52 Photos Project / Week Seven / A Heart

52 Photos Project

Come have fun with us!

You will grow as a photographer

This weeks prompt was a heart

I immediately thought of the heart I made while in Wyoming

the sun was shining, we were watching the moose resting.

I gathered the rocks

I picked the wild flowers

it was a truly beautiful day.

I had an alter moment and

the thoughts I had then 

were thinking of things my heart loved.

So I thought of what my heart belonged to!

My heart belongs to:

my husband of 33 years

my precious family

my artwork

my God

my friends

my own true self

my writing

The heart is such a beautiful thing

it represents so many things in so many different ways

I ask you

Where does your heart lie?

Sending you my heart!

My Thimble List!

My Thimble List in life

I know we have all heard of the "Bucket List", I have seen the movie and yes made my very own private bucket list of things I hope to accomplish in my life. Sometimes those goals and dreams are hard to attain, yet we keep moving toward them.  I know for me, sincerely, getting to Sundance in Utah was on mine, and I did make that happen recently, as you know.  There is a deep sense of satisfaction within when we actually do what we say we are going to do!  

I have been following Jennifer Louden as long as I can remember, she is the author of so many books and she inspires us all.  I love her inspirational website and emails.  Just this weekend, I was trying to decide what my topic for my blog would be and I was struggling.  I always ponder the subject during the week, write my blog on the weekend, when I have the time to devote to it, re-read it Sunday night and I always try to post on Monday mornings, that routine works for me!  I have grown a lot since beginning my blog last year, and I find that the words flow more freely when I have a routine in there somewhere!

Out of nowhere comes this wonderful email from Jennifer talking about her "Thimble List" and the more I read it, the more I knew I had my topic for my blog this week.  What an incredible idea she had, creating a list of those very small ways to savor life!  Here is a small description from her article, if you get the chance please visit her site and read the whole article!  

"I define savoring as mindfulness + gratitude = touching your essential goodness"

"If the bucket list is life writ large, then the thimble list is life writ intimate"

So here is my thimble list:

The sound of birds singing in my backyard

Having a private tea party

Time spent in devotions

Painting in my studio

Buying Fresh flowers for me

Time with my yoga practice

Watching my kids live their lives
Starting a brand new book

A kiss from my husband

Lunching with a girlfriend
Knitting needles in my hand

I don't want to make my list very long, that is why we savor those very special things. I am sure I could go on and on with the things I want to savor in this lifetime.   I hope that you will think about it and come up with your very own thimble list!  I cherish you and I cherish the friendship that we share together.  Life is so beautiful and it is truly a gift every day we wake up! Always make it special!

Savoring beauty in nature!

52 Photos Project / Week Six / A Memory

Wonderful times in the Outer Banks!

This week's photo prompt was so easy for me . . . when I think of a memory I always go directly back to our yearly vacations in the Outer Banks.  Ever since my son Curt was one year old (he is going to be 31 this summer and Drew will be 28 this month!) we would go to the Outer Banks for a week.  Many times over the years we always went with my husband's family and we shared the expenses of the cottage.  As our families continued to grow, so did our cottages!  Our beach weeks were filled with love and laughter, meals together, games at night, all the grandchildren climbing Jockey's Ridge with their granddaddy at sunset and bonding as a family unit.  All of the children are adults now and they still speak of our summers together in the OBX.  This photo was taken on the sand dune and I remember it like it was yesterday!!  I guess I could have found a picture of just the beach, or a sand dune or the sun shining over the ocean, but including my children in it struck my heart!   It is a constant reminder of the sweetness in my life.  We still love going to the Outer Banks, and my husband and I hope to retire there and truly make it our home.  I can't wait for that time.

What wonderful times when your children are small and need you for everything. Our children grow up so fast, at least I know mine did!  They still need mom and dad, but in a very different way. It felt good to go back and find this photo.  Having a reminder of a very special time in my life is a good thing.   Thanks Bella for bringing a wonderful memory back to the front of my thoughts!  I am enjoying being a part of this 52 Photo Project!

My Creative Holiday

I have been enjoying my three day weekend.  I told myself all week before that it was going to be a weekend of rest, creativity and reconnection to my art and my studio space, to my yoga practice and to myself.   I was not disappointed.  Since returning from our wonderful Yellowstone vacation, and then re-entry into the workplace, I found myself just yearning to be quiet and take it moment by moment. Not wanting the clock, the television, or my work schedule and duties to dictate me.  I had put a lot of thought into having three beautiful days off and wanted to just soak it all in. 


It first started with a wonderful Hot Yoga session, it had been several weeks since I had stepped onto my yoga mat, MY LOSS, trust me!  Yoga makes me feel good about myself, I feel healthier, centered and well grounded.  Not to mention the physical and mental benefits it offers.  The moment I walked into the studio where I practice, I felt as if I were home and I was!  I asked myself why had I let other things get in the way of my practice (that is a blog entry in itself!)

I spent time catching up with a precious friend, gardening and working in my backyard, reading, napping, resting and purposely slowing myself down.  While reading the new issue of Somerset Studio, there was a wonderful article by Nancy Bales entitled "Creating Calm",  she spoke right to my heart.  She asked the question if you ever wondered how the art we create is a reflection of who we are and what we are experiencing at the moment.  It sure made me pause and think about my own art journey.  Inspiration is everywhere, if you just take the time to see it.  I was able to write my blog and take my time, work on my e-course You are your own Muse - I had to take a self portrait of myself!  I was playing with my new camera and decided to photograph the blooms on my pomegranate tree . . . thought I would share a photo.  Aren't the colors luscious? From that a beautiful fruit will grow this summer.  I always love my Eucalyptus tree . . . this is the perfect time of year for it.

Right outside my window!

From my Eucalyptus tree

While in the studio, I spent a lot of time catching up in my journal and beginning a series of small collage works for a local gift shop in Virginia Beach.  When I get to my studio, everything is right in the world!  Paint, gel medium, papers and canvases,  pencils and inks, candlelight and incense (of course), creative music mix on the ipod, (Love Michael Franks)  life is genuinely great!  I was even able to catch up on my art journal, I was way behind in it!

I know that when I have time to devote to the things I love the most, I am at my happiest!  I am sure we can all say that in some form or another.  I was so grateful to have the time this past weekend to play, and no matter how old we are . . . yes me at 53 . . . we all need time to come out and play.  I love being home and going from one thing to another, whatever my heart is leading me to at the moment. 

I recognize when I am given those life chances to just embrace and I cherish them.  Hope you will too!!

I wish you love

I wish you peace and joy

I wish you all good things!

Donna Lee

52 Photos Project / Week Five / Water

Yellowstone Waterfall . . . took my breath away!

I was excited to read that Bella's prompt for a photo this week was water.  I had just returned from vacation to Yellowstone National Park just last week and hadn't even had time to process all the photos I had taken with my new camera.  I knew this one was in there and I am excited to share it with you. I believe the photo says it all . . . just imagine standing there watching it and taking it all in.  The snow was beginning to melt pretty rapidly the week we were there and so the water was gushing from the mountain hills into the grand canyon of Yellowstone.  It was beautiful, inspiring and the sounds took my breath away.  I am sure that visiting Yellowstone in the summertime  is just as beautiful, but being able to witness this and many other waterfalls in full beauty was amazing to me.  Water is for nourishment . . . nourishment gives life.  The cycle of nature is all too majestic!! 

Sundance Experience

Wow . . . I can't believe I have been home five days and I haven't had a chance to write about Sundance.  It was a magical and incredible experience and I want to get it down into words before time gets away from me . . . I don't want to forget.

It truly was a beautiful time and I have wanted to travel there as long as I can remember.  My husband has always wanted to travel to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, so we were able to combine the two travel wishes and come up with an awesome experience!  Sundance was everything I thought it would be, beautiful, serene, majestic and definitely Robert Redford territory!!  My hubby arranged for us to fly into Salt Lake City, so Sundance was our first stop!

All of the rooms were quaint cabin like rooms, they were charming, intimate and had so much character. We even slept by fire, how wonderful is that!  The view outside my room was amazing and I was able to just sit and knit, drink coffee and soak it all in.  I truly wasn't ready to leave and head on.

