Happy Earth DAy and here is Lucy !

We have been adopted by this kitty that we call among other thing, Lucy.  She started hanging about in the yard in January but would dash off if we got too close. Much to  Mz Ruby's chagrin,  she now thinks she owns the place. Ruby has to hiss or punch  or chase  her  if she gets too close or crossed the invisible area around Ruby known only to her having been the only cat for 5 years.

Lucy in the skies with blue eyes. See her right ear u cut out? i hope that means she was fixed. if you are a cat person that knows catch /fix /release, 

 perhaps you can tell me if that is a female her right ear clipping indicating  fixed.
.

I finally got a new camera a Nikon  coolpix. My older Canon Powershot 540, that worked great for 12 years no longer worked but  would only take dark photos or overexposed ones no matter how many times i studied the manual and attempted to change settings. It also ate up AA batteries like crazy. i would take them out in between shooting even. 

 I  have not been posting as would like  as photos are a good que for me to start a post.
Happy Earth Day

hibiscus blooming this morning

Tahitian gardenia,   a heavenly fragrance 

"everything here is mine "......Lucy

With a little help from my friend Ruby on Tuesday

Earlier this morning Ruby wanted to make a nest in my studio

 instead of  settling on her current  daily favorite sleep spot on a director chair out on the deck. 

Today I set about selecting fabric for a custom made glasses/cell case for someone  that requested one last July. Ruby likes to help with this sort of task and she loves fabric,
 especially if i am working with it......she has selected one in particular that i want to use. 

So I will wait until she falls asleep to ever so gently slip  that

 deep blue piece out from under her grasp. Or i will work on something else needing attention as 

 I work on several projects at a time,at least several teen .

I'm sleeping here mom.....in my nest 

The turning

Where has the summer gone?

 I live in the land of endless summer (to some), yet there are the subtle changes i see, smell, sense
 that tell me  it is time to turn the calendar page  once again.
Like
the angle of the sunlight
the foliage
the way the light is seemingly cooler than it was in June
 lessening of the traffic as school reopens and tourist  thin out in the stores i shop.

Here the colors of  the harvest season  can be seen

at sunset and in the  birds of paradise framed.
 lovely

here is Ruby in the sink, again
 where she like to drink moving water...

" If it fits, I sits! "

..and to all a Good Night !

                                           " May your troubles be less

may your blessings be more

may nothing but happiness come

through your door!"

What a lovely greeting! it came in the form of a card from

the East Maui Animal Refuge

AKA The Boo Boo Zoo! 

and speaking of what came through the door, last year my pal Pat brought a plate of almond flavored mouse cookies so i promptly put them upon my holly plates and photographed the tender morsels! 

So this year i had to make some myself and like a good elf i took a plate of mice to a Christmas party at  the home of a long time acquaintance that had a mouse tree, a small tree covered with mouse ornaments.The cookies were a hit and one lady could not bear to eat the cookie

 as i saw it go out the door in a plastic cup!

......and to all a good night! 

(Ruby as a kitten  resting on an shell ginger pillow)

Mele Kalikimaka!

Mahalo

 for reading my words of ponder and viewing  photos of wonder this year 2015 

and for those who left a comment, thanks for the conversations!

May the new year hold wonder and LOVE and peace and Joy and good health for you ALL! 

Aloha, Sonja

Fabric painting with new and old acquaintances, August 2, 2015

Aloha,
 Last Sunday was a  lovely painting day with a few new folks,
and one lady that painted with me atleast a decade ago.

 She recognized my style of work at the Haleiwa Art Festival recently in July

where some other folks asked if i teach and so i handed them my sign up sheet.
Occasionally i will teach a class.

Sheryl, Suzie and Mei at art making in August 2015.

Upon their early morning arrival and before we  sat down to sketch and paint however,
we walked about the yard and took pictures of  trees and leaves, flowers and the orchids, oh the orchids!!!,  and the  mangoes in full summer blush in their colors of greens, red, orange and purple, and small flecks of white and hanging like ornaments from the tree's canopy.
All those devices that take photos and enlarge and crop for color, shape, and composition reference came out and soaked in the images of natures' beauty.
From these photos and my collection of floral calendars and  other inspirations,
 i asked them to make  quick sketches on paper of what they see/saw.
( looking and seeing are quite different to me as i explain,often),
and then to  make a few more sketches.
I see the mangoes and orchids  were on everyone's radar yesterday!

 

As a painter i feel that there is no better inspiration and information than the real deal.
 A photo is a wonderful reference but has not dimension nor fragrance to share with you.
One must remember many things when looking at the photo you took to inspire
 and later pick out what you need.
Some elements will not appear in sketch. Then there are addition and color changes.
leaves moved around as you compose a balance sketch.
 That is why this is such a good way to start a session
and why folks go on location
to the ocean, to Portugal (or any exotic place you can think of), or your back yard, to paint, to absorb, to really see and tell about what you experienced with out words,
 to  show me with paint.
And  they surprised themselves!

i also bring in leaves and flowers for the table for folks to look at and SEE.
flowers and leaves to inspire the eye and nose!

paint mixing on yogurt lids and test coaster below
 

Now
let's peek over the shoulders and see what is happening.

Suzie's plumerias, especially the one she later painted with a blue background
came out amazing!

