Art Friends

The days have been full and wonderful. Our art group gathered yesterday....and that always brings me joy. Tracie, Brenda, Becky and I have been sharing art trades for several years and we gather as often as we can. It was a good mix of catching up...and had fun painting rocks to send out into th world.

I placed one of mine under Angie's tree in Orton Park....the one Tracie and Loon planted after my sister died. Angie's tree is getting big! 

Tracie gave us each a little hand painted card that stole my heart.

Having art friends in my life is one of my greatest joys.

Dinner With Lynn

Last Evening while Becky was at a prior engagement I had dinner with Lynn. She and I met while Paul was a pastor in a Madison church back in 2008. She is an artist I admire who has taught me a lot!

Lynn and I have stayed in touch over the years and it fun when I get to connect with her while I'm in Madison. I also made her an altered art journal...and I got to see the finished product last evening. 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/05/depth-and-beauty.html

Several pieces of Lynn's art are hanging all over my condo. I especially love her zentangle work on watercolor. 

Seeing Becky and Lynn's altered art journal has been a real treat for me.

I layered the two pieces of hers on the right....cutting out the leaves so they would layer on the next page. Lynn added the painting on the left making for a beautiful spread. There is so much more....but you get the idea. 

Colors and Textures

I've known Becky since we were 5 years old. 

We both grew up on farms in Edgerton, Wisconsin...and we've seen each other through the best and worst of times. No matter how much time has passed we always pick up right where we left off.

This is actually from a year or two ago...we'll take a new one at some point during this trip.

We had a delightful day together and here are some of the colors and textures from her gardens and yard. 

Then AND now!

Last year I made Becky a an altered art journal where I ripped down pages in a commercial art journal and stitched in some of her own art and snippets. I wrote about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/03/altered-art-journal.html

I was able to hand deliver it when I visited last April: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/04/hand-delivery.html

And just today I got to see how she has been making it her own. She's having fun with it! 

On the right is a calendar page I stitched in that she gave me. And I love how she took the colors and textures from the landscape to create the squares on the left! Well done Becky! 

I had stitched in a piece of one of her coloring pages....and now she's starting to doodle.

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.

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.  

Good Day

It was a good day for a nice long lunch with Rebecca and Patty.....a great way to kick off the holiday weekend. 

There's nothing better than time with people who share you values and celebrate your joys. 

Thanks for getting us together Patty! 

 It was also a good day to make indoor cyanotypes.

I experimented with some lace pieces....and got back to basics with simple layering. It was nice to have the indoor option on this very hot day.

Dotty combined haiku, sisters, watercolor and puzzles into her post today....and it all made me smile. 

Taking her lead....I tried my own 5-7-5 syllable haiku. I am NOT a poet.

Shades of Blue

clipped and pressed with care
these precious plants became art

all in shades of blue

Some wins....others not so much...but lots of lessons learned. Some of these will get a bit of watercolor and some will stay just blue. Some will be made into cards...and some will be cut up for bookmarks. All in all...it was a good cyanotype session.

New Respect!

Subtitle: Little Did She Know

My last yellow daylily of the season just bloomed and that reminded me that it was time for an update on the Traveling Flowers. If you are new to the blog...it's a little hard to explain the WHOLE story...but this is a good place to start: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=Chuck

I have new respect for Cherrie and Dale as they carted The Traveling Flowers to all the sites as they made their way from California to Pennsylvania. They're a bit heavy because they sit on a solid rock...and they're a bit awkward to carry. So kudos to them as the played along and had fun with that wonderful adventure. 

Here is a little bit of the journey they made around Parsons Pond. After spending several weeks in the TV room...they did a little more traveling. 

(Hang in there...this ended up being a long post.)

They were in the dining room for a while on Connies fabulous hutch. I enjoyed them for a few weeks...but it wasn't quite right. Too much going on.

Early this spring I put them out on the patio....thinking this is where they would be for the summer. But there was too much going on in that corner...and that's where Paul has to pull the grill...so I need to keep it really simple.

Just for fun.....a couple weeks ago I took them to the pool with me. While I was swimming they sat in the corner getting a little sun.

And don't they look pretty against the catmint.

They sat in the shade on a lounge chair next to me while I drip dried a bit.

A week or so ago Patty suggested we take the flowers down to the pond. She has enjoyed the journey of The Traveling Flowers as much as I did and liked the idea of them touring around Parsons Pond.

My photo isn't that great...but it was a beautiful day and the flowers were pretty sitting up on the railing.

I continued around the pond  to talk to another neighbor and Patty offered to drop them by my front door. They would have been a bit cumbersome to carry around the pond.

Little did I know that Patty had a little photo shoot of her own before she dropped them off.  She posed them in the little rock garden at the end of the street.

Here they are by the vintage metal laundry basket she gave me that I've filled with begonias. They are sitting on my precious granite heart rock that I've had for years.

And she took one more shot by the pots on the other side of the door.

I had a great idea earlier today that I thought Patty would enjoy.  Little did she know...that while I knew she was gone...I took them down the street and photographed them with her rainbow parade of pigs. Perfect for winding down Pride Month! 

In the end....they have landed back in the TV room where I spend almost every early evening writing these blog posts. I love them here....and it's where I appreciate them the most. Cherie and I have stayed in touch...and these fabulous Traveling Flowers have given us a very special connection...and I am grateful. And a shout out again to her dad Chuck...who made it all possible. I have a huge amount of respect for his handiwork...and his generosity. 

Sacred Pause

Rachel Hodgens describes the Solstice as the sacred pause before the shift in direction and seasonal energy. 

Rainbow image from the Maine Needs Instagram page.

After a wonderful whirlwind of a visit with John and Sue I feel like today has been a sacred pause before a shift in my energy. Spring is a when I focus on my gardens....and as of late I have have been tending my home. 

I'm just going to embrace this sacred pause...and see where the shift and the new season takes me.

We were gifted an especially fabulous ceramic tile from John and Sue. I absolutely love it!

I'm Thankful for dear friends ✓

I'm Grateful for precious time with them ✓ 

I'm Blessed to have a home that is comfortable ✓

Happy Solstice!