Faith and Giving Thanks

I've been thinking of 'faith' these days (and trust) as the holidays approach and the start of Thanksgiving weekend tomorrow. Our family moved cross-country this year to a land of eternal (well almost) sunshine and warm weather. I was ok with it until about a month ago when the Autumn I was used to back home came and went with hardly a blink here - no cold winds, no crunchy leaves, no misty breaths in the cold morning air as I sent my daughter off to school. And to think that there will be no snow here for Christmas is almost unbearable. I have known only snowy winters my entire life save for a vacation here and there to a warm climate. Don't get me wrong though - I won't miss the blizzards and snow drifts and the novelty does wear off after about 3 months of the white stuff!! Still.....

Which brings me back to the 'faith' part of my post and the little piece above, which I created today. I believe that we all end up being where we need to be at certain times in our lives and that when we start to question things we need to remember to have 'faith'.

'faith':
- that a higher power is at work
- that the universe has good things in store for us and to hang in there
- in our short-term and long range goals & decisions
- to follow our hearts

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Inspire Me Thursday - 'A Poem by Rumi...'

'Free Spirit' acrylic on 12x12 birch panel

I just finished this painting yesterday so this is a very timely prompt for me. I only came to know of this Mystic Poet's teachings a few years ago when I set out to 'find myself ' through art. It is said that his work transcends national and ethnic borders, I believe that is true. The first quote is my favorite (ok one of!) and the others seemed particularly fitting alongside this piece.
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Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.

You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.

Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness.

Oh soul, you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less, why do you worry?
You are in truth the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
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Thanks for taking the time to visit - have an illuminating weekend.

October Projects and feeling 'Fall-ish'

I've been in my studio a lot these past few weeks and started painting on my birch panels, trying not to think so much about an end product as much as enjoying the PROCESS. I've also tried to keep an open mind at what's 'coming at me' as far as ideas & inspiration. As I mentioned to another artist blogger recently, I've been finding tiny, white feathers around our apartment -- we don't have any birds & the only birds around here are all black so not sure what that's about :> I've also found some books to research my lifelong interest in angel/iconic art and folk art, as well as my newfound interest in Mexican & Spanish influenced art which I've been immersing myself in since moving to the Southwest.

This was a WIP until today when after being stuck on the background surrounding her (which is a good reminder for me to include the bkgd in as I work on the main subject so I'm not stuck at the end wondering how to tie it in!) I experienced a breakthrough and decided that less is more and finished the piece with some simple folk art motifs which are my own handcut designs.

'Guardian Angel' mixed media folk art, 12x12 birch plywood panel

I've decided with this series on wood panels, that the originals will not be for sale until I complete all 6-8 of them, but I am going to put up some prints and other items for this design. I think it would make a great holiday card and paired with some of the wonderful accessories in my Zazzle shop, a great gift idea too especially with Christmas coming up :>

I'm finally starting to feel that Fall is officially here in Southwest Texas (finally) although it is nothing like the ones we had back in Michigan where there was a riot of color and a wonderful, crunch & crispness to the air. Ah well, such is life, we must go with the flow for resisting usually involves quite a lot of energy which is better spent filling our creative well.

With that said, I'll wish you a Happy Fall and whatever season you find yourself in right now, may it feed your SOUL and nuture your SPIRIT.

Inspire Me Thursday - 'Breath' (long post!)

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." -- unknown

mixed media on 12x12 wood panel

I had so many breath-taking moments at ConvenZioNE's inaugural mixed media art retreat a little over a week ago in Pleasanton, CA that I wanted to share it with you all at Inspire Me Thursday! I have to tell you, the creative energy there was so electric - so many kindred spirits in one place at the same time plus the town & surrounding areas were so beautiful.... I also felt myself catching my breath when meeting 'mixed media art celebrities' Lisa Kaus, Sally Jean Alexander as well as Dawn DeVries Sokol author of the book '1000 Journal Pages' featuring many artist friends. Some of the actual journals were there with the pages from the book to see in person, sooo cool.... (Dawn, so glad you liked my journals and that I'll be contributing to the Moly_exchange you've hosted, will be in touch soon!)

Susan Tuttle was a wonderful & patient teacher, thoroughly explaining her techniques, with step-by-step handouts to take home -- just a great soulful, experience for all of us in her class. Also, I do think I liked the smaller class size (and retreat attendee size in general) because it was more intimate & personal, but that's just my opinion :> My self-portrait piece was about 90% finished by the time the class ended. I had some finishing touches when I got home but pretty much the whole thing, start to finish, was done during Susan's class -- can't wait to try out more of her background techniques!

Here are some pics from the trip. After the opening day lunch we were free to explore & browse the many shops & boutiques on Main Street at Bella Galleria. My favorite (and everyone else's too I think!) was American Harvest. Folk art, cottage-style decor, and vintage treasures married with fabulous displays & lots of mixed media goodies, oh my!

Closeup vintage dressform - what a great idea, now I know what to do with that box of vintage vowel cards.....

Me & Susan at Saturday nite's group dinner, fabulous margaritas, great food & the best of company :>

The lovely Lani Kent, Susan & Dawn DeVries Sokol pose for a quick pic near the end of the night....

The hills & area surrounding Pleasanton were absolutely breath-taking! Vineyards surrounded by rolling hills, dotted with homes in small clusters here and there.

Time to go.....I will miss the beauty of that area, the many experiences I shared and all the creative, artistic souls I met that weekend -- until we meet again :>