I Can Do This!

This has been condo board meeting week....and since I'm the secretary I had prep....and several follow-up tasks to tend to.  I did take time today for a walk and a swim...and I had a nice visit with Margie.  And the fact that I'm swimming on the 2nd day of fall makes me happy.  The pool closes soon....and I'm hoping to get a few more swims in.

Do you recognize this?  I think it looks like little embroidery project....especially the little green french knots and the pink satin stitches in the middle 

It's actually a zinnia bud as seen on our morning walk.  It's a little Mother Nature Magic!

I wanted to follow up a bit on my shared art post.  Revisiting those projects not only reminded me how much I have loved them all....but it also reminded me how much I love to talk about them.  I love to inspire creativity in others. 

So I've been asking myself....could I do this for others a little more intentionally?  Could I work with individuals or small groups to facilitate shared art experiences? Would people pay a little something for this?  

After hearing about some of my trades Anita started an monthly exchange with her daughter nine years ago...and it's still going strong!!! I wrote about it here after they were at it for just four years: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/joyful-connecting.html

And after the motto books Anne and I did....she went on to do exchanges with her sisters. 

Even my chiropractor in Lexington, Dr. Adams, started an art journal with her daughter....it all makes me giddy.

Another page from the chunky quote book exchange.

I have been trading emails with Sue from Scotland....and I've so enjoyed our conversation.  She recently brought up the idea of shared art to her art group....and they're excited!  I have offered to participate in a Zoom session with the group where I will share my experiences....show and tell my art trades....and brainstorm with them about what's possible. It would be a test run for me....I could practice on them to see how it goes....and they could give me feedback.  Hmmmmm

At this point it's just an idea....but like I told Sue...it's a serious one.  I can do this!  

Autumn

I had intended to follow up on yesterday's post....but today is the first official day of fall....and that needs to be celebrated.

"September, you are promising. The beginning of a gorgeous and necessary decay. The edge of triumph before the deep rest." Victoria Erickson

And there's nothing that says autumn to me more than another little pumpkin with a very cool stem.  

Yup...I'm going to say it again....it's all about the stem.

I may start a little collection here....isn't is awesome against the blue sky!

This is the first time I've been to The Flower Shop at Winslow Farm....and it's just a few miles down the road.  I'm in love...and will go back again and again. I just started following them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winslowfarm/

I came home with two small pumpkins....one larger one....and a bag of veggies and only spent $20.  

I had quite a discussion with the owner about my love of a good stem.  She had never really thought about it....but totally got it. This was the best I could do for the larger one....at least it's not stubby.

Happy Autumn!

Shared Art

"Shared art has enriched my life."  MaryAnn Shupe

Six words that sum up the theme of this post....and a nod to the six word story book project I shared with Becky and Tracie.

Today I'm celebrating my shared art journey. Blog readers Sue and Roseanne recently asked about this last one in particular (4 x 6 exchange)....so just in case there are others who are interested I thought I would revisit some of the trades I have participated in. It's a long post....and I could have gone on and on a lot longer....so if this isn't your thing....enjoy your day and move on.

This six word story book was one of my favorite art trades.....but to be real honest I've loved them all.  This was the first page in my book before I passed it on....and those six words could not be more true today. You can read about this shared art project here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/six-word-story-booka-shared-art-project.html

Because I'm one who likes to dabble and experiment I'm creating something almost all the time.....not necessarily for any purpose other than just to try it out. Shared art gives me a place....and recipient or two to give my experiments purpose... and the chance to be appreciated.  

I have participated in one time exchanges, weekly and monthly exchanges....and even just whenever it suits us exchanges. Some have last a year or more....some much shorter. It all works. The size and scope have ranged from artist trading card size (2 1/2 by 3 1/2) to 4 x 6 cards to altered children's chunky books to different sizes of art journals.  It's all good.  I've even exchanged pieces of an altered puzzle. The sky's the limit.

Some have focused on quotes....or ideas only found on Pinterest....and another called Words and Images...focused on just one word at a time. Becky and I created a two page spread: one side using only words to describe the word....and the other using only images about the word. We traded our journals back and forth....so each word was in each journal....and we took turns picking the words. https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/09/words-and-images-journal.html  There can be a clear focus...no rules at all...or just guidelines. It's all good.

This was my entry for "winter."

I even exchanged a whole alphabet set with Lynn and Ellen over the course of a whole year....oh how I loved that project! 

B is for blue, buttons, beads, and bottles. The cards were artist trading card size...just 2 1/2 by 3 1/2. I love my set of cards that includes art from all three of us.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-abc-project.html 

This is a page from a shared quote book project where we started with a chunky children's book. Lynn, Ellen and I each chose a book to alter and the books rotated around the circle until they were full and we ended with our own. 

