The Moments 21, 22

#themomentschallenge via Daisy Yellow

#21

"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it."
~Confucious

Rusty Goodness

An experiment in rusting trinkets using some techniques found online. I will be posting an entry soon on some of my experiments and how well they turned out. I loved this jumbled mess and recently used some of these things on my bulletin board, which I shared about in my first vlog here. 

#22

 Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; 

for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Taco Bell Flowers

Captured these when we went through the Taco Bell drive-thru. Don't eat Taco Bell much these days, but we were in a rush getting some errands done. Some of the flowers are a bit scraggly, but I love the bright ones...very bold and cheery. 

Artfully yours,

Sandra

Creative Currents Vlog #1

Sharing a rough first attempt at a vlog showing off my new studio space and bulletin board project.

WARNING: Unedited, fan blowing in background, and abrupt ending as my camera card ran out of memory! I'm also extremely *quiet*, so you may have to adjust volume. :-)

Moments #20

#themomentschallenge via Daisy Yellow

#20

“A weed is but an unloved flower.” 

― Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Morning Glories on Fencepost

On my morning walk, I spotted these morning glories in a lonely alleyway. Love the purples and pinks and even the splotchy yellow and green leaves. Another "last hurrah" of summer blooms. 

Artfully yours, 

Sandra

Moments 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

#themomentschallenge via Daisy Yellow

Once again, I'm sharing a roundup of this week's moments. I'm still on a computer detox, so my social media/blogging time is limited! Enjoy. 

#15

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be 

absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
~Marilyn Monroe | Marilyn

Colorful "design" on a telephone pole

Don't mind me, passing cars and pedestrians. I'm just standing a few inches away from a telephone pole happily snapping away! 

#16

 "Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."

~Omar Khayyam

Noticing the light on my Adidas

A simple moment caught while running errands in the blue Ford Festiva. I paid attention to the play of light on the imperfect dirty floorboard. 

#17

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul."

~Henry Ward Beecher

Crabapple Blossoms, Autumn Sunset

Saw this during my walk home earlier this week (prints will be available soon). The tree stood next to an overpass with a rusty chain link fence and noisy traffic below, but I appreciated the calm of spying the blossoms high above me. 

#18

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. 

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

~Mother Teresa

Daytime Moon

I saw this shortly after snapping pics of the crabapple tree. Another source of calm in the midst of noise and littered sidewalks. 

#19

|True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

Memory Board of Mom

I've been stepping into some creative endeavors lately trying to earn money from doing what I love. I noticed this picture on a memory board I created when my mother passed away in March. She's wearing a clown nose during one of her stays at the nursing home. You can see the oxygen she is wearing, which she sometimes required. She thought the pic was silly, but I enjoyed it so much. I put all the pictures that represented her creative gifts that she passed to me....a love of music (her favorite were old-time hymns), arts and crafts, gardening, and decorating. I'm glad my mom kept this pic that revealed her fun-loving side...it reminds me not to take life too seriously. 

Artfully yours, 

Sandra

Art Studio Peek ~ I've Got My Head in the Clouds!

 "Throw open your window and let the scenery of 

clouds and sky enter your room."

~Yosa Buson

My New Art Space ~ October 2013

Sorting through Ephemera for Projects ~ A beautiful mess!

Well, my hubby and I are set up in our new place. We are renting his brother's loft, which means we have an open area for sleeping, relaxing, and creating. My new space is somewhat in the middle of things. I'm keeping it very simple. The table is perfect for crafting and doing small painting projects. I have an easel tucked behind the brick chimney for larger paintings. A dresser sits on the opposite wall to hold additional papers and art supplies.

My favorite part of the decor is probably the clouds my brother-in-law sponge-painted on the ceiling when he lived in the space. It creates an uplifting environment. No wonder I'm painting spring-like themes in my art journal...like butterflies and tulips! I think it will be a great place to work this winter.

Bluebird Queen wears her pink glittery homecrafting crown

My snooty bluebird queen watches over the art table and a few knicknacks. My dad is in the photo working on a painting he did for a commission at a Mexican restaurant in his community. The clear canister with yellow lid is a vintage Listerine bottle that held lozenges or something. Now it holds tiny rainbow colored beads which inspire me....kind of like looking at a bubble gum machine.


