Do you like cherries?

The way my life goes, I can't tell if there are pits in my cherries
or cherries among my pits, philosophically speaking.
~Rhann Morgan

I painted this ATC for a friend that is always first in line to help others. Reading her very honest blog made me think that she could use some of that love too. It is so hard to read something, feel the pain and realize that you can't help. She loves cherries... so I'm wishing her to see more cherries than pits... and I hope it will brighten a moment of her day.

Live and learn...

Learn from my mistake. I painted (drew?) the colorful lady (with the very green forehead) using Rembrandt Soft Pastels. As she is pretty dark and had a lot of pigment I wanted to protect it and sprayed it with Fixative. I read that it can change the color, but I didn't expect the results... It killed the colors completely!!!!! I'm so happy I scanned her before spraying. I know that it's not a master piece and I'm not upset, but look at the difference:

Well, now that I look at them together... maybe she's better toned down. Next time I'll know what to expect...

Everybody Needs a Friend

9" x 12", pastels

The story of my life...

I know well what I'm fleeing from
but not what I am in search of.
~Michel de Montaigne

Illustration Friday - Poem

Paradise -
I see flowers
from the cottage where I lie.
~Yaitsu's death poem, 1807

I was listening to the voice of Eva Cassidy while drawing this. I never heard of her before yesterday. My husband stumbled upon her video while searching for something on YouTube. He was immediately captured by her voice and couldn't wait to share it with me. I prefer male voices to female... so I wasn't expecting a lot. I was up for a surprise. Her voice is strong, warm, pure... It brings emotions and tears to your (my) eyes. I can't stop listening to her. Eva sings with the angels now, as she left this planet way too early (33 y. old).

Creative in a different way...

I am not creating a lot these days and it started to worry me. Then I figured out what is the reason... my experimental raw (live) food way of eating! It is very new to me and exciting and I'm spending a lot of time reading about it and trying new recipes daily. Only a year ago I thought that you can make only a certain amount of salads and get bored after. I had no idea that you can not cook and make gourmet meals that even big meat eaters and kids will eat. I guess I am being creative... in a different way.
P.S. Please notice the funny plate on the top... the one that looks chipped and has the ridicules figures around. It was my first and last try at pottery. I was so sad that it didn't turn out right... Now I love it for the exact same reason - it's not perfect, but it is definitely unique :-)

A page in my journal

To bring anything into your life,
Imagine that it's already there.

Where There's A Will There's A Way

My dear Mom had a bad fall two weeks ago. She broke her arm and hurt the other arm, legs etc. Her bone didn't break horizontally, like regular bones... it split vertically, making it even worse. Half of her body is in cast. She can move only three fingers on her other hand... Needless to say it is making me sick to think that she is suffering and there's nothing I can do to help her.
To make me feel better, she emailed me two photos. Using what she can (the three fingers on her non-dominant hand) she managed to draw! We talked today and she laughed and said that it was funny how the paper moved under her pencil and she couldn't keep it in place, so she was chasing it over the table.

I'm posting this in hope that it will inspire someone who has different excuses for not creating to find the time and create something.... anything. Where There's A Will There's A Way. It will make you feel better.

Healing thoughts for my Mom are appreciated..
xo

Illustration Friday - Discovery

You have to leave the city of your comfort and
go into the wilderness of your intuition.
What you'll discover will be wonderful.
What you'll discover is yourself.

~Alan Alda

- a page in my journal -
Isn't it true? And scary? And exciting?
Sometimes I think that you can't discover yourself as you are evolving and changing while on the path of discovery... Still, going into "the wilderness of your intuition" is exactly what I'm doing now.
It feels right.

Paint, prints and origami earrings

I miss posting every day, but it seems that this is a period when I don't have much to show. There are things that I am working on, but I can't post them right now. Here are some bits and pieces:

Hana is enjoying the summer vacation, mostly playing computer games and swimming. She also learned how to make origami paper cranes. And she has been making them obsessively... She tried many different sizes. There is a huge on (on the left) made of newspaper.
Then there are the tiny ones that she made for me. I turned them into earrings which I plan to proudly wear.
I spent the better part of the afternoon listing copies of my bird cards on eBay. I can't believe how well the prints look! Beautiful thick paper, vibrant colors... I'm so happy to see them all together!

I wish

My weekend

I opened my first young coconut all by myself!!! The prize was the delicious, refreshing coconut water, which I drank directly from its natural container.

We went to see "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Transformers". While I enjoyed watching both movies, tomorrow I'll probably listen to Chopin and paint some gentle things to wash out all the testosterone action and destruction.

I used the same face as in my journal to create two ACEOs.

They are both listed on eBay (where I'm completely forgotten after not listing for more than two months).

Self-Portrait Stencil

I finally had time to pull out my toys, make a mess and play in my journal.
While blog-hopping and following links, I found THIS wonderful tutorial. I have used the same steps in Photoshop before to help me with drawing faces, but I would never have thought of making a stencil. I had to try... It's far from perfect, but I like it. It will probably find a place in more of my journal entries.

The new day beginning as it should...

I'm not sure that the title is true, but I plan to make it that way. The last two months were spent with family, listening to stories from the past, preparing delicious meals and sitting together at the table, exploring new places, remembering old times, swimming, hiking, sightseeing... Now that they left, the house seems empty.

As I don't want to fall in sad thoughts and second-guess if it's a mistake living so far away from home, I decided to focus on good things. I thought that becoming my own 'project' for the next month is a good idea. I plan to treat myself better than I usually do. I will be an experimental raw food vegan for 30 days and explore the world of veggies and fruits in a different way.
- apple, carrot, celery root, and parsley juice -

I treated myself to one of Norah's beautiful 'She sacs'. The cheerful colors make me happy and the message is perfect: "She was honest. She wanted everything." I do. I want everything good for myself and I want it to spill over to everyone I know...