Connected.....

 by books....and shared experiences.

"The simple key to any creative inspiration lies in consciously taking the time to accurately acknowledge what is around us." Philippa Stanton, Conscious Creativity

I just finished 5ftinf's Book Shelf Puzzle today.  I've taken my time....and loved every slow minute of it. I only had about 20 pieces to put in today....and even did that in two sittings. It was a busy day.

https://www.instagram.com/5ftinf/

At first this post was going to be about how that last piece didn't fit.  All along this puzzle has had pieces that were close enough that I mixed them up....adding to the challenge.  

I didn't mind at all.....I just had to look closely.....and wearing my glasses generally helped me straighten things out.  It's pretty clear I had one wrong.....when I looked closely. Phillipa reminds us to always look closely.

But this post is really about the books.  All of them have meaning to Philippa....and that made it fun. And two of the books I own.....so they have meaning to me too.  

For those of you new to the blog I took Philippa's online Consciously Creative class back in 2017.....and it changed my life. What I learned from her is sprinkled all through this blog. It's all here....and I think about it and apply it every day.

The link to some of the posts are under the label "Consciously Creative" along the side of the blog.

After the class Philippa went on to write the Conscious Creativity Book...and she acknowledged us students that were in that first class. This last fall she released the companion workbook and I got mine just as I was heading to be with my sister Angie.  My life since has been in transition with Angie's death, the move, and settling in. So the workbook is on hold....and the day will come when it's the right time to work play my way through it.

I visited Phillippa in England with my sister Nancy in 2019 and she signed my book.  I can get pretty emotional even just thinking about it all.  It's such a layered story....the class...which involved my sister Angie....the trip and the way I have woven it all into my life.

And now I buy Philippa's puzzles....to support her art and celebrate our connection.  And they all are of beautiful and colorful things she photographs on "The Table."  And the things on her table are now on my table. Next...it's Vintage Tins. 

http://5ftinf.bigcartel.com/category/jigsaws

Every Day Still Life

 I was greeted this morning by a text with this playful image from Paul's morning walk....his caption read: 

"When is it not all about the stem?  When it's all about the hat." 

Kudos to Paul for paying attention....he knows it is really all about the stem....
but I do love the hats too. 💜

I spent much of the past few days cleaning up the gardens in Lexington....moving a few things, weeding, and doing fall cut-backs.  This is my last season in this garden....and it has served me well. 

I snapped this photo without really giving it much thought....but realized this evening that it's an example of "every day still life" I learned about in Philippa's class.  If I would have recognized it at the time I would have looked at my photo....edited and arranged it a bit for better composition...then rephotographed.  But I didn't....so it's unedited everyday still life: my favorite brand of garden gloves...my ALL TIME favorite and super useful always in my hand soil knife, rocks that will be moved to Maine, and some lovely hydrangeas that were nearly dry on the vine that I couldn't bear to throw away.

I've had these metal garden spikes for years and years and have loved them tucked in various gardens.  They're a bit rusty, but still in very good shape so I'm going to find just the right agapanthus blue spray paint and bring them back to life....and also move them to Maine where they might get tucked in the woods. Each wire spike is tipped in gold....I'll have to figure that out too.

And for anyone who follows this blog and/or knows my dear friend Connie....I'm still gardening in her shoes.  Read that story here:  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=gardening+in+her+shoes

And my Angie memory and photo(s) of the day is my "everyday still life" homework assignment for Philippa's Consciously Creative class. I completed it while waiting for the oatmeal to cook for Angie's and my breakfast three years ago.....I think it's worth an A+!

This was my final composition.

This is how it looked before I edited and rearranged.  I wrote about it in a previous post...and if you link to it be sure to read Chiara's comment....it still makes me chuckle.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2017/10/every-day-still-life.html

Of All Days

 Coincidence? I think not.

This book came in the mail today...the companion workbook that goes along with Philippa Stanton's book of the same name.  Philippa wrote the first book after teaching an online course I took three years ago called "Consciously Creative" ....a course that literally changed the way I see and interact with the world.

Two of the six weeks of that course I was helping my sister in rural Missouri after a serious injury.  Angie doesn't have have internet at her house which made an online course a little challenging....but in the end just added a memorable and unique dimension to the experience. The daily lessons and assignments were a good distraction for both Angie and me....bringing us both a lot of joy.

