Fully Present

I've been talking about it for several days now....but I'm finally heading out of town this afternoon. I will arrive in Madison, Wisconsin late tonight for a week with family and friends. I'll get to see sweet Max...and his new little brother Miles! And of course...a lot of adults too. 

I always have a little bit of angst when I leave home....it's my happy place. I'm leaving Paul in charge of the gardens and the birds....and he has promised to keep me posted on the baby bluebirds that are most certainly going to fledge while I'm gone. Mom and dad have been busy keeping them fed and we can hear them chirping deep in the house cavity. 

I had time to make the rounds in the gardens this morning...cutting things back and dead heading and I'm excited about the black eyed Susans that are starting to unfurl. This is my NOW! 

I know for a fact that once I get where I'm going I will be fully present. I'll be enjoying other people's gardens...and sharing joys with people I love.

Per usual when I travel my posts will likely be late in the evening when the days have wound down. 

Looking for joy while I am way and sharing it here is grounding for me.

Then:

This is the moment I decided to start adding fused fabric to my watercolors while taking the Watercolor for Relaxation course. It started by covering a mistake...and now I do it intentionally.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-thing.html

I hope you are fully present wherever you find yourself today!

Humbled....and Honored

Usually the saying "if you see something, say something" refers to matters of public safety. But I think we should also apply it to matters of public praise. Compliment someone who is rocking their outfit or say something kind to the young man who just checked out your groceries. It feels good to say something...and you know it makes that person feel good too.

It's humbling...but life affirming to be recognized. We like to dish it out...and we have to take it too.

I head out of town tomorrow afternoon....and I'm mostly ready.....so it was wonderful to spend a chunk of my day with my friend Patty. She is active in Portland Rotary and participates in so many worthy projects both locally and far and wide. Their work is impressive and important and I am in awe of all that they do. 

Her group sponsored a Flags for Heroes campaign as one of their fundraisers to support their various service projects. People were invited to sponsor a flag to honor a person that has made a difference in their life and Patty nominated me as one of her heroes. I was humbled and honored. 

Today we visited the flag display at the Maine Mall and enjoyed a delightful lunch together. It was a moving display....and a fabulous connection.

I feel so fortunate to have a friend in my life that is right down the street. And I'm thrilled that our friendship is meaningful to her too. 

Just yesterday I walked out to get the mail and saw her in her yard and just wandered down. It's so comforting. 

This campaign historically has honored the military. But her Rotary group promoted it much winder than that and include anyone who has impacted your life whether it be a teachers, minister, employer....or  friend.

The plaque reads: 

FLAGS FOR HEROES

HONORING

MARYANN SHUPE

FRIEND WHO BRINGS

KINDNESS, JOY AND HOPE

Thank you Patty! My heart is full.

Now and Then

Now(ish):

While I was visiting Janice a few days ago I got a tour of her neighbor's gardens and her whimsical coneflowers captured my heart.

The petals were long and loose and flopped around in the breeze like they were dancing. It was right out of a Dr. Seuss book.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. Dr. Seuss

Why is it that right before I'm getting ready for a trip my mind can't stop thinking of all the art projects I want to do. They'll have to wait because there's a long list of things to tend to these few days before I head out of town for a week.

So I thought I might start something new called Now and Then that I might tap into while I'm traveling. The Now...will something from my day that brings me joy. The Then will be a link to something I've created in the past that still brings me joy. There are several new blog subscribers that may be looking for something arty.

Then: 
Back in 2007 I started a cathedral window quilt. The whole thing is hand stitched so it was the perfect take-a-long project. My initial intention was to make it bed size...but 13 years later I finally got it to the point where it could be a wall hanging in my studio. Absolutely the right decision for me.

Here's the post where I celebrate those last stitches: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/06/ahead-of-schedule.html

And for you interested quilty types...this is a link to the thread of "cathedral window" posts over the years where you can see my process and progress. There is much more in these posts...so while I'm a bit distracted this will be a way to get to know me a bit. 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/cathedral%20window%20quilt

It really was the perfect project to take on the road then. I need something similar for now!