The chimney is a favorite feature. I am using sticky dots to attach pics and treasures that inspire me....a bit like a bulletin board. The paper stars are based on a vision I had of a fist emerging from the night sky holding a fistful of childlike stars....I will share about that sometime. But this reminds me to stay childlike and playful in my art. 

Chimney Bulletin Board

Craft Cupboard Treasures

Housed in the craft cupboard are some pretty bottles I decoupaged with vellum decorations and added beads and ribbons. My best friend's children smile at me with their cowboy hats from a rodeo parade. The little blue homemakers is a vintage Enesco figurine. Her apron reads "A Mother's Work is Never Done." This belonged to my Grandmother Gates and passed to my mom. My mother passed away in March, and the dish currently holds the date of her birth and death. (It fell off the memory board I made for her memorial, and will be re-attached later). 

A Plateful of Pretties

I love arranging some of my ephemera and craft supplies in ways to tempt me to use them. Behind the plateful of pretties, I have a favorite book called Pencil Dancing and my Mary Engelbreit journal I took with me on the Appalachian Trail. The quote pinned on the vintage crochet lace describes my approach to art ~ "Blending the Old with the New." 

Hope you enjoyed a peek into my art studio. 

Artfully yours, 

Sandra

The Moments No. 11, 12, 13, 14

#themomentschallenge via Daisy Yellow

Running a little behind posting my daily Moments. So here are the past few days! I am forgoing my usual formatting with the bordered frames and Moments title. Keeping it sweet and simple...which really is the point anyways, right? ;-) 

#11

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. 
It's something we are all touched by. 
No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music."
~Billy Joel

Music Box Closeup

My brother-in-law found a couple music boxes with clear housing while helping the neighbors move. I've always been intrigued by music boxes even as a child, watching the whirring gears and the harp-like tines pluck the teeth on the main wheel, creating a tinkling melody. I really enjoyed the rainbow sheen of the metal inside the scarred plastic case when I captured this closeup. 

#12

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."
~Erich Fromm

Keep Calm and Craft On Metal Tin

Yup...the Keep Calm posters are pretty much overkill, but this little tin is still a treasure I purchased during the height of the Keep Calm craze. It's surrounded by scraps of paper I pulled off a chipboard butterfly. I plan on collaging the ripped pieces onto my art journal pages, giving them new life. One thing I'm learning as I create is that the best work happens when I'm in a state of rest or calm in my heart...not overthinking a project. So the tin offers good advice. :-)

#13

"If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.
~George Eliot

Squirrel on a Telephone Wire

Out on my morning walk, I captured this squirrel high above me on the telephone wire. It sat very still, clinging to the wire hoping I wouldn't notice it. A closeup with my camera brought the cute little rodent into view. 

#14

"An artist must be careful not to throw his ideas out with the trash." 
~Terri Guillemets

Pretty Tiles in Cobblestone Wall

I discovered these tiles on a retaining wall in the neighborhood. The fact that the tiles are rough, dirty and imperfect make them even more interesting to me. This is how I often approach my mixed media art, particularly my experiments in my art journal. I love adding a torn piece of paper or objects that would be destined for the trash. I really believe you can find value and beauty in almost anything with a little imagination. 

Artfully yours,

Sandra

The Moments No. 10

#themomentschallenge via Daisy Yellow

#10

"No one sees a flower, really, because to see takes time"
~Georgia O' Keefe

This picture was a result of a prompt by Milliande Photography Studio last month called "Backyard Bugs." Not only did I capture the target of the prompt, but a beautiful seedpod as well. I loved that my Nikon Coolpix L820 picked up the fuzzy delicate hairs as well. It was perfect timing, for I had just purchased a favorite book called Pencil Dancing  by Mari Messer. Chapter Six is called "Wake Up and Notice the Fuzz on the Rose Petals."

"There's no such thing as an insignificant detail, even though the words are often found in each other's company. Jack Kerourac says that details are the life of prose. They are also the life of poetry, and the inspiration of painting and other creative acts. To fuel your own creativity, train yourself to observe and remember details. Think of this training as mental push-ups: preparation for being able to see a rose all the way down to its fuzzy petals. We can't write or draw until we can see. And we can't see until we take time to notice."

~Mari Messer, Pencil Dancing

I am polishing the powers of observation through photography, sketching, and just noticing details around me as I go for walks in the neighborhood. I will be sharing more details in some of the moments ahead! 

Artfully yours,

Sandra