Today...of all days...I got this workbook...and I look forward to another Consciously Creative journey as I experiment, explore and create my way through it...at some point.

Also today....of all days....after several weeks of complications from a broken hip and after years of struggling with other serious health issues, my sister Angie made the decision the stop her treatment and start her end of life journey.  She has been ill a long time and she is tired...and she is at peace with her decision.

Angie is amazing.  She is an artist, a collector, and a caregiver.  She is generous and selfless, and sometimes even a bit stubborn.  She sees and embraces the world the way Philippa does....and they are two of my best teachers.

I really struggled whether I wanted to...or even if I should share this very personal story here. I have been distracted lately....consumed with the conversations and details about our concerns for Angie...and completely overwhelmed by the ramifications and reality of her decision.  But the minute I had this book in my hands late this evening I knew I had to write about it. 

Coincidence? I think not. Although my heart is heavy.....there is still joy.  There is always joy.

It's Comforting

My friend Becky and I were just talking about the fact that Juneteenth was not something we learned about in the school system we grew up in.  This....and a whole lot of other things. There's so much I don't know. My journey may be a little late in the game...and a little slow....but I've started.

Two blooms from my garden in Lexington just starting their journeys.

Spirea

Hydrangea

I've been so taken with the world wide reach of the pandemic.....however awful that might be.  Everyone....all over the world has been going through the same thing...at the very the same time.  That over used phrase "we're all in this together" couldn't be more true.  It comes through in beautiful artwork and wise words and reflections on social media by artists I follow....and it's been comforting.

And now...I'm I am once again moved by my artist friends all over the world (most are white...working on that) who are standing together acknowledging and coming to terms with white privilege and the journey we all must begin to not just be anti-racist....but anti-racism.

Today I was quite taken with an Instagram post by my friend and teacher Philippa Stanton better known as 5ftinf from Brighton, England.  She used her beautiful table to feature her love for tea.  I've had tea at that table....and I love the beautiful stories she creates there.  But today she wrote about learning for the first time what Juneteenth was all about....and also spent time reading a bit about the real history of tea.

"I realized today the importance of acknowledging the real history behind the drink we think of as our heritage...it is stolen heritage, a racist heritage and a heritage steeped in oppression and appropriation of people and their countries for our own economic gain, whilst telling us that these people are not as good as us."

I highly recommend reading her whole thoughtful post and scrolling through the other images in it: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBoD2KaA3Tu/

We are all in this journey together too... and it's comforting.

I put together a Steller Story about my trip to the UK a little over a year ago....and having tea at "The Table" with #5ftinf.

You can view it here: https://steller.co/s/tea-at-the-9G3aZ5BLU3r/p/1  

Once you're there....click the arrows to scroll through the photos.

All my Steller Stories from my England trip and many others including the class lessons from the Consciously Creative class with Phillippa are here:  https://steller.co/joyfulputtering/

  

That class changed my life.

Is It Possible...

....that a little curly twig could be one of my favorite possessions?  

Well...that may be a bit of a stretch but I do love this little gem.  Maybe not quite as much as this barn board it's sitting on from the family farm in Wisconsin.  Yes, other side is red.

I think Paul or I found it on a walk along the shore somewhere in South Portland.  There is a little weak spot....so I don't handle it much.  It sits on a shelf in my dining room with a few seed pods and a collection of tiny little pottery vessels. There's a tiny vase on the far right made out of stone. The shelf sat empty for a while after the Christmas decorations came down and I finally put it back together today.

I have a vast collection of seed pods...many of them are in Maine. At some point I hope to get the whole collection together in one place.  I love my natural found treasures!

I just remember I did this arrangement back when I took the Consciously Creative class.  It features many of my seed pods and other nature finds....all displayed on the other side of the barn board.

I can honestly say that online journey with 5ftinf changed the way I see and appreciate the world.  Forever.

Revisiting Day 11

I'm getting caught up on my trip photos and have one last Steller Story to share about our last day in London. Nancy and I decided to take a city tour on top of double decker bus allowing us to get a feel of London in the short time we had.

https://steller.co/s/9FyZN8u7Dz7

John, our tour guide reminded me of my son Sam who used to give tours of Boston on a pedi-cab. He was fun and knowledgable.





As I mentioned before...that last evening Nancy and I went to a talk in London that Philippa was gave on her book.


It was a small intimate group all seated around a beautiful table where we had delicious canapés and and macaroons all chosen to tap into all our senses.  Philippa shared several experiences that helped us tap into our own memories and stories.

