A Little Bit Of Everything

1. Our Daily Tomato Harvest.

Yes,  in January! That is unusual even for Phoenix! Several of our tomato plants survived the frosts (partly thanks to some frost cloth action on my part) and have been producing tomatoes all through winter for us. Slower and smaller than the ones we would get when the nights aren’t quite so cold, but nevertheless an abundance of tomatoes!

 

 

2. New Items In The Store

I have two new items in my Etsy Store.

First of all, canvas #3 in the “Follow The Whispers” series:

 

{Mixed Media Canvas - 8" x 8", stretched canvas.}

The words on the canvas read: Remember who you wanted to be.

 

And here are the little ladies together!

 

 

I also put the “Hello Moment” canvas in the store.

 

{Mixed Media Canvas - 8" x 8", stretched canvas.}

The words on the canvas read: Breathe in. Hello Moment. Breathe out. I am here.

 

3. Craft related money saving tip.

Do you know those awesome Ranger crafting mats that nothing sticks to?

 

 

Yes,  I love to work on those! They just wipe clean, whatever you throw at them.

However, they are usually anywhere around $9- $20 a pop and I use more than one in my office/arts/crafts room, and on more than one table/location. My kids use them, I even use them in the kitchen!

 

Turns out, that these Non-Stick Dehydrator Sheets are EXACTLY the same thing, only you get 5 of them for $10! 

They are square instead of the Ranger rectangular shape, but honestly, I don’t really care! By the way, they stick together really well with some clear packing tape!

 

 

Oh, and Blitsy has everything Martha Stewart for enamel and glass crafts on sale today, if you are stocking up on any of those!

 

 

4. Some in-progress yummy-ness from my studio.

 

 

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

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Happening around here lately

1. Practicing Gratitude.

I’ve never much liked the expression “an attitude of gratitude.” It doesn’t resonate with me. To me attitude is something you “put on”, like an external thing you adopt. The saying even goes “adopting an attitude of ...” Again, its’ like something that is not from you or in you -  and you’re just trying it on for a while. And an attitude doesn’t necessarily denote an action to me - it’s more of a concept.   “Practicing gratitude” suits me better. Because to me it is a practice - you actually DO it over and over until it becomes you and you become it! By practicing every single day, you become a grateful person - a grateful person that practices gratitude every single day! The “goal” and the journey are the same here! From very early on, I have had the practice with my children, to snuggle up before bed, look back on the day, remember or list what happened, what we liked, what we didn’t like so much, what we are grateful for, etc. As they are older now, we have really started to focus a little bit more on the actual practice of gratitude. Not only the forming of a

mindset, but hopefully the habit of a life time. I have a gratitude journal in my bedside table, and I write in it as often as I can. My kids have little gratitude journals too.  They write in them if and when they remember to.

I also used to have a list on the fridge. A few month ago, I went big however, covered the refrigerator in some chalk board vinyl and invited the kids to participate in writing their gratitude on the gratitude chalk board too.

It has been such fun!

And yes, occasionally we swipe against it and end up wearing our chalky gratitude, but it’s all good!

I LOVE reading the things the kids come up with! The board alone is an awesome read, but their little journals are great in themselves. Max is short and sweet, often with just daily one word entries, of whatever he felt grateful for that day. Quite often it can be a thing or something practical.

Anna tends to be a little more elaborate. She has longer entries and mostly they are about people or experiences related to people!

I also often find my kids standing in front of the board and reading out all the things we have written down over time, which just makes us feel the gratitude all over again as they do it!

And when the board gets all filled up, we wipe it and start all over. Not before I take a few pictures though!

 

2. Blissful aroma.

As I type, the house is filled with the blissful aroma of apple butter bubbling away in my crockpot. We’ve had some amazing organic apples from Azure this year, for around 50 cents per pound (and there were many many pounds!)  and I have been canning our year’s supply of ever so yummy homemade, unsweetened applesauce (and some apple jelly) over the last few weeks and now I’m using the last of the apples to make a few batches of apple butter. It’s such an easy thing to do in the crockpot and it makes your house smell oh so good!

