CEDAR PLUG

Leap Year.  Such a difficult time to remember one's birthday.  Is it Feb. 28th or Mar 1st?  Well, I never know so I just forget about it until I remember that I forgot about it and then I panic. Panic might not be the best word, I get "anxious" to send a card and a present.  This year, I waited a couple of months to send the present, but I had a good excuse.  I wanted to do a watercolor portrait of Chris' dog, Cedar. The dog died a couple of years ago and Chris was heartbroken.  It's difficult to lose someone you love, the pain lingers.  I had a photograph of Cedar snuggled up to one of his toys, a large pink polka dot fish.  I loved the colors of the fish and the dog and the towel Cedar was laying on.  Chris lives in Florida and the colors are very much Florida.  I waited to post this until I knew that Chris had received the painting.  He has, so.....This is Cedar. Don't you love his big brown eyes?  Happy belated Birthday, Chris.

Happy Mother's Day

Today was a very wonderful Mother's Day.  I woke early.  The sun shone, briefly.  My youngest son got up and fixed us breakfast. What miracles!  I talked to all my kids on the phone, spent the day painting with my brother, (more on that later), and produced this little painting I call "Room for One".  Beau came by to plant some raspberries and play with the dog. My son, Jordan, cooked dinner for me, my daughter, grandson, sister and brother. We watched a funny movie and now it's time for bed. It was a beautiful day.

We found this little bird's nest outside one day.  Jordan brought it in, I believe.  The kids all know how much I love to paint nests.  I appreciate the intricacies of them and the many colors and threads of grasses and leaves and moss.  This one even has some insulation stolen from a house, I guess.  I had a dyed egg left over from Easter and plopped it into the nest just to give it some shape and definition.  I liked how it looked even if it was a bit (a lot) too big.  I imagined a small bird laying this large egg and giggled, then I thought of a large bird using a teeny tiny nest to lay her egg and that made me laugh, too. 

And so I wish all the mother's out there, no matter how large or small, no matter what your abode, no matter the number or age of your children,  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! from one mother to another. God bless our kids.

Nanny

May 1st and perhaps spring has come to the northwest!  I woke to a beautiful sunny morning.  The birds are chirping and my grass is growing. I notice, however, that my windows are dirty, the deck needs to be cleaned and the lawn mowed. Should I wish once again for the rain and gloom of winter? Not a chance!  I will gladly take on all of the outside chores just for the opportunity to stand in the sun.

The fruit trees have taken on a grace and splendor that only comes during this season. The pinks and whites and new greens are so lovely and the smell so fragrant. Nature is amazing how it entices the bees and birds to pollenate the flowers. As the blossoms reach maturity and the wind blows, they drop their petals and it looks like it has snowed.  A beautiful pink snow. It coats our cars and the streets.

One beautiful spring I painted this little elf I named Nanny.  We had a lovely apple tree in our backyard, full of the promise of sweet fruit. I imagined a little lady elf taking care of the eggs and young birds while the parents were searching for food or just out flying around and having fun.  Parents need a break, too.  She sits so calmly in the nest knitting and warming the eggs.  The flowers embrace her. She is nurtured and nurturing.  This picture speaks to me of promise.

This pictures is the script page. It is about a month later. The blossoms are gone, the eggs are hatched and the daddy bird is overseeing the babies. I think that mommy is out searching for worms.  All is good in my little apple tree.

Even the air was green

    

 This morning I went for an early walk in the forest.  The day was new, the sun still low on the horizon when I noticed there was a strange green glow about the forest. The color was radiating from every branch and bush and rising like steam. Even the air was green.  I could feel an energy in the woods pulsating and happy and I thought the woodland fairies were so excited they were flitting from tree to tree. I walked for a bit wondering about this strange phenomena when I realized that the new spring growth was causing this amazing color. On the ends of each little fern or moss was a tiny bud of brilliant chartreuse yellow.

The new buds on the little bushes held morning dew that magnified the green.   The moss, dripping from the branches, sparkled with new growth. The whole forest was alive with this color and I thought about my mother who used to say that God's favorite hue was green because he made so many things that color.  For all those who think that a brilliant chartreuse yellow is too garish, look to nature because it is everywhere in the spring. I am so glad that spring is finally here.

This brings me to another memory....

 One year, I was designing costumes for the Nutcracker Ballet in a local production.  The Artistic Director asked me to do dresses for a new group he called the Holly Fairies a dance that opens up the 2nd act.  Others were thinking green and red, but I decided on white silk dipped in this very color of chartreuse. I wanted the young dancers to look fresh and new with clean graceful lines. I put clear crystals on the bodice that sparkled like dew under the stage lights and let the silk flow dreamily around the girls as they danced. Another costumer, Sue Lund, did their headpieces using this color with darker greens in the holly leaves and red berries. The head pieces pulled it all together. I thought the costumes were so rich and beautiful.  Nature is a good source for inspiration.

