Consistent Joy…

From this week’s joy list :

My joys this week are some things that have been bringing me joy consistently for a long time now…

#1 is Art Journaling.

I am so glad to have returned to this process.

Free to let whatever comes come,

good, bad, ugly, beautiful,

(A Taste of the Moment – Art journal page – It feels as though the sweet art of my friend Rachel Awes was creeping in on this page)

reconnecting with bits of myself deep inside,

(This is Beneath – Art Journal Page – a bizarre mermaid and her fish friends emerged from some ink blobs on the page)

and documenting moments of my life as I go along…

(Rumi Quote Art Journal Page – This quote stopped me in my tracks last week when I read it. I love this collage and ink page created to honor it.)

 

My #2 Joy to celebrate this week is my love for stitching on bits of hand dyed felt,

always inspired by my time with my Magic friend, e.b., who helped me develop this love !

Winter and life circumstances have kept us apart physically for a bit, but we are still connected through our art, our hearts and our stitches…

(Rock Being homes stitched and ready to travel!)

 

And my #3 joy for this week is Furry Kid Love !

(My black cat Boo, officially named Cosmos, curled in my lap on the couch.)

I remarked to David this morning how it feels like we have a lot of animals in our house these days! We are out numbered by them, 2 humans to 4 pets !

I think it is because I have been spending so much time with them all, as I hibernate the winter away…

They are a real source of comfort and companionship, as well as delight, making me giggle with their silly animal antics !

Love those furry kiddos of mine !

I hope you have some sweet consistent joy in your world today, beautiful Ones !

For more Joy Sharing, visit Meri’s Musings.

Some Blah Banishing Ideas…

I am feeling very much like Sally right now !

My skin kind of hurts whenever I get cold.

I don’t feel like going anywhere even though the extreme cold snap has broken and the temps are up to just below freezing.

I am in hibernating mode,

which is okay, except for my body, which feels like a big old sleeping bear body,

and except for how my mood gets kind of blah…

okay, not kind of,

it gets really blah…

Luckily, my creative juices are still flowing though.

I have been bringing Rock Beings to life in the afternoons,

watching old episodes of silly TV shows like Felicity on my iPad,

sipping warm decaf Chai tea with low fat milk and a teaspoon of maple syrup,

and venturing into the landscapes of new worlds,

and meeting and connecting with new Beings in my imagination…

  and every once in a while, I crank some tunes and do some chair/studio boogying with my Chica dog…

Yesterday we shook our tail feathers to some Stevie Ray Vaughn.

“She’s my pride and joy!”  ;-)

A little dancing and singing helps with the blahs.

As does this brilliant idea from Tammy at Daisy Yellow.

I started working on a list of 21 Kindnesses that I can show to others, just like Tammy has been inspire to do.

My winter hibernating brain forgot that being kind to others is a sure cure for the blahs.

My heart always beats to this mantra, no matter the season :

Love is the answer to every question.

Now I just have to get the rest of me back on board !

Maybe you want to join in some blah- banishing, kindness spreading ?

 

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones !

I hope the blahs are banished in your neck if the woods.

PS : The Rock Beings above will be in the Etsy shop as soon as I stitch some homes for them and get them ready for their photo shoot !

Haiku My Heart–A New Song

 

I need to sing out

Said the Voice from deep Within.

Here is my new Song.

**************

While I have been creating a lot lately, I have not done anything in my art journal since the summer.

I have missed it!

It was a creative habit of mine several times a week for several years and it was definitely a form of therapy and self-discovery.

It was also a place for fearless play, where art was being created just for me, with no thought of an audience other than myself !

This morning, I took about an hour and played !

I used henna stencils I bought from Traci Bunkers along the way,

spray inks of all kinds,

stamps,

my own painted papers for collage,

and I made an easy two page spread that just flowed out of me.

I hope to listen to that art journal voice a little more often.

The resulting song feels so good to sing !

I have also begun adding some new Rock Beings to the Etsy shop.

These three are available now, in case you hear their voices singing to you !

