"Awaiting Dr. Chen..."

...and viewing an eye chart from a whole new perspective.

“Language shapes the way we think,
and determines
what we can think about.”
~Benjamin Lee Whorf

"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

"Six Word Saturday..."

In any language...LOVE is fundamental. ♥

"Six Word Saturday..."

Zen Journal...inside cover...started yesterday!

:)

"Ahhh! Imagine...Dream..."

...and best of all...Bloom!

These blossoms have flown away on sweet summer breezes

to live with Judy, and Melanie...and Patty.

Somedays,

I wish I could fly away too!

Happy Blooming Tuesday All! :)

"In our dreams we are able to fly . . .

and that is a remembering of how we were meant to be."
~Madeleine L'Engle

"Les Fleurs Françaises..."

Four of the dozen gorgeous roses my "sweetie" gifted me before his trip.

He left just yesterday morning...

but it already feels like he's been gone a lifetime!

LOL:)

As I stood at the dining room table painting these...

my Red Hand*Book journal in one hand...

my paint brush in the other,

squinting my eye

and

measuring distances very knowingly with my thumb...

I felt very French indeed.

And...

as my high school French could take me only so far...

(...Sorry Mademoiselle Evard...)

I used a web tool for translation.

My sincerest apologies to anyone who reads or writes French!

I couldn't help myself...

I was just in a French state of mind! :)

Floraison joyeuse Mardi!

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

"Voila!"

~Me

"Roll Out the Barrels...!

...Happy Cactus Monday all!

May each of you have a barrel of fun today!

"Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."

~William J. Clinton

"A Bit of LOVE..."

...written in Chinese calligraphy

on a little bitty ATC card...

...The first in the "China Bloom" series...:)

I cannot stop designing these little treasures...

My brain does not turn off...

It is playing full speed and overtime in Fantasyland!

The "plan", as it now stands, is to design several series of cards...

with six cards to a series.

After that...I don't quite know what I will do with them!

(Some may be sent to Zazzle and made into cards or stickers...???)

Several people have offered to trade...

and I see that to be a wonderful summer possibility!

So...Stay tuned, if interested...:)

You can see all of them all here on Flickr...

Or, as a series...with # of cards completed thus far below:

Sunlight Series...3/6 completed

Branching Out Series...6/6 completed

Ancient Floral Design...2/6 completed

Desert Whimsy...2/6 completed

Time Zones...1/6 completed

China Blooms...1/6 completed

Blooming Desert...4/6 completed...1 gifted

"I like nonsense,

it wakes up the brain cells.

Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,

It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.

Which is what I do,

And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
~Dr. Seuss

"What a Treat...!"

Coming all the way from Dubai...to the Valley of the Sun...

...my name "Peg" in Arabic...

along with some very humbling descriptors

written around it which translated read:

"artist, sensitive, humane, beautiful, creative."

This stunningly lovely and generous gift of calligraphic art

was beautifully written by

Fadwa....in Dubai.

Click here to visit her site...it is an inspirational delight!

I love her unique journal pages...and the way she

alters books to write stories.

She also designs gorgeous beaded jewelry...

and you can check that out here. :)

Thanks, again, Fadwa...I am on "cloud nine"!

Blogging is a unique way to share one's little corner of the world.

I think its richness and diversity makes each of us

better citizens of this planet.

I cherish the openness of hearts in our artistic blogging world.

There is a lot of beauty to see, and inspiration to find,

and fabulous people to meet

in this world...

and the best thing about it is that they are all simply

one little mouse click away!

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,

for beauty is God's handwriting."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Held Hostage..."

...all day Wednesday

by a wickedly piercing migraine.

Not even my little lavender filled neck roll,

a long nap, and good drugs

would make it go

away.

"I'm very brave generally, he went on in a low voice:

only today I happen to have a headache."
~Lewis Carroll

"Gung Hay Fat Choy...!"

or...Gong Xi Fa Cai...!

(click on above for pronunciation and Chinese characters...it's pretty cool!)