 

3. Spreading Joy.

I always like to make it a point to do some random acts of kindness. Sometimes they are slightly more planned, sometimes they are very random and spontaneous. This weekend they were a bit of both!

Some of my fellow “flyers” were inspired by Kelly Rae Robert’s kindness mission and got together to love-bomb the world! I was only too happy to join in! You can read more about it here. So today, I left a few of those lovely little print out’s around my neighborhood. Our community mail boxes looked like they need some art loving, as did a couple of park benches and some lamp posts!

 

 

I also love the practice of love/kindness pebbles, which I left the last of today as I went about my business.

Those are little pebbles with words of love, appreciation or inspiration on them. Like "you are loved”, or “I love you”, or “smile!”, “Ease. Joy. Glory”, etc. You drop these pebbles wherever and whenever you feel inspired to. In people’s pockets, on their desk, in their bag, at the checkout stand, wherever somebody will find it later. The idea is that it will bring a smile on their face and a little wondering as to who it might be from!

I’ll be decorating another batch of pebbles soon!

 

4. Little pleasures

 

Reading and re-reading this at the moment!

Hello, yummy veggie rainbow juice, fresh from the garden!

 

This makes me happy:

 

These make me happy too:

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Second Canvas in the “Follow The Whispers” Series Is Now Available!

 

Here’s my second little lady in the “Follow The Whispers” Series on 8x8 canvases.

Her words say:

Breathe.

Be still.

Listen to your heart.

Follow the whispers.

 

 

You can find her here in my Etsy Store.

 

 

This little piece is hard to photograph in it's true colors as the presence of shimmering accents and layers make it appear a little different every time and from every angle!
It is a richly textured piece, with a multitude of delicate layers, patterns and drawings, as well as shimmering accents that make the piece come alive!
The real branches are invisibly sewn onto the canvas to hold securely.

 

I am having so much fun with this little canvases! They are really calling me at the moment! In process, in flow, in picture and in word.

Also, even though no longer visible under the many many layers, but there in intention and energy, I wrote the word “courage” over and over! It just makes me smile, knowing that this little canvas is going out into the world, filled with courage!

 

Number III is already well on the way too - yes, there have been many very late nights in my life lately! 

 

{Canvas I and II in the series!}

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My latest little canvas

If you’re following me on Facebook or on Twitter, you’ll have already seen the little canvas I finished this weekend!

Here she is:

 

 

The words on the canvas say: “What is calling you"?” “What makes your soul sing?” “What makes you come alive?” {Follow the whispers!}

And the really amazing thing for me about these somewhat more uncontrolled background methods is, when things seemingly randomly connect up.

On this little canvas, I typed the words on some book pages I had lightly gesso-ed, but some of the words were still faintly visible. On the word strip where it says “Follow the Whispers,” the words that are still visible behind the typing are “to go,” “the smart” and “way or course”! How totally awesome is that?!

I so love it!

 

 

 

She didn’t make it into my Etsy store - she sold before I could list her! It fills my heart with such gratitude and excitement when my art sells to people! I mean, real life people, who hang my art in their homes or offices! Wow! This will take some getting used to, but I have a feeling that it will be one of those rather more delightful “getting used tos"!”

I have a whole series of these little canvases in mind however and I’m already working on the next one, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re interested in one of them!

 

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Garden Seed Organization

I spent some time in the garden yesterday!

It was a warm and sunny day and it was a pleasure to be outside, pottering around in the garden. Sowing some things, starting some seedlings for the mid/end of February “summer”planting, etc. We get to grow almost all year around here, except for the blisteringly hot summers - nothing much survives those!

However, it takes a bit of figuring out what grows when, as “normal” planting calendars don’t really work for us. We do get some frosts during the winter and when summer heat sets in early, it can really cut the spring/summer growing season very short!

Thankfully there are plenty of books about organic gardening in the low desert - or the hostile desert, as one book calls it, and I’ve learned a lot in the last year!

