My 3-day Getaway

I turned 63 earlier this week and celebrated by going to a fairly remote and rustic cabin in the mountains with Lar. Not a lot of art happened, but we did s l o w   d o w n. I especially enjoyed being on the crest of the Blue Ridge, where we had unobstructed views of the valleys, sunsets and sunrises and the darkest night sky I've seen in years. I felt spoiled.

When we returned,lots of "stuff" needed our attention, and I started to get anxious about whether or not I would get things done and see any resolution in ongoing tasks. That feeling of "hitting the ground running" prevailed. I won't lie and say that I finally beat it, but I did manage to take some deep breaths and let go of things I can't control. At least, momentarily! This quote stroke home!

"Imperfect, limited, and vulnerable as I am,

the sun still shines upon me, things do

work out, food appears, rain falls, wonderful 

conversations take place, and the grass

grows without any help from me."

--Dharmavidya David Brazier

And so I made some art.

I hope you can slow down, too, this week, and make some art. It doesn't have to be perfect. Neither do you. 

Right side up?

Zentangle teaches us that there is no up or down, no right side up. We turn our tiles as we work, and after we finish, to see them from different perspectives. This week, I heard a wonderful Rumi quote: "Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turned upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?" In the same vein, I saw a Meister Eckhart quote that resonated with me: "Be willing to be a beginner every single morning."

I had a fruitful week.

Some tiles featured Lindy's Magicals and distress inks:

Some, including the above tile, responded to an Inchie Challenge from Mindful Art Studio:

And some, on the new translucen-Z tiles, were lessons from Project Pack 18:

Somehow, being willing to be a beginner, to question which side is up (especially on the translucent paper, where we draw on both sides), was powerfully liberating--although I did fall asleep at 8:30 every night!

Is there anything you can question this week? Do you begin every day in the newness that it offers?

PS: I also set up MailChimp to manage subscriptions to this blog. (You may have noticed the clunky gadget on the right!) If you notice any glitches or have any questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to respond.

Collaborating with Nature

August and September find me spending more time in the garden, cutting back spent cone flowers and black-eyed susans, breaking up the parched soil before watering, raking leaves, pulling weeds and trying to get a handle on it all before the last hurrah of Sheffield mums is heard. I gave some poke weed plants space to flourish this year, and they needed a little pruning. After that task was completed, I noticed that my gardening hat was stained from the berry juice. A collaborative art project was born.

I picked up a Permapen and added some Pokeroot. Then Pokeleaf, and as I worked around the hatband, I envisioned my garden so that more patterns could be added to represent it.

The poke weed juice is on the far right

The co-artist and the collaboration product

I finished the Romantic Rosettes lesson from 7F5RStudio this week.

Then, I finished my journal by tangling the inside covers.

The inside was from the ZTHQ Well-being, Part 1, video

Gardening on the brain

Working with Lindy's Magicals and Zendalas is always a special treat for me. (Like a colorful cookie?)

Nouvelle

Wishing you a safe and fun Labor Day!