 Sheryl's mango  photo to sketch to cartoon to paint testing with leaves samples is below.
Her fabric  mango came out lovely and went home with her before  my camera was ready.

then,
Sheryl sent a photo this morning of her painted yardage already
now heat treated, washed and ironed and folded. This woman was inspired!

Such yummy colors to inspire more arty fun!

 Every one's  flower paintings on fabric came out So Amazing ! 

here is one,

painted by Mei from a drawing she made from a photo she took.

Mei said she had never painted before. this is hard to believe as

her orchid painting looks lovely and came out Amazing!!

  i will make a photo of  her inspiration growing in the yard and apply it here!

Today i got a note from Mei saying," 

Thanks, Sonja! I do like to paint some more.

Thanks for introducing me to painting and I love it!!!

 And like to paint more! I didn't know I could DO IT!" 

 Mei

 trichoglottis brachiata

  I love summertime, summertime and the  many, many  orchids that are blooming now!

Theses above and below are the black orchids

 i posted a year ago in the post 

Ruby Ruby Ruby 

thank you ladies
  for spending the day with paint brushes in your hands
and smiles on your faces!
Mahalo to ALL the folks that painted all these 20  plus years with me
and were encouraged  to SEE!

Be well, See well,
aloha, Sonja

Now i will attempt to link to :
Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Ruby Ruby Ruby

Ruby the cat posing in the yard on chair arm with  black orchids.

she must investigate all that goes on in the yard when she is not snoozing somewhere.

These  orchids are in bloom July, August, and still in September and are a native of the Philippines. They smell like honey to me. 

 trichoglottis brachiata

they attach to the mock orange tree and put out roots that twine around the branches.

these  amazing orchids have been in bloom almost 3 months.

I inhale sweetness of nature daily and water them as well if there is not rain.

they really are more  ruby or Merlot in color to me.

Last week i had that hankering for sauerkraut.

But the can i had in pantry had to be returned to the market as it had started to leak,

the metal was somehow compromised so i was actually smelling it when i passed that cabinet.

While at Food Land

i spotted a colorful red cabbage which i brought home recalling that recently i had seen
 a lovely blog that had a recipe for it with beautiful photos as well.
link
  http://kitchenvignettes.blogspot.com/2012/09/ruby-sauerkraut.html
here is another link
http//www.gardenbetty.com/2013/06/ruby-kraut-and-why-its-so-good-for-you/

it is really so easy peasey because i waited about seven days, i opened my jewel of a jar and heard the fermentation sealed air pop. i took a forks worth and raised it to my mouth only to find that
 i had salted it way too much!

Washed, chopped, bruised, salted, sealed

 and wait.

and wait and wait    

i will be making Ruby kraut again very soon,

 this time paying attention to get the proportions of salt to amount of cabbage used balanced.
Perhaps add some other veggies to the mix.

i also need to get new rubber gaskets for the mason jars i have.
Not all was lost, 

 i managed to rinse out the brine and am almost empty of jar at this point.

i really enjoy the crunchiness of my first batch of  homemade Ruby Kraut!
 perhaps i will make
another batch today as i may be pleasantly hooked.
(and they look so lovely waiting on the window sill)

be well
 and may your food be  tasty and colorful.

sonja

Quote collector that i am and post #100

Oscar Wilde often said words i can't forget.

 Words that rang a bell that still can ring. i ran across a new one today 

to add to my growing collection.

if you read my blog you will find some favorite quotes peppered down the right margin. new ones appear, some disappear or are rearranged as a pattern appears. 
Perhaps soon they will need their own blog!

"Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways."

Oscar Wilde
I came across this quote above on a blog i read recently, lo i can't recall which..
there are so many talented and artistic blogs out there just in the fabric
category!

Back in 2007 I made the post card below for an exchange with theme of quotes!

Boy Howdy, I'm in I said !!

with a childhood photo, 
fabrics, paints, button, machine free motion,threads and lace,
i brought into being this 4"x 6" postcard 

of what that quote meant to me at that moment and looked like.

  "Be yourself. everyone else is already taken "  O.W. again! WOW!!

I think i respond to certain quotes because of the kernel of truth and often  humor embedded in those few words that i hear.  I often find them to be a jumping off point for my imagination to leap into a project.  or a smile.

do you respond to quotes?

what are your favorites ? 

And as this is post number 100 

 and 

if you are a reader that might like a piece of my hand painted fabric, 

leave a comment  by Feb 28 and

 if Ruby the studio cat helper pulls your name from the basket,

i'll send out a  painted fat quarter of my choice 
or Ruby's as you can see above she is very interested in investigating fabric!. 
How's that for a helper !

have a great weekend !

Sonja 

Ruby's first Christmas, some flat angels and a winter sunset

 

 

What can  I do with strips of painted fabric and just a winkling  of AN IDEA

and A CHALLENGE?

why I can sew them together with joy! 

and cut out wedges

 

and make heads and wings and hair and

 call them flat angels and send them away to some of my art making pals

 

"Look, I found more fabric for you to paint upon!"

this is Ruby's first Christmas and it turns out she is very helpful in the studio!  

"later I can press it for you, while I sleep!"

said the kitty that snores.

peaceful dreams

 

Happy holidays to you and to all a good night!