Wordless Wednesday - Faded Beauty

Well, almost Wednesday and only almost wordless... It's been a busy day, so I leave you with a couple of photos and the hope that you are all doing well!!

A little faded ...

and still beautiful!

Learning a few things...

After drawing class today, I started thinking about what I am learning so far... First of all PATIENCE, not my strong suit! Doing a contour drawing (outlines only) of a big and complicated still life takes time! Lots of time!! But I am progressing nicely as you can see from the little snippet above.

The class is also teaching me how to look at things, deeply look at things! And ... I observe from the ten people in class that we not only all have our very unique perspective, but also interpret and express what we see like nobody else can.

That's creativity for you, no matter what shape it takes! Each one of us unique and with a point of view that cannot be expressed by anybody else.

That leads me to think that if we don't make our personal mark (out of fear or for whatever reason), the world will have lost something that nobody else can supply.

So, go make your mark today! We will all benefit!!

P.S. The lovely Robin of Open Eyes, Open Mind, Open Heart  just left this great quote in her comment, which seems to sum it all up perfectly:

"Self-expression is the primary sacrament of the universe. Whatever you feel deeply demands to be given form and released."

Brian Swimme

The Universe is a Green Dragon

P.P.S. The hearts are for all of you...

A foggy Sunday morning...

This morning, Daniel and I both woke up at 5:30 and went to sit on our new back porch - it was so peaceful in the dark... Our old porch was falling apart and we had this new (and bigger) one built these last few weeks. We did not imagine that we would love it this much. It being bigger gives us a whole new perspective and it has become a favorite place for relaxing, reading, talking and dreaming...

When it was starting to get light, we noticed that it was really foggy, something we don't experience here as often as you might think. I don't know about you, but I love the fog. It is so mystical, so otherworldly, full of secrets...

Daniel suggested we pack up Winslow and go for a walk by the Savannah River. We were the only ones there and it was magical!

And it presented one of those wonderful coincidences to me that I actually don't believe are coincidences at all. All day yesterday, I was thinking about webs and everything and everyone being connected.

And then this morning, nature presented me with these unbelievably delicate and stunning pieces of art!

Mother nature is still the greatest artist in my opinion...

Nature's brooms at work above....

And the fog - it fascinates me! It's so hard to capture on camera, yet it is everywhere...

And then the sun started coming through - pure magic!

I couldn't decide which photos to show you of the sun and her reflection in the water, so you get to see all of them!

A perfect Sunday morning! We were back home by 8 a.m. and ready for our Sunday breakfast tradition:

Delicious waffles! Life is great!!

A happy Sunday to you!!

Altered Painting, Treasury & Blog Love

First of all THANK YOU for all your wonderfully supportive comments on my last two posts - you all are THE BEST!!

Well, I worked on my dancer (I decided he looks like a dancer or a swimmer) a little more. First I just deepened the shadows and brought out his eyes a little more. Then, I scanned the painting one more time before adding the Permanent Maroon drippings, lest I ruin it in the process...

Daniel said: "It looks a little like blood." Well, maybe, but somehow it reminds me of the web of life we are all part of, that connects us all on some level. This boy certainly tugs at my heartstrings. There's something about him - he stands proud and firm in his own reality! He knows his place in the universe. He expresses what I aspire to...

Web of Life, 8 x 10" acrylic painting

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Now on to something different, prettier and less intense! A treasury I curated not long ago...and a fantastic blog!

My dear blogging friend, Debbie of The Wug's Backyard BlogSpot, recently wrote two very fun posts. The first (click here to see it) was much about another friend who curated a beautiful treasury, about me with this "Dragonfly Dreams" treasury I put together not long ago, and some of her favorite pieces from the treasuries. Thank you so much, Debbie, for the feature and all the kind things you said about me!!

The second post (click here to see it) will definitely awaken the travel bug in you and make you want to go see the world immediately -- even if only as an armchair traveler...

Now, let me tell you a little about Debbie's creative work and her blog. Debbie is a crochet artist - she creates the most fun flowers, jewelry, scarves, mittens, hats, slippers, and more for her Etsy shop - all with colorful yarn and her crochet hook. And every piece she makes has her personal flair. Simply beautiful!!

And ... she is a wonderful poet and every one of her blog posts features one of her original poems at the end. I love it!!

Debbie also is one of the best at highlighting other artists' work. She will accentuate her sometimes funny, often inspiring and always heartfelt posts with photos of fellow artists' works and links to their blogs and etsy shops. With that she creates a wonderful community of like minded people, and I am so grateful to be part of that!!

I was going to write this post earlier. However, I decided to go into school and work on my still life for class some more. It went really well!! When I got back, the temperatures had gotten up to 91℉ (33℃), which just made feel like taking a nap.

But seriously, whatever happened to our spring?! I hope it's visiting you all who have been waiting for it so patiently...

I am humbled...

... by your comments and your support on my last blog post. Truly - you are amazing and these flowers are for you!! Some of your comments were pure inspiration for me, some felt like a big hug and all of them made me smile and feel so lucky to be part of this incredible community!

I've had some questions on my last post as to why now and how I made that decision. It's been percolating for a while, but I think it was a conversation I had with my sister, Caroline, that brought it all to the forefront. We were talking about getting older...

I am turning 45 this year, and don't get me wrong I love being in my 40's - there's something very liberating about that. However, I am reminded more and more that my mother was only 48 when she died and Daniel's mother was also in her late 40's when she passed away.

I am not expecting the same to happen to me, but it does remind me of the finite amount of time we have in our physical bodies and it brought up the question for me: "When are you going to live the life you were meant to live ... fully and without apologies?"

The answer: "If not now, then when?"

It is incredibly hard for me to allow the world to see the "other side of Silke." It's not that it's so different (there are thousands of people interested in the bigger and hidden meaning of life - like me), but I've tried so hard to be "normal," that it's going to take a while!

However ... I can already feel the power that comes with making a decision - and declaring it publicly! It carries it's own momentum and today feels like a fresh new day!!

Wishing you a most wonderful and magical Friday!! I am off to marinate some chicken for grilling later tonight and then to make some art!

P.S. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a treasury to share with you and more...