Have a wonderful Friday, Beautiful Ones !

Big Love !

 

For more haiku love, head over to recuerda mi corazon

Share the Joy–Bits and Pieces and Hugs

From this week’s joy list…

1. Orchids in soft bloom…

2. More kitty cats and sunbeams – Azzy in Dave’s office

3. Newly sewn and stitched felt homes for…

4. Newly created Rock Beings

(some will be in the Etsy shop soon !)

5. Listening to an oldie but a goodie, Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel audiobook. Talk about being transported to another time and place…

6. Receiving a phone call hug from my lovely friend Elizabeth, warming up that creative heart connection that I treasure so much.

7. Cozy bed sleeping, with sweet hubby beside me, a purring Pumpkin kitty on my pillow, and big old duvet sealing in the warmth. One of the few things I really love about winter.

They are calling for a warm up temperature-wise next week.

In the cold, cold, cold mean time, hibernation is working out  just fine for me.

Back to the studio !

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones!

Meri of Meri’s Musing is on vacation this week but join us again next week to Share the Joy !

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Hanging out with Happy.

Mellow Monday…

Monday Morning in the Queen of Arts Studio…

black cats enjoy morning sunbeams…

I enjoy stitching love into hand dyed felt treasures…

This sweet hand dyed, hand stitched pouch

contains a silk sachet filled with “Sweet Dream” herbs (found here)

I made quite a few as gifts for Christmas.

They slip under your pillow and create peaceful, enchanted dreams.

I am making a few more to add to the Etsy shop later this week.

I will also be visiting my stash of white Lake Champlain rocks

to see what new Rock Beings want to come to life…

I hope your week is off to a sweet start too, Beautiful Ones !

Big love !

Haiku My Heart–Primal Voice

 

 

Let the primal voice

Escape its cave and find flow.

Make your mark, Old Soul.

 

*********

Above are some more bits from my rusty paper explorations and a Rock Being called “Rock Soul” .

Know what ?

I am loving my art these days !

I am creating from a pretty cool place.

I have gained a lot of confidence in myself as an Artist.

I have really learned that creating my art is part of my reason for being in the world at this time.

This has made me pretty fearless when it comes to creating.

Yes, a big part of me wants others who I respect to connect with and appreciate what I have created.

But I am also creating just for me,

because it is an essential part of my well being, and the real expression of my Soul.

I am so very grateful to know this,

and to have a life where I get to make my mark in my own unique and rich way.

Make your mark, Beautiful Ones.

The world needs to see it !

 

Go and enjoy some more haiku loveliness at recuerda mi corazon

Share the Joy–New Landscapes…

From this week’s Joy List…

I won’t lie to you.

My joy list has not been the focus this week very much at all.

Oh, I am trying,

and yes, there are things that made me smile and feel joy

in the midst of a really bad week mood wise.

I am, as always, so grateful for them.

And for this task, every Thursday, of making a joy list,

and realizing

that even when Life seems pretty damn sucky,

there are always moments of joy to savor…

1. My Art – I played with these rusted papers I made last summer all day yesterday.

It would seem that I am creating a book of some kind.

Using Faber Castell pens, a Sakura white paint pen with an extra fine tip,  and Twinkling H2O’s,

I have been discovering all kinds of new landscapes and creatures

in the rusty markings on watercolor paper.

Being with my creative spirit and just letting whatever wants to come emerge

is a kind of peaceful joy that I have so appreciated this week.

2. Friends, furry and otherwise -

When I get stuck in these depressed moods for awhile,

I tend to hide out from my friends.

I feel so ick that I cannot imagine submitting good friends to this version of me I dislike so much.

But sometimes, when I get brave or maybe desperate,

I reach out and call for help.

The understanding of a good friend, or the hug from my patient and loving husband,

or the purr or snuggle of a fur baby,

are all a beautiful source of joy in the midst of dark days.

I hope you find lots of joy to celebrate today, Beautiful Ones !

 

There is more joy appreciation at  Meri’s Musings every Thursday.