Happy Earth 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

Happy Valentine's Day...

...celebrating the day

with an ATC size painting of one of the tin hearts

in my

San Miguel Allende sacred heart collection.

"The heart has its reasons

that

reason knows nothing of."

~Blaise Pascal 1670

Off and Running...

...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

Aargh!

(Click on any image to enlarge for better viewing...)

Well...I am having another kidney stone blasted by ESWL

(extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy)

this coming Friday.

The preliminary tests I alluded to above are actually

general pre-op procedures

just to get all my little "ducks in a row."

Tic...Toc...Tic...Toc...

thank goodness I love to sketch!

I loved that the lady in the wheel chair

provided me with a perfect 10 minute drawing study...

little did I know that seconds after finishing her

she would leave.

Perfect timing...

Serendipitous? I think so! :)

(All drawn lead free...ink straight in...colored at home.)

"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right,

you'll probably never do much

of anything.”

~Win Borden

A Stardust Seeded Pod...

truly...a unique "star finder"...

made especially for you by my artistic Muse.
Supposedly it is perfect for

viewing the big meteor shower this weekend.

According to msnbc.com:

"The Perseid meteor shower peak

occurs Saturday night through Monday night.

The best viewing conditions will be Saturday night,

with a forecast of clear skies.

According to space.com,

up to 100 "shooting stars" per hour

will be visible Saturday night.

Start looking after sunset, especially in the northeast sky.

The meteors are easier to see after 10 p.m.,

with ideal viewing between 3 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.,

which are the darkest hours before dawn.

Viewing away from city lights

will triple the number of meteors you can see...

Increasing your chances of seeing

100 per hour.

You can help NASA

by letting them know how many meteors you count,

and there's an app for that.

Download the free app, "Meteor Counter"

on your iPhone or Android.

It will guide you through the counting process,

and turn in your findings to NASA."

Personally...

I think I may just keep it simple

and merely gaze upward in awe...just like I do

almost every single night.

I will let Mother Nature take its course...

no apps needed...

and let her shower me with some soul filling

deep "ahhhs" and dreamy "mmmmms".

"For my part

I know nothing with any certainty,

but the sight of the stars

makes me dream."

~Vincent Van Gogh

One Thousand...

...velvety black starry nights

decorated with artistic dreams.

1000 desert days

brimming with a sea of endless possibilities.

One thousand chances to stretch and feed my imagination.

1000 art works,

uploads,

and commentaries.

One thousand opportunities to share my world

and my Muse's view of it.

1000!!!

My! The time seems to have flown by.

Who would have ever thought

it a possibility

when

I

took my first step in this blogging journey of mine.

Thanks to each of you

for stopping by and being there...

whether it be popping in for a minute...

or staying around for awhile.

1000 times over...

I am indeed so very grateful

we have met and that our artistic paths have crossed

My world is richer because you are all in it!

XOXO times 1000!

:)

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

~Lao Tzu

Someone's in The Kitchen With Dinah...

...and they are NOT "Strummin' on the ol' banjo"!!!

This is my 4 page spread in Juli's Moly

"In the Kitchen"

for the 2012 Illustrated ATC G8 Moleskine exchange.

Sometime in late summer

"she" will make her way home to Juli

 in Canada...:)

"Fee Fi...Fiddlily Aye Oh"...:)

Click on images to enlarge...especially the last one.

Enjoy!

If you can't stand the heat...

get out of the kitchen."

~Harry S. Truman

"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...:)

♥

"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

"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

"Yeeuup...Some More..."

A "Cosmic Offerenda" (altar)...
...a tribute to "Pink Warrior" women...

..."Hera"...

..."Persephone"...

...and, finally, "Bones, Braids, and Bling"

...Dia De Los Muertos art.

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

"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.

"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

"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

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

"An Encore View..."

...to delight your Muse...reappearing here today as a bit of

Summer Sunday Zen.

“Nature has neither kernel nor shell;
she is everything at once.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Botanical Bits..."

in my large moleskine sketchbook.

This summer,

inspired by the rich floral beauty of July in the midwest,

I have been practicing "drawing large"

in my "big girl" moleskine.

It is so freeing to sit and illustrate this way,

especially,

after all the ATC work with which I have involved myself

recently.

These illos are actually the groundwork for

a floral project I have envisioned in a beautifully hand made

Japanese fold sketchbook

I won from the multi-talented Caroline Soer

so many moons ago.

I am very exhilarated by this project.

Soon I will make my first inked mark in that

beautiful little book

and be off and running!

Stay tuned...:)

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

“The picture of a flower in a botanical book

is information;

its mission ends with our knowledge.

But in pure art it is a personal communication.

And therefore

until it finds its harmony in the depth of our personality

it misses the mark. ."

~Rabindranath Tagore

"The Art of Waiting..."

...is the art of "cooling it."...the skill of dilly-dallying...

the choice of sticking around with a purpose.

The art of waiting

is the art of consciously pausing time

without knowing whatsoever what will happen next.

It is both the anticipation of a question and

the expectation of its answer.

It is a pregnant pause...

a lingering...

a wondering...a biding of time.

We can do this waiting, artfully, in silence...still and pensive...

or we can be more animated

and fidget...

or tap...or pace...or doodle...or wring our hands

with nervous energy.

We might just wait a minute...wait for hours...

or wait forever.

Sometimes we even "wait and see"...

or we wait

until we feel like we really can't wait one second longer!

We can hang around, hang out, hover over,

put on hold,

hold our horses...hold the phone...

hold on...

or, believe it or not,

often choose to hold absolutely everything!
Super humanly, we keep our shirt on, mark time, sit tight

while we simutaneously

lie in wait, lie low, and look forward to.

We might wait for...or wait on...

or wait until.

We might wait alone, or we can wait in a crowd...

or we might wait alone in a crowd.

We can wait at a bus stop...or wait for the mail...or wait by the phone.

We often wait until the second shoe falls...

or until the cows come home.

Some think they can wait until hell freezes over.

The art of waiting

can potentially paint away the painfulness of predicaments

and create a canvas of peace.

So...

may whatever it is you that might wait for today...

bring you

the answers you are looking for

or simply the

serenity you just might need.

“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension

waiting to be struck.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Sunday Summer Zen...Regrowth..."

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves;
otherwise we harden.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Some More "Sunday Summer Zen"...

"The way is not in the sky.
The way
is in the heart.”

~Buddha