While I was there we were able to enjoy all that Sundance had to offer, except skiing.  It had already closed for the season and I kind of liked that.  The pace was much slower and not as crowded.  The Sundance gift shop was beautiful . . . and it had all the items in it that I had seen in my Sundance catalogs!  That was pretty cool to me and of course, I came home with goodies.  In fact, right now I am drinking coffee out of my pottery Sundance mug while writing my blog entry

 (it makes the coffee definitely taste better)

While I was there I was able to take a two hour Print making class at the Art Shack Studios.  I was disappointed at first that I couldn't get a Watercolor class, but after taking the class, I was so glad that I had experienced yet another new and exciting art medium.  I just wanted to share with you a few pictures, it was so much fun!   I had my teacher all to myself and she was delightful!

My teacher was Linda Taynahza and she was so much fun! 

I think I first fell in love with her artsy and funky tennis shoes.

I had never taking screen printing before so I didn't have a clue about what to expect, I am always wanting to learn something new and this was definitely outside my comfort box!

Her press cost about $600.00 and this was just a little class press.  So I was tickled to be able to learn something new.  It was a fun class, I got to let my inner baby artist come out to play that day.  The art shack was inspiring in itself.  They have classes in pottery, watercolor, printmaking, and jewelry making.

They even have a gift shop in the art shack of all of the instructors work.  Beautiful items!

It was an amazing stay at Sundance; from the room, to the view, to the amazing food, and the nature that was all around me.  Waterfalls were in full rush with the snow beginning to melt from the mountains.  I was in sensory overload and loved every minute of it.  It is tough to experience so much beauty and then try to express it with the written word.

The sweater you see me wearing I purchased in the Sundance catalog over six years ago, never did I dream that truly one day I would be wearing it right there at Sundance.  I purposely packed that baby to take with me!!  Little things like that mean the world to me (I know I am so corny!)

My only regret of my trip . . . was not being able to run into Robert Redford!  All of the staff says he is there all the time and what a terrific and nice boss he is.  His presence is everywhere and the photos all around the place were so fun to see.  He definitely had a vision when he bought a mountain and began to create Sundance in 1964.  If you ever get the chance to visit, I encourage you to do so.  I am just so glad that I was able to experience his dream for Utah for just a short time.  I will never forget it!

Donna Lee

52 Photos Project / Week Four / Ray of Light

Capturing the light

Recently I was asked by a precious and longtime friend if I would be willing to create a collage for a silent auction.  A silent auction that would benefit a good cause.  I immediately said yes!  I believed in Leslie and if she needed this I wanted to create a piece with images and words that meant something to her.  I created the background with techniques I had recently learned in my 

How to Paint and Owl Course with Juliette Crane.

It was a piece created with love and joy!

When week four had a prompt entitled Ray of Light, I knew this was the photo I wanted to use.  I took my finished 18 x 18 piece outside and allowed the morning sun to come through using my new camera.  I am learning everyday with my Canon.  I was pleased with the results!

It made me think for a moment . . . 

Ray of Light

There are so many rays of light in my life:

Friendships

Family

Inner Peace

A loving marriage

 My Art Journey

My Spiritual Walk

True Happiness

Memories

A Quiet Heart

My loving children

Smiles from strangers

The Beauty of nature

Beautiful words

I am truly blessed!

Off to Yellowstone!!!

Yellowstone here we come!

This afternoon I am leaving on vacation and I am so excited to be getting away from everyday life!

Sometimes we just need time away to refresh the soul!

So I won't be posting on my blog for a week or so and wanted to send you

blessings before I leave.

I know that I will be taking lots of photographs with my new Canon Rebel, so I got me a very good SD card that can hold lots and lots of my images.  I don't want to miss anything.  I plan on learning with my new camera all that I can learn!  There is still lots of snow and I hear the grizzly bears are just waking!

I also have my travel watercolor kit, sketch pencils and art stuff to take along with me, even have a lace scarf to knit on while relaxing at the lodges.

(I can't believe I just said that . . . I can hardly wait to sit at a lodge and chill)

So off to beautiful country I go!  Life is so full of blessings and I recognize that this trip with my hubby is definitely a blessing.  He has wanted to go there for so long and now we have been given the chance.  It has been a lifelong dream for me to go to Sundance ( I have had a crush on Robert Redford my whole adult life . . . don't worry, my husband is aware of it!!!)  So my hubby has made sure that I get to go there.  He is a wonderful man that hubby of mine!