This page is from a Pinterest inspired journal I did with Ellen...you can read about it here: 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/shared-art-journals.html

Ellen and I did several trades....and I learned a lot of great art techniques from her! 

Anne and I shared a year long "Motto Book" where in the end we mounted our pieces into an accordion book....another one of my favorite trades. 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/motto%20books

And of course....one of my most recent shared journal was with 5 year old Eliza.  That was fun!

I also shared a long term shared journal of a different sort with my childhood friend Becky....it lasted over several years and included multiple journals. Because of our shared past... the fact that we raised two children the same ages....and our common interests...we approached it a little differently. We shared memories from growing up, our current joys and struggles....and we also doodled and glued in little art projects and snippets that caught our eye.  I treasure these journals.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/shared-journaling-with-dear-friend.html

I've done several exchanges with my sister Marilyn....including seasonal trades, fabric suns...and even project where we could only use the reply cards in magazines.  I've loved every one!

This is one of my favorite art trade pieces from Marilyn based on Kandinsky Circles.  Most of our trades can be found with the blog label "creative exchange" or with this link: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/creative%20exchange

Be sure to keep clicking "older posts"  when you get to the bottom if you want to see all the posts in the searches. And remember....blog posts go in reverse order...so the descriptions of the projects are often in the earlier posts.

I could go on and on....I haven't even scratched the surface. Almost all of shared projects are written about somewhere on this blog....and can be accessed from various "labels" along the side of the blog.  I can't tell you how excited this makes me....and it has me thinking.....stay tuned.  Shared art....it's all good!

I apologize if there are errors in this post....It's too long and I'm too tired to edit.  It's good enough!  😉

White Blooms

Today I'm especially grateful for the white blooms in my backyard....they make me smile.

The white rain lilies have not stopped since they started.  There are several in bloom and more buds are coming. What a gift!

The pink ones have not produced much this whole second half of the summer.  It's been cool here in New England...and that could be the reason.  I'll have to do  a little research to see what I can do for next year.

I'm also celebrating the tall white bugbane plant in my back garden.  The fuzzy bottle brush type blooms attract the bees and are a welcome addition to my late summer garden.  

The plants are at the back end of the garden along the side of the patio....and the blooms are taller than the fence.

When you look closely each long bloomhead has dozens of tiny fuzzy firecrackers.  

They are an absolute delight. 

A Light In The Window

One of the things I love about this blog is that sometimes it helps people connect with and celebrate their own stories....their own moments of joy.

My neighbor Sandy, right across the street, showed me this mug a few days ago. She reads the blog....and knew it was a story I would love....and she was right.  

She was the administrative director of the Upper Valley Hostel from 1984 to 1999....a place where families could stay and feel at home while loved ones were getting treatment and care at local hospitals.  

That alone is a heartwarming story....but the connection she wanted to make with me was actually about the image on the mug of the home with the light in the window.  

Upper Valley Hostel wanted to be a welcoming and warm light in what might be a difficult time for families.  Sandy wanted to share with me that this image on the mug reminded her of the light in our window that she sees from across the street....and warm and comforting sight. 

A small lamp sits on a table in front of kitchen window and I have it on a timer....you can see the glow on the far right of this photo. Sandy and Jim's place is there on the left in the foreground.  I took this photo days ago while I was on a walk....before I talked to Sandy.  I was trying to photograph the moon....you can just barely see there in the center of the sky.  Little did I know that we would have this wonderful exchange about warm lights in our windows.....and there they are!  

I feel so fortunate that Paul and I have always had great neighbors....and now we live in a close condo community where we all watch out for each other.  I keep an eye on Sandy and Jim's place...and they keep an eye on ours.  And we all love seeing warm lights in the windows.

Sandy's story hit home for me for several reasons....but mostly because of one of my favorite memories of my mom....who died when I was just 29 years old. You can read about the dining room light here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-dining-room-light.html 

Round 19

Round 19 of our 4 x 6 exchange is done....and this doodle/watercolor card went to Becky.  

And this one is my keeper card.  It was the very first one I did several weeks ago as an experiment but I thought the doodles needed to be more prominent so changed to one row of larger doodles for Becky's and Brenda's card. These were all fun to do....both the doodling and painting are relaxing activities for me....no matter what the results.  