It was an absolute delight!

 

Circles and Connections

Nancy and I had so many wonderful experiences on our trip to the UK...but those of you who follow along with me on this blog will understand how much it meant to connect with artist and teacher Philippa Stanton, also known as 5ftinf.  

After a delightful lunch and a visit to the Brighton Marina, we spent the rest of the afternoon into the evening at Philippa's home having tea at her table, exploring her creative spaces, and trading stories about "consciously creative" things. 

I shared one of my favorite stories about my mother-in-law Margie's unintentional wabi-sabi experiment of drying and decaying gourds.  You can read about it here.



Had I not shared and celebrated the concept of wabi-sabi I had just learned from Philippa's class here on the blog, these precious little gems would most likely have been thrown out. But Margie recognized that something special had happened....and was excited to share her story with me and now me with Philippa making it a wonderful full circle connection.

But then the circle got even wider because my story prompted Philippa to show Nancy and me her wabi-sabi experiment. She had tried over and over to dry gourds only to have them eventually rot completely.  But this one was a success...complete with dried seeds rattling on the inside. She placed it on her perfectly imperfect wabi-sabi table and I snapped this picture.

Then just today....while Philippa was putting some games away she discovered a forgotten bunch of gourds in the basket where the games belonged. All but one had dried and were just waiting for the right moment to be discovered and celebrated. Is it a coincidence that it was today? We think not.  It's "life making circles and connections" she told me.

Philippa's message and photo came to my phone today at almost the very moment I finished the "Steller Story" of our visit to her home where I featured her gourd on her table.  I already knew I was going to write about gourds in this blog post....you know how I love a good connection story. 

You can read my "Tea at the Table" Steller Story and see many more photos from our lovely visit here. 

And...just in case you were wondering about the lone daffodil blossom in the photo here's another little story.  The daffodils are in full bloom all over the UK...and Philippa's home is filled with them in various stages of life. There was one blossom on the table that I was immediately drawn to when I arrived and I pulled it into the gourd photo.  

A bit later I asked Philippa to sign my copy of her Consciously Creative book and laid it on the table.  We were both delighted when she lined the book up with the lines on her table where the cover photo was taken....and there on the cover was a similar lone daffodil blossom.  Coincidence?...we think not.  Circles and connections....pay attention or you might miss them.                                                                                   

Story of My Day 11

At the end of our last day in London Nancy and I had the opportunity to attend a talk Philippa (5ftinf) gave in London on her book...Conscious Creativity...it was icing on the cake. JOY!

More Steller Stories to come once I’m home.

Story of My Day 9

Today was filled with color and connecting from beginning to end....too much for one sentence...so what I'll share now is my little felted acorns on “The Table”....5ftinf‘s table.

The Corn

Two of the six weeks of 5ftinf's Consciously Creative class I took in the fall of 2017 I was helping my sister Angie in rural Missouri.  At first I was worried that being away from my own space and easy access to the internet would make it difficult...but I would make it work. Yes there were challenges....but in many ways it was a gift because it pushed me to be intentional and attentive....I had to be "consciously creative."

And I had the corn.

Almost every day I walked the country roads in the early mornings and dusky evenings bonding with the corn fields. I grew up on a farm....but never before had I spent time really looking and documenting the corn. I loved it.

 

Philippa loved the corn too.

I've been putting together a few things to take to Philippa when I visit her in Brighton....and I knew I needed to do something with the corn.

So yesterday I made an accordion card with some of the photos I took during those very consciously creative weeks walking the country roads of Missouri.

Color collecting and ordering was a big part of the class so I wanted the cover to be bright....I used my favorite Gundrun's World catalog to create my familiar stripe stack.

In contrast the lessons during those weeks focused on mood, shadows, and atmosphere so the country roads and dry cornfields were the perfect setting. 

On one side I lined up the horizon lines from several photographs.

 On the other...just images of the corn.

I tucked it into a little envelope I made from a catalog page...and it's ready to go....and so am I.  Today is the day....or rather tonight is the night.  See you in the UK.

Ordering

"There is opportunity to find beauty everywhere; you just need to change the way you look for it." Philippa Stanton

A few days ago I dumped out a jar of stones just so I could sort them. Ordering...is another Conscious Creativity practice.

Stones have such beautiful texture...there is something very satisfying about handling a smooth small stone.