Found Rainbows

Because of the Consciously Creative class I took from Philippa Stanton back in 2017 I started collecting found objects. 

These were some of my very first finds....and I happen to have a whole rainbow. I was hooked. There are interesting things out there in the world...and everything has a story and connection to someone you don't know. 

Paul has been helping me for years....this photo was taken in 2020. We're a little more particular these days...but we're still picking up interesting and unusual found objects.

This morning I was working on my rainbow puzzle and got through the pink pretty quickly.

I pulled the Pink Panther and the pink rubber ducky up for a closer look.....and that gave me an idea.

I had to search for a few extra found objects to fill in the full spectrum...but why now have a rainbow on my puzzle table for the month of June! Silly? Yes. But sometimes you just have to be silly and find rainbows.

Makes Me Happy!

I had a lot of rainbow puzzles to choose from in my stash...but this 500 piece button puzzle was the winner this time. I'm really enjoying reworking puzzles I already own. 

I think my favorite thing about this rainbow is that it STARTS with pink. I already have all the pieces laid out in my boxes....so I'm ready to go...and that makes me happy! 

My day kind of got away from me....all in a good way. And the boys are coming for dinner...so it's only going to get better. Having the four of us together makes me happy!

I thought it was time for this bird's eye view of my favorite part of my garden. There are a few plants that are still coming along...but most things are just reaching their prime. I love all the textures and variations of green. That tiny hosta on the left was just a root I found when I was digging.....I tucked it in and it's growing and should get bigger. I do have some teeny tiny ones that won't get bigger. I divided the purple coral bell in the front so it's a bit smaller than usual...but it will grow too! 

One of my very favorite plants is the maidenhair fern. I brought it with me from Lexington...and I've been splitting and spreading it around. The wispy leaves sit on a very slender but sturdy stem and I love the movement in the breeze.

This small condo garden makes me very happy! 

I hope there were things in your day that made you happy.

Restraint?

It was one of those absolutely perfect spring days! I spent all morning outdoors walking and puttering in the gardens and tending the birds and feeders. Then I puttered indoors and even checked a few pesky chores things off the list. I love days like this!

Can I go the whole month sharing some sort of rainbow spectrum I encounter or create each day? I think I can! Especially in June. 

There are times I should show some restraint with the gold splatters. But then again....maybe not! Sometimes they work out better than other times. This was a failed background  texture experiment....so I made up for it in splatters. 

And it looks better trimmed up and mounted. It was too big for one of my cards...so I mounted it on a 5 x 7 piece of cardstock. I wonder if it can be mailed as a post card?

Along with my puzzle gang.....I'm celebrating this fabulous explosion of rainbow color. This Asian Oil-paper Umbrella puzzle was engaging from start to finish. And now I get to start another one!

Prime Real Estate

I didn't have to look very far on my camera roll to find a rainbow. June is for rainbows. 

Until the Winslow Farm stand fills with vegetables...my cards get front and center prime real estate. They are currently selling plants...both flowers and vegetables outside and in their greenhouses. Sarah asked me if I would be interested in teaching a cyanotype class at their shot. Yes! I'm in. We are both going to think on it and

I wondered how a cyanotype print would look putting the sharpie words down FIRST...then the plant.  So I did a quick experiment with a maiden hair fern today....I like the texture it creates! 

I'm going to play around with a fine tip marker with smaller writing...and maybe even some India ink. 

This is one of those times I wish my handwriting was better. I may have better luck with asemic writing. 

Talking It Through

Right next to October....June is one of my very favorite months and I'm going to celebrate it all month long. But I guess that's mostly what I do the other 11 months....so I'll just carry on.

What I love about June...and some of what I'll be celebrating:

It's Pride month! So there will be plenty of rainbows. Image was found on Story People's Facebook Page.

The gardens are nearly in their full glory.

Purple shines in the June gardens.

There can be days that feel like summer...but chilly spring days are still possible. I actually like that! 

The new leaves on the trees still have that spring green glow.

The start of long stretches on the patio watching the birds and celebrating the season. 

Kelly came over yesterday to talk through some ideas for a cyanotype lesson for her students. They are talking about shadows and how our feelings and thoughts are sometimes suppressed...and in the shadows. She knew she wanted to incorporate cyanotype because of the need for light...but wanted a way to tie the process in even more. 

I suggested incorporating in some writing....actual  handwriting or asemic writing that stood for thoughts and feelings but not readable. So we gave it a try.

Kelly wrote down some her thoughts on a piece of acetate with a black sharpie. We placed a pressed meadow rue leaf down first...than after about 10 seconds of processing we placed the writing down and topped it off with a piece of plexiglass to hold it all down tightly. 

It worked well. Students could find their own plants or use some other shape as a focal point that has some meaning to them. 

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Just to see if it would work....we tried it again with words layered on words. The thinking is that negative thoughts could be overshadowed by the positive thoughts.  We liked the way you can see through most of the letters...giving it a nice effect....and some interesting symbolism. 

I'm already thinking about how I can apply this to my own cyanotype art.

I gave Kelly a UV lamp for her birthday and she played around with it a bit more when she got home trying out different pens. It was so good to talk it through with each other...and will set us both in motion. 

