Lost In The Details

I've spent a good chunk of the last couple of days on Juliann's joy journal. Just a few finishing touches...then a little photo session and I can get it in the mail. Oh....how I love making these joy journals.....they are a labor of love. I can get lost for hours in the details....in a good way.

Since I'll be busy helping host a neighborhood picnic this afternoon/evening....it seems like a good day to talk about this magnificent wooden puzzle I've been working on for a little more than a week. I think I'm about half done. It was gifted to me from Alyson who has a friend who works for the Liberty Puzzle Company. I am not necessarily drawn to these muted scenery puzzles....but they always surprise me with delight. Especially the wooden ones. I actually find myself sitting a little longer each session wanting to find just one more oddly shaped piece.

I sorted the pieces generally by color and texture. The texture of the green on the trees is different than the texture of the greens in the gardens. Then there are all the clusters of flowers and the browns on the house. I started with the sky....which was the easiest.

It's tremendously tedious and I can get lost in the details....in a good way. 

Art Therapy

"Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn't get some of that stuff out. Not everything I write is good. But it's all good for me – like therapy." Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton died today. Songwriting and singing....was her art therapy. She was just one of those people  who was hard to ignore and who you couldn't help but admire. She was over the top and flamboyant....and oh so generous and real.

Bill Friskics-Warren, one of the co-authors with Paul of The Wilderness of Friendship, wrote her obituary for the New York Times. It beautifully captures who she was in and out of the spotlight. 

Bill interviewed her several times over the years and grew to love her even more each time. He told Paul that even though she lived her look and glitzy stage persona nearly 24 hours a day....she always knew who she really was as a person....that her persona was not who she was as a person.

"Hopefully people can see beneath the hair to know there's a brain, beneath the boobs to know there's a heart and behind all the other stuff to know there's some talent."

Bill's New York Times obituary can be found here... hopefully this gift link will work:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/arts/music/dolly-parton-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8FA.RAgY.3XdrOIsiYDZc&smid=url-share

There will never be anyone quite like Dolly!

Enough

Did you know that a group of porcupines is called a prickle? It makes perfect sense....but it does make me chuckle.

This sweet bloom by the pond caught my eye this morning. Some days....something as simple as this is enough.

No Surprise

You don't have to do everything. Just do the next thing.

It's probably no surprise that I picked up the seaweed for a cyanotype experiment. I was completely inspired by prints I saw on Instagram by cyanokai.......and I knew I needed to give it a try.

This one was my favorite prints so far.

The seaweed I picked up was quite different than hers....but I got some interesting results. There is a little bit of translucency in the plants....and I worked with it wet giving even more texture and interest.

I'm going to be keeping my eye out for interesting seaweed and kelp when I'm at the coast. I love how wonky and irregular it is.

This That and Seaweed

I came home with a handful of seaweed yesterday. Stay tuned to know why. Today was a this and that day. I had a swim and a walk...went to the farmers market and had a nice visit with Patty. 

I've been meaning to share this photo of a clump of grapes glowing in the sun in in Jane's backyard. I think it pairs well with the seaweed photo.

And visiting Patty means I got to get a closeup look at her late summer rosy pink hydrangea.

Lunch Date

Paul and I had a lunch date today and I'm taking you along. Paul made lobster rolls and we took them to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth.  

It was a spectacular summer day for a seaside lunch....and Paul picked a perfect spot. 

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This was the view to the side from our table.

And this was the view ON our table. It made me smile knowing Susan's found joy in the ocean. I hope her family continues to come to this table for lunch!

After lunch we walked the paths.

We happened upon a wedding down on the rocks.

The trails follow the coastline then circled us back to where we started.

We stopped at Willard Scoops for a treat.....

...and finished off our date at Bug Light Park.

Portland Harbor was busy with boats of every shape and size including a massive cruise ship that was docked across the harbor. Thanks for coming along!

Jane's Little Gallery

This tiny quilt made with scraps of striped fabrics has been kicking around my studio for years. It was originally going to be a thank you card to Jane for making me a colorful quilt.....but it just didn't seem right at the time. But I finished up the binding yesterday....and hung it in Jane's little bathroom art gallery today. 

I wrote about Jane's gallery before...so I won't repeat the details. You can check out the link if you're interested.

And since I was at Jane's...that also means I got to go to Jane's beach....which is what my kids called it growing up. 

There's always that moment of anticipation when you walk the dune grass path.....

and get that first glimpse of the water. You know you're heading somewhere special. 

There's nothing like the sound of the ocean.

Lowish tide for as far as the eye could see made for great walking.

This little rock spot was just crawling with kids and beach combers.

And here's the gallery wall with six of my little art experiments....there might not be room for anymore. The lighting isn't great...it's so much more vibrant and colorful in person. The link above has better closeups of some of the pieces in Jane's little gallery.

