{last hurrah for summer flowers}...

" they" say Summertime is coming to it's  official end this weekend.

But our temps are still well into the 80's  (which is a very summertime heat) and yes the wild sunflowers are in full bloom.  But I'm not quite ready to bring in the yellow sunflowers.

 Yet.

So after bring in some fresh cut Echinacea flowers.  I shot a few photos of the old dried

Echinaceas.  Then spent too much time playing with them in PSE.  But I enjoyed every moment

of it.  I haven't been in PSE much this summer so it was time well enjoyed.

 

There are sooooo many choices in photo editing and I always wonder why I am so attracted to

whatever it is I see in them that is so beautiful to me.  Why this combination of layers?   Rather than another?   So when I came across the following quote from Carl Jung.  I knew I was not alone in my wondering.  And that there must be something to it.

 

Trust that which gives you meaning

 and accept it as your guide. ~ Carl Jung

 

Now if I just knew where is was guiding me!

 



{Raven Art Show}...

I'm excited to let all of you locals know that I will have several pieces of art

at the Raven Cafe.

I'm with a great group of Collage Artists

that will have our art displayed until Oct 7.

The Raven is a really fun cafe in downtown Prescott.

Opening reception is this Thursday, August 30th from 5-7 pm.

I may not be able to get there until 5:30.  So I hope you'll wait around for me

I love to see you.



{What ifing}...



I wanted to have a more translucent look to painting on fabric then

just painting on fabric would normal have.  Which of course dying would do just

beautifully.  But I don't want to purchase a whole new inventory of supplies that require mixing and measuring and storing.  As well as matching certain dyes to certain kinds of fabrics and on and on.  Not to mention the expense of yet another media.

Hence, the what ifing.

So I sat down with a limited palette of paint (2 colors) and supplies, grabbed a piece of

fabric that was laying on the desk, add water and just laid down the paint in some basic shapes.

I wish my camera would capture the colors accurately.   The golds you see are actually

shades of  much prettier yellows.   Anyway...

The hand of the fabric is quite acceptable for these small pieces.

I added the white "flowers" with the paint straight out of the bottle which of course

really effects the hand but it's a limited amount.

These pieces came out well enough that I will continue experimenting  with thinner paints and larger pieces of fabric.

In the meantime I will have ready to go pieces for as yet unnamed projects.

{Echinacea and Contemplation}...

Echinaceas are growing everywhere.  And I had the perfect little vase waiting for them.

Then of course the camera had to come out and the next thing I knew PSE was opening ~ just to see

what I might come up with.

All the while contemplating the question from yesterday experience?

That if in a moment of absolute clarity, when you suddenly realize that your life was designed with perfect care for your well being. Then if even this one tiny moment of your life was perfect

would that not mean that the whole of your life has been perfect?

And if this is True for me then would it not be True for everyone?

{local art graffiti}...

I love to catch the messages

we are receiving all the time.

It's just a matter of being present in our lives.

I could just have easily have missed this little graffiti sign

as not.  And who knows how long its been there.  I drive by this fence often.



The original ~ on the street...

Have any of you locals seen it?

{da vinci for everyone}...

While we have all heard of and know Da Vinci's art.

I have never felt his art before.

To feel so connected to his art and perhaps even Da Vinci himself was unexpected.

But that's what happen.  I had spent several hours (it's been raining again) working in PSE

with two of my favorite images of his.  And when I had finished and stepped back

to look at the finished pieces this art felt like it was real and alive in my live.



Head of Madonna

and

Female Head

After all these centuries, his art is available to everyone.  So dare I say,

I hope he would approve.   

{freshing up the blog banner}...

Well ~ even though I haven't been spending much time blogging lately

I felt my banner really needed a renewal.

So here it is. 

I'm still spending most of my time relaxing and gardening.  Although

after the storms this week, in which hail and wind destroyed most of the flowering plants

and trees.  (I have leaves plaster to the front of my house).  Its more like major clean up than gardening.

So while the rains have stopped, for now,  I think I will go outside and do some more clean up play some more.  Play because here in Arizona we do love the rain.

{OMG I don't even recognize blogger}...

When I did my last post I didn't know I would be gone sooooo long.

I've been doing more home decor projects and gardening then art of late and

I've also been doing a lot of reading and contemplation this summer.  Just relaxing. 

But I've got the collage show coming up in August at

The Raven Cafe here in Prescott.  I wanted to do at least one fiber piece for the show.

So I ask by looking at the photo below what could all this mess I mean layers be?

 This is how it all starts.  Collage means layers so...  Grab a bunch of fabric for the collage layers,

rip them into strips, mix in a few thoughts and then lay them all out into some kind of

cohesive whole.

Below is the result.  This project sort of took hold of me and wouldn't let go until

I completed it.  Whenever I tried to go in another direction nothing worked.

I spent a whole day trying to go another direction and at the end of the day

I had nothing.  It felted like such a waste of time.  

But in the morning it was clear that this is what I needed to complete before

moving on.

 I kept the edges raw, a layer, which seemed a bit odd for such a large piece.

But I got over it.

I've gotten comfortable with loose threads and raw edges for my art journals

but this was different.  Or at least I thought it was thinking you "shouldn't"

have raw edges and threads.  But it would have been a very different look if I had seamed

all the edges.  I would not have liked it nearly as much.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the raw edges.

 Close ups

It reads

...and just when

you think the whole world is going to implode

from hatred, separateness, and fear

when light, liberty, and sacredness are missing

their are still  those who will see the beauty

who will act with kindness

and

who will live with hope and gratitude

these are the souls that carry

the entire planet

I've put this thought into my own words which I've adapted

from a quote I read from Tut Notes from the Universe

Like I said I've been spending time contemplating things lately

and this just took hold of me.

Now I need to keep blogging.  I feel so out of it.