a long long long walk on the beach-paradise

at last permission to breathe and more than that to be in touch with that utmost of energies...

NATURE, the ultimate artist, the ultimate everything in my eyes.  no wonder artists pursue imitating nature to bring it closer, into their homes, seize it somehow.

you see, my man is a little aged to do these things with me as much as he would like to.  at most we ride our bikes around our home.  so i asked him for permission to go with a friend who lives in santa barbara. and he obliged. 

how could i avoid going when these treasures were awaiting?

how could i avoid going when it is pure light!

and where beauty is free in every sense of the word?

ofcourse i came home with pockets full.....i even refused to brush the sand off me feet.

i love barnacles.

and as you walk,

all those textures and colors in every shade of the rainbow?

a little critter blowing bubbles in a miniature rock cave whispered to me...come hither and there i spent a good five minutes looking him in the eye, my day's communion.

and then at evening time to look back

and think,

why don't i do this more often? explain to richard that it is a matter of life and death to me.

i just feel guilty i guess, leaving him at home.

but deep down inside i know he understands, he knows my earthiness and would never deny me the right.

so now i have proposed to him that he come along and bring a book to read in the car while i stroll.

and then to end the day with paper and colored pencils inspired by other nature lovers.

who do these remind you of? 

yes, lynne and carolyn.  lynne right here in my back yard, carolyn in st. ives where i used to vacation as a child growing up in england. she is making me a custom made seaside heart like the one pictured.

oh the magic of synchronicity!

communion in deeds.

sacre coeur

yes, that heart of all hearts!

monday should have been the day but you know how things are....we skip and jump across the stream from one stone to another, wishing, wanting, dreaming until all the elements suddenly come together.

so....last night i settled into my little creative cocoon and began.  and it can now be shared with "recuerda mi corazon" and all who share in it.

creating this sacred heart was somewhat new as far as techniques.

i used sooooo many textures and mediums and layers.  embroidery, distress inks, calligraphy ink to distress the background, vintage lace, shoe polish, fabric snippets and tim holtz alphabet letters.

it will now be mounted and probably given as a gift to a friend in germany who loves the sacred heart.

my favorite saint, the saint of the little things, therese of lisieux.

borrowed from rachel ashwell's blog

and this treasure you may ask? well ebay has had it for sale for a long time and i keep coming back to it but it is way beyond my budget so maybe, just maybe i can make one myself?

 

Quiero lo que Tu quieres,

lo quiero porque lo quieres,

lo quiero como lo quieres,

lo quiero en cuanto lo quieres.

cabin fever.....severe. we were supposed to go on a road trip up the california coast but several things got in the way.  the pump at the ranch went kaput and, being that it is for sale, all attention had to be put on solving the water supply.  what bad timing.
ok, time to surrender.
so here we are, the last days of summer, anxious to GO GO GO.  i am not losing hope; the pump technicians are supposed to be here friday and by monday we should be able to make it happen.

 i am in desperate need of nature....our temporary condo as we continue our search for a house to buy, is beautiful and comfy but has a very small garden and an even tinier patio. so for an earthy woman like me, not having a garden has really begun to wear on my nerves. 

so, as is usual, i retreat to me art space and vent by creating something that will make it all right and turn the tide somewhat in the direction of the positive around me, or at least, within me. 

yes, being creative helps.  actually, it helps immensely, but there is an angst in my soul that needs healing.  what i miss the most are the breezes, the crackling sounds, the walks, the smell of eucalyptus and above all WATER.  ocean water, rivers, streams, putting my feet in it, splashing in it, seeing it glitter. and collecting little sticks and stones, leaves and anything in nature that will fit in my pocket.

so, as is usual, i retreat to me art space and vent by creating something that will make it all right and turn the tide somewhat in the direction of the positive around me, or at least, within me. 

"girl in black velvet dress"
i have continued my experimentation with faces and recently venturing into full 
size portraits although i am still having trouble with hands.
i swing between the whimsical and the formal acts of creating.

"mujeres"

 here is a corner of my bedroom where i have hung my latest mini painting 

midway down the wall in between a vintage needlepoint embroidery of a bird and a hook bird heart by mary stanley.

                                                  

this is the cover of the handmade book i am working on.  the flowers are real, from right outside our french doors, having been captured under a layer of beeswax.

for audrey

             b.    n.        

stitching between painting and reading a terrific biography of lytton strachey with lots and lots in it about dora carrington.  i love her paintings, especially the portrait of lytton holding a book with his long long finger.  carrington remains my favorite of the bloomsbury era painters above vannessa bell and augustus john.  what a group they were, how totally interesting and liberated.