Quiet Joy

Joy doesn't have to be flashy and loud. Most of the time it's subtle and quiet and hidden in ordinary moments.

I had an appointment early this morning.....and while I sitting in the waiting room I was making a photo montage for Alyson of some photos I took during yesterday's snow. As I zoomed in on this winterberry branch...there is was. 

It's not completely in focus...but a sweet little star-shaped snowflake is balancing on top of this tuft of snow.

This was my favorite photo. I love the textured blurry background and the fact that I caught a few falling snowflakes. That prompted me to embellish it a bit with a few more digital snowflakes. Doing simple....quiet things like this bring me joy.

Breath in the tragic details coming to light of the recent shootings,

breath out hope that things can change.

And look for quiet moments of joy while we wait.

Happily Ever After

I don't remember where I saw this....but this quote made me chuckle this morning. And it made me chuckle because I knew it would ring true!

"This New Year's Eve is looking very living roomish."

It's New Year's Eve....the last day of 2024. But it was really just another day. Another day puttering and tending the things that are right in front of me...and another day embracing bits of joy. And much of that joy was right in the living room-ish hanging out...chatting and playing games with Paul. (cribbage, backgammon, and dominoes)

Happy New Year! I'm hopeful for lots of joyful puttering in 2025!

Twila and Hank got a second coat of zinc white paint....and they found a home in my art journal.  I think they'll live happily ever after there. 

There's room along one edge for a quote or some other snippet....but that's another day. And it just dawned on me as I write this that what's going in that spot is "Happily Ever After!"

There's only a hand full of pages to fill in this journal....maybe as I clean up my studio I'll find other things that need a happily ever after home too in 2025.

Twila and Hank

Meet Twila and Hank. Aren't those great names! Margie had a LOT of photos. Vintage ones and not so vintage ones. 

She saved every photo Christmas card and every photo that came in a Christmas card. She saved all the photos Paul and I sent of the boys growing up....and every other photo that came into her life. And Clarke and I went through all of them. We sorted and tossed...and we both pulled out ones we wanted and ones other family  members might want.  

AND....I kept all the vintage photos of people we didn't know for art and crafting. I couldn't bare to put them in the trash...so I might as well play with them.

I didn't do that great of a job on the background.....but it just occurred to me as I am writing this that I could paint over it and start over. Or not. 

Mostly I wanted to experiment with a little embroidery....and I think it turned out OK. For the next one I'll back the photo with stabilizer...because poking a lot of holes too close together on paper just makes bigger holes. It would also help to use a smaller needle. French knots worked pretty well....and I especially love Hank's boutonniere with just three little simple knots.

As I was writing this....the background was bothering me more and more. 

So I just went upstairs and put a quick coat of transparent zinc white paint over the background....and it's already so much better! It knocked down both the aqua...and the black. I may put a second coat on tomorrow and tuck this one in my art journal. 

I have a plethora of photos to play with....so bring on the stitching and doodling! 

And this one is a keeper....Margie's 2nd grade class when she was a teacher.

Out Of Practice

Subtitle: Maybe It Counts

It took me a long time to think of myself as an artist. I always knew I was a crafter...and I sometimes called myself an assembler. But artist was a stretch. 

Although I did eventually give in...as of late I don't feel much like an artist.  This time of year I'm a garden putterer....a committed committee and community member and an avid and loyal observer of spring. And all of that brings me joy. So for right now...all of it is part of my daily creative practice.

But it does feel awkward to actually try and create as of late. I feel out of practice as I try and take on even a simple index card. I think it's just a phase...and think all creatives go through it. 

But maybe it counts as creative to just cut up a beautiful photograph of a begonia and mount it along with a scribble flower on ICAD #15.

And maybe it counts as creative that I got out of bed at around 11:30 last night because I couldn't stop thinking about using the same idea I used on one of my index cards....this time in my watercolor journal.  

I thought I might make the time to paint today and I wanted the acrylic paint to be very dry. 

I haven't painted yet....but sometime soon I will.

I do love these acrylic squiggle lines and I think it will be fun to watercolor in between them.

And maybe it counts that on a whim I randomly glued a row of catalog cut-out bottles into my art journal. I love these bottle....and they've been knocking around the studio for years. And now looking at this photo....I can see there is something creative that is possible with these two pages.