Couldn't resist adding this picture!

My dream come true!

When we allow ourselves to have a break in life from work, phones, internet, news, blogs, facebook, twitter and anything else you can think of . . . we allow ourselves to hear that which is inside of us.  I am looking forward to hearing what Donna Lee has to say to herself!

I promise to share when I return and come back with photos, sketches and lots of artistic motivation.

I am missing my studio already, but know when I return to my artwork it will be refreshed and renewed!

Donna Lee

52 Photos Project / Week Two / Color

Sedona's beautiful colors

On to week two of 52 Photos Project and this week the prompt was color.  I had taken this photo when I visited beautiful Sedona, full of color and magic everywhere you turn.  I knew I loved this photo when I took it, I didn't want to forget what I had seen.  When I think of color, especially this time of year, I get excited to see all the beauty of God's nature starting to pop through and come to life.  I love all the terrific pots we plant in, they are works of art too these days!

Color affects our world in so many ways.  Nature is of course the most beautiful expression.  We wear incredible colors in our clothing, we decorate our homes, we see colors all around us through our eyes, children learn to use crayons and color early on, we paint and create with colors. My patients choose colors for their eyewear, it is a tough decision for them!  I know I tend to choose the same palette of colors and keep using those colors in my own artwork that please me the most.  I tend to do that even in my yarn choices for knitting or weaving.  Go to a museum when you get the chance and see the differences in artists mediums and color choices.  Spend time letting your spirit be filled with colors.

Color grants us inspiration, it makes us happy, it is beauty to the human eye, it is what makes us feel good and it is loving all those things that surround us in our daily lives.  Color is self expression! I am heading to Yellowstone next week, I can't even imagine all the gorgeous colors my camera is going to see!  Thanks for the reminder today Bella, this photo project causes me to ponder and think, I like that.

My Art and Soul Retreat

A wonderful weekend experience!

Well I am so excited about my experience that I TRULY don't know where to begin!  It is so wonderful to come home after these art times and have a renewed feeling of joy, of creativity, of renewed strength in myself and in my work as an artist.  That is how I feel right now!!  I want to get those feelings into words, before life has a way of pushing those feelings down and pressing on ahead!  I guess what I am feeling in an artistic high and I have tried to savor every moment of my Art and Soul opportunity!

First of all, I am lucky, it was located in Hampton, Virginia just forty minutes away from my home in Virginia Beach!!  I signed up for one class in October last year and thought, yea I will go and take a class for the day, that was my original intent. My girlfriend Toni and I were going to take a wonderful handmade book class together.  I let her choose the class we were going to take, just being with her would be the best part of the experience. Time well spent creating with my sister girlfriend.  We decided to spend the night and enjoy the entire retreat experience.

After completing Misty Mawn's Stretching Within E Course, I knew that she was teaching in Art and Soul.  I found that most of her classes were already filled, apparently they go quick!  Yet, her Friday all day class, Painted Papers, had ONE spot left!  Talk about a serendipity moment and something being intended for just me!!! I signed up and was so excited when the ad for the class said SOLD OUT, I truly did get the last spot in the class with Misty and I knew that chair was intended for me!  So I knew immediately that this Art and Soul had turned into more than just a day class in Hampton!  I am here to share that it was not a disappointment at all.

So it truly was a long wait from October/November to now when the time actually came to attend the retreat, I thought it would never get here.  I am convinced that we experience what we are supposed to at the exact time we need it.  That is how it was for me this weekend.  I had an incredibly difficult week at work, so having the day off from the work week and heading to an art retreat was exactly what I needed to replenish and refill my creative soul.

Waking up very early and actually watching the ROYAL WEDDING was the beginning of a very special day!  I had no idea what truly lied ahead for me, it was a day filled with anticipation.

Misty's class was wonderful . . . at each table was an envelope filled with all kinds of goodies for our painted papers class.  As you can see I have a small ORB sitting on the envelope.  My good friend Riva Weinstein created several for me, she makes them out of recycled soy milk cartons and her ORBS go everywhere. She loves us to take ongoing pictures of where her creations are, so of course I sent her a message via phone on Friday to let her know where her ORB was that day!  She had brought three of hers to Squam by the Sea, and I was intrigued about them.  After seeing her during my New York trip recently, her creations appeared at my door, priority mail!  

