Turning 60 surprises...

 It was my 60th birthday on the 2nd

 and seems like I celebrated for a week

for this, for what I considered, a milestone birthday. 

The weeks prior to my birthday I was doing lots of serious reflection and

after all that seriousness... I surprised everyone and...

I got a tattoo.  LOL

Can't be too serious you know!  :)

 If you follow my blog you will know why

I chose a red dragonfly,

and why it is significant to me.

On another note...I had more surprises for my birthday.

My husband surprised me with a little birthday trip

up the coast to the lovely little town of Palacios, Tx.

We found a little historical waterfront B&B called

The Peaceful Pelican.

This was our sunrise, out our

2nd floor room.

Our 2 day stay was wonderful!

Then the weekend following our trip,

we had wall to wall family,

(which was also a surprise)

for a couple of days,

and we loved every minute of it.

They brought the food, they cooked,

we laughed, stayed up late,

and just had a wonderful time together.

 I feel that being 60 is great!

 WHY?....

Well....in my 60 years,

I've learned to...

... focus on the positive, joyful,

fullfilling and good things in my life.

AND...

...to not take things so seriously all the time,

to have a little more fun

AND...

... to accept myself and others more fully and completely.

ALSO...

I have grown into myself, and

I know who I really am now.

Mainly...

 I have learned to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne



Two Finished Paintings

I promised I would show you my finished still life and ink pouring.

They have not been critiqued by my watercolor instructor yet,

so I'm sure there will be more changes made.

Here is the still life.

(I need more practice LOL)

AND...

here is my finished ink pouring.

(Sorry I forgot to take a photo of it

before I added watercolor.)

The Ink Pouring Process....

There were several different colors of ink

 randomly poured onto wet watercolor paper.

Then it was covered with saran wrap that was scrunched up.

Then a piece of plexi glass was put on top of that,

with books on top of that for weight.

Then you let it dry, and you never know what you will get.

I did watercolor painting in the negative, on top of the dried ink,

 for all but the red dragonfly.

It was painted in the positive.

Where I had scrunched up saran wrap on the wet ink,

there were designs,

and one thing I saw in the designs was the dragonfly,

so I painted it in. 

Then I saw leaves scattered throughout

 so I painted around them, bringing them out.

It's a different technique,

but I like doing it.

The burgandy red was the only ink

that didn't spread around much while drying.

But that's okay. 

Like I said, you never know what you will get.

That's what makees it fun!

Try something new!
Don't forget to visit Paint Party Friday
to see more wonderful art
by all the dozens of PPF bloggers...
or even better yet,
JOIN US!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Tea Day Musings

 Every morning

I've been having a cup of Yerba Mate,

and for Tea Tuesday I think I will do the same.

My husband painted my wire tea cups

that I found at the thrift store.

I'm using them as candle holders today,

but I know they will have many more uses

around the house.

I've been in the garden this week,

as the beautiful weather draws me outside.

One of my new plants is this Rio Dipladenia.

As midday brings warmer temperatures,

I go inside and enjoy my new organized studio space.

This week I designed a bookmark for myself,

using Photoshop.

 The red dragonfly is part of one of my paintings

of the real red dragonfly that I saw once.

Then I added some quotes.

By late afternoon, each day,

 temperatures drop once again, and

 my husband and I sit in the yard,

watching the birds,

laughing and talking about our days,

 about getting older,

and just about life in general.

I did catch this photo of a little hummingbird.

We have probably a dozen or more around the feeders.

Time spent in the garden

is like therapy...

 Creating art is like therapy.

Having a balance of being alone,

and being with others

is important to me.

 All these things in my life

 have brought me to the conclusion that

I need to....

  ...let people know how much I love them much more often

... let family and friends know how much they mean to me

                                    … put words to my thoughts, and to slow my thoughts down
                                                              … let go of the past
                                            …accept where my life's choices have brought me
                                                          … just be in the moment

and if only in my solitude and my thoughts...

 to just...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne



Advice from a Dragonfly

My friend Karen recently took a trip to Key West.

She brought me back a little gift from

The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.

She knows how much I love dragonflies....

especially ever since I was blessed to see this red one below.

So I wanted to share what her gift said...

