Warm Wishes For You

me best to you today

XOXO

Lesson From a Tree

After my daily morning ritual of journaling at the Ranch Market

I head to my car in this parking lot.  Many days I am thinking of doing the next thing.

 I take for granted my surroundings and don't see the beauty in my world.

One ordinary day, for some unknown reason, this tree just struck me.  Not literally but as struck me as 

if I had never seen it before, nor any other tree.  I was in wonder of the treeness of this object.  I had to 

stop, touch it's craggy trunk, run my fingers into the crevices,  look up to the sky to see what it saw,

to smell the freshness of it all and to take photos.  I have to admit I did look around to see if anyone 

observed this crazy woman fondling a tree.  

spreading its arms in welcome

All day I thought of the tree.  It was my teacher of the morning 

reminding me to be mindful, to keep my eyes open, to notice, 

and to take time to let in the beauty of the ordinary.

Wishing you a day of beauty and gratefulness.

Wabi Sabi

metallic and regular acrylic, collage, ink, charcoal on canvas board

imperfect beauty

impermanent, incomplete

simple, slow and uncluttered

today's haiku is written in honor of the ancient japanese world view of wabi sabi.  

the concept was first introduced to me  as a writing prompt, then recently 

orly avineri discussed it in the creation of journal pages.  

through wabi sabi i see that my japanese heritage is juxtaposed with my western upbringing.  

i am a collector, a consumer, living a full and active life yet at times 

i crave the peace that comes with the simple, slow and uncluttered.  

i wonder, can we have both?

this post is linked with rebecca's community where you can read other haiku offerings and

paint party friday

Let's think tropical

journal spread with acrylic and collage materials

this journal spread takes me in my imagination to the tropics

with warm sand underfoot, some of it sticking between my toes,

 the music of the surf lapping gently on to the shore

palm fronds rustle as they sway in the breeze, birds singing overhead, 

a light floral scent wafts with the winds and i have a smile on my face.

all that while i sit in my studio in from of my computer.

imagination is powerful and useful.  it enables us to 'form a mental image

of something not present to the senses.'

speaking of imagination, never in my wildest imaginings

would i have thought i would get an award for this painting i posted earlier. . . .

but i did 

where is does your imagination take you today?

i am linked today with rebecca and other postcards from paradise

The Gray Areas

journal page, magazine image and papers, tapes, pen

 there are gray areas in life

that make it difficult to know

to really know

the only thing one can do 

is to 

trust

your own heart explicitly

without question

and 

you won't go wrong

thank you for visiting 

i hope you day is a lovely one

Submitting Work 'Out There'

journal page- spray paint, sharpies, magazine image, hand drawn paper

i often paint in a workshop setting

where techniques are shared,

feedback is welcomed,

and there is camaraderie 

with others who have similar passions.

also the latest exhibits are announced 

along with shows looking for 

art to be submitted.

recently i took a huge step (for me)

and have submitted my work to be shown

in different venues.

i found that  painting became 

a chore, pressure.  i wondered if my work

was acceptable, good enough.

it was no longer the fun and free

pleasure with no rules.

after i wrote this journal page i realized

that someone else's opinion of my work

became more important than the actual

pleasure of creating, of being lost in the color, the texture, 

the discovery of what comes next.

never a good starting point.

when i let go worrying about how it would turn out, 

i began to have fun again.

whew.  

the page says,

being an artist is not dependent 

upon the number of sales you make.

Back at It

lynne perrella said these words at artiest.  

it just rang true.

it is said that after 28 days of 

repeating an activity it becomes 

a habit.

but recently, after years of early morning coffee and journaling at 

my neighborhood ranch market,  i got away from 

my daily  routine.  i can't explain what intervened.

it happened without fanfare.   i simply 

slid out of the habit without realizing.

it took a workshop with friends at orly's

to make me realize how much i loved journaling,

how much it is an essential part of me.

so i'm back 

to journaling 

and 

to myself.

journal page- magazine page, spray paints

returned to journaling

like rediscovering a long lost friend

who has been on a long bike ride.

Where to Start

three muses,  acrylic, pencil oil pastel

where do i start?

i asked my painting mentor

start with colors you love

if you don't love it

change it

how do i do that?

paint over it 

it made me think 

(here's where one can get in trouble....

thinking too much)

that life is not so clear cut

or is it?

can we have in our life 

only that which we love

or 

do we make room for that gray area

lots of room?

XO irene