rise and follow her;
When from every hill of flame,
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.”
~William Bliss Carman

Sunday, September 25, 2011

"Heading Back Home..."

"There is nothing like
returning to a place that remains unchanged...
to find the ways
in which you yourself have altered.”
~Nelson Mandela

Sunday, September 18, 2011

"Happy Sunday..."

from me to you. :)
It's an overcast, rainy, 57 degree Sunday here in
Sycamore, Illinois.
Some may consider it dreary...but...
to this Arizona girl it is a
perfect prelude to the coming of fall.
It is
a day for warm cozy fireplaces, baking oatmeal cookies,
and having good one-on one time
with my artistic Muse.
Add some take out Chinese sesame chicken for dinner
and the day is complete.
Our past week here has been filled with
visiting apple orchards, walking through pumpkin patches,
playing in corn mazes
and even strolling through a Christmas tree farm.
Fresh apple cider and apple cinnamon donuts have
topped off almost every trip.
I absolutely LOVE this time of year to pieces...
fall is my most favorite season of all.
I feel blessed
to be able to experience even this small slice of it
midwest style...
before heading back to desert and her beauty
by the end of the month.
Our time in Illinois whooshed by so quickly this year.
It has really taken me by surprise...
as I left Arizona dragging my heels...dreading the blast of
humidity I knew was inevitable here.
I sit and marvel at the fact
that I now feel I may be dragging my heels going back to Arizona!
Funny, isn't it?
My blog posts have been few and far between this trip...
sorry 'bout that.
I suppose that is normal when
changing and readjusting one's daily habits occurs.
I thank those of you
who still come back for visits either daily...
or every now and then.
I have lots of art to share...and I promise I will do so...
soon...:)

“Shut the door...
not that it lets in the cold...but that it lets out
the coziness.”
~Mark Twain

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

"Sweet Serenity..."

...the last of my "Sensitive Floral" series of this summer.
Happy Blooming Tuesday...
and
Happy Belated Birthday to my niece Courtney!!
Love you! XO

“Boredom is the feeling
that everything is a waste of time;
serenity,
that nothing is.”
~Thomas S. Szasz

Sunday, September 11, 2011

"Reflections...A Repost..."

I,
like so many others,
remember exactly everything
about that fateful September morning in 2001
when
all of our "knowns" became "unknowns".

September 11th, 2001
started as routinely as any regular school day.
My lesson plan for social studies that day was to
introduce the concepts of
"Fact...Opinion...and Rumor..."
as part of understanding current events.
That is the absolute, unbelieveable, undeniable TRUTH!!!
I still get chills every time I think about it.

Needless to say,
during those seconds, and minutes, and hours
of that teaching day
and
throughout the infinite lessons and journal entries
and broken hearts, and tears, and the thousands of questions
of those days that followed ...
it
undeniably was one of the most powerfully moving and
spiritually inspiring
moments of my entire teaching career.

I remember that day as if it were yesterday...
it is crystal clear in my heart.
My personal memories of it are wrenching and raw
yet paradoxically serene and filled with hope.
Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is very special.
I was a privilege that day to be a teacher.

I dedicate this post to the memory of those souls lost that day...
and
to the junior high students who were in my classes then...
and
to Matt, my team teaching partner,
who "held my hand" throughout it all.
I wish you peace...

Remember...Every day REALLY does matter.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

"Back To My Moleskine..."

...after spending an exhilarating, and also exhausting,
Labor Day weekend
making & swapping 25 artist trading cards
So...now I guess it's time that I had better
"SNAP" to...cuz my Muse is really a "DRAGGIN' ".
Get it? Snap...draggin'???)
Hehheheh hahahah! :)
Yeah...I know...that was totally lame...:)

“Through humor,
you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers.
And once you find laughter,
no matter how painful your situation might be,
you can survive it.”
~
Bill Cosby

Friday, September 2, 2011

"The Gathering..."

...posted today in honor of the large gathering of artists
at Illustrated ATCs this weekend
for the 3 day 2011 Labor Day Weekend Artathon!
Pop over for a peek in our gallery!
Just click here!
Wheeeeeeee!

"True wisdom
lies in gathering the precious things out of each day
as it goes by.”
~Author unknown

Thursday, September 1, 2011

My Entries...

...for the 2011 "I Love Japan" swap at Illustrated ATCs.

First, a Gion Matsuri Festival Lantern...
...followed by a "Cherry Blossom Geisha"...
then, an "Uchiwa Flat Fan"...
and finally, an "Uchiwa Folded Fan"..."

“Do not follow the ideas of others,
but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Your body and mind will become clear
and
you will realize the unity of all things.”
~Dogen
Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher
1200-1253

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

"Curtain Call..."

...for the last Blooming Tuesday post of this August.

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others.
We are all children of chance
and none can say why some fields will blossom
while others
lay brown beneath the August sun.
Care for those around you.
Look past your differences.
Their dreams are no less than yours,
their choices
no more easily made.
And give,
give in any way you can, of whatever you possess.
To give is to love.
To withhold is to wither.
Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared
and
your life will have meaning
and
your heart
will have peace.”
~Kent Nerburn

Sunday, August 28, 2011

"A Zen Batik..."

...painted with Daniel Smith's magical iridescent sapphire
watercolor.
Tilt it one way and it reads a soft blueish violet
with a rich satiny sheen.
Tilt it the other way...
and it takes on a glowing, sparkling-rich, deep sapphire color.
When digitally scanned
the magic vaporizes and the color become flat and stormy gray.
Such is life, sometimes.
I wish my family and friends on the eastern seaboard
a speedy recovery from any damage
suffered from Irene.
May the palette of your skies and coastlines return to
the sparkly sapphire of summer.

“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime.
Never make a negative decision in the low time.
Never make your most important decisions
when you are in your worst moods.
Wait.
Be patient.
The storm will pass.
The spring will come.”
~Robert H. Schuller

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

"A Sky Visitor..."

...back for a second blog visit.
What???
Another repeat, you ask??? Why???
Well...
I have been making art like crazy...and have lots to share....
BUT...(here come the excuses)
my nemesis, lately, has been my Illinois scanner
and now, a current bout with
a bit of the lazy summertime blues, blahs, and blehs.
Kids
are back to school today in Sycamore...
Hobby Lobby
has Christmas stuff on display...
and
I feel like I fell through a time warp...
What in the world has happpened to August???
Maybe
that sky visitor had something to do with it!
That's my story...I'm stickin' to it.

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures
come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
~George Washington

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

"Sensational..."

...another card in my whimsical "sensitive floral" series...:)
Happy Blooming Tuesday!

The simplification of anything is always sensational.”
~G. K. Chesterton

Sunday, August 21, 2011

"Some Subtle, Soft..."

...Summer-Sunday Zen.
These branches are part of a much larger imaginary
"Tree of Life"
which magically sprouted in my Muse's mind
the beginning of this month.
I think she may have had a bit of an autumnal
breath or two in her spirit as well.
I know I most certainly do...
I am totally ready!

"I like trees because
they seem more resigned to the way they have to live
than other things do."
~Willa Cather, 1913

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

"Visiting My Brother..."

...today for my annual dental checkup.
This illo was drawn ink straight in..."lead free"
in my Illinois sketchbook just about three years ago
and posted on my blog
shortly thereafter.
I thought she deserved a repost today.
Guess we'll have to wait and see how my artistic Muse
actually interprets today's visit.
Maybe another illo might be in the works...:)

"Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable
than a diamond."
~Miguel de Cervantes,
Don Quixote, 1605