Thursday, June 30, 2011

Show and Tell


Remember kindergarten, and Show and Tell. So in
my previous post, I mentioned that I collected some
incredible treasures left behind on the rocky
shore. Here is a glimpse of my gatherings.


A humorous side story...the very first day I was beach
combing, I lost my balance trying to maneuver myself
toward the water's edge... luckily, I landed on a giant
pile of soft slimy seaweed. Although wet and muddy
over my entire backside, I was pretty grateful to have
such a nice squishy cushion to break the fall which
might otherwise have been on sharp rocks.


Up to the last day, I had only collected a small hand
full of precious sea glass. But during the last hours
of my beach combing, I discovered a very small island
revealed during low tide and located in a deep inlet
close to our cottage. This proved to be a sea glass
lover's paradise. I filled my entire sand pail with gem
after gem of colorful glass shards, as well as pottery.
Each piece smoothed of its rough edges and frosted.






These small shells shown in the images above are my
absolute favorite. The coast was litter with thousands
of them, but I was particularly drawn to the ones that
were almost entirely white or streaked with a plethora
of colors.



I was also very lucky to find some rather large shells
most of them buried in the sandy silt. A few were
as big as my hand and one was still intact with its
matching half.

My moments searching the beach were both therapeutic
and fruitful. It was relaxing to observe the sea with its
ever changing yet constant routine. And the thrill of
each new discover never grew old, as my heart leapt
with joy and gratitude.

Monday, June 27, 2011

M.I.A.


This past week was all about living each moment, basking
in the beauty of the Maine coast, and feeling very connected
to the earth, to life. The experience has left me feeling renewed
and energized, filled with such joy and bubbling over with creativity.
I just could not wait to share some of the inspiration I found during
my trip.


Each day was full of beach combing adventures, where I
gathered some of the most incredible treasures left behind
during low tide by the majestic waves. Other moments included
a carriage ride through Acadia National Park accompanied by
afternoon tea and pastries, as well as random moments of
collecting wildflowers to tuck into my flower press and
journaling my thoughts almost every sunrise at 4 am.







"This Life is fleeting, be in the here, the now, live each moment."

Monday, June 20, 2011

Returning as an Honored Guest


I am extremely honored this week to be a returning
guest curator for CrescenDoh.com. This website
is the brain child of artist extraordinaire, Jenny Doh.
She has thoughtfully created a place where artists,
like herself, can share our success stories and give
each other hope.

I invite you to read about my decision to take a brave
first step in this life long quest towards finding my
true self and discovering my unique artistic voice.
My sincere wish is that my story will inspired others
to not be afraid to seek out the person they were
meant to be.

Finally, be sure to stop by each day to visit the wonderful
art tutorial links I have to share, as I wonderful way to
stay inspired and make art.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Stopping to Smell the Roses...


Sometimes life throws some pretty unexpected moments at you.
This last week was filled to the brim with real extremes, both good
and bad.

At the beginning of the week, I received some incredible news, I had
been accepted to teach another year at Artfest, which had me feeling
so thrilled to again be a part of such an incredible event. Then came
more great news, that I will be working with my wonderful calendar
company, TF Publishing, on designs for a 2013 Nature Inspired Birds
line, as well as the possibility of another exciting opportunity.


But joys quickly turned to sorrow on Tuesday when I received word
that my grandmother had passed away and the cost of a plane ticket
was way out of my budget, making it impossible for me to attend the
funeral. And on Thursday, my town experienced some very severe
weather, causing quite a bit of storm damage to our home. Then late
Friday night/early Saturday morning found me in the emergency room
terribly dehydrated and unable to stop vomiting due to a very nasty
stomach virus.


So today, I am taking it a little easy, and working to regain my strength,
stopping to smell the roses and be thankful!

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Foxglove LOVE!


I am back in the studio after a LONG holiday week.
It feels good to have my paints out and to be creating.


The lavender foxglove are full bloom in the garden right
now, which has me excited to immortalize such beauty
through several new artworks.


"Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers rise
Of shades, and wanton winds, and gushing brooks
On whose fresh lap the swart-star sparely looks:
Throw hither all your quaint enameled eyes,
That on the green turf suck the honeyed showers,
And purple all the ground with vernal flowers."


-John Milton