Misty did painting demos and more demos, I just love watching her.  She is an amazing artist, yet extremely private, never bringing attention to herself.  She taught us so much and I came home with 18 pieces of hand painted papers for my collection.  I learned new techniques and actually got to watch her in action.  I can't wait for her book to come out, Unfurling, in June.

A sampling of my Painted Pages (Not sure which is my favorite)

My book class

More from the book class

Trying image transfer (I can use this for so many things)

Day Two was another wonderful class . . . I took "Sewn in & Tied Too" . . . and made a small book from start to finish.  This is the class my friend Toni and I signed up to take together.  I was slightly intimidated because I was totally out of my creative zone on this one!  We took it step by step, process by process and by the end of the class, I had completed an amazing little book filled with stamping, unusual pages and I was so happy with the results.  Our teacher Gaye Medbury was very talented and she showed us all of her secrets and techniques to complete our books. I enjoyed reaching my creative brain a little and grew in my confidence just a little bit more.  My friend Toni was loving just letting loose and we both had a wonderful time together.  It is wonderful when you can look next to somebody in a class and see that it is your girlfriend; it enhances the class experience all the more!  We were both in the zone and it was such a fun day together.

My brain is already thinking about the next little book I want to create and I want to incorporate some of my painted papers from my first class, into my little books.  I came home with so much excitement and enthusiasm; I couldn't wait to show my husband all of my work, and he patiently and lovingly looked at every little thing, including all my bought treasures from the market! I bought inks, antique papers from France, unusual and very old envelopes and stamps, art stuff and more art stuff!  I can use all of these wonderful things in my collage pieces. The market and store was a wonderful treat to see and browse in between workshops. 

Now I have saved the best part for last, reconnection with friends and meeting new friends.  This artistic community is amazing.  I saw people that I didn't think would be there, ran into longtime old friends, spent quality time with special people, ran into my artistic friend from high school, saw patients of mine who were there (wearing my amazing eyeglasses).  I was in connection heaven!  I even shared a lunch table with my friend Shelly, who was a co-owner of mine in Blue Skies Gallery, over eight years ago. She had moved to Colorado and came back to see her father and attend Art and Soul. We happened to share a table with two other ladies we didn't know, trying to save time, we were getting to know someone new and get back to class on time. We knew we knew each other and finally  made the connection . . . catching up over lunch was amazing! Again another serendipity moment.

I was able to spend beautiful time with my Squam girlfriend Mindy Lacefield of Tim's Sally and I met a new friend that was attending with her Danielle Fraser of Her Painted Word.  I have loved these ladies work for quiet some time and even have their badges on my blog to share their amazing work with others.  Danielle and I participated in Misty Mawn's e-course together, but had never met in person.  When meeting her for the first time Friday night, I didn't realize who she was until she gave me her card and I recognized it was the same photo as the badge on my blog. She was traveling to Art and Soul with my sweet friend Mindy.  I get goose bumps just talking about it with you!!!  Yet again, another serendipity moment.  I was also able to meet Jesse Reno, who was sitting there relaxing with Mindy and Danielle.  He was teaching a class the next day. I had heard Juliette Crane speak of her experience in his painting class.  Wow . . . connections!  Can you hear my excitement through my written words?

So here we are . . . loving each other and enjoying each other's company!  I am so blessed to have met so many amazing creative friends who are beautiful inside and out!

I know I have only touched on the highlights of my weekend, it is something I just can't put into words.  Art and Soul comes yearly and I know I can't wait to attend next year! Being able to paint, to create, to be with myself and I, to spend time with creative friends discussing our art work, where we create, what we like to create, sharing techniques with each other is priceless.  Learning from the best of the best and getting to spend a full day with them goes beyond being able to measure its worth.  I also recognize that this weekend was a gift.

Art revives . . Art restores . . Art rebuilds the broken spirit . . Art connects . . Art touches deep within (if you allow it to) . . Art is beautiful . . Art is meditative . . Art is love . . Art is friendship . . Art is growth . . Art is fun . . Art is letting go and just playing . . Art is pushing ourselves way past what is comfortable . . Art is feeling