Loving it with Kathe with an E

While visiting one of my favorite place in my town I viewed some pieces of art on display from other countries.

They had been brought in as  gifts for the host of an event in our town.

I will try to describe as best I can.

It is from Africa.

A bronze vase in the shape of a swan with gold leaf trim.

Sharing with Kathe

here

The Joy of art around me

Every month Blissfull ATC swap blog hosts a swap where 2 1/2 x 3/1/2 cards are swapped with a partner chosen by the administrator of the blog.

I find JOY in making the ATC cards and receiving them.

Each month has a theme.

The above ATC card was for Valentine's Day last year.

I have so many now I am running out of  places to store them.

Plus no one gets to see them. 

I put them each in a penny sleeve and attached a piece of velcro on the back to attach them to a 16x20 canvas painted black and sprayed with a matte finish.

Now I have a piece of art to hang on my wall and a little miniature work of art on display.

  What JOY I find in art.

Go here to share more JOY stories.

The JOY of art

Below are the ATC Blissfull swaps cards I received from my August partner

Kamali

The theme was

Farie Tales

There is a two-fold JOY from being involved in this blog party.

The JOY of receiving and the JOY of giving.

My ATC cards will be shown when I know she has received them.

Go here for more Share the JOY>

How I poke my muses or stirring the cauldron

Just read a blog were one of the artists admits she starts something and then sometimes switches to another project.

I found myself doing the same thing.

I get stuck on a project that is new to me or is more of a challenge than I expected and I get so exasperated that I just have to walk away.

Now I have one skill that I really am good at.

Crochet

So I always have something going on that I can pick up anytime.

I have been able to work every pattern that has ever come my way.

Now sometimes it takes a lot of uncrocheting  to get that project done.

But the confidence that I have when it comes to crocheting is unwavering.

So whenever I am stuck on something, I just leave it alone, maybe in the middle of a stroke, if painting and head back to my comfortable place crocheting.

I have made dresses, hats, gloves, scarfs, flipflops and anything that can be made.

I made an evening gown one year and wore it for a New Years Even gown.

Being made of yarn it got very hot and started to sag. 

Yes, I made it two piece and had to roll the skirt up at least 4 inches to get through the night.

Well I was the talk of the evening.

So that is how I stir my muses and get the juices flowing.

On my work table right now.

A personal card with my favorite flower, hydrangea.

 Plarn totes with Journey Beads for the Journey Bead website for Charity.

Can't get the colors I want with the beads.

 Struggling with the  pocket in the lining.

 Paper beads.

I have a hard time getting the tips of the paper to stay down even after gluing them.

Any ideas out there?

 Working on ATC cards.

I just go from one to the other.

Is this consider hoarding?

No I guess it is clutter.

But I know I will finish these projects and as soon as one is done a new one will take its place.

Wish I could get those muses to even out the ideas instead of bombarding my brain and then just letting me down.

LOL

Friday Shoot Out-Theme- Delicate, things in my town.

Theme for Friday Shoot Out this week is

Delicate

Delicate things in my town.

I did all my delicate shots one day when I was at Nazareth Campus doing some volunteer hours.

 A Christmas Amaryllis on display
in the foyer.

 In the foyer at Nazareth Campus.

A gift from India in the Visitor's Center.
Painting on an Ostrich egg.

 African Madonna and Child
at Nazareth on loan from a personal collection.

From
Africa
in
the
Visitor's Center.

 From Belize

From Ethiopia 
Represents all the peoples of the world.


These pieces of art were done by natives of the different countries where the sisters and associates serve.
None of these pieces of art are for sale.
Them were all gifts of love.

My front door.


Go here to visit all Friday Shoot Out posts.




Please pray for Rebecca

Dear Mary look after your beautiful
Rebecca.http://corazon.typepad.com




An angel among us
Spreading love and hope
Rebecca

Mosaic Monday -June 13th.. 2011

Mosaic Monday

Some of my most favorite things.

Grandchildren and Home

Art

Flowers
Literature

 Family and faith.

Go here for more Mosaic Monday

Doing my Thing Day

Doing my thing day.

Well this is the day I sort of do an inventory of the artistic things I have gotten done this week.

Some container flowers set out.

This week's art class project.
I just love the colors in this piece.

Last week's art class project.
I doubled the pattern to six poppies instead of the three in the pattern. 

We put a coat of varnish on the finished painting and covered it with a piece of tissue paper, quickly removing it, giving it a distressed look.

Framed at Picnik.

The last plarn hat and purse for the summer picnic booth.

Now that I have three done and lined and all trimmed I am going to try to make as many as I can.
I have until July.


I think the brown and black bags are my favorite.

Vintage Thingie Thursday and this week's art project

Well it is still raining in Kentucky.

Still snowing in some states 

but today is

Vintage Thingie Thursday 

and that makes for a fun day.

Many years ago I crocheted continuously.

Mostly with cotton.

I had doilies all over the place.

 This was a table cover and they sort of went out of style.

Diameter about 24 inches across.

One day I was looking for something to do, I bought a generic barbie doll and converted this table cover into

this

Luckily I did not have to make a single cut.

