Note to all of you!

Google has started a new 'thing' whereby they allow something called intellitxt to 'invade' my blog postings.  They turn certain words green with a double underline.  If your cursor lands on that word an ad pop up appears.  I am thoroughly disgusted and upset with this as there appears (from all my study) to be nothing that I can do about it.  So please bear with me -- I will be relocating my blog in the coming weeks.  Meanwhile I will continue to post - just don't put your cursor on those 'odious' green words!  Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

Savor the Small Stuff

 

My life is enriched when I take the time to look for the small stuff.  The smile of a stranger, holding hands with my husband, singing out loud to a piece of music, gosh there are so many simple pleasures when I actually notice them.

I've found my best 'savories' are found outside - looking for those snippets of nature that have become part of my everyday life.  Treasures that allow me to believe in life in all its forms and to be thankful for these special sights that surround me.

 

 

My only task is to take the time to look around me - to capture a moment of light or shade, damp leaves or dry ones, colors and textures that I could never capture on my own.  It's my life to be part of this beautiful world - and I am so thankful for each and every 'savory moment' that surrounds me.

"There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth".  -Rumi

 

Paint by Numbers

Some of you may remember the 'paint by number' kits that were a big fad way back when.  When looking for an image to post I found out that they actually still exist.  For those of you who have never heard of them - they were preprinted designs with numbers in each little section and they came with pots of paint that were numbered.  Then the 'artist' could paint the picture following the numbers.   

As I work with my cottage pictures I make a point of writing down the floss color combinations that I use in each section.  Sometimes I have to go back to fill in a section, or I change my mind and want to put a different color in a different place, or - and this is most likely - I forget after leaving the stitching for awhile whether I used two strands of one color and one strand of the other - OR one strand of the one color and two strands of the other.  Yes, it can get a little confusing.

So there I am with my little drawing filled with 351 (2), 350 (1) and on and on.  Its been a lifesaver many times -- but as I looked at one of them the other day I thought - perhaps I should destroy these afterward lest someone think I was 'stitching by numbers'!!

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers." - Plato

Spatter Painting

 

It looks like Mother Nature has been playing around with her paint brush.

Did she mix some vats of die and then drop dribbles on the leaves to check the colors?

Did she have a wish to go two tone...?

I'm sure there's a very scientific reason why these mottled leaves were at my feet on this summer morning, but I prefer to think of my friends who dye and wonder what they would make of these beauties and if their yards are filled with splattered leaves.

"Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more." - Vincent van Gogh

Naïve Art/Folk Art

       Helga Hornug

 

As I've work on my latest punchneedle embroidery designs I've been thinking about what 'kind' of 'art' I am drawn to create these days.  My own descriptors would be simple, straightforward, colorful and a little childlike in their forms.  Simplicity of the design seems very important to me, for some reason, and this simple designs definitely work well in punchneedle embroidery.

                                                                                       Marianna Grinblat

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I decided to look up the definition of both folk art and naïve art.  This is what I found:

Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique.

Folk Art - art originating among the common people of a nation or region and usually reflecting their original culture especially everyday or festive items produced or decorated by unschooled artists.

                                                                          Monica Grace

I am not actually a 'naïve' person in the true sense of the work - after all, at my age if I were naïve it would mean I haven't been paying attention.  But there's no reason why my art can't reflect this tone and style.  In the end I realized that all I want is to to reflect the joy that I get from the work of my hands.  I think that will be enough of a definition for me.

"It is well for heart to be naïve and the mind not to be." - Anatole France

Building a house or two or three

I believe its time to do a little house building - three houses in fact.  Drawings are made.

 

Designs drawn upon Weaver's Cloth.

 

Color thoughts are filling my head.  Warm colors this time I believe.  Perhaps "Wildflowers" thread in shades that appear in 'tobacco' or 'marigold' or perhaps the one skein that is nameless because somehow the label has disappeared.

"Where we live is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." - Oliver Wendell Holmes 

Rain, Rain Go Away

 

The rain continues, the flash flood watches/warnings continue.

The garden is soaked, the ground filled to the brim with water.  The leaves shine when they are wet. 

"Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby." - Langston Hughes

Birds of a Feather

My two colorful birds have taken flight.  Each of them looking quite perky in their pastel feathers.

In order to get a little variety in textures I worked the background of these punchneedle pieces in reverse punchneedle.  I'm not sure that I like it -- but there you are, I'm never one to go back and redo a whole piece.

I loved working with these colors and the theme was quite light almost as if I were myself, taking flight.

"The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind." - Carly Simon

Design Seeds

Love color?  Run, don't walk, over to this site - Design Seeds.   I love to spend a few minutes now and then just wandering through the pictures - the colors - the combinations.

 

 

Well maybe more than a few minutes...

 



 

When you get into the site you have the choice of specifying the types of colors you're looking for - be it natural themes or seasonal color blends.  And on top of that you can sign up for their Fresh Hues blog - which will pop up on your email every so often with either a creative quotation or a color hue of its own devising.

I can never get enough color in my life, can you?

"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment." - Claude Monet 

Silly Me

In the past, my work has tended toward the muted, often aged, darker colors.  Perhaps I thought it would make my work seem more serious.  I'm not sure why I would even want to be 'more' serious -- that was for the time of my life when I was studying, working, being a 'responsible' adult.

These days - while my age gets older, my mind gets younger.  'Let's celebrate' is more often my call these days rather than my earlier, traditional 'let's think about it'!

I won't say that 'serious' colors and themes won't crop up now and then - but for awhile I'm going to play - perhaps even be a bit silly. 

"Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans.  It is lovely to be silly at the right moment." - Horace