The Newness of Life

Delaney Elizabeth Watson

This week my niece had her second baby

a precious baby girl

while everyone was concentrating

on just how beautiful she was

(and she was)

I noticed her precious little toes 

sticking out of the blanket!

I just couldn't wait to touch them.

I took the above photo to capture that moment

in the hospital room

and all this week I have been thinking

about the newness of life.

How wonderful are new beginnings,

newness that opens up in our daily lives,

the excited feelings we experience

when something is brand new . . . 

a newborn baby

a new friendship

a new job

a new experience

a brand new puppy

a new art project

a flower blossom

a trip you have never taken before

a brand new book to read

a new class

a brand new sunrise

a new song to sing

a new journal that has never been written in
a blank canvas
a new knitting project

Newness in life is a very good thing!

Look around you at experiences of your own life 

and see something new,

let it have a freshness

all of it's own.

We get so bogged down from our

day to day living 

we forget to look for

new things.

They are out there

trust me on that!

Here comes spring . . . 

have you seen little beautiful buds 

beginning to find their way into the world yet?

Just look and see

you will find them

Have a beautiful weekend

and get out there

experience something

totally new for you!

donna lee

A Poetry Moment

"She keeps returning to the ocean shore

to find clarity, peace and inner strength"

Ocean Waves

roaring and tumbling

every moment

every day

God's mightiness is revealed

knows no time

has always been

a constant force to reckon with

beauty

majesty

calming 

healing

washing in

drifting out

fierce and mighty

damaging

respect is demanded

how I draw near to the

ocean waves

for here I feel safe and calm

a place to be with 

my inner thoughts

granting me renewal

calmness and strength

(artwork inspired from Somerset Journaling magazine)

What a great day!

It started early on a Saturday Morning,

8:00 am I arrived at the Hotel,

ready to set up and face the day!

I asked myself,

"Was this really happening?"

An Artful Spirit Workshop,

all the planning, working, and dreaming.

Was it really coming true at that moment,

oh yes it was!

How happy my colleague Suzan and I

were to see our name announced

It made it all seem so real!

There we were capturing every happy moment!

We knew it was going to be a day filled with 

creativity and spontaneity. 

We were eager to start our adventure!

We played with spray inks, acrylics, crayons,

stabilo pencils, spray paints, gesso, watercolors,

oil pastels, stencils, palette knifes, words, images,

papers, papers and more papers.

We learned the magic of painting with our fingers

and getting our hands dirty!
I have learned so many wonderful techniques
through e courses, retreats, books and magazines.
It was hard for me to realize that I was
now the teacher sharing what I have learned.

There were art supplies everywhere,

more than anyone could use in just one day,

there was relaxing music playing,

fellowship, conversation and giggling!

We created painted papers, 

journals, collages, bookmarks,

little notecards and

extras to take home and create

something unique of our own.

Each workshop was filled

with learning, experimenting,

a sharing of ideas and techniques.

Each class was two and half hours long,

there was plenty of time to relax

and enjoy the process

of learning something new!

We even enjoyed a nice lunch time

overlooking the

Chesapeake Bay!

A story read out loud

before beginning our next workshop 

The Art of Wabi Sabi Watercolor ... 

a Japanese view or process 

of accepting what is

and 

letting go of imperfection

It was the perfect workshop and ending to our day!

Learning to let go of expectations

Enjoying the process

Relaxing and Receiving

what was meant for each of us

that day

I even shared a little of my own poetry!

(For Poetry always finds it way into my life)

Gathering together

for just one magical day.

A day full of love and laughter,

fellowship, letting go and creating.

I am so very proud to have been

a part of this amazing experience.

YES to envisioning what you want to happen!

YES to making your dreams come true!

YES to stepping out and leading others!

YES to sharing your dream with others!

YES to happy successes!

YES to saying we did it well!

We are already thinking about 

our next adventure!

This time perhaps we will make it a weekend gathering.

Hmmmmm . . . I see a pajama painting party

stirring around in my head!

Thanks for letting me share today.

My heart is so full.

donna lee

A Poetic Artful Spirit

My latest collage

I have been quite busy preparing for my Art Workshop

"An Artful Spirit"

Just a day of fun creating with fellow art seekers

here in Virginia Beach!

I have always been the Attendee,

even taught art classes before,

but never have I been the Facilitator!

So I am reaching outward

and giving it a try!

I am so happy to say whether one person signs up

or we have a full house,

I am happy to be in this place,

right here and right now!