I took the head off and inserted the neck into the hole at the center of the  doily, the arms through the holes,

added the wide ribbon wings, tied the waist with a gold ribbon and placed a piece of gold around her head for a halo. I found the little gold hearts somewhere.

She has been the center of my Nativity scene for many years.

Now doilies are back in for me and my crocheted doily will grace my Easter table this year.

It will then go back on the doll when Christmas rolls around again.

The grands get a big kick out of Angela and all vie for her when I am ready to part with her.

Guess I will have to draw names.

This is this week's art project.

A beautiful pattern that I made a couple of mess ups on.

But I did my best to correct them.

I love the colors on this bunny on wheels. LOL

Primitive art for sure.

Click on for greater detail.

I will have to steer you to 

my art teacher's paint page to see it in all it's beauty.

Go here for Paint Page

Go here for more Vintage Thingie Thursday 

Could not link up today but you can go over and see some great things.

Adventure Express with Cathy and some words of reflection

Well thanks to Cathy and Adventure Express I have changed my idea of what an adventure is.

I had such an exciting day on Friday when I went to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth to do my three hours of volunteer work as an associate, I could hardly wait to write about it.

For weeks now I have been looking for a table with wheels to store my art supplies on so that I can wheel them in and out of the closet. Now everything stays stacked up on my kitchen table. In see-thru boxes, of course, but still stacked up.

Something like this would be perfect.
Woo Hoo
I saw this in the Visitor's Center room just as soon as I walked in and asked her if she knew where we could find another one like it.
She said no and told me if I wanted it I could have it. She had it because a friend of hers had moved and could not take it with her.
I resisted but she said she only took it because the friend had no where else to take it.
In fact she got it just for me.
How lucky can one get.

Next she told me she was sorry I did not get to come to the campus picnic 2 week-ends ago because my degenerative disk was acting up.

I told her the main thing I missed was getting a chance to get fabrics etc. from the missions in India and Botswana.

She went to a cabinet, came back and said
"You want fabrics from India and Africa? Help yourself."
Woo Hoo again.

Batik from India.

India

Botswana

India

Made in Kenya.


Every single one of these pieces are finished with uncut edges and suitable for table spreads, banners or wall hangings.


On top of that I ran into one of the sisters who taught me to cut plastic shopping bags and crochet tote bags and purses out of them.
That is something I have been wanting to learn for a couple of years.

We did not have any visitors at the center that day and it was a good thing. I was busy all three hours oohing and awing over all the great things that were going on.

God loves art and artists.
He just told me so.


Just read some words coming from the hearts of a couple of folks struggling with all the demands of life.
Just so happened to receive this letter today from our new director of the SCNAssociates group I belong to. It is fairly long.
You will know who needs to read it.
It hit right home for me.

Dear Associates, Candidates, Inquirers, and Sisters,

A month has passed and I am feeling more comfortable in my new position.  Tammy and I are working to get everything finished for the retreat weekend.  Sr. Marilyn has a wonderful program planned for all those who will attend.  If you won’t be able to be here at Crimmins with us, please gather with other Associates close by and watch it by Web cast in a group or with your faith group members.  It will be video taped and you will be able to check out a copy to watch if you won’t be able to watch that weekend and it will also be archived so you can watch it at a later time.

Sr. Maria Vincent had Patsy O’Toole send former members, who had attended a gathering in 2007, a reflection she had.  I wanted to share a part of that with you.  She was here on retreat and she used this as a meditation one day.  It is (from an unofficial publication of the Schola network)

The question was “How can I work in the marketplace and also lead a contemplative life?”  This was particularly interesting to me and I thought some of you might want to read what part of the reply was.

“. .. . The truly contemplative person is not necessarily the one who spends long hours in solitude, though some quiet time is essential.  Rather, the active-contemplative (or the contemplative-active) is the one who acts in a self-possessed way, who does not panic or become frantic, frenzied, and frazzled when there is too much to do.  Each thing to be done is taken in its turn.  What can be done in a given period is done.  What cannot be done is left undone.  And miraculously, by keeping a cool head, one gets more done in a given time than would have been possible were one to panic. 

We in the USA seem to be always in a mad rush to get things done, victims of the work ethic that substitute’s activity for virtue.  Even when the pressure of the job is almost unbearable, one can turn inward – who’s to prevent that – and draw on that strength which brings with it the realization that it is a joy just to be alive, to know that God exists, that the spirit is immortal.

Contemplation should be an adverb which modifies our action.  It describes the mode or manner of one’s conduct.  The practicing Buddhist knows this.  Contemplation lies in the intensity of one’s ability to concentrate, to “center” oneself by attending to what one is doing.

. .. . If one can learn to perform each action on its own terms, one can get along with very little private prayers, just as people with dedication to an important project can get along with very little sleep.  All of which does not mean that less time for private prayer is better than more time.  What it does mean is that no one is excluded from leading a contemplative life because they lack sufficient time for long, quiet prayer.  So the motto: Do what you’re doing can be helpful.  Contemplation is not a thing-in-itself; it lies in the how of the things you must do.”

Thank you Sr. Maria for sharing.

I hope to see you at the weekend.  I just wanted to say hello and share something that I thought would help you along the journey!

Love and always blessings from Nazareth,

Jo 

Go here to see more Adventure Tours. 

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