Round 19 ✔ We're stopping/pausing for now....it's been a great year long journey! Thanks Becky and Brenda!✔

Sorted by Shape

Tracie sent me this photo of her latest series called "What do you see?" She's been playing with masking fluid and saran wrap with watercolors. When you lay saran wrap on top of wet watercolor it puddles in interesting ways....and you never know what you're going to see when you pull it up.

I think they're just lovely.....and I see all kinds of things.  As a matter of fact....the top left reminded me of the patches of jewelweed I'm having so much fun with. I pop a few seed pods every day. I just can't help myself.

I sit down at my puzzle table at least once a day...usually for just 10 or 15 minutes while I'm having my breakfast....and maybe a few minutes here and there throughout the day. This will increase once the cold weather sets in....but I love that it's there all the time.  This puzzle has been really hard....and sometimes I don't even find one piece in a sitting and no one strategy works all the time.

I'm enjoying the challenge....but it was time to do something to make things move along a little faster.  So I sorted all the pieces by shape. This narrows down the pieces you have to look through.

This was just a few days ago....

...and this was today......lots of progress!

Now if I could just apply this sorting strategy to other areas of my life and home...especially in the studio. I'll get there eventually....maybe.

The Stem

 I've said it before....and I'll say it again.  "It's all about the stem."  I found this little guy at a local greenhouse.  I crave pops of orange this time of year.

And I'm on a mission to find a larger pumpkin....with a really good stem.  The short stubby one at the greenhouse just didn't make the cut.

One of my favorite stems:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2019/09/its-all-about-stem.html

Probably the funniest stem:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/10/lol.html

That's it....this post is just about stems. 

Room With A View

I lost my oldest sister Becky to breast cancer back in 2013....my heart is still heavy. 

Today I had my annual mammogram in a new location since moving full time to Portland....and it's the first time in quite some time I didn't cry most the way through it. I still think about Becky every time I get one....and hundreds of times in between. Maybe my grief has shifted....and instead of mourning her....I'm celebrating her. She would have loved this sweeping view of Portland from the waiting room. She always loved a good view.  

You can read a little bit about her and her love for views in in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-november-memory.html

"Really paying attention to everything around you sounds simple, but it actually demands a level of curiosity and observation that most people are not used to exercising."  Philippa Stanton, Conscious Creativity

And while I was in town I took a little side trip on my way home.  Paul and I have noticed these vines on a building on Marginal Way from the highway during several recent drives through town. Today I took the time to stop and take a closer look.....exercising my curiosity and observation.

I love everything about this!  It looks like an intentional painting.

Becky would have loved this view too!

The People I Meet

I recently exchanged a couple emails with a delightful woman from Scotland.  She came across an image of my "Swirls of Color" project on Pinterest...which led her to my blog....which led her to Izzy Moore....which led her to take the Celtic Seascapes Course....the same class I took. I always enjoy the people I meet through art and the blog who are also seekers of joy.

Paul and I took advantage of the picture perfect late summer day and headed to the coast....where we met a few more interesting people.

We picked up tacos from our favorite place in South Portland and had a picnic at the Bug Light Park. The Bug Light was getting a new coat of paint today!

Then we walked Crescent Beach.....stopping at Kettle Cove at one end.  There I ran into a young artist and we had a delightful chat about her art....and the beauty of Kettle Cove. 

I love meeting artists plein air painting our beautiful coast.

We ran into another woman walking with a monarch butterfly along Crescent Beach.  She saw it struggling in the water and offered it her hand. It hopped on board and stayed with her quite a long time while it dried out its wings.  After we talked....it was ready.....and it just flew away. 

You just never know who....or what....you're going to meet on the beach.

Something Simple

Becky, Brenda and I are going to take a break from our 4 x 6 exchange after this round.....we've been at it for a full year.  We might start up again once we settle in for the winter....but that's yet to be decided.  Today I posted a timelapse of all the cards I have so far.....if you're interested you can see it here on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTxLxAhJ_Uy/

This time around I'm doing something simple....a doodle and a watercolor wash  I sent this one to Brenda last week....and Becky's went out in the mail today.

"Joyous Vision"

David Driskell

After a little nudge from Janice Paul and I went to see the David Driskell exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art.....and it did not disappoint. 

Mr. Driskell's life journey and "joyous vision" came through his paintings....and his use of color and collage was inspiring.

"He reminds us that the otherworldly may be expressed in the earthbound and the divine expressed in the commonplace."  

Yes!

And I will always enjoy a stroll downtown Portland.  We've gotten so used to staying at home....that we forget what is available to us out there.  And Paul pointed out that every time he wears his mask somewhere new he has to ask himself "should I be here?"  It will be a good day when we don't have to ask that anymore and go any place that brings us joy.