...In celebration of the

the Chinese Lunar New Year which began yesterday.
"2009...The Year of the Ox"

A New Year's Market... Image Source: Wikipedia
" Have a Wonderful new Year
Filled With Blessings..."

The calligraphy was copied from a Chinese New Year card

I was given.

The stamps in the lower right hand corner are from

a Chinese chop my sister gifted me

from her trip to China.

For more really interesting information about this holiday

click here...good stuff, I promise!

May Prosperity Be With You! :)

"If you are planning for a year, sow rice;

if you are planning for a decade, plant trees;

if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people."
~Chinese Proverb

"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember;

involve me and I'll understand."
~Chinese Proverb

"IF: PALE..."

Illustration Friday January, 16, 2009:

"Pale"

"It is not these well-fed long-haired men that I fear,

but the pale and the hungry-looking."

~Julius Caesar

"The tones of gray, pale turquoise and pink will prevail."

~Christian Dior

"The moon's an arrant thief,

And her pale fire she snatches from the sun."
~William Shakespeare

"IF: CONTAINED..."

...within these pages of my sketchbooks

my

ideas,

sketches,

doodles,

challenges,

thoughts,

everyday ordinary things

are

CONTAINED.

Illustration Friday Challenge: "Contained"

January 9, 2009

"A true photograph need not be explained,

nor

can it be contained in words."
~Ansel Adams

"Lemons and Roses..."

The sweet scent of it all...

We both sat outside most of the day...I sketched and painted...

Scott watched bowl games...lots of them!

The sun was brilliant and bright and full of dry desert warmth...

The air mostly calm...the skies clear and blue.

The fragrance from our outdoor table wreath, invigorated by the sun,

filled the air

with pine, cedar, and juniper.

The scent of rosemary,

from several nearby shrubs,

danced gently around us as well.

I picked a few lemons from our tree to draw...

and...to my delight...that added yet another

layer to the day's fragrant palette.

"Ahhh"...I said to myself as my brush glided across my sketchbook...

"This IS the 'Arizona' everyone comes here to experience...

...What a perfect day!"

Hmmm...:)

My drawing here is very simple,

the words not even my own...but copied from a card Scott gave me.

The true beauty of this sketch is simply in its existence.

Everything in it seemed to flow deliciously and easily together.

And...

whenever I look at this page in the future...I won't focus on the

"Lemons and the Roses"

I will remember vividly the palette of the day..

the warmth, the fragrances, the fluttering of hummingbird wings

the sunlight, and the long shadows...

Ah! What treasure it is to live life through the senses!

What a joy to "BE"!

"It's a higher frequency of consciousness when you get 'out there.' "

~Aliye Cullu..regarding plein air painting

"BE..."

No secret resolutions, fancy promises, or wordy goals...

Just one plain and simple idea

"BE"

...my word of "direction" and my personal focus for 2009.

To "BE" in the moment...every moment...

fully..

actively, healthily, creatively, appreciatively, openly,

each and every day.
To "BE".

"The secret of health for both mind and body
is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future,
or anticipate troubles,
but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
~Buddha

"BE".

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do.
Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time.
The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.
This is your moment.
Own it.”
~Oprah Winfrey

"BE".

"This very moment

is a seed from which the flowers of tomorrow's happiness grow."
~Margaret Lindsey

"BE".

"Birds and Napkins..."

This is the final sketch drawn & painted in my workshop last Thursday.

A Bird of Paradise...right there in front of me!

What a joy to find her...she took my artistic breath away!

Bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) is a dramatic plant

with distinctive iridescent orange and midnight blue flowers

that resemble an exotic bird peeking out from the broad leaves.

It blooms in autumn, winter and spring.

This flower is often associated with tropical places,

like Hawaii,

but the plant is actually native to South Africa.

It grows wild in the eastern Cape

where it is an important nectar source for birds.

In the United States

it is widely used as an ornamental in Southern California and Florida

It is the official flower of the City of Los Angeles.