Advice from a DRAGONFLY

Spend Time Near the Water

Be Colorful

Enjoy a Good Reed

Zoom in on Your Dreams

Appreciate Long Summer Days

Keep Your Eyes Open

Just Wing it!

---Ilan Shamir

Pretty good advice don't you think!

Learn more about dragonflies

and other wildlife creatures at

http://yourtruenature.com/learn

To read more about my red dragonfly click

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2010/08/red-dragonfly.html

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Tea Day--dragonflies, dolls and dyeing

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

I just finished my 1.5 mile walk with my friend

and before going into the city I wanted to

slow down and take a few moments to have some tea.

My friend Karen brought me some tea bags this morning,

some I had never tried before.

(I love trying new teas!)

This one is STASH premium

double spice chai black tea.

It is delicious!

Full of cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, cloves,

coriander and nutmeg.

Mmmmm good!  Thanks Karen!

This will surely start my day out right!

Here you see a dragonfly....
it is actually a cast iron door knocker
that I haven't put up yet.

Of course I love dragonflies and you can read about

my RED dragonfly experience here....

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2010/08/red-dragonfly.html#links

The doll you see here is one I made awhile back.

She is one of my favorites and one I will keep.

The linen, which is something else I like to collect,

if from my Italy trip a few years ago.

When I was in Italy I found table linens that had dragonflies on it.

It was perfect. 

I no longer have a table to fit it, but I throw the tablecloth

over the little sofa in the entry

and then I made pillows from 2 of the napkins.

I am in the process of de-cluttering and rearranging my home.

We have only been here for 2 years

and I'm learning what works and what doesn't.

Getting rid of the things that I don't just absolutely love

has made me feel pretty good actually.

I love books, but have learned to pass on many of them,

and just keep my very best favorites.

I guess purging is good for the soul in a way.

Oh yes, almost forgot,

do you want to see my latest project....

This is a piece of fabric that several of us dyed

over at my friend Shirleys. 

She called me and ask if I wanted to use the whole piece

to create something

for my August Merit show at the art center.

I was thrilled!

My friend Brenda saw a tree near the top of the piece,

so I am going to run with it.

Lots of stitching will go in this piece,

for the tree and the strata layers below.

It is about 3 ft. by 4 ft.

Any other suggestions from all you talented people out there!

 

For more tea posts visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

 

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

The Red Dragonfly

My visit to the Texas Hill Country last week

 was full of all kinds of enchantments.

After a few days at my sisters,

I went to Kerrville

to visit my friend Lana.

She has a beautiful place

with her husband Willie.

It's called Elm Cottage

Sculpture and Meditation Gardens.

They have 2 cottages there now,

Elm Cottage and the The Canyon House B&B,

 Visit here.

We were sitting on her porch

 visiting and talking

when I saw the most beautiful

 red dragonfly.

I have never seen one before

 in my life.

I have been to Lana's

 many times

and used to live in the hill country,

but never have I seen

a red dragonfly

before that day.

He was  sitting on a plant

above her koi pond,

which is near her porch.

I was lucky to get a few photos.

He was very large and his tail looked like velvet.

He was gorgeous.

I say ' he ', but I'm not sure if it was a male or female of course.

Prior to visiting Lana,

Dennis Eaglehorse had told me to watch for

dragonflies

 as they are God's messengers.

Dragonfly's show us that life,

 like light,

can bend, shift,

and adapt in various ways,

 making life's appearance

never be what it appears to be.

 Dragonfly's magic shows us

to see through life's illusions.

Many believe that red dragonflies

are a symbol of eternal love.

 I have always been drawn to dragonflies.

Once I have seen a swarm of dragonflies,

(but that's another story),

and it's not a very common site.

I wonder if the dragonfly is my animal totem?

I don't know.......

How does one know?

Do you have an animal totem?

The Lakota word for Dragonfly is Susbehcha.

It is believed that seeing a red dragonfly is a good omen or sign.

Do you believe in signs?

While I was sitting on the porch

 this very dragonfly

 flew over

and hovered right in front of me

 for several seconds.

I was in awe

and got goosebumps all over.

And still do...

 when I remember that moment.

It was beautiful.

Think of a beautiful moment

 in your life

that gave you goosebumps.

Do this every day.

It will help you to.....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne