"Sistas"

What a special group of friends!

I have just returned from four days in the Outer Banks! 

Four days spent with my amazing group of 

"Sistas"

No we are not the sisterhood of the traveling pants, 

We are just friends who have been together for a very long time.

We share a love for singing alto together, 

(we are the rowdy back row altos!)

We share a love for the Lord,

we share a love of creating together, 

we share a love for each other,

 and we have endured life's journey together. 

That is what a SISTA is.

Girls who you can truly be yourself around,

wear no make up around,

watch movies in your jammies together,

eat out and have fun together,

have little girl play time together,

sing together to oldies music,

take long walks on the beach together,

laugh together,

cry together,

or just sit together quietly, not saying a word.

We console each other when one loses a precious parent,

each one of us has experienced that,

and we were there for each other.

This weekend was a time of rest, fellowship, 

renewal and creativity!

I had recently gotten a Zutter Binder and we all

made journals.  I wanted everyone to be able

to take a keepsake home with them.

Just imagine, two large tables in the cottage,

filled with papers, glue, yarn, book stuff everywhere!

We were all is the creative zone!

You know that place where amazing things happen.

Everyone was able to create a book for themselves,

some did one, some did more.

How fun that was!

Here are the ones I made . . . I love them!

It was a weekend of fun and fellowship,

yummy snacks, eating out at fabulous OBX places

 and just being together.

Restoring friendships

and loving each other.

How blessed I am to have such a group!

I hope that you can think of your own group of Sistas.

I leave you with my morning view from the deck

each morning in Corolla, 

it was simply

magical!

Layered Impressions

This past week was pretty exciting for me . . . I began my new online course Layered Impressions with Katie Kendrick.  I had signed up for this awhile ago, gathered my art supplies and eagerly anticipated its arrival date!  I love having a reason to visit my local Jerry's Artarama!  On Monday of this past week, the course did not disappoint in any way.  I decided that I wanted to share my work with you, raw as it is. The more I look at my faces that I completed the more I am liking them!  I am not comparing my work with any other classmate, just enjoying the creative process, it feels so good to free myself.  Working on these faces were only the first art exercise, I haven't even finished my collage face yet!

all of my creative faces

Katie had us using old phone book pages and drawing with our left hands, getting a creative release.  Her course has lots of info, links and videos.  It is like having her as your private instructor right in your very own studio.  This first exercise was about just freeing yourself, not worrying about the finished piece being perfect, but learning to just play and create.  As Katie said . . . no judgements!!!

left hand drawing

my first creation

I like learning new things, and stepping out of the box.  I have been working so hard on getting my Etsy shop opened, that just relaxing and playing just hadn't been in the cards for me.  Anytime I can get into my studio, get paints in hand, I consider it a beautiful day.  In creating these phone book page faces, we drew with a marker, or paintbrush, we did image transfer, or glued the pages to hot pressed paper with gel medium.  We accented colors with watercolor crayons and gesso, and began blending.  Each face, even though I drew them pretty much alike with my left hand, came out differently and took on a personality of their own!  I just enjoyed the process of it all, thank you Katie, you are so gifted.

(I think this blondie is Donna Lee)

Can't wait to see what is in store this week!  I have admired Katie's work for so long and being able to learn from all she has to teach us is indeed a privilege.  I can't wait for her book, to come out in the near future.  I encourage you to hurry and pre-order it now, it will be a wonderful addition to your creative library.

The name of this e course is Layered Impressions . . . it got me to thinking about my life and all the things I layer onto my days and my life . . . work, friends, needs of others, sickness, chores, obligations, thoughts, demands and so many things that tug at our energy every day.   I am determined to balance it all as best as I can.  I always want to find time to be with me and my creative self, it is so important and helps me to be the person that I am today.  Art is saving . . . Art is love . . . Art is sustaining . . . Art creates balance . . .  Art is energy . . . good energy! Calling myself an Artist is a compliment of all good things!!!!  Creating art in my life is a gift I keep re-opening, over and over again!  So my words to you:
                        
                        B A L A N C E &  R E T R E A T,  P A I N T & C R E A T E

52 Photos Project / Week Twenty / A Quiet Place

My favorite quiet place

My absolute favorite place.  The dunes at the Ocean!

