Winter Wonderland

"Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true."
~Alfred Lord Tennyson

Happy New Year!

Let It Snow...

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake...” 

Francis Bacon Sr.

I posted this picture on Mortal Muses: 9 Muses Musing. Check out some other interpretations, lots of cool pics there!

 

 Merry Christmas,

 

Published in Somerset Studio Magazine!

I am absolutely thrilled to have received my complimentary copy of the Jan/Feb issue of Somerset Studio magazine today and find my artwork on page 113! What an honor to be published in my favorite art magazine! It's a piece called Beauty In The World that I submitted back in August for their Poppy theme. Somerset Studio is published by Stampington & Co. which puts out a slew of beautiful magazines that showcase the most wonderful art. The Jan/Feb issue is absolutely gorgeous with some of the most beautiful art ever. It's such a delight to see such wonderful creativity!

Beauty In The World

Season's Greetings

I am loving Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini Photoshop class! 

And I am so thankful all that the season reminds me of. My family, my friends old and new, all of the good things in my life as well as the challenges that bring me new skills and new strength. 

Wishing you all the very best this season.

Hang it up Part 2

Previously, I posted some photos of some of my art that is currently in my home for Michelle Ward's Street Team Challenge. I got inspired to do something new. I've been wanting to hang something in my bathroom to spruce it up a bit and I've had roses on my mind, (or rather in my camera and on my computer). I decided to take two pictures I particularly like and add layers and textures to them in photoshop. Here's how they turned out:

I'm really pleased with how they turned out (and my find on the silver frames). They really go quite nicely in my bathroom and I think they're happy in their new home. It really is fun to have things around me that I love and that I have created.

Winter Frost

Here's a photo I did for Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini e-course for photoshop. 

The Old English Village That Saved Me

My husband's favorite Christmas decoration in our home is the little English village I painted 20 years ago. Every Thanksgiving he excitedly puts it up to enjoy every second of its time to be displayed. 

 There's a story behind this little village. The story of how I came into art and how art open me up.

I was waiting for my paperwork to go through the red tape state to become a certified music teacher. It was during the month of December and I knew I wouldn't be able to teach until January. I lived alone at the time and struggled with depression. I needed something to keep myself busy and productive. I thought about what I could do for the month and decided on a whim to go over to a local art store. 

 

The little bare, bisque houses caught my eye and I thought to myself, This is it. The perfect project to keep myself busy and productive and have something at the end of the month to show for it. It became my symbol of survival and resourcefulness. A solace that I would return to anytime I needed something to focus on, something to keep myself busy and creating. Something to remind myself of my aliveness.

 I didn't "know how" to paint at the time. I'd never painted anything before. But while I was at the art store, something whispered to me from deep inside myself and said "Do this." I followed the advice fell in love with painting. It was so natural. So easy. So relaxing.

The time went by so quickly. The month was up before I knew it and I had a beautiful, little village that had grown one little building at a time on my counter top. 

What I had discovered was not the end product. And although I was extremely pleased and surprised at how they had turned out, what I loved was the process and what happened inside myself that made a difference in my life; my outlook, my well being.

I had discovered how to bring to the outside what I knew resided inside. To bring my expression of beauty and joy to physical reality. This is something I was never able to do with music.What a relief and a joy to find some place where I am able to express myself so freely.

The holiday season means something different for each of us. Whether it's a season of fun or meaning or celebration or whether this season has brought a challenge to your door, my wish is for connection to others and to yourself. And for freedom and space to express what resides quietly within the heart.

All the very best.

 

Branches

"Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, 'I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I'm going to snow anyway.'"

~Maya Angelo

I submitted this photo to Echo. This week's prompt is branches.

A Tale Of Two Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . in short, the period was so far like the present period . . . .”

~Charles Dickens, A Tale Of Two Cities

Well, they aren't London or Paris, a pair of great cities, but these two twins are headed for my Etsy shop, Kari Desi Art (see the sidebar) very soon! Click on the picture to see the texture more clearly.

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

~Confucious

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for the love I feel within

and see without;

in people

and in nature.

I got up early this morning before anyone else was up. It's my favorite time of day, when everything is still, dark and quiet and I'm rested and ready to create. I have so many ideas that I can't keep up with them all! This print will be added to my Etsy shop (see the link in the sidebar) along with a few others after the holiday. I hope you'll come back and take a look! 

In the meantime, I'm going to go bake my family's favorite holiday breakfast: 

Orange Current Buttermilk Scones (recipe below) and scrambled eggs 

On the menu for later: 

Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Green Beans, Potatoes, and Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert.

We're going out in the snow

and then to see the new Harry Potter movie. 

I'll post more pics as the day goes on!

Orange Current Buttermilk Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together 3 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda in a large bowl.

Cut in 3/4 cup butter.

Add 1 cup buttermilk, 3/4 cup currents and 1 tbsp grated orange peel.

Mix together and form two balls. Pat dough into 1 inch pads. Cut into 8 pie sections. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 16 scones.

Winter Moments

"My daily routines are transactional. Everything that happens in my day is a transaction between the external world and my internal world. Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Every thing is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity."

~Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit

First Frost

Wishing you all good things.

Dance Like No One Is Watching

Focus Your Thoughts...Choose What You Love

Another page from my art journal.

To Love and Be Loved

Hang It Up!

Over at Michelle's Street Team, she's asking, "What's your hang up?" 

 Her challenge this month is to frame some of our own art and hang it in our home. I already have just a few that I'll share here: 

These are a couple of the first collages I ever did and I did them as a pair. They hang in my bedroom to remind me to create everyday.

This sconce hangs in our dining room. It's twin hangs on the opposite wall.

This is a oil painting of the area near where I used to live. I took an art lesson from a wonderful lady in Laguna Beach. It sits happily on top of a cabinet in my kitchen to remind me of the beautiful ocean.

  

And these are my favs. I have them hanging in my studio. 

I really like this challenge. I think it's important to surround ourselves with art whether it's our own or someone elses's, preferably both. My criteria for what I have in my home and surrounding me is that I love it. 

Wednesday Gratitude

"We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live life fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating, and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime."

~Herbert A. Otto

Caring is like a fountain flowing energy into our lives every minute. However, caring is quiet and polite. If you're not paying attention and looking for it, you could miss it.

Today, I have gratitude for the instances of caring I have experienced:

*For my yoga teacher who gently and carefully helped me adjust in a difficult pose.

*For the new friend I met, her caring attitude toward me and the easy way we had talking with one another.

*For the boss who gave me tickets to the symphony.

*For the florist who asked me about the lady I was filling in for today, just wanting to make sure she is OK.

*For the man who charged me less on my order to save me a few cents.

*For the friend I share an understanding with.

*For the very kind email I got from a shop considering carrying my art.

*For all of the wonderful, kind and caring comments I get from fellow bloggers and others who read my blog.

Sometimes, Life seems hard or harsh or downright cruel. But other times, Life seems kind and caring and understanding. I want to be paying attention. I want to be able to be available for and enjoy those caring moments that come my way. 

Everyone Needs A Partner

I've been working hard to finish my first commissioned piece. It's quite large and doesn't fit on my work table, so I've been hunching over it on the floor of my small studio. My sweet assistant, Mystery, loves to keep me company. I'm not sure if he likes the smell of Mod Podge and paint or if he just loves me, but I'll take whatever I can get. I love having him around!

Here's a tiny peek at what I'm working on: