Angels & Pomegranates
Yesterday afternoon my husband showed me this beautiful shadow on our living room wall… Wow!
I grabbed my camera and took some photos. The shadow was cast by a metal angel sculpture hanging on our front door.
Angel Shadow
Another shadow cast above a mirror
Later when I was watering the garden I noticed all the fruit on our pomegranate tree. It felt so peaceful to be standing beneath the canopy of this old tree as the sunlight played hide and seek among her leaves.
I felt like a little girl who had somehow found a secret magical kingdom. I closed my eyes and the sound of the traffic dimmed as I inhaled the sweet fragrance of roses mixed with jasmine wafting by. For that instant the outside world disappeared and my senses became more heightened and finely attuned to the sounds and smells of this small garden tucked away in the heart of a busy city.
When I opened my eyes again I saw this small pomegranate. I took a photo of it to remind me of how truly wonderful and magical life is and how very special these moments are when we take the time to pay attention to the natural world around us.
The sun was setting as I left the little girl beneath the pomegranate tree in the garden. My much older self closed the garden gate and returned to the everyday business of life.
Pomegranate
TGIF Fudge Brownies
TGIF fudge brownies on a Friday afternoon is the perfect way to end a work week… Just ask my husband!
My husband loves chocolate so I decided to bake up some fudge brownies for him. The moment they started baking he came out of his office asking me what that smell was, and as soon as they were done, he was there with plate in hand.
Fudge Brownies
“Fudge is made by chocolate angels.” – Alexis F. Hope
“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.” – Sandra Boynton
“Fudge is a noun, a verb, an interjection, and delicious!” – Jessi Lane Adams
In The Studio
It’s another day in the studio and I am working on a new collage/painting. For the theme of this painting I chose the I Ching hexagram Tui which represents happiness, joy, success, and good fortune.
The trigram Tui also denotes the youngest daughter and is symbolized by the smiling lake which is associated with freshwater in low areas: rivers, lakes, and marshes.
I began by prepping the canvas and then sketched the face below to represent the young daughter then glued the face, Tui symbol and the moon to the canvas.
I decided on a palette of cobalt blue, turquoise, primary cyan, and burnt umber, mostly trying to stay with yin colors which are said to bring about healing and relaxation.
Tui #1
Tui #2
Whew! This is what I have done so far. Tomorrow I will take a fresh look at what I’ve done so far and begin fine tuning it.
The Searchers
I read this quote today on Leah’s blog Creative Everyday, and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you.
Bodega Bay
I
“Some people do not have to search,
they find their niche early in life and rest there, seemingly contented and resigned.
They do not seem to ask much of life,
sometimes they do not seem to take it seriously.
At times I envy them,
but usually I do not understand them.
seldom do they understand me.
I am one of the searchers.
There are, I believe, millions of us.
We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life,
hoping to uncover its ultimate secret.
We continue to explore ourselves,
hoping to understand.
We like to walk along the beach,
we are drawn by the ocean,
taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty.
We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well.
Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter.
To share our sadness with the one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know -unless it is to share our laughter.
We searchers are ambitious only for life itself,
for everything beautiful it can provide.
Most of all we want to love and be loved.
We want to live in a relationship that will not impede
our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls.
We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.
We are wanderers, dreamers and lovers,
lonely souls who dare ask of life everything good and
beautiful.”
From “There Are Men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves” by James Kavanaugh
Great Weekend
The Totoro Project Auction at Pixar Studios on Saturday evening was a huge success and we had such a great time! The art work was incredible and they sold everything. Congratulations to everyone!
The next day we decided to go out to Bodega Bay for lunch. We took some pictures and even did some sightseeing. It was so relaxing!
Bodega Bay – Photo by Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008
Bodega Bay – Photo by Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008
The Antique Store – Photo by Rose Arizmendi
Bodega Bay – Photo by Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008
“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.” – Henry Beston
Collage
What a beautiful morning! The sun is out … the air is crisp, and from my studio window I watch people hurrying along the sidewalk, listening to the sound of fallen leaves crunching beneath their feet.
With coffee cup in hand I begin prepping canvases by laying down a coat of gesso.
While the canvases dry I make some preliminary sketches then choose the ones I want to use and transfer these to watercolor paper. I cut out the selected images and apply a light coat of gesso to the back of the watercolor paper and leave it to dry.
When the canvases have dried completely I apply either Golden ( soft or hard) molding paste with a large painting knife and put these aside to dry. This gives the canvas the look of aged plaster.
At this stage I may choose to apply the individual watercolor collage components using the molding paste or wait and use gel medium to glue them down after the molding paste has dried. The above picture shows the images applied with molding paste.
Now I am ready to apply acrylic paint to the background. First I lay in a light wash of color and let it dry before I begin adding additional layers of color, making sure not to completely cover the first layer because I want each layer to show through.
While each background layer is drying I usually begin painting the collage elements using watercolor, acrylic, and inks.
Below is a photo of the under painting and it is at this point I can make any necessary adjustments to Kuan Yin’s face and begin adding stamping, text and more collage elements. In this painting/collage I have added the I Ching hexagram Tai which means harmony, great powers, and the flow of good things.
I Ching – Collage/Mixed Media – 8 X 10 inches on canvas
September
Goodbye August, Hello September. … I spent most of the day preparing four small canvases for a collage project, later I went outside to take a break and noticed all the fallen leaves on our lawn.
My husband was trimming some ivy which was overtaking our sycamore trees and he commented on all the dead leaves blowing down our street.
I love autumn! I love listening to the wind, watching the leaves turn into vibrant shades of rust and gold, smelling the dry leaves and cuddling up with a good book on cool evenings.
What autumn feels like to me…
“The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.”
– John Updike, September
Have a good night!
Busy Monday
It’s been one of those days where there’s so many ideas buzzing around in my head and just too many other distractions going on to really focus on them.
Hopefully I will have a chance to work on some of these tomorrow.
Sonoma – Combined Media – 8 X 10
“Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or the another, to cause vibrations in the soul.” – Kandinsky
New Blog Theme
Now that I have been blogging for 8 months I decided to look for a new theme for my site, and I found one that has three columns instead of two.
As I work on updating my blog I may be switching the header images from time to time as a way to showcase my art work, and I hope to finish the rest of the revisions over the next couple of weeks.
Have a great weekend! Any comments will be welcome.
Shiny Baubles
Today, I played around with some of my favorite gemstones and created a necklace. The necklace is made with jade, citrine, blue lace agate combined with rich golden freshwater pearls, swarovski crystal beads, copper spacers and a copper closure.
Some lore of the gemstones used in the making of this necklace
Citrine is useful for balancing and aligning the chakras and increase prosperity.
Copper is said to be an excellent conductor of energy and healing.
Blue lace agate is a gentle, calming stone that promotes tranquility.
Jade is considered a stone of good fortune and divine blessing.
Pearls attune the wearer to the ebb and flow of life, and promote faith, charity, integrity and truth.
Tranquility – Necklace length: 16″