Sometimes...

...whether it be day...or night...
one just needs

"To breathe deeply...and move in curves."

~Katie's Grandma

Illustration Friday: Wings

Wings...

they are beautiful...they are empowering.

They are fearless.

Whenever my heart uses hers
she becomes light.

She flies freely in the night...up amongst the stars...

gliding ever so peacefully, in curves.

She tip toes playfully
throughout the gossamer dream fields of the universe.
 Her imagination is tickled by stardust
and she giggles
with hope.

She recharges her very essence

by

just.breathing.deeply.
and
taking it all in.

When she returns home

she carries with her a newly invigorated spirit.

A spirit that is grounded...and positive... 

full of light

and full of peace.

She thrives and is full of love...
until

...totally unexpectedly...

her wings become useless...

clipped, crippled, broken, and bashed.

She becomes 

chained and tethered...unable to soar.

Buried in nightmares

of reality

her spirit depletes and allows no

revitalizing breaths in.

There is no light...there is no peace.

In the darkness she chokes and begins to smother.

Struggling,

she moves in jagged lines...

with harsh edges...leaving scars in her wake.

Her memories of flight and freedom...

the days of simplicity, innocence, and playfulness...

vanish

into an inky blackness.

Life's experiences, indeed, wax and wane between extremes.

Life is cyclical
and her lessons are oftentimes difficult.
Because of that

we must grasp daily as much revitalizing energy

as we can...
from whomever we can...

whenever we can.

To spiritually survive...
we must remember we have wings.

We must continue to use them to become light
and to fly and to soar...

no matter what the

emotional weather conditions

of the heart, the mind, and the body may be.

“Be as a bird
perched on a fragile branch
that

she feels bending beneath her,

still
she sings away all the same,

knowing she has wings.”

~Victor Hugo

Barbara's Bistro Book...

First,

the rough draft is completed on copy paper...

and

is then followed by drawing the illustration

using graphite

in the actual Maruman Japanese fold sketchbook.

This step is always sooo messy for me...

lots of erasing

along with fingers and hand clean up to follow.

 Next comes laying in the ink...my favorite part.

Here is where I get to add details

and begin to carve out the finished product.

Ahhh!

So...now, at long last...

here is the reveal of the final book in our exchange.
Ta...Daaaa...

presenting to all of blogland...Barbara's book...

my entry is at the very end.

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

 Barbara's pages 1 and 2...officially

opening the bistro for business and a world of artistic encounters.

 Her pages are followed

 by Paulette's bountiful Italian inspired pages 3 and 4...

I absolutely LOVE that quote...:)

 ...and then we go "South of the Border"

for Jan's zesty "Killer Guacamole" illustration

and recipe on pages 5 and 6.

 Next comes a familiar laid back reference to the king

of Key West...Jimmy Buffett...

on Char's pages 7 and 8...

 ...followed by Carolle's fresh and healthy market inspired

bistro take

on pages 9 and 10.

 Cindy's pages 11 and 12 follow with a country inspiration,
some fresh seasonal ingredients,
multiple cookbooks, and bright flowers...

...only to be topped of with

a traditional banana split (ZIA style) for dessert

on pages 13 and 14

"yummiliciously" drawn by Barb W.

Thanksgiving occurred during the time Judy designed pages

15 and 16...and as you can see

she included a favorite family recipe

for turkey dressing.

I received Barbara's book in December...

so I thought it best

to personally research typical desserts one might find

during this time of year.

It was a hard job..."but somebody had to do it"...

...Right???  :)

I included my version of a beautiful "Blitz Torte"

which

Barbara remembers her mother making.

The chocolate "Black Russian" bundt cake on the pedestal stand

was inspired by the lovely dessert

Barbara made for my birthday gathering this year.

The cookies and other treats

were a nod

to the delectable home made goodies found

in the wonderful traditional

Polish and German and Italian bakeries

of the city of Chicago...

where Barbara and I both lived

in our youth.

Lastly,

here is the "whole enchilada."

I hope you can appreciate the fact that

from start to finish

it was

a work of culinary and artistic love...

and also a wonderful trip for many of us down

memory lane.

“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand..

and my artistic Muse

hovering over my shoulder.”

~Author Unknown

ESWL...

 ...means

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy...

 more commonly referred to as

kidney stone busting.

And...

it seems to have worked.

The drawings above were made "ink straight in"...

no lead...

while I was all hooked up in the outpatient surgery wing

awaiting my surgery.

It was just watercolored today...

13 days later.

Oh yeah,

 my right hand was drawn with my left hand

Go Figure!!!

Click on image to enlarge...lots of notes here.

:)

“The observer,

when he seems to himself to be observing a stone,

 is really,

 if physics is to be believed,

observing the effects of the stone upon himself.”

~Bertrand Russell

An Eye Portal...

...the ultimate accessory for use 

in the search of artistic insight and enlightenment.

Also, it

doubles as another example

to inspire the students in my watercolor mandala

workshop here in Arizona

coming up March 1st.

Watercolor was applied first...patterns and shapes

drawn last...ink straight in...

no lead...:)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

"Inspiration is a message-in-a-bottle

from the distant shore,

a window into the other world,

a tap of the muse's finger,

the grace of the gods.

It comes when you least expect it..."

~Phil Cousineau

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

My Special "Word" for 2013...

...is

BE!

I want to BE...

healthy...

active...

in the moment...

calm...(seriously)

imaginative...

curious...

inspiring...

and

wise.

This is quite similar to my word of direction

from 2009...

you can check it out here

if you like.

I guess when we feel a need for our hearts

to be directed

along a certain pathway

again and again...

repetition is a healthy and positive thing

and

time doesn't matter

at all.

So...

what word has captured your heartstrings for 2013?

"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