I captured this photo a few weeks ago

in Hatteras, North Carolina.

Every time I need a place to gather my thoughts,

be still and quiet,

Pray, paint, reflect, rest and listen to me

I always find myself returning

to the ocean.

It centers me.

It is calming, majestic, beautiful,

glorious and healing.

So the ocean, the quiet dunes,

that is my quiet place!

What is yours??

I love this photo!

Drifting

My latest watercolor

This weekend I had the pleasure of painting in the studio.  It was a much needed getaway for me.  It has been a quiet and restful holiday weekend for me and I always enjoy it when I can spend uninterrupted time creating.  I decided that I wanted to share my process of painting with you and you could see how I came to the completion of this piece.

I always start with of course a fresh piece of watercolor paper.  This time I chose 300 lb cold pressed Arches.  I had a sample pack from Cheap Joe's, one of my very favorite art supply stores.  The 300 lb is extremely sturdy, and does not require any stretching before painting, and it doesn't curl up while painting.  It can handle a lot of water, since I love wet on wet watercolor technique.

I have a quiet meditation bell in my studio and I always find myself slowing down, ringing the quiet bell before beginning my creative process.  We get so busy with our day to day lives, I want my heart and mind to be calm when entering the creative process.  When we allow ourselves to meditate on what is right before us, thoughts and visions of what the piece is suppose to be will take place, you just need to be in tune with yourself and your work.

I love quiet music playing in the studio, I have my own Creative Mix of music on my Ipod, songs that are soothing and calming for me.  I have lots of candles burning and a little scent of incense as well.  All of these comforts are soothing to my creative spirit!  We become creatures of habit, even in our creative process, I know I certainly am. I know I have certain expectations.

For this piece, I did a complete water wash several times over the paper, allowing the water to saturate well into the paper.  I then began letting the paints run onto the page, it slowly began to look like sloping hills.  I let my first stage of the painting dry and tried to envision the next step.

Trees, Trees and more Trees

As I envisioned sloping hills in my painting, I then began to add trees.  I have always said that I have a fascination with trees in my watercolor paintings.  I loved painting them even in my watercolor classes with Louis and Susan Jones. Trees represent strength, roots and a strong foundation to me, they carry a certain gentleness.  My trees are never life like, more whimsical, but I love my interpretation!  I used sponge technique for added leaves, my #1 Rigger brush for the fine branch detail.  I could lose hours just painting the limbs of trees!When I finished the trees and let the piece sit for awhile.  I then decided that it needed some snowfall . . . I used white gouche paint and splattered it over the trees. When I finished the painting, the name Drifting just came to be.  It looked as though the trees were drifting along. I am very happy with the finished piece.

Drifting

There are times when we want answers to life and don't receive them, we are unsure about our future, and we drift along from experience to experience. I feel we all are drifting from time to time . . . not knowing where we want to be.  This picture represents that. Drifting isn't always bad . . . sometimes we drift from one thing to another and finally find our way. The place we are supposed to be in life.  Be aware, watch and grow during these times.

I have worked hard on my Etsy shop this weekend and listed this piece and many others.  I am very proud of it and it gives me a sense of peace when I stare at it.  I encourage you to visit my Etsy shop, this is all new to me and I have some creative goodiness there to share with you.  Hope your week is filled with beauty and all good things.

52 Photos Project / Week Nineteen / In the Garden

Captured this photo in Corolla Light


This week the photo prompt was to revisit the garden
before September rolls around!
Last weekend when I traveled I took my new portrait camera lens
and went to Corolla Light.
It is a quaint little town full of shops and of course
the Corolla Light House.
If you have never been there
I encourage you to visit.
The shops are lovely, the historic Whalehead Club is there,
the walking tour is sweet
and there is a lot there for a photographer to see!
Museums, gardens, waterways to the sound, trees,
nature, lighthouse, old church, the Island Bookstore (my favorite),
old schoolhouse (charming)
yummy coffee house and so much more!
I came across a sweet Garden shop full of beautiful things
to accent your home and garden.
Outside they had a beautiful garden, full of
herbs, flowers and adornments!
I captured this photo and was
trying to get the beautiful bumble bee,
I was intrigued by him.
So . . . I had the perfect photo for this week.