A Strange Haunting.

When I was in college and because I was an artist, I wanted to be very edgy.  I learned about other religions and tried some out, did transendental meditation, yoga, ouji boards.  I firmly believed back then in re-incarnation and actually did a couple of past life regressions. I'm not too sure what I believe in anymore. I kinda don't want to come back as anything or anyone else when I die. However.......
In February our 16 year old cat, Buster died.  I had him laying on the couch next to me and I was gently patting him.  It was his time. I wasn't particularly emotional about his passing and the next day I wrapped him in a clean towel, put him in a box and buried him outside my daughter, Roxanne's window.  He was her cat.  That night we had a big storm.  The wind was howling and rain was pelting my window.  Then I heard a cat meowing. It wasn't loud, just a soft meow.  The dog heard it, too and jumped up looking out the window.  We both kind of held our breaths and listened.  "Oh my god!" I thought, " I buried the cat alive!"  The dog and I waited, listening, but finally fell back to sleep.  In the morning common sense kicked in and I knew that the cat was not still alive but we did wonder if he was haunting us just a bit.

Now I have a little brown bird that wants to come into the house.  He started pecking at the kitchen door so much so that I hung a cloth over the window so he couldn't see himself.  I thought that he, like Narcissus, had fallen in love with his own reflection. But the bird found other windows to peck at and fly into.  He hangs on the ledges knocking on the glass and trying to get in.  So now I'm starting to think that my little Narcissus is the re-incarnation of Buster the cat.  That's just ridiculous, I know. On the other hand, it is spring and perhaps Narcissus is in love with our dog.  Nature is a strange and mysterious thing.

Ghost ship

My early morning bus run takes me to a place called Crystal Springs.  It is a leisurely drive (because the speed limit is 25 mph) and it winds around the water's edge.  There are all sorts of wild life to see: blue herons, eagles, otters.  The other morning I was going to wax poetic about the 4 sea lions I saw resting on a dock / float until a kid threw up on the bus.  That was a mess!
Yesterday morning as I was first approaching the shoreline, I spotted an aircraft carrier coming through the morning mist.  It was heading towards Rich Passage on its way to Bremerton where there is a large navel base. The ship was too far away to take a picture but at 7:00 in the morning, shrouded by fog, it looked like a ghost ship.  I tried to slow down so that the kids on the bus could see the ship closer but it was still too far away.

 As I rounded the bend I noticed this gun boat (on the left) which was escorting the ship to Bremerton.  It was travelling at top speed headed toward the fishing boats that leave the area at this time of the morning. The boats all slowed down and the gunner approached themone by one.  It was interesting to see.  The crews of each boat were all on deck.  The fishing boats were told , apparently to stay put until the aircraft carrier passed.  They did.

 The children on my bus and I really enjoyed that morning.  An hour later when I drove the route again for the older children, the ship had passed through and disappeared once again into the mist.

Finding your passion

When I was a teenager I was full of angst. Every feeling was magnified, every thought was passionate.  Things either were or they weren't. There was nothing gray, only the bright colors and noise of fireworks in my brain. I would get angry easily and cry often and my mother would ask what was wrong.  "I'm just trying to find myself!" I would shout. Mom would, in great frustration, say "Why are you looking so hard? You're right here!"
These many years later I am still looking.  I think many of us are trying to discover where our passion lies and what we want to do with our lives.  I envy those fortunate few who have found the perfect job, the ones I read about who say, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up.
I've known for many years that my main passion is my family.  They are my center and my heart. The house is quiet now, however, and I am searching for that one thing that will give me wings.  The trouble with creative minds is the turbulence of ideas.  They flood my mind and I bounce from one wonderful idea to the next never landing on any long enough to give it focus.  I get bored easily. I think it's because I am so intelligent......but maybe I'm just not disciplined.

I have decided to make hats and see if I can sell them on Etsy.  This morning I was making flower pins with which to embellish them.  I worked for about 2 hours which was about an hour longer than I was comfortable and then I decided to write this blog. Well, we'll see if this newest idea flies. 








These flower pins are about 3", have sparkling fiber integrated throughout and a crystal center. A feather gives them just a little more pizazz.

The flowers attach to a party hat made of vintage fabrics. The hats are reversible so it's like having two hats in one.
You could also wear the pin on a lapel or put it on a headband, so really it's like 4 things in one!

It's fun to make the flower pins,( for awhile).  I like the finished product.  Anything costumey and glittery makes me happy.  I think we all like to dress up sometime, that's why Halloween is so popular.

More on the hats later, but for now I'm on to something else.  I have to clean up my mess.