Lights

My Christmas season started with greens.....and today it's about lights.  I put our tree up a few days ago.  It's an older artificial tree....we've had it for many many years.  But other than more than 1/2 of the lights not working it still is serving us well and looks OK once it's decorated. So every year I add lights to fill in the gaps and spend a few days fluffing the wire branches before I can decorate it.....and that's how I spent some of my day.

I'll let it sit a few days....then on December 2nd....which is still officially "tree day" in the Shupe household....I'll start decorating it.  Until then.....I'll just enjoy the lights....and celebrate all things Merry and Bright....aka the puzzle on my table.

A few days ago I shared a quote about the tiny little miracles that are disguised as ordinary things....here's a perfect example from Alyson.  Champaign powder....as they call it in Colorado....the kind of snow skiers dream of. 

Tiny little miracles indeed!

Happy Birthday.....

 .....or as we say in our family: "Happy to you!"  Today is Paul's 64th birthday.....just one more year before he can be on Medicare.

We're counting down those days when we don't have to foot the whole bill for our health insurance. One and a half years for me. 

One of Paul's daily indulgences is reading our horoscopes.  This was his today....it's perfect:

Nov. 29, 2022:

You are warm, friendly and charismatic. You know how to deal with people. You are future-oriented and often concerned with your security.  This is the first year of a nice-year cycle, which means being flexible and having the courage to walk new paths."

I'm so proud of all that Paul accomplished during his career as a minister....and am so pleased he has found ways to use his skills and talents here in Maine during retirement. He still loves "talking church."

I've shared this photo before from 1978 when Paul met my parents for the first time over Thanksgiving break from college....and we celebrated his birthday.  But I can't remember if I mentioned that when he blew the candles out that were scattered about the table....he put his shirt in the cake.  He did made a good first impression....and my parents approved.

He's my guy......my warm, friendly and charismatic guy!

I've told this story before too....but in case you missed it you can click the link below to read one of my favorite stories about the 120 letters he wrote me back in 2007 when we lived apart for awhile.  Happy To You Paul!  You're the best!

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-letters.html

Ordinary Things

"The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things." Hans Christian Andersen

Today was all about chores and errands....a haircut...and a Condo Board meeting. But I took some time to appreciate some of those little ordinary miracles in between.

I've been watching this hydrangea bush on our morning walk all season.  There's still some beautiful blue still holding on!

And the winterberry hedge at Margie's place makes me pause every time.

Shiny Objects

Nancy's December calendar page is going to be late....I just lost track of time. 

 

I'm letting myself get lost in whatever is in front of me.  I've spent hours rearranging shelves and handling and sorting little piles of painted papers and fabulous fodder as I try and organize my studio.....yet it doesn't' even look any different (yet).  I'm giving myself permission to watch art how-to videos....or Netflix....or get absorbed and sidetracked in whatever happens to be the shiny thing of the moment. 

That's how the striped card happened. I was cleaning off work table...and came across a pile of painter paper off cuts from previous projects...and was compelled to glue them all together.  

I want to head into the rest of this holiday season with a calm spirit and grateful heart.  Whatever gets done gets done....and whatever shiny object grabs my attention is going to get it. And....I'm going to enjoy it all.

The theme of Nancy's calendar this year has been handwritten hearts....and once again the background is our sister Angie's handwriting.  I even found a line from her writing that said "here in my heart."

The scrap card is a little goofy....but I did try and use some of the lessons learned from the last one.  

I tried to use the design rule of thirds and I did do a light whitewash over the whole piece which unified the collage and knocked down some of the bright colors.  I added the little green squiggle cutout at the end....just because I found it.  It was probably better without it....but there it is.  

I'm understanding just now as I write this that IT was one of those shiny objects that grabbed my attention!  Now I love it there.

I do want to share my new favorite tool for collaging.  I went to an art store looking for a hand held squeegee type thing to smooth out collage work and pull paint across the page.  They didn't have one....but I picked up this spatula thing.....and didn't start using it until recently.  

Acrylic paint and the mediums I use for gluing and collaging are plastics and should NOT go down the drain.  I'm being careful to clean my brushes really well BEFORE I actually take them to the sink. 

But I'm finding this spatula perfect for much of my collage work...and it's super easy to clean.  I can spread the matt medium on the substrate...smooth down the paper....and cover it with a top coat all with this tool.  Then I can scrape off the extra into the container and just wipe it clean with a rag.  And I use the same rags until they can stand up on their own before I throw them away.  

Starting With Greens

Since I finished that difficult but beautiful floral puzzle at the end of October....I've completed 2 fun and fairly simple and satisfying 500 piece ones.  I haven't shared them here because I'm sending them on as Christmas presents....but both Margie and I enjoyed them. There's always a puzzle going on my table....it's one of the things that grounds me throughout my day. 

This time I pulled out one from last year that Margie did...but I didn't get to it.  It's a Christmas puzzle.....