NO Words Needed

I've been working on the last section of my mineral puzzle....and it's all words.

The artist listed all her hand drawn minerals...making it educational and interesting. 

I've been taking my time on finishing this one. 

But there are NO words needed for this fabulous specimen. You can't make this stuff up.....Mother Nature had a sense of humor on this one.

Grown Up

I don't think I could have packed more joy into a day. My heart is full.

Eliza and Barbara stopped in for lunch....Barbara is Paul's successor at Hancock Church in Lexington, MA. This was Eliza's third year at a summer camp in Maine...so they have been stopping in on their way...or their way home from camp each year.

Eliza and I were been art buddies for several years...trading things back and forth including homemade art journals. She's a pretty special young lady and I cherish that time we shared. 

Eliza is much more grown up now....almost as tall as me. Although our relationship has shifted...I still feel a strong connection to her. Maybe I can foster something new....and more grown up.

This is one of my favorite photos. 

I put "Eliza" in the search box in the upper left corner of my blog and all the posts about her and our shared art and time together came up. I loved looking them all over again. Back in 2021 I made us each a little art journal...and we decorated our own covers. We traded them back and forth so each one is filled with both our art. Little did I know at the time that these were actually Joy Journals!

Today was also Lori Austill's open studio....and it was so much fun seeing her beautiful and the space where she creates. Her art for sale was hanging all through her home. I'm going back tomorrow....so more to come. I wrote about a unusual interaction with Lori here in this post.  

Just Roll With It

Today was all about party prep and other chores.....I had it all mapped out in my head and it included a morning swim. But then before the day had barely begun I had a big spill. The details don't matter....but it felt like my day was totally derailed. More than an hour was invested in the clean-up to start....and bits of time all day long dealing with the aftermath. I had no choice but to just roll with it.

It wasn't the end of the world....and everything is OK.  All the party prep and chores got done and I even had time for a swim and to pop in on a friend. As I finish this post late this afternoon....I'm heading into an evening with family and what could be better than that! 

These next several weeks are going to be busy...including getting ready for an upcoming trip. But there's always time to share a little joy nugget....and today it's pink slime mold. Yes...you heard that right. 

I've had it before...it's absolutely harmless and just another sign of nature feeding on decaying material. One day it's there and the next day it's gone. 

So I'm just rolling with and celebrating these beautiful pink pearls of slime mold.

Simple Tasks

Today I'm choosing kindness, but we'll see, it's still early.

I chuckled when I saw this quote. My mood is always a little touch and go when the humidity starts to rise again. 

I'm excited about our family gathering and Sam's birthday celebration tomorrow evening....followed by some special lunch guests on Saturday. Having people in my home pushes me to tidy things up a bit and that's always a good thing.

I was struck this morning how satisfying it was to do the simple task of sweeping the front door area and walkway. I want the entrance to our home to be warm and welcoming....for us...and our guests. 

I was out for.my after dinner walk and Patty's hydrangea shrub was glowing in the early evening light. 

And while I'm celebrating her hydrangea...here's  a montage of her pink hydrangea from her backyard with photos I took several days ago. Well done Patty! 

Things to Celebrate

The Maine Senate race is in turmoil right now....but I remain hopeful things will turn out OK. There is so much to be concerned about in our country and the world....so it so important that we celebrate and find joy in the things that land in our day. 

I'm celebrating these tiny mushrooms today. They are popping up all over our yard...and doing great things for the soil.....helping break down decaying matter.  When I pick one....I toss it into the woods and it becomes food for the animals or gets composted into the forest floor.

I'm celebrating two new rain lily blooms today. A couple at a time are coming pretty regularly now and that makes me happy..