Order of Operations

Maybe living your best life just means slowing down enough to see how good it already is. author unknown

It's been downright chilly the last day or two. Yesterday Paul and I walked to nearby sidewalk wildflower garden that we check out every year. It's wild and wonderful...and always worth a look. The feel-like temperature was in the 30's...so I wore my winter coat, gloves and ear protection.  

The garden is in the neighborhood where Fall and Autumn Lanes intersect. It looked like spring...but felt like fall and autumn.

When making layered cyanotypes...the item you put down first is the what doesn't get exposed and stays white and ends up being in the foreground of your print. Every layer added after becomes more and more in the background. I often do two layers and sometimes three giving the pieces depth. 

On this one...I placed the meadow rue leaf down first...then after about 20 seconds I placed a punched circle for the moon.....and it looks like more leaves at the very end.  And it looks like there's a few vinegar spots too.

The paper was already a little exposed before I put the first plant down...so it's a pleasing light blue. I painted the moon with metallic gold watercolor and added a few splatters. 

I quite like it.  

I had to chuckle when I got the order of operations wrong on the FIRST try....and put the moon down first putting it in the foreground.  Oops. But the print wasn't that great....

so it became the background for my sign for the garden store display. I'll be delivering my stack of cards on Tuesday. 

I like the softness of this one!

Why Wouldn't I?

I love lupin season in Maine. And if you're familiar with the children's book Miss Rumphius....you'll know why. 

I was excited to see the lupin blooming at the pond yesterday....every year there are a few more.

Then I was tickled pink to find this patch in a nearby garden on my walk.

So why wouldn't I get right in the car and head into Portland to check out the lupin hill overlooking Back Bay. It's not quite at peak...but it's close...and it was totally worth it. 

Why wouldn't I take every opportunity to enjoy the lupin in Maine!

Found Project

I found this stitched/painted/doodled eucalyptus project from a while back and it reminded me what fun things are possible with free motion stitching. I love the wonky and wonderful shapes. 

I'm actually quite fond of it...so I'll add it to my list of things to try again. That list is getting pretty long. 

Somebody somewhere said: 

Grateful for where I'm at....excited about where I'm going.

Yup!

Speaking of cyanotype...I have 10 cards ready to go for the garden store and a few more in progress. Some are painted...some have just gold splatters....some have both...and a few are just simple prints.

Just a touch of gold on this one letting the vinegar blobs shine.

A House From Home

Many many years ago I bought this small decorative birdhouse perched on a curvy wrought iron stand. The artist had a roadside stand in rural Maine...he was a really cool guy. The birdhouse was birch with a lot of rustic charm. 

It lasted a LONG time through many many Maine and Massachusetts winters....but just last year it had completely fallen apart. 

I had some pieces of barn board from the family farm in Wisconsin....and asked Jim, our handyman, if he could build me another house. 

I told him to keep it simple. I wanted the house made from the red side of the barn board and the roof from the back of the board. I didn't want it functional...just decorative. 

He took it home for a winter project...and just brought it back to me a week or so ago. He absolutely nailed it...pardon the pun! 

It's simple and sentimental...and the perfect for the wrought iron stand. He drilled a shallow hole and painted it black so it would appear to be an actual hole. 

I'll have to see if I can find the star that was on the original one....if fell off years ago. But I also like it just the way it is. 

It sits along the fence between our patio and our neighbor Anna's. I may be done with the bottles...but they're staying for now. The wild blueberry bush wreath is new...and I still love my wrought iron dancer. 

I absolutely love this view of my garden from the patio...which now includes this sentimental house from home. And the most heartwarming thing about it is that he gifted it to me and wouldn't let me pay him. As someone who is enjoying giving things away these days...I didn't even try and talk him out of it.

Plein Air Painting

May all your to-dos turn into ta-das!

I have a lime green bleeding heart plant in my garden. The foliage is showy and fabulous...and what's not to love about these sweet little bleeding hearts.

I aways admire people who do plein air painting....a French term for painting outdoors. When I stumble artists doing just that....I always want to find a chair and watch the magic unfold.

I did a little plein air painting today. It wasn't of my garden or an ocean view....it was our garage door! We replaced the door this winter...and the weather finally cooperated to get it painted. Today was the day...and I'm proud of my work!

 Ta-da!

This afternoon the Pool Committee sponsored a pool opening celebration! It was well attended and everyone had a good time. I haven't been in the water yet...but I will be soon! Ta-da! It's pool season!

45th and One Day

Yesterday was our official anniversary...but Paul and I celebrated today on our 45th and one day anniversary! I think we've found our groove.

I'm taking you along on our anniversary field trip today....Paul made lobster rolls and we took them to Wolfe's Neck State Park in Freeport. After lunch we walked the trails along the water and through the woods. It's a beautiful spot....and free for us seniors! 

We had a glimpse of the water from our picnic table....the weather was perfect.

Lobster always tastes better with an ocean view. 

There are defined trails and spaces and places where you can walk down to the rocky shore. 

There was a large osprey nest in the treetops on Googins Island.

Do you see it?

Here's another one.

I took my rainbow parasol....but didn't need it....there was plenty of shade on the trails.

I've been married for 45 years and one day to this wonderful and kind man. How lucky am I!