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