Fall

Well, it's been a trying late Summer/early Fall. First Fern went broody (wanted only to sit on eggs all day) and then, sad to say, in early October Miss Ivy passed away. I still don't know what from, but she went down hill very quickly and Fern was fine. So, there I was with one lonely broody chicken and I couldn't have that. My wonderful neighbor Robert (who has a flock of Silkies) knew a lady out of town who was selling pullets at a very reasonable rate. I now have a beautiful Rhode Island Red named Miss Iris. She's a little smaller than Fern and is quick to follow Fern's bossy lead. I'm also happy to report that Miss Iris was just the competition Fern needed to get off the nest and back to laying properly! I have been collecting between 9-12 eggs per week since Miss Iris arrived, it's wonderful! The next plan of action is to set up winter quarters for the girls. My garage is too small for my truck, but would make a wonderful coop/garden shed, so that's the plan for now. Hope you are having a wonderful Fall!

Miss Iris

Miss Fern eats soup

9 days harvest

possible winter quarters

Art Everyday for a Month

Once again Leah Piken Kolidas - Creative Every Day - is challenging people to make 'art' everyday in November. 

As Leah says in her blog: 

"Your daily creations can be anything you desire (from painting to drawing to photography to writing, etc...) You can work with a theme or do something different every day. It's entirely up to you! Make it doable.

I'm a low-pressure type person, so I encourage everyone to join in, even if you don't complete something every day. Even just giving yourself the challenge and creating more than you usually would is a beautiful thing. But if you can create something every day for 30 days, I highly recommend it! I've learned and grown so much through doing it each year. And the community that develops is always amazing."

I tried to do this last year and while I didn't manage everyday I did create more that month than I had all year. This year for me has been somewhat sparse in creative endeavors (if you don't count the chickens) so, I'm jumping in again with the hope that it will re-start my creative juices and get me rockin' and rollin' and 'making stuff' again. 

So what do you say? Are you willing to take the plunge and spend 30 days working on...writing, painting, sculpting, gardening (if you're in a warm place) photography, sketching, anything, something? If so, then click the pic and read about a fun filled month of creativity, learning and making art every day!

We can do so much better than 'Eh'!

A friend of mine sent me this quote and it just said "YES!" to my soul. I did a Google search to try to find the author, but I really couldn't determine where it originated from, but if anyone knows please let me know so I can credit the author. I have linked it to an Etsy site - The Ink Society - that sells it as a beautiful poster in many color choices. In the meantime, keep making art because I don't want to live in a world that is just 'Eh', do you?!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but somedays it feels like it!

Summer has been a busy time for me, not the least of which is yard work on top of regular work and house work - ok, maybe not that much house work, but still a lot of things have been keeping me away from writing.

New in my world are Fern and Ivy, two of the most wonderful chickens I've ever had the pleasure to know. They are Sussex (Coronation Sussex to be fancy) chickens. I've never raised chickens before, and didn't want to deal with chicks and all their care needs, so purchased two grown and laying hens. In the short time I've had them they have just been a delight to watch and interact with. The only advantage to starting with chicks is that they can be trained for picking up and cuddling, once I catch Fern or Ivy they settle in quite nicely, cuddle and burble at me, but catching them is the challenge, they can move FAST!

I've been wanting chickens for some time now and to finally have them is just wonderful. I was blessed to have a friend build me this wonderful coop/chicken tractor for the girls to live in. Most of the day they wander my backyard eating bugs and chasing snakes, but at night they snuggle down in their comfy cosy coop.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Hubcap art by Keri Joy Colestock

Part of what I love about this art piece is how the hubcap makes such a wonderful base and contrast for all these great faces. It inspires me to find different ways to use faces, other than as part of a figurative sculpture.

Where do you find your inspiration? 

Do images form in your mind while reading a good book or listening to music? Does walking or working in nature conjure up ideas? Activities like these can spark whole avalanches of new thoughts and ideas for me.

What about viewing other people’s art online? This is another great venue for inspiration. Whether it’s photos on Flickr or belonging to a group that focuses on a medium, or style of art, you're interested in – be it painting, collage, altered books, pen & ink, writing or, one of my interests, sculpting the human face - hence the above photo.

The advantages of belonging to a group are many. You can explore how various artists express a 'theme' through different mediums, share your thoughts on a particular craft/art, ask questions about technical problems or share your 'know how' with others. Seeing how other artists approach a topic helps you see/think out side the box. Then there is seeing just how wide the interpretation of an art/medium can be translated and expressed.

'Hubcap Art', by Keri Joy Colestock, is just one example of some of the amazing work being created and shared online. What can be more inspiring than seeing how a person takes an object, or medium, in a new direction? For me that can inspire all kinds of thoughts! I am particularly creatively challenged by people who take unusual objects, mix them with their own special flare and just run with it, creating a 'series' or body of work that follows a process through many transformations. You can see how the germ of an idea (expressed in her hubcap) moves through several of Keri's pieces on her Etsy site.

 Where has inspiration led your art?

Sites to see

Here are some of the blogs I have been lead to recently that have been very uplifting, informative and great reminders that the world is only as beautiful as we see it. The blogs deal with some of my 'phobias' - Failure, Mistakes, Change, Self Worth...(maybe some of yours too?). 

Spirit Moves Dance Meg has written a very moving article on failure.

Scoutie Girl has a great guest article by Liz Kalloch called 'Living with - not by - Our Mistakes 

Amy Oscar's guest post by Jenn Gibson: 'The Wisdom of Going Home' deals with change.

On the blog Kind Over Matter's: Being a Force for Good with Amanda Fall A Guest Post by Amanda Fall for the Kind Kindred series.

 

And one more for good measure, (the Editor and Chief of Scoutie Girl) Tara Gentile's article "Are you in love with your own Potential?' 

There are so many more wonderful blogs out there that can inspire, move your heart and teach.What are some of your favorites?

   

Where does the time go?!

WOW, I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post. Well, if your days seem to fly right by I know how you feel! I have been busy though working in the garden - when the rain has stopped and the mosquitoes aren't out - and creating 'stuff' and reading about cooking, creating and gardening.
I have several art projects in the works, such as painting on tiles:

Repainting a little blue gnome a friend gave me:

The color of the base is the color the whole gnome was

Some owl ATC's for a swap in May:

A mandala I designed in a class:

it's getting there!

which is taking a while because I can't decide quite what colors I should use and you can only color it once!

I'm currently working on sculpted figure, 'The White Queen' from Through the Looking Glass, but since this is for a swap I can't post any pictures yet.
I've also been taking lots of photos of my yard, various plants and shrubs, and of the cats:

periwinkle iris

elderberry blossom

fancy columbine

grape vine gone crazy

fur kids in the yard

Teasel in the tub with flowers

  And to think it's June already...