I have already learned so much.

You know I love my Art and writing my Poetry

so while creating this collage

the words just kept coming to me.

I began jotting them down as fast as they came

and was able to create this poem

about An Artful Spirit

(a way of living creatively)

so I wanted to share with you today

on my Wednesday Poetry Moment 

An Artful Spirit . . . 

It comes from way down deep inside

a thought, a feeling,

a certain way of living

an art of looking at things around you

An Artful Spirit

creativity inward and outward

a way of interpreting

the way we live our daily lives

Observing, Painting, Creating, Dreaming

Walking through this life

Soulfully stepping . . . 

Intuitively thinking

Being Artful is a

gradually acquired way of living

So grateful to have arrived here,

in this very soulful and heartfelt place.

Have a beautiful rest of your week!

I am headed to Myrtle Beach, SC

for some restful time with my hubby!

Looking forward to refreshing my spirit,

playing with my brand new Canon Rebel T3i!

For next weekend will be my art retreat!

I so wish you all could be there!

Donna Lee

Working from the Inside Out

I have been taking an E course recently 

called Inside Out

with Shannon Kinney-Duh

of A Free Spirit Life

it is a six week journaling course

and we are finishing week four right now

inside one of my journal pages

I have learned so many things

and my journal pages are filling up

with truth and heart thoughts.

This course is more than just art journaling

there are so many writing prompts,

free writing exercises, setting intentions, 

interviews with beautiful souls,

yoga exercises, fellowships, chat time

and so much more.
It has been a journey of self exploration.

words that spoke to me

affirmations

I am grateful to myself for taking the time

to settle into this course,

receive all that I am meant to take in,

and learn new and fun things,
and to Shannon for creating such an experience

I let go of other things so I could

concentrate on this experience,
for it has been so worth it!

I am having so much fun with the creative exercises,

I keep looking at my journal pages,

over and over again!

time for some poetry thoughts

envisioning

I think this course came at the perfect time for me

things just happen to work out that way.

I was needing some direction, some clarification,

some creative fellowship,

but I have received so much more!

This course was a gift just for me 

and each and every morning

I look forward to seeing what

Shannon has brought to us for the day.

fun journal exercise

a love letter to self

Valentines Day Page

my favorite ... mind mapping

I feel that everything is as it should be lately.

I am exploring new horizons,

learning more and more each day,

opening my heart and mind,

letting go of fears and doubts,

writing deeper poetry

hmmm . . . I wonder what is next?

Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it

Mary Oliver

Donna Lee

A Poetry Moment

Simplify

Sometimes our lives become so difficult

We rush from here to there

never taking the time to truly 

slow ourselves down

What a gift we give to ourselves

when we can just Simplify

the way we live

the way we over commit our lives

Simplify your time

don't pack so much into one day

Simplify your mind

let go of unwanted thoughts

Slow your pace of life

way down

you won't be disappointed

with what you see will happen

Simplify your wants and needs

clear out unwanted things

for there is so much waste

just look around and see

To Simplify your pace

can be a personal gift

try today to see the beauty 

you have been missing every day

The Blending of Art and Poetry

 My local museum ... a treasured get away!

Have you ever heard of Ekphrastic Poetry?

Well I hadn't before until I was challenged by

my local Poetry Society

to study the technique and write a poem
about a piece of art from the museum's
latest gallery exhibit
"New Waves 2013"
This certainly excited the artist/poet in me!

Ekphrastic Poetry is writing a poem about

an inspiration that comes from a particular work of art.

There was a new exhibit at MOCA

(Museum of Contemporary Art)

here in my hometown of

Virginia Beach, VA

It is special to me already 

for this is where

my son and his wife

had their wedding reception two years ago!

I have also participated in Art Shows there

and have taught art classes in their Studio School.

So off I went on an Artist Date with myself,

to see the new exhibit and pick just one piece of artwork

that would speak to me

to write a poem about,
I didn't think this was going to be easy.

There were so many beautiful works of art

during the new exhibit
I had no idea which one to choose,

but I was then drawn to a very large

collaged canvas

entitled

"A Midsummer's Night Dream XVI"

I admired the piece because it was a collaboration

of art students from Norfolk, Virginia

guided by artist Tim Rollins;

they used watercolors, fruit juices, india inks, 

rag papers and metallics to paint and tear

different shapes of papers into flower images,

of course being a collage artist myself,

I was immediately intrigued by this piece!

I stayed in front of this work of art for quite a long time,

jotting words and phrases that came to mind,

trying to create a poem from the intense image

that was in front of me.

I then discovered beneath the pasted flowers

were the words and script from

Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream",

it was the underlying groundwork

placed onto the canvas first,

then the flowers were carefully pasted on top of the script,

a hidden gift for me to discover,

It really did take my breath away!

So yes I did create my poetry this past Sunday Morning,

yes I did come to the Poetry Reading at the museum one evening

and yes I did share my poem out loud!

What an incredible experience it was.

Hearing your own voice reading your own words 

coming through a microphone

out loud to others

can be daunting!

I learned a new technique in my Poetry writing

and I loved the experience of it all.

Especially being able to combine two things

I am passionate about,

Art and Poetry

And yes I did find time to practice a little

Self Portraiture!

I am always learning

always reaching

always trying something new!

Step out of your comfort zone,

try something totally new

you won't be disappointed!

Life is just full of creative adventures

but you do have to look for them,

don't stay in the same boring place all the time!

Look inwardly and Reach out 

experiment with what life has to offer

Your beautiful self can do it!

Donna Lee Zeppieri Wynn

My new day workshop . . . "An Artful Spirit"

"Envisioning" This is truly a dream come true in the making!  Decided to step out of the "attend" retreats and actually create one!  My long time creative friend Suzan Thompson and I have been envisioning something we could do together for a long time,  the time to step out and actually do it is finally here! We are going to have a day of mini art workshops on a Saturday in March, at a beautiful hotel in Virginia Beach . . . wide open room, beautiful lighting and lots of work space! (Actually it is the same hotel they have Art and Soul in April!) We are going to create collage on canvas, watercolor and doodle, and create small journals! You will actually go home with some finished artwork! Come and let your inner child play for a day. I just wanted to share it on my blog, it actually makes it a true reality. It is good for us to wish for something actually envision and dream about it, then actually bring it into reality. Just wanted to share this opportunity with you, and wish you the most beautiful week ever!

Invitation to An Artful Spirit Workshop Hi! Donna Z. Wynn & Suzan K. Thompson invite you to...   Play and Create With An Artful Spirit Saturday, March 2, 2013  from 9am to 6pm At the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel http://www.virginiabeachresort.com  Make it a retreat weekend!  Contact the hotel - just $89/night (+ tax) for participants!  Needing a transfusion of play and creativity to rejuvenate your life? Want to connect with others and feed YOUR artful spirit? We've planned a one-day retreat with  3 mini-workshops for you: The Spirit of Journal-Making Artful Collage Wabi Sabi Watercolor Just $66 for the 3 mini-workshops + $33 for materials (what a BARGAIN!!!) = $99 for an art-filled, spirit-infused playful day! Register soon!  www.AnArtfulSpirit.com  (Spaces limited) Who We Are Donna Z. Wynn www.gentlethreads.blogspot.com  www.100poemsjourney.blogspot.com  www.etsy.com/shop/yogiknitgirl  Donna works full time as an Optical Manager for a successful Eye Practice in Hampton Roads.  She considers being a Mixed Media Artist, Poet and Photographer her creative life's calling!   She totally enjoys watercolors, journaling, knitting socks, mixed media collage, photography and anything creative!  She has written her own blog "Gentle Threads" for three years and it is where she shares her creative stories and poetry writings. Donna has taught art classes for MOCA in Virginia Beach (Museum of Contemporary Art), private art retreats, individual art instruction and was once a part owner in Blue Skies Gallery, in Hampton, Virginia. Sharing her art knowledge with others is a joy and she considers it to be an honor to enlighten others to the world of personal discovery through their art experiences.  Suzan K. Thompson www.wabisabiartist.com  www.90WabiSabiDays.blogspot.com  www.Toolkit4Transformation.blogspo t.com Suzan works full time as a faculty member at Old Dominion University, teaching in the graduate counseling program. Even though she has taught clay jewelry-making, water color, and "Finding Your Creative Self" classes at places like MOCA and the former Ghent Studio of Fine Arts, Suzan never really saw herself as an artist.  She considered herself a creative person for a very long time, but only when she found out about the philosophy of Wabi Sabi  in early 2011 was she able to truly claim this truth: I AM an artist! The three basic principles of Wabi Sabi are: Nothing lasts. Nothing is finished. Nothing is perfect. Suzan loves to create sacred space for others to find their own wabi sabi artful spirit.