It wasn’t so important to know all that when I was just growing stuff in a few pots, but now that I’ve gone bigger, there seems to be a lot to learn. And it’s exciting to learn it! Some is trial and error. Some is trial and glorious success!

 

And while on the topic of gardening, I thought I’d show you my seed organization!

 

 

Yes, my little .... ahhmmm.... large box of seeds! I love it when repurposing works out so well!

Let me show you a bit more of it and you’ll see why I love it so!

 

 

Do you recognize what it was in a former life yet?

 

 

Yes, it’s one of those Photo Keepers/Organizers !

 

 

Since I don’t have too many photographs to keep anymore, with everything residing on my computer, this little suitcase with it’s separate little boxes, seemed perfect for keeping my seeds organized and dry!

I just made some labels for the various little snap closure inserts and they were ready to be filled with my seed packets.

 

 

I also have my planting calendars (which I laminated) in the lid, so they are always handy!

This has worked out really well for me for the last year or so, much better than my previous methods of keeping seeds, which have been many!

And to finish, let me share a few glimpses around our garden right now!

I don’t think I will ever quite get used to (being a Bavarian girl, that grew up with real winters and deep snow) gardening in a sun-filled backyard, in a balmy 70 degrees, snacking on fresh cherry tomatoes and strawberries - in the middle of JANUARY! And I am so very grateful for that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And would you just look at our cute personal-sized butternut squashes!

 

 

May you all have a sun-filled, joyful day!

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Oh, What Fun It Is To Play!

Last night I finally made some time for art playing - and play I did!

We had  a Life Book  “lesson” by Carla Sonheim this week, which included several little exercises designed to just let go, just be in the flow and return to the childlike approach to art and imagination!

There were blobs that turned into animals, drawings done with the non-dominant hand, one-liners (whatever you draw has to be done in one continuous line,) drawing with our eyes closed, scribbles, making odd paper shapes into flowers and turning randomly placed tape into animals.

 

 

The really cool thing about all these little exercises is, that they are designed for you to let go and have fun. There’s no room for perfectionism to enter the arena, as you just can’t be attached to the outcome. I mean really, even the most present perfectionist in us would have a hard time judging us on a drawing we did with our eyes closed!

 

 

And the outcome can be surprising and quite cute! I’ve been amazed and delighted at all the cute critters that have been showing up on the LB2014 gallery!

There’s no way I could have created any of my little animals or flowers with my brain turned on!

 

 

That is not to say that the brain didn’t want to be part of it too! It’s very hard for me to turn my inner (art) critic off, and it does require a conscious choice to just have fun with this, to let go and be ok, whatever the outcome! And I’m so glad I did!

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Blog Redesign And My New Store!

And we’re back! Well, the blog was never really gone, but we’re back to full functionality as it were.

I am still working out a couple of kinks on some pages. It seems that I always run into some little technical difficulties when it comes to redesigns. They make no sense, it should all work, but then it doesn’t. So, for the last day or so I’ve been fiddling with things that just won’t go right. They look one way in the preview, then when posted, they look different. For some reason blogger changes and inserts codes. Sigh!

However, the more annoyed I get with it, the more stubbornly I feel I just need to “push through” and it will all be ok, the more it, of course, won’t cooperate.

So, it is time to take a step back, embrace the imperfection (arrgghhh! that’s still a hard one for me!) and let it go for a bit.

Once I get truly out of resistance, I’m sure things will change!

In the meant time, check out the new design, peruse my new pages, ignore the unfinished bits here and there and please, let me know if anything isn’t working as it should! If you can’t see any changes, please refresh your browser/cache by hitting F5 on top of your keyboard!

 

Taking a break from the designing part of things also means, that I can hopefully go back to some painting! It’s been a WHOLE week for me and I have missed it so!

As much as I enjoy doing digital art, I have become accustomed to getting my hands dirty, as it were, and since I’ve admitted to myself just how much I love, love , love making art, I feel slightly adrift when I don’t!

My paint brushes are beckoning, for sure!

Tonight, I will do some art! Yes!