I do actually believe it all counts....and all important parts of my daily creative practice. Especially if  there's joy. 

Reflection

I got to meet Max for the first time today....on my 64th birthday!  

Best birthday present ever!  

 

Grandma Becky....and whatever I am to this precious little one.

I was last in line to get Brenda's booklet...so was the first one to see it completely finished. Brenda's theme was reflection.....and probably the most challenging theme for me.  It required some time to mull it over.

It was fun seeing Brenda's cover....it reminded me of the water doodles that Emily and I traded back in 2021.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/09/water-doodle-exchange.html

Once I found a quote that spoke to me....a concept for the art piece quickly followed.  Sometimes the tough ones turn out the best!

Another chance to practice my hand lettering.....I do like using a couple different styles.

For my art page, I punched squares from some of my own photos to represent how I experience the world around me. Then I made a colorful little fused art piece inserted into the cutout in the center to represent the world within me.  I was tickled how is honored the quote.

I used one of the little hummingbirds from the book Alyson gave me and some skinny strips of fused fabric.

Those of us who were the 4th in line...were the first ones to see a finished book.  So here is Brenda's completed book....on reflection.

            Brenda                       Becky               MaryAnn                 Tracie

Here are the other quotes:

"Upon reflection I often find the parts have as much to 

offer as the whole." (Tracie)

"The toughest opponent that we will ever have to face is the one that stared back at us from the mirror."  (Becky)

Balance, by David J.  

Life is of Motion

Even water itself is healthiest with movement

But stillness

will always be necessary for reflection  (Brenda)

The Hat She Almost Had

"Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory."  

I popped into see Janice today and she gave me this adorable found object.  I think everyone needs a little Cinderella mouse!

In 1976 during a family Bicentennial vacation...Paul's sister Liz saw a Pittsburgh Pirates hat in the median of the highway.  She tried to get her dad to stop....but it just wasn't possible...or safe. Liz has always talked about the hat she almost had....and from then on the Pirates were her favorite team.

Many years later Paul performed a wedding in Pittsburg....and when he and I were wandering around the city I had an idea.

I took lots of photos and made this photo collage for Liz in honor of the hat she almost had.....and Paul found her an actual hat to go with it.  So here's the hat that she actually has....and a photo collage of her favorite team's city.

I had forgotten all about it until I saw it while I was visiting. I'm not sure it really goes with the style Liz is going for...but maybe she'll find a place for it in her project room....or I suggested her walk in closet.  We didn't have much time to hang pictures.

I still like doing photo collages the old fashioned way....cutting and pasting the actual photos.  I've done dozens and dozens of these and it all started  with Becky's basement stairwell: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/photo-collage-just-beginning.html

EVERY SINGLE THING

One of the things that has to happen when you are getting ready for a move is you have to touch your stuff....at least two or three + times.  E V E R Y  S I N G L E   T H I N G!  Even if you're giving it away or throwing it away....you have to touch it.  I actually believe this is a really good thing....but it's really slowing me down. Everything has a story and/or a memory....and so often I'm melted into a sentimental puddle. 

This is a photograph of my son Sam and his buddy Peter. They're just a few years old and I can still picture them standing at the window watching construction on a second floor addition to our parsonage home in Falmouth, Maine.  Just look at their cute little behinds.  And I'm pretty certain Sam has his thumb in his mouth.  Adorable...right?

But the most heartwarming thing about this photograph is that it's another example of Angie's magical talents.  She mounted the photo on a thin piece of wood and meticulously cut it out....and it most certainly will find a special place when I reinvent the condo.  

Warning......I'm going to rant for a minute.  

I may write about my joy....but for just a minute I have to write about my frustration.

I spent half of the day trying to put together a puzzle regarding some outstanding medical bills for my sister Angie....a way I can help from a distance.  I was on the phone several times with the insurance company....and several times with a patient advocate and others at the medical facility that is just trying to get paid for their services in 2019. My takeaway is that our system of health insurance is tragically broken.  I am appalled at the loophole the insurance company is claiming is the way out of them paying what is due.  

Then the stark contrast to several conversations I had with a patient advocate at the medical facility that provided the service....Amanda is helping me navigate through it and was a delight to work with. This facility cares about their patients...as a matter of fact, like the rest of us, she told me they LOVE Angie, and are going to help make it right.