It is also commonly used as a cut flower in the florist trade.

(my resource for above info)

This is the first time I ever saw one in a natural habitat.

I can only imagine the stunning beauty of seeing them

growing wild in South Africa.

Ahhh...again Mother Nature surely outdoes herself doesn't she?!

Well...

No philosphical quotation today...just a bit of Bird of Paradise fun!

The holidays are coming...so check this out...

Learn how to fold a napkin like a bird of paradise! Click right here!

(btw...This one's in your honor Soulbrush!)

"A Montage..."

...of more of my artful musings in Nina's Johansson's marvelous Maruman

"Multitude"!

This is my artwork on pages 17-20 of Nina's book.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

My artwork on pages 5-8, posted earlier, can been seen here.

You can also

check out the Maruman_X blogspot for more "goodies"

and any recent updates.

There will still be much more to see and enjoy.

Two books remain to be completed before being sent home to

Anita Davies in England

and

Jennifer Lawson in Bali.

"Spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you."
~Saint Bartholomew

"Inside My Mind..."

...and some more of my art
on pages 20-24
of Jennifer Lawson's little Maruman sketchbook entitled
"Transitions."

My art begins the first four pages
of the "backside " of the sketchbook...
and ends where the bougainvillea vines blend
with Jennifers wild roses.

I chose to include a postcard here because

it was through an international postcard exchange

with Anita Davies

where I started, with baby steps, on the path to "blogdom"...

...and now, just a short while later,

I am here exchanging Maruman sketchbooks with fellow artists!

That is a transition which still takes my breath away.

I chose the Monument Valley region to be on the postcard

not only because

of its "wild west" beauty and universal appeal,

but also because

of its unique location in both Utah and Arizona...

a space transition of monumental proportions to be sure! :)

If you look carefully you will see that

the cactus was painted in various stages of bloom...

The quote:

"Change is the only constant." ~Ghandi

is one of my most favorite...

and has especially helped me bear through many a bump in many a road.

The vines stemming from the bougainvillea branches

are from my imagination...actual "Bougies" don't have them...

Through bits of calligraphy I attempted to illustrate

how transition in its various forms

can be growth...a new beginning

for each of us.

This theme was an interesting challenge...

it went beyond visual pen marks,

and brush stokes,

and choices of color...

into a unique artistic space for me...

and a inspirational transition for sure!

The last full reveal of my work in "Transitions"

will be in tomorrow's post...

Hope you will stop back by for a visit! :)

"She's At It Again...!"

...More Nocturnal Activity...

Showing off 5 of her bloomers to her batty late night friends

for the third time this summer season!
TSK! TSK!

What a "flirt" my Night Blooming Cereus is!

I can tell

she's even lining up more activity for the coming nights...

flower buds are sticking out of her everywhere!

One thing she isn't...is shy!

One thing she is...is the local queen of the night.

Here's a bit of "bling"
left just dangling from one her arms this morning...
some "spent blooms" from her Saturday night out on the town!
Should I "ground" her?
...her life's foundations thus far have been pretty "rocky".
Oooh...but, she is such a pretty child...oooh!
What's a mother to do???

I confess, though, that
I did take a peek inside some of her personal things
in an attempt to try to figure out what makes her tick...
and I think she will be just fine.
It's just one of those "stages" youngsters go through! :)

Happy Cactus Monday All!
May all your cactus children treat you well!

"One World, One Dream..."

08.08.08

This day...is considered very powerful by some...

and,

I tend to totally agree.

...Today

my MIND feasted

on a banquet of color, and rhythm, and precision, and imagination.

...Today

my HEART became re-energized

with childlike wonder, and sparkle, and anticipation.

...Today

my SPIRIT was strengthened

by observing the simplest and smallest acts

contributing to the greatness of the whole,

and

...Today my little "WORLD"

became truly magical

intrinsically decorated by the beauty of

ART

and the possibilities and promise of the all that is around me.

"One World...One Dream"

Beijing 2008