Oh, and in some other news - while I was doing all this techy stuff, I also set up my Etsy Mixed Media Art store! I’m so excited about this!

 

 

This means I’ll be selling originals and prints of my art work! Yay!  What else is possible!  I would love it if you went and had a look! Hopefully you will find something you love!

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Blog Re-Design

 

I’ll be implementing my blog re-design this weekend! Please pardon the “construction dust” and any technical hiccups I may run into!

Wish me luck! :)

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This Little Word Called “Courage.”

As you may know from my post here, the word “courage” asserted itself as my word for 2014 during a meditation.

And as often (always?) happens, as soon as you make a true choice to want more of something, the universe goes, “ You want more of that? Really? Hurrah!! Here you go!” and it presents you with opportunity after opportunity to learn more about it, to apply it, to have your butt kicked by it and so on.

And the cool, and slightly terrifying, thing is, that once you are fully conscious about something, once you “know” something on that level, you can no longer “not know” it, you can’t go “Ahhh, never mind, I’ll go back to sleep after all!”

You can make a different choice, you can add and subtract, you can confront or hide, you can allow it or fight it every step of the way - but you can not un-know it!

 

So, here I am with my word “courage,” and yes, I have already learned a whole lot more about my little word. Mostly, I have learned that I don’t even know the half of it!

When “courage” came to me, I was quite sure what it meant. Of course I know what courage is, I said to myself! It’s when you feel the fear and do it anyway! It’s when you overcome your fear! It’s when you are brave, it’s when you overcome, when you stand up and  fight. And mostly, in my definition, courage had to do with overcoming fear.

And really I think, it does for most of us, in it’s purest definition. It’s what we’ve been taught.

What we are afraid of and in what areas of our lives these fears, that we then courageously overcome, show up, is different for all of us of course! But essentially courage and fear pretty much go hand in hand by definition.

Well, turns out, there is just so much more to it than that!

 

It all started when I came across this quote:

 

Another word for creativity is courage! - Henri Matisse

That really hit home for me! I’ve been trying to play it safe for so long in my art, and just recently have I let go of that a little, been more courageous, more vulnerable, more from my heart!

 

And then the next thing I came across, really rocked my world a little. Not only was she saying a lot of the things I was discovering, she also added so much more to my discoveries and brought it all full circle!

These two videos speak to me so much on so many levels, that I will probably come back to parts of them over and over.

 

 

It helps that she is also quite funny and a really good speaker!

 

It seems they came along at the absolutely perfect time for me, right in this process of stepping out to be more authentically me,  daring greatly and more wholeheartedly so!

THIS definition (Brene Brown’s) of courage IS truly what I felt that my word was for 2014. THIS definition of courage is what my vision is for 2014. This start of something where there is no turning back from on a certain level. This finding my way home to a “me” that I never allowed myself to be.

 

 

So, here is my latest painting.

It is kind of special to me. It embodies a lot of this whole learning about courage for me. I came up against so many of my fears while doing this painting, so many “Oh no, I’m going to ruin it!” and with each one, I was able to feel not only the courage of doing it anyway, but also the vulnerability of giving myself very little control in the outcome of this!

 

 

There was a lot of gesso, and smearing, and splattering, and stamping, and rubbing, and dripping, and splashing, and each and every time I got to a point where I actually liked it (after almost ditching it several times in between,) I challenged myself to go and do something to it that would potentially “ruin” it again!

 

{I used the “puffy Gesso” method again for texturing the background!}

 

I think it is done now, but I’m not sure! It has gone through quite a few evolutions along the way, so there might be more!

Have I “ruined” it along the way? Maybe. In fact, it’s entirely possible that it was “nicer” in the beginning. However, the process that followed was so important to me and the painting I hold in my hands now, is much more wholehearted ... much more ... courageous?

Whichever way, it IS a very tactile piece, somewhat raw in places, quite smooth and delicate in others, sparkly and shimmery, subtle and in your face all at the same time.

 

What does courage mean to you?