So in the end I guess it's true...there's always joy.

 Wish me well....as I touch E V E R Y  S I N G L E   T H I N G!

Bits and Pieces

There are bits and pieces of Angie's talent all over our houses. 

Just this morning I took a closer look at a picture that's hanging in the room I'm staying in....which used to be Samuel's room....LaVonn and Tim's oldest son.

It's a collage of the lucky 3 year old getting to ride on the combine with his dad the farmer.

Angie has done several of these photo collages where she hand cuts all the matt openings for a series of photos usually from a special event.  Paul and I have one of a family sledding day.

And since I'm enjoying watching the combine come and go....it seems like a perfect post. I might be as excited about the combine as little 3 year old Samuel.

It's details like this that make Angie's photo collages special. 

How cute is little 3 year old Samuel sitting in the corner of the collage.

Two happy boys.

I think it must be every boy's dream to ride on any big piece of machinery.

Then there's this gem.  My nephew Samuel (that little guy grew up very tall) is in the middle...my Sam is on the left, my nephew Fred on the right, and LaVonn's other son Ben peeking out the middle.  Samuel, Sam, and Fred are all within a few months of each other in age so enjoyed getting together for family reunions.

What's unique about this photo...is that Angie mounted it on wood and meticulously cut it out so it will stand.  We found this in one of her boxes.

This prompted me to text Paul to take a photo of Satchel the dog and Bucky Katt...from Get Fuzzy...one of his favorite comic strips.  And yes....Angie mounted the images on wood and cut them out and they sit in his office to remind him the importance of humor in his life.  These two little guys will find a new home in the condo soon....with a lot of other bits and pieces of Angie's talents.

Playing With "Clips"

A few days ago I saw an edited image on Instagram that caught my attention and asked the artist how it was done. She used the "comic book" feature of an app called "Clips".....I was off and running. I get pretty excited (and absorbed) when I have something new to play with...and it makes for good creative entertainment.

The first images I imported happened to be ones I snagged from my sister-in-law Alyson's Instagram page of grape hyacinths and honeybees. I loved the way the lines, colors, and shadows came through in the comic book version.  I shared my little video of several of her photographs with Alyson after I made it and we ended up having a delightful interaction.....a wonderful by-product of my playing with Clips.

This is Alyson's original photo.

 Another "Clips" comic version.....

....and Alyson's original.

This is one of Alyson's tulip photos and a screenshot of what my phone screen looked like when I was in the app. I know I only scratched the surface of what the app can do....but I learned that the uploaded photos or clips end up making a little video. You can see I played around with 14 photos (clips) for the video and under the "effects" star is where I found the "comic book" feature.  I took screenshots of the "clips" and dragged them into iPhoto so I could crop them down to make a simple photo. I generally can get where I'm going with my limited skills...but not always on the straightest path.

Remember my torn paper rainbow wreath I made a month or so ago? I think it makes an interesting comic image and I love all the squiggly color details and patterns.  I'm sure I'll be playing around with "clips" again at some point....it makes me smile.  

Today's quilt square #26 was loosely inspired by the rich blue of grape hyacinth. I chose three polka dotted fabrics to give a nod to the details of the flower.                                                                    

Blue Mosaic

Today I made a third photo card....this time a little blue mosaic. I pulled a few more sky photos to punch and came across a photo of blue wool and thought it would add interesting texture. Punching new squares also gives me a chance to show my process again for making a photo mosaic.

Since the photographs have a white edgeI outline them with a sharpie....

giving them a nice little frame and the effect of grout.

This time I experimented with glueing them onto deli paper making them quite easy to re-punch.

It's helpful that I can see what I'm punching in the view finder.

 I outlined them again with the sharpie.

I didn't have enough to cover the card....and I wanted keep moving forward

so I stitched a reference line/frame to work within and glued on the mosaic squares.

Laziness?.....or good design?....maybe a little of both.

And there you have it....mosaic blues of #78. Generally I glue the original squares on black paper so white doesn't show between the small pieces....I think I like that better.  And I can see that I should have rotated a few so small pieces aren't right next to other small pieces....but all in all I think it works OK.

and...I think they make a colorful photo trio.