Bella is right, it was good to go to the garden, one more time.
September is fast approaching and all the fall activities will begin.
The spirit of summer is slowly fading . . .
quiet walks, relaxing, beautiful beaches, vacations,
restful times.
Fall also comes with a beauty of its own,
I am sure there will be much to photograph!

Bloomed flowers slowly fading away

Transition and change . . .

The ocean is a mighty and beautiful!

This was an interesting past week for me and for so many others.  I am no one special . . . just one in Virginia Beach that experienced an earthquake on Tuesday and Hurricane Irene on Saturday! Wow! It made me think about a lot of things . . . the word transition keeps coming to my mind and with it the word change keeps running close behind.  I took this picture of the Kitty Hawk pier in the Outer Banks just the other weekend when I was there and now I am wondering how it looks today. The ocean is so mighty and ever changing.  Storms come and go, some worse than others.  This time, I think they got hit pretty hard.  I have many friends and family living there and as I have always said . . . I hope to live there one day as well!  My thoughts on that subject haven't changed!

When I think of transitioning, I do think of change.  They go hand in hand don't they? I look back on my blog when it started a year and a half ago and I re-read my entires, definitely my blog has transitioned, and I like it.  I thought it was all going to be about weaving, knitting and painting;  it has now evolved into sharing my own personal journey.  I have heard that from so many friends of mine that have created a blog.  I believe my Gentle Threads has taken on it's own personality and it certainly reflects the growth I have had artistically this past year.  I have exploded in my writing, my photography and in my artwork, finding my own style.  I have even become a Tweeter!!  I was able to learn so much from workshops, art retreats, e-courses and just trying new things.  I feel as though I found my own way in my art life and my studio has become my safe haven!  I was able to fulfill a dream of mine, to open my own Etsy shop! We will see where all that leads, it is so new and I am just getting started.  How blessed I am that I have been able to fit it all together in this wonderful package, that works for my life.  I believe it is all working because I have transitioned into another phase of life as an artist and am happy with right where I am.  I have learned to create freely and write from my heart.   With each blog post I grow deeper and have learned to let go!  My friends comments have been full of love and encouragement and I am grateful for each one.  The sister tribe is a strong force and one I have come to count on, thank you!  You know who you are!

As I sit here in Starbucks this afternoon, because Irene took my electricity away, I have enjoyed just being with myself, my soy latte, my i tunes and writing what is from my heart.  This creative life is a journey and I have met so many wonderful people along the way.  So yes, I do see myself transitioning into a new step in my life.  I had a birthday last weekend and turned 54, I guess I got  a bit philosophical along the way!  I do think as we grow older, we think deeper and voice our opinions more easily.

Think about how your life is changing, transitioning and finding it's way.  Don't ignore the signals, they are there, I promise you!  Learn to listen to your intuitive self, it won't let you down.  I am not afraid of what is ahead, instead, I welcome change.  I wish you love and peace this week, and all good things!

Loved these flowers last weekend!

Donna Lee

52 Photos Project / Week Eighteen / A profile or silhouette

My wonderful father-n-law
Jack Wynn

This week's challenge made me stop and think for a little while.

I kept thinking that my photo would be some side shot of a self portrait I had taken

recently during You are Your own Muse E-course.
Nothing seemed to work for me.

But then I came upon this photo of my father-n-law.

We were in the Outer Banks in the fall last year,

a time I love to be down there.  
When the flood of tourists have come and gone,

the beautiful beaches are more serene and quiet

and there is definitely more privacy.

My father-n-law Jack Wynn was struggling to walk 
and we are always careful where we take him 
to make sure it is easy for him to move around.
He goes like a trooper and never
wants to miss a family moment.

My husband Jimmy had found this hand carved walking stick

and we had given it to him for Christmas.

He took that stick with him down to the ocean.

 While we were all running around the beach,

collecting shells, playing and goofing,

I remember glancing over at my father;

he didn't know I was looking at him,

 he was having a private moment,

all to himself,

pondering what was before him.
I saw only beauty.

I love this photo I was able to capture!

Jack Wynn is an obedient man of God

the leader of our family,

loving, gentle, speaks only with wisdom

 and oh how he loves his family!!

I have been in this Wynn family for 34 years now

and what a loving gift he has been to me.

I have been blessed in this life to have

two wonderful daddy's.

Life just doesn't get any better than that!

52 Photos Project / Week Seventeen / Black and White

Oh how I love Sheep!


I captured this shot while at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
an incredible sheep and yarn fiber festival held the first weekend in May
every year.
I have been attending for over fifteen years
and it is an incredible experience.
Every year it gets better and better
and more and more people are attending.
You spend two days going through booth after booth, 
buying hand-dyed fibers and yarns, knitting and weaving goodies.
You go through barn after barn, seeing all the different sheep that
have come to market.
I came across these two adorable sheep and
I wanted to capture them together
and I did in black and white!  
I am always playing with my camera.
So I thought it would be perfect for the photo prompt this week.

Sheep are loving, gentle, quiet, precious and oh so adorable.
I  have loved them as long as I can remember. 
I know that is why I have always enjoyed my weaving and knitting.
Hope you enjoy my photo!

Decided to add this shot my sister took of me that same weekend.

Look at those curly locks!
See I told you I loved sheep!

Joy in Knitting

color color everywhere!

I have been a knitter since I was a little girl . . . truly a little girl!

When I was in the fourth grade, I used to visit two little old ladies and be their

companion in the afternoons, to help my mom who was the assistant manager of a very large apartment complex when we lived in Annapolis, Maryland.

I still remember those two precious ladies!  I think that is why I have a fondness today for little precious older ladies, they have so much to offer us!

They gave me a set of aluminum knitting needles and a skein of bright colored yarn and taught me the basics of knitting and purling . . .

what a treasure that was and I didn't even know it as a little girl.
I know I have spoken of this in the past, but it
has always stayed with me.

the joy and pleasure of the needles!

Today I am still knitting, not as often as I would like to, but still knitting.

I was reminded of that this morning while outside on my back deck.

Me, my coffee, the birds flying around and just my knitting.

The rhythm of the needles is so relaxing

and I find myself in a gentle mood.

I have been working on a pair of baby booties for my co-worker

who is due to have her little girl very soon.

As busy as my life gets with all the things I have to do

somewhere you will find a small knitting project somewhere close by.

I never want to forget my roots . . . seems strange to say that

but it is true.

I think about my blog title and how I came up with it

Gentle Threads

knitting and weaving have always been a part of me

and now I am expanding into other art forms.

I will always be drawn back to fibers.

How lucky for me I get to experience all of the art forms I want to.

saw this sign outside a knit shop in Jackson, Wyoming!

So as I have knitted these booties for Addison's precious little feet

I have thought about the little life that will wear these,

how quickly she will outgrow them,

that her little feet will grow and grow into big girl feet

and it is okay

because

knitting is more than the piece you are creating.

It is about the gentle rhythm of the needles,

the quiet process,

the relaxation and calmness

it brings.

Just being present where you are.

Slowing down enough to create

something beautiful 

for someone you love!

Knitting anyone????

52 Photo Projects / Week Sixteen / A Reflection

Serenity!

Is that me in my creative space?
Self Reflection!

I can't believe that it is already week sixteen of
52 Photo Projects!
I have been learning so much with my new camera
and each week Bella has a thought provoking prompt!
It makes me reach a little deeper with my photography.
Thanks Bella!

It has been a whirlwind week for me
but I always take the time to think about the photo prompt

R E F L E C T I O N
The dictionary describes it this way:
echo, image, contemplation, musing, pondering, wondering
thought, meditation and deliberation

When I reflect on my own life
I think of
love, happiness, raising children,
new directions, friendships,
my art always there,
growth, wisdom, gifts,
spirituality,
letting go even when it hurts,
 teaching myself something new,
stepping out even when it isn't comfortable,
reaching out to those in need,
peace and contentment.

I encourage you to reflect on what makes you happy,
what has formed you, where you have been
and yes
where you will go!
Have a blessed week.
Donna Lee