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Of Courage And My Inner Artist Guardian

First of all, I wish you all a very happy 2014! May it be a year of great possibilities realized for all of us!

As you may know, if you’ve been reading my recent posts, I’ve joined Lifebook 2014 this year.

It started on January 1st with a whole host of lovely lessons, and amazingly they really catered to complete beginners as well as more advanced artists! Totally awesome!

One of the things that were offered in that first lesson was a brief but beautifully guided meditation to get in touch with the inner artist guardian, our word for the year and our colors for the year! As I have mentioned before, I already had my word(s ) for 2014 come in loud and clear (I thought,) so imagine my surprise (and delight, if I’m honest) when my “receiving/allowing” changed to “courage!”

It felt right! I have a lot of things that I want to realize in 2014 and they will need a LOT of courage, for sure! They will also need receiving and allowing, but even for that I will need courage!

 

Recently, I have (not for the first time) been searching my soul again as to what really makes it sing, what really makes me feel alive inside, even when I imagine doing it day in and day out for the next 30 or so years. What would I really do if failing or money were no object?

There are so many things I enjoy. So many, many things I can get interested in and be all fired up about, but usually those are not things that I would want to do day in and day out for years to come. They burn out, they get a little stale ...

So, even though I enjoy a great many things and I am good at a great many things, WHAT is it really that I want to do?

And, much to my surprise, turns out, I want to be an artist! You know, really, truly, an artist, not a semi-apologetic, I-like-to-paint-and-create in my spare time kind of “artist” but a fully fledged, I-do-this-every-day-and-I-cant-believe-I’m-this-lucky ... artist!

It suddenly became so clear, maybe because I was finally able to receive what my heart and soul was really saying.

I create. It’s what I do. It’s what I love to do. It’s what I need to do. I paint, I craft, I scrap, I do so many wonderful things! I have known it for a while, what I haven’t listened to is the dream behind it. This thing that makes my soul sing and makes me come alive, it’s in my heart, in my thoughts, it’s imprinted all over my energy - and I need to do it! And a lot of it!!

And of course, as soon as I let myself go in this flow of clarity, my old friends doubt and fear show up and they start their usual little spiel about “how I’ll get over it,” and “who do I think I am,”  how it will really mean putting myself out there and how ridicilous and scary of a notion this whole thing really is.

And yes, there is a fine line between the energy of fear - utter, soul shaking, boot quaking kind of fear this realization brings with it, and the excitement of a dream that’s been screaming inside for all this time and is finally being heard. And sometimes they overlap and I think that’s where I currently reside!

And of course it doesn’t end there!

In fact, it’s only the tiniest small step! And what I have in mind, will require many many steps and many of them will have to be real leaps in all areas of my life. But I am ready!

And, yes, I would definitely say that “courage” IS the word for me in 2014. After all, “Another word for creativity is courage!” (Henri Matisse)

 

As for my inner artist guardian?

Well, here she is:

 

I created the wings with the raised Gesso texture technique I described here.

 

 

I also used a different method for this face to the ones before. This one is built from “the bottom up,” as it were. This was my first attempt at underlay painting, where you build up layers of shading first, then glaze it with a fairly translucent skin tone glaze.
As usual I couldn’t quite leave well enough along though and also ended up refining the shading on top of the glaze as well. However, I really love how clear I had to be about what shadows go where and how strong with this method, so I think this may become part of my face shading on quite a few paintings!

 

And ever since I’ve given my creativity permission to flow a few weeks ago, I can’t stop painting! I have so many ideas in my head, so many pictures that need to make it onto canvas/paper! Hopefully somewhere along the way, I’ll be able to actually put what’s in my head down on paper or canvas and both will look somewhat similar! *wink*
But a lot of that is technique, and that I can learn! What I might lack in technique, I make up for in passion!

 

So, yes, my new year has started with a lot of realizations, many of which are still bubbling and forming and making their full extent known! But it’s all good! It’s a lot like a part of me is finally ready to wake up and come out of this obscured corner where it’s been cowering in fear!
But that’s another story, for another day!

Warmly,

Birgit

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