Fridays Feathers ...and things i have seen

                                                                   bird motherhood

                                                        little eggs of felt sewn

                                                       a sunset through the screen
                                                                           

a sun setting in the sea

these are some of the things today i have seen

There is often a poetry in the things i see.

Some things are hard to reduce to words.

what did you see that made you ......

be well, Sonja 

Wordless Wednesday #3 2017

wordless wednesday #2 2017

                                       

valentine greetings

The poinsettia of Christmas past offered up this one leaf 

 i pressed in an old phone book for a few days.

 When i picked up the book, it fluttered out from between the pages,

softly. Itis almost heart shaped to me so it  has the possibility to lead me to valentine's day thoughts

and i am maker after all...the anthurium is definately heart shaped .

she is still blooming  

 and glowing in the sunset 

Ted Mundorff  painted tropical flowers in the 1940's

that i have a  great fondness for.  I have collected and framed some.

they remind me of hearts and so i share them today on St Valentine's Day.

I have already eaten all the conversation heart candies so i won't be sharing those with anyone this year, again.

I also collect vintage postcards and some of them are Valentines. 

Some a sugary sweet and some funny! Some are silly and i remember the ones we gave to our grade school classmates back in the day when we were much younger and only wrote with pencils!

another leaf that blew in  the yard in the shape of  a heart

now for some dark humor...

Well, this one made me laugh!

Be well, see better, sonja

wordless wednesday #1 of 2017

Joni Mitchell's  "Clouds"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbn6a0AFfnM

look up 

look down

be well

thoughtful Thursday

thoughtful Thursday          

 So Thursdays are as good as any day to be thoughtful. i have many thoughts daily

  that stop me in my tracks, some that start me to ponder and just like the sound
 of  and  although i am thoughtful daily many times, i like to zero in some days on 

  something i am mentally chewing on. 
Thoughtful might mean i see/think something

  but put no out loud words to it to anyone, so i  chew on it mentally. 
This Thursday i am wondering how i spend my energy and try to balance it, 

  as  not to  give it away in anger, frustration, etc... 

  and rather to  spend it with more wisdom like compassion

 and how that just might make a difference in my day and attitude.

java rice sparrow

"Be aware of wonder.

 Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and 

draw and paint

 and sing and dance

 and play and work every day some."

 Robert Fulghum 

 What wise words !

Be well, Sonja

How i get unstuck in my art works...

 when i get stuck 

 i do one of several things to get back on track: breathe deeply, stretch like my cat Ruby,

walk away, walk in the yard and see what nature has made and pay attention as there is always something newly sprouted, bloomed, withered, dropped as in a blue and lime green feather in the driveway today.

Or

get a glass of cool water, stare at the horizon, take out the trash to recycle bin, make a salad, eat a peach, wash my face, check the snail mail box....no wonder i say art is not a straight one  but a wondrous meandering line through the day!  Now i can go back to the task at had with fresh eyes, attitude, and an oxygenated brain!

If that doesn't perk me up, i get an sun ice tea and approach another piece of work i have started to see if the next step is ready to Freddy! ideas need time to simmer.mostly.
This simmering process takes as long as it needs and wears no watch ....  

Oh ,making a birthday card for a friend is also a mini vacation, as i think of the things we have shared and i have the time to be grateful we met and are still fond of each other.

(In January before i put the old calendar aside, i copy over birthday dates to the new year!!)

So, I find the shifting of thought/seeing/doing/non doing/body movement/still, a change of perception/direction helpful

 for my creative self to move on.

I call this photo "What if I..."

(sorry i don't know who to credit)

Happy New Year 2017!

Happy New Years day in the morning...

A new year, a new day dawns.

I wish you a year of wonder, peace and bright moments

 that become the memories you cherish.

 be well, Sonja

Starting to look a lot like Christmas ....

Are you ready? I'm not.

Baking to be done soon, 

shopping for the ingredients even sooner

 if tomorrow is not too late? 

and still i roam about the yard and select and collect  flowers and leaves

 to help me celebrate and share  the joy of the season.

 I make these floral arrangements and think they might be the Christmas card of  the year after arranged and photographed and cropped and printed and addressed and stamped and sent,

so far they are in the camera and in a photo place in computer.

Then i come across a poinsettia that made it through the year and is now re-blooming

 in spite of the fact that i only cut it back once.

Red is so red this time of year!!

 Then there are the painted fabric Santa figures of fabric i call old Nicks.

I have made these for about 30 years now since i found their likeness pleasing to me

 in an early American folk art style. I put them out yearly

 and sometimes the white Santa stays out all year.

This year i drew, painted, quilted and sewed up some pillows featuring the

 Monstera leaves .The above is the painting before the quilting. 

Strawberry guavas and leaves 

in the Christmas colors minus the snow! 

Soon i will be baking and  

sharing  my apple crisp from the Tassajara  bread book 

from the 1970s

 with lots of fruit and nuts and ginger and spices

 as i like to improvise as i make food depending on what is in the pantry and fridge,in season, 
 and  on the counter.

And don't forget the whipping cream!!

A vintage Hawaiian print of anthuriums  

Be most  well and have a happy and  healthy holiday season wherever  you are!

aloha, sonja

wordless wednesday/christmas cactus

Thanksgiving 2016

                                                      I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving !

                                                                     Be Well, Sonja 

Hallelujah

It has been a strange time as of late and today with the news of Leonard Cohen's passing, i find myself without words once again. Perhaps a song is what i need, to share and sing. Among the many, many  renditions i listened to today, it is KD Langs' version  i share here.
I love that she is singing barefoot at the Winter Olympics.
                                                   
                                                                  https://youtu.be/3q7TRVOM9KQ

be well.

https://youtu.be/3q7TRVOM9KQ

this is one of my favorite lyrics that i have in the column on the right side of my blog
that resounds with me and is well worth repeating

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."

Leonard Cohen

wordless wednesday