Tried and True

I've gotten a good start on Juliann's joy journal. I've been fussy cutting and deconstructing some of her papers and ephemera and I figured out and finished the cover. I think it one of the most important parts and here's a sneak peak. The rest will be a surprise. for Juliann.

 I knew I wanted to use this beautiful card for the cover. I had a couple of ideas...but in the end went with the tried and true and just gridded it up. I intended to mix it up to abstract it a bit...but in the end I just loved it just the way it was. 

I think the window pane effect is quite pretty...especially with this image. I found just the right hand dyed fabric to highlight some of the colors.

That's all I can share for now....but wanted you to know where a chunk of my creative energy will be going this week. I'll look forward to sharing it when I'm done. 

We finally have a copy of Paul's actual book in our hands...and it feels good. I'm so proud of these guys. In case you missed it....Paul and three of his seminary buddies wrote a book. You can read the details here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2026/08/something-to-celebrate.html

And I didn't know about this until today! My heart is full.

Happened Upon

I happened upon a fabulous garden on my morning walk...these are some of my favorite shots1 

Zinnias and dahlias are such great pops of color in a late summer garden. Every time I see them I have to stop and take a closer look. There are so many petals tightly packed in....I love to catch them in this unfurling stage. 

And isn't this globe amaranth spectacular! It looks fiberoptic.

I do love the bright summer colors of zinnias.

And just look at all that's happening here. Isn't this dahlia amazing. 

I'll be visiting this garden path again!

Paul happened upon an unusual found object while out on his bike ride.  

This tiger will dominate my puzzle gang...but we'll see how he does for a while. He's a little aggressive looking.

This new Liberty wooden puzzle was gifted to me from Alyson. Wooden puzzles are such a delight to put together...but this one is going to be a challenge. 

But I'll happen upon the right strategy!

Embracing Imperfection

The most well adjusted people are constantly adjusting!

I purchased a pack of 5 x 7 tea bag papers knowing they would be a sturdy substrate for cyanotypes. 

I've printed on tea bags before....and it worked really well. Roseanne is the one who gifted me the bags...so I printed her this little tea bag filled with cyanotype snippets. 

You can read about Roseanne's teabag here:
https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/07/tea-bag-project.html

I made several others at the time that I gifted here and there.

When I coated my papers I used a few of the tea bag papers to blot up the solution. from my work surface. No blogs of solution should go wasted. When the papers were dry I put ferns on both sides all sandwiched between pieces of glass. Then I processed it on both sides yesterday outside in the sun.

I think it made a fun print with really interesting texture.

I did the same thing with some meadow rue leaves. When I held it to the light I can see the plants on both sides. The two sided teabag paper will make a pretty page in a journal.

I was compelled to make a tag. I started by glueing a piece of this meadow rue print onto a tag....and decided that would be the back. I wanted something more interesting  for the front and I wanted to transition to another color. Orange is the compliment to blue...so that's the direction I'm going. 

I cut an old Real Simple magazine title into strips and collaged them on for the background. Using recycled materials has been a theme on a couple cards.

The overlay flowers (which I don't love)  are cyanotypes on tissue.....so they collaged on easily and that kept the Prussian blue color going. I also added some gold speckles for more flow.

I should have left the back alone...but it was too close in design to last back with the blue and white blotchy paper. So at first I tried coloring the white spaces orange and I didn't like it at all. Thank goodness there is no photo.

I decided to go with the Japanese practice of Kintsugi where they fill cracks in pottery with gold embracing the imperfections. 

So I filled in the orange with gold paint....embracing the imperfection while also celebrating the blotches in the print. I actually like that there is still a hint of orange peeking through.

Today Was The Day

Today was the day that a couple of my royal standard hosta blooms opened. 

It's one of the only hosta blooms I really love. It's tall and stately....and it smells amazing! 

And today was the day for a swim. The water was warmer than the air temperature this morning...and it was magnificent. The hydrangeas by the pool are exploding making the whole experience such a joy.

This is what was left on my puzzle this morning....so I knew today would be the day I would finish it. 

I stretched it out throughout the day and did just a few pieces at a time. I love savoring the end.

This one was a challenge....but once I found the right strategy it ended up being pure joy! Thank you again to Linda S. for this very special gift. 

Today was the day! Isn't it fabulous!

 Thanks again Linda!

A Little Wild

Paul and I went to the downtown rally today...it had been a while and it felt good to participate. It was a beautiful...but sunny day so I needed my parasol and Paul needed his big floppy....which made for interesting shadows of us in the street. We enjoy the waving and the honking as people pass by but we also long for a day when we are not having to protest our own government. 

Juliann sent me some papers for a joy journal and I'm excited to be back in business again. Per usual....I spread things out on my dining room table and will let them percolate. She provided a nice mix of papers and snippets...and it's going to be fun to curate them into a journal.

I almost missed it in the pile...but Juliann's journal is also going to be little wild.

And this beautiful card....will set the color story.

In other words...it's going to colorFUL! But in a toned down kind of way.