Being creative with my pomegranates!

It begins in early spring

with the most beautiful blossoms all over the tree!

During the summer, the fruit slowly begins to grow

and the blossoms fade away

 The fruits become a beautiful red

and keep growing and growing

When they are finally ready in the fall to eat

There are the most beautiful seeds inside. 

They are full of antioxidants and delicious

in so many things!

Lots of yumminess for me to snack on!

My favorite is mixed in with vanilla greek yogurt!

Yummy!

The juice stains everything and can make quite a mess.

Then it hit me . . . wouldn't it make a nice watercolor?

So I tried it . . . .

I loved the beautiful color it produced on 

the watercolor paper.  

So I decided to create a mixed media little piece!

The mountain sky is pomegranate pink.

I then started adding my collage papers and stuff

I had seen this demo in the recent

Cloth Paper and Scissors issue this month

and of course, made it my own!

Here is my finished piece!

And to think it all began this spring,
with my little pomegranate tree!
I love to look at everything as a creative experience,
a time to explore something new
and see what I can come up with!
I would love for you to share with me
what you have been working on lately!


Have a blessed and most creative week!
Donna

Having Creative Courage

Courageous:  bold, bravery, daring, fearless, spirit, unafraid and valor

I have been working on an e-course that I wanted to share with you,

it is entitled Creative Courage with Stephanie Levy.

It has changed my entire perspective on Creativity

and Stephanie is such a love!

I entitled my blog entry today "HAVING CREATIVE COURAGE"

because I truly believe that we all are creative in so many ways,

but it does take courage to live creatively and artistically.

Sometimes it is not understood or appreciated by others.

Courage is an interesting word and that was why I related to this course so well.

I have considered myself an "Artist" for quite some time now,

but having the courage to actually call myself that to others,

was a whole nother thing!

I had been following Stephanie's blog and her Etsy shop for quite sometime, 

there was something so gentle and caring about her.

Her illustrations and artwork are amazing,

her written word was speaking right to my heart even more.

When she introduced her E-course, I was really excited about it,

and it was coming at a perfect time for me!

I try to enroll in different e-courses, to learn from so many

wonderful creatives as I can.  

I am like a sponge, just soaking up all the creative ideas and energy!

 The Internet makes learning and sharing so easy nowadays!

We don't always have the resources or the time to travel all over

attending wonderful art retreats.

The invention or creation (excuse the pun)

of e-courses was brilliant.  They are popping up all over, 

it is hard to pick and choose which one to take.

I love attending class with coffee in one hand,

and staying in the comfort of my jammies,

 all in the privacy of my own home,

 on my own schedule and with no make up!

All the while I am part of a community with my fellow class members,

sharing ideas, encouraging one another and developing new friendships!

It is truly an awesome way to learn.

Stephanie has taught us in so many ways with videos on Monday mornings,

everyday a post that inspires a way to live more creatively,

there has been exercises to work on,

interviews with fellow creatives,

I received a postcard from Stephanie (sent all the way from Venice),

smiles, ideas, creative projects, inspiring thoughts and conversations,

 our own private facebook group,

what a wonderful learning experience it has been!

I don't look forward to it ending soon.

It has been my early morning ritual for the past

seven weeks.

Thank you Stephanie, for leading by example.

For inspiring and sharing so much of your knowledge with us,

for encouraging the inner artist (the fellow creative inside all of us)

to come out and play, 

to have confidence in ourselves and in the artwork we are producing.

You truly did inspire courage for me to step forward even more.

I recommend this course over and over again,

and can't shout it's praises enough!

She is starting another one in the new year, don't miss it.

I leave you with one of my favorite exercises from the course!

Stephanie gave us a list of questions to ponder on

 and gave us the freedom to add any more that came to us   . . . here is my list :

I believe that I can . . .

I have the courage to . . .

I welcome . . .

I celebrate  . . .

I listen to . . .

I am grateful for . . .