I'm celebrating a busy bluebird house as mom and dad go in and out....feeding the babies inside. It's so much fun to watch.....and really hard to photograph. Today they were trying to ward off a couple of bluejays that were getting too close. It was interesting watching these small birds defend their home turf. 

I'm celebrating my son Sam who turned 37 on Monday. I'm also celebrating Kelly who decorated their campsite for the occasion. Don't you love the birthday sunglasses! We're having a family birthday party on Friday. I just love it when we gather.

And finally....I'm also celebrating this beautiful gifted handmade booklet from Candy G. 

It's full of pockets and pouches holding snippets, poems, and fun things that I can pay forward...and use in my own projects. Thank you Candy for giving me one more fabulous thing to celebrate today. 

Blues to Purples

Positive people are not ignoring the darkness of this world, they have dragged themselves into the light and are sharing it with you. Donna Ashworth

I'm moving from the blues to the purples in my minerals puzzle....I do a little bit every day. 

The same is true with my rainbow stencil doodle concertina.....I'm moving from the blues to the purples. This has been a fun project for little bursts of time here and there.

Here are a few closeups.....I'm totally enjoying the mixed media approach.

Exam Paper #2

I had one teeny tiny meadow rue cyanotype in my stash that I turned into a teeny tiny card.

Somehow I have a handful of these tiny cards and envelopes in my stash....so I might as well use them up. More teeny cards to come!

Speaking of cyanotype....today I did my second experiment with Roseanne's exam paper. I coated a chunk of it with the chemicals yesterday....so it was nice and dry for some sun printing this morning.

I have to coat papers in a space where there is no natural light so I've set up a cyanotype prep station in my garage. It's working well....and I don't have to tidy up. This is the treated exam paper.

I put down layer of airy plants and covered it with glass. I exposed it to the sun for about 45 seconds before putting down the grass and another piece of glass. 

This what it looked like when I took it to the sink. It's still on the glass.

It seemed to hold up well to light rinsing.....better than tissue. But I still was careful and never took it off the glass.

This is after rinsing the chemicals out and spritzing it with peroxide to speed up the processing.

I'm pretty tickled. I left it on the glass until it was completely dry.

A few hours later it was perfectly dry. I love it!

How pretty is this exam paper! 

Thanks Roseanne! I'm going to think of a special project for it.

Shadow Photos

We're getting a welcome break from the heat and humidity. The windows are open and I can hear the birds singing....the fresh air feels like a fresh start! 

When I went on my walk this morning I took a plain white piece of paper. Inspired by Rebecca Chapman....I was on a mission to take some shadow photos. She shared the idea in this post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ91YJvK4YK/

By taking the photo of the shadow on a white piece of paper you get a clean silhouette that can be printed onto tissue. Or in today's case....exam paper. Yes...that stuff that covers the exam table in your doctor's office. Roseanne gifted me as much as would fold into an envelope....and I'm going to be doing several experiments with it. 

Today I used it for printing shadow prints.

I cropped and resized this photo and printed along with a few others on some of the exam paper.

This isn't a great photo....but it shows how I print on tissue/exam paper. I tape the end that gets fed into my printer onto a piece of copy paper. You can see the resized shadow photo in the bottom right corner.

There was no better place to put it than my Playful Pages journal that I made in a class with Rebecca Chapman who inspired the shadow photos. This journal is an ongoing project....and plants printed on tissue is an ongoing theme throughout. 

I glued it print side so the ink wouldn't run using matte medium. You can barely see the edges. It works very similar to art tissue...but I do think exam paper is stronger.

Thanks Roseanne! More experiments to come.

There's a little something special tucked in the vertical pocket on the left page.

One of the only things I have of my mother's handwriting. 

This is just a few of the shadow photos I took this morning...Once I started I couldn't stop. I like that a bit of the actual green grass and purple salvia made it into the photo. Can you see them?

Here are the original photos of those two so you can see how the plant parts got into the photo. I also got the shadow of my wire leaf sculpture behind the salvia. I had a lot of fun taking shadow photos today!