....and it's setting the stage for all things Merry & Bright to come.  I'm starting with greens....I pulled out every piece that even had a touch of green. 

Speaking of starting greens....

I've also filled a new urn in the front of the condo....and hung a wreath.  The Christmas Season is upon us...and I'm starting with greens.....and I'll ease into the Merry and Bright!

Still love love love my entry rug.

Greens ✔

Near Center

"Choosing to have joy is not naively thinking everything will be easy.  It is courageously believing that there is still hope, even when things get hard."  Morgan Harper Nichols (Thanks Janet)

This little flower dried up before it got too cold....so has been unaffected by the deep freeze.  Such a delightful pop of color in the brown landscape. And just look at that perfectly dried curled leaf.

And I love looking at the frost up close!

Liz offered me a set of underwater coloring postcards while I was visiting....and of course I said yes.

I'm not likely to do the coloring....but they are the perfect substrate for making my own postcards.

So I did a quick little scrap collage experiment using some of my Fodder School painted papers. I collaged them onto a piece of copy paper first....then added stitching.

I didn't want my dividing line in the center....I wanted to follow the design rule of thirds. I drew some guidelines for the postcard size...and even made a mark at the third line. 

Then I completely ignored it during the collage process.

So I ended up with a near center line anyway....not my design intention.  But I enjoyed the project enough to do more. These little experiments always teach me something. This time: use more neutrals and solids....try staggering the line...possibly do a glaze or white wash to unify the piece....AND actually use the guidelines!

And the most important lesson this time: embrace the near center line.

Family Table

I have wonderful memories of Thanksgivings growing up...they were a big deal. Sometimes we would gather at my grandmother's house...and sometimes at our home on the farm. It was a family day....from start to finish.  

My brother Doug posted these photos of the nine Miller kids on Facebook from Thanksgiving 1963 at my grandmother's house. Both my mom and my grandma had a knack for making the holiday table feel festive....especially my grandma. I can still picture the individual nut/treat cups next to our plates....and her fancy glasses filled with punch.  I loved the family all around the table.

        Back row: Marilyn, Becky, Angie   Front row: MaryAnn, LaVonn, Nancy

My siblings Becky, Angie, Edwin, and Rich are all dearly missed.

Edwin, Rich, Doug

Paul and I spent Thanksgiving with Margie at her place....the three of us had a delightful visit and dinner.  Margie had both of her birthday puzzle done on her table.  I'm so grateful for my puzzle partner!

This one is wooden.

The Thanksgiving morning sun on the pond....

Paul kept walking while I took photos.

Memory Lane

"The more grateful I am...the more beauty I see." Mary Davis 

I have so much to be grateful for....and so many simple things that bring me joy.  Like helping my neighbor Patty cut her gardens back this afternoon....then scheming with her on on an art experiment we're going to do together. And hearing Paul knocking around in the kitchen this afternoon and smelling the chili he made for dinner.  And....anticipating Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at Margie's place.

The more grateful I am....the more I am able to see beauty in the little bits of color that are still out there even after several hard freezes.

I took a little trip down memory lane on the blog this evenin and picked a few old Thanksgiving posts to revisit today.  This first on was a digital collage way back in 2015.  I had forgotten all about this....and was surprised how clever the process was when I reread the post.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/11/joyfully-thankful.html

Grateful for a blooming succulent back in 2015.

A found object rainbow wreath I made Thanksgiving afternoon back in 2020.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

Nice Touch

"We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing." Louisa May Alcott

I know I've said it already.....but my favorite new technique to frame a simple collage or gelli print is to stitch it onto nice watercolor paper.  No matte needed....so this grass print that Alyson picked out is ready for an 8 x 10 frame.  

This is one of the prints I fused onto a book page....so the words peeking through are a nice touch. I think the simple stitch line adds another nice touch.

I've got a couple other little projects I'm going to do for Alyson. If you remember she's the queen of shadow boxes and printers drawers.....and the lover of tiny things. One of my tasks is modernizing this little shadow box she found at a thrift store. 

She likes some of the vintage backdrops...but there's too many of them....so I'm going to infuse some variety and color. I'm going to give her several options that can be removable.  Stay tuned.

And finally....I got some fun mail.  I had heard of the magazine "Where Women Create"...but I hadn't heard of "What Women Create."  Melodee had gotten a copy as a gift...and she passed it on to me.  

Sitting on top is a lovely handmade postcard from Roseanne....so much texture in her watercolor technique. It actually looks like it belongs on the actual cover.

I'm going to enjoy soaking in all the creativity in this magazine...but told Melodee that I may end up cutting it up when I'm done looking.  It's just what I do.  

It's filled with amazing images....textures.....and creative projects.

And the paper is really nice too.  This particular page included the quote I put at the top of the blog! 

"Every day I am grateful. The creative process is an ever-changing landscape and welcome journey in expressing oneself and hopefully inspiring others." Eryn Edgers Jackson

Well done Eryn....a featured artist who creates from things found in nature.