I wish that . . .

I know without a doubt . . .

I love myself because . . .

I create because . . .

I hear deep within . . .

I am happy because . . .

Creatively and Courageously Yours!

Donna Lee

My Serendipity Experience

What I am feeling this week!




S e r e n d i p i t y

 I don't even know how to begin to describe the magic that happened this past week at Serendipity Art Retreats in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  
It has taken me days to even be able to write about it!

I decided that the best way for me to describe it
is with word descriptions that keep popping in my head,
and are remaining in my heart 
so here it goes:

Friendships, so many smiles and hugs, giggles, art, 
creativity, walks on the beautiful beach, 
watching the strong waves,
delicious food, laughter and dancing, magic,
 quiet time, self reflection, bonfire on the beach,
beautiful sunrises,
opening ceremony and setting intentions,
Michelle sharing those intentions,
my heart skipping a beat,
meeting new friends, reuniting with old friends,
happiness and more happiness,
watching Elizabeth knit in her pigtails,
twinkle lights everywhere,
late night painting and laughter, 
reaching out to someone new
story telling, always sharing, 
opening up our innermost feelings,
beautiful oceanside room,
homemade granola,
lots of photography, 
teaching a friend to knit 
and watching her get it,
incredible teachers, 
servanthood,
class time and more creativity,
talking and laughing, 
smudging with Pixie,
  savoring gratitude with Michelle,
yoga and massage,
intuitive painting with Mindy,
yummy food and fellowship time,
Michelle's homemade cobbler for dessert, 
reading a friend's heartfelt poetry,
stolen moments with special friends! 
That special wave goodbye at the end of the driveway
 when it was time to head back home, 
I will never forget!

I realize what an opportunity it was to attend
this beautiful experience.  It is one I will never forget!
How rare it is when a group of 30 or more women
can come together and retreat together.
Going home more centered and with new friendships formed.
Struggling with re-entry and missing what was.

Women need girlie times together.
Women need to get away.
It makes us stronger, it makes us happier,
and it pulls together all the inner feelings
that are rumbling about in the head and heart.
Life is busy and I know for my own self
I am calmer and more at peace
 for taking the time to get away
 to create and learn new things,
What a gift it was to bond with
my Serendipity Sisters.
What an awesome experience it was,
my heart is over filled!
I am truly not the same.


Please stop by and visit my flicker site,
you will find lots of my fun photos of Serendipity!
Hope to see you there!

With love and gratitude,
Donna

52 Photos Project / Week Twenty Five / Handwriting

Always playing in the sand!

This week's photo prompt for 52 Photos Project was Handwriting
I thought about this a lot, it could be our own interpretation, we could
write a message, a word, anything and take a picture.
Knowing how I love the ocean, and love my watercolors,
off I went down to the ocean.
I carry my watercolors everywhere I go, never knowing
when I will be inspired to paint!
I never want to miss a creative moment.

I took the time to contemplate on a word, or message,
something that would come to me to share
the above photo is the result of my contemplation!

Dream 2011
When I think of the word dream I think of things I want to happen.
When I dream I am thinking about something in the future,
something I long for,
something I wish I could be.
We all have dreams, don't we?

I dream of a world filled with peace.
I dream for a cure for cancer.
I dream of retiring to the Outer Banks.
I dream of one day being called grandmommy.
I dream of being a better artist.
I dream of painting on the streets of Paris!
I dream for my Etsy shop to explode with success.
I dream of being a fantastic photographer,
and having the gift of insight and perspective.
I dream of being a stronger Yogini!
I dream of the perfect body size
and aging with grace and style!

As I look at my life I see
that it truly is a dream come true.
Married to a wonderful man,
two beautiful boys and their precious wives.
A family that is healthy and happy.
A creative heart and mind.
Beautiful friendships.
A God who loves me and has blessed me
oh yes,
I am living my dreams.
What are yours?

Donna Lee

"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