River Garden Studio

finding harmony

A trip to the Oregon coast, we love to go there at least twice a year... This time it poured with rain almost constantly, but we did find a few moments of sunshine!

Each visit to the ocean holds surprises, a small waterfall off a soaked cliff,

A chance for me to find harmony, and finish these two pages in my "be the light" journal. 

 

One night at the coast, sometime between sleep and wakefulness, I pictured myself deep in space... I was at the center of my word, with rings circling around me in ovals ... like orbits, each one representing different parts of my life, my son and daughter, my husband, my home, my art, my father and new responsibilities, my teaching, my sister and brother, my friends... the list is so similar to all of us.  

Now I use this mental image to find my harmony.

As my husband often says to me that when one deals with stress, one can fight, flee or flow.  I need to imagine the center of myself,  and my world as it orbits around me, overlapping but still in a oval, flowing and crossing... thus these pages were created.

the harmony between animals and plants, wood and metal, words and images, color and light, paper and lace... past and present.

I took this photo in downtown Newport.  We love this beach town because it still is a fishing village, and not completely a tourist destination...

The cliffs over the beach had little caverns, perfect for a boy, (my son), and his dog.

Seagulls were everywhere waiting patiently...

My daughter... I hope she always see's the magic...

Here, my son, daughter and husband try to be patient for a photograph.

Our favorite brewery... (Chris is still to young to sample beer...)

Mandy and Eric at "Mo's", the best chowder house on the Oregon Coast...

Fossils uncovered by wind and water.

And here is some more new art...

I first drew and painted the shells in a watercolor tablet, then photocopied and enlarged them on lighter weight paper, (I often do this). Next I used matt medium to attach them to the larger, heavier watercolor paper that already had the background paint and collage... 

Here is the final product...

And now I get ready for another week of work.  My heart is so full with images of the beach and the sounds of the waves so clear in my mind...

Words of Art

I received this award from Toni, at Seaweed and Gardenias. I am thrilled that she thought of me for the Words of Art Award!  Here is how the award came about, and what Toni has to say about it...

Writing is something I've done since I was 2. Writing is as beautiful, rich, layered and difficult a creative art as any, as all. In Bloglandia, though, I've yet to see an award focused directly on WORDS OF ART. The writing. I wanted to put that into place.

There is no 'tagging' involved in this award. Recipients can forward the award to others, or not, as they choose, as many or few as they wish. The purpose of the award is to thank someone who has taken his or her creative energy and honed it to a written expression that moves you. I wanted to keep it a simple image, and ripe fruit is so true of ripe words! 

First I would like to return this award to Toni, who is a fantastic writer herself.  Her stories are human, poignant, descriptive and funny... the journeys that she takes us on with her words and her art are sensitive and true.  When she makes a comment on my post her words go to the heart of what I was trying to say ... or she sees a new connection and I say to myself, "that is so right, how did she see that?"  Thank you so much, dear Antonia...

Next I would like to award Tumbleword.  This beautiful writer and poet combines her words and images like no other.  She describes her world and responds to the world's of others in a way that could only be magic itself...

And to Kathleen, of Echoes of Grace.  Her words draw me into her life and I learn from reading them.  She writes of love and challenges, her family and her art and her life.  And her beautiful collages are a mirror of her life. 

Debbie, who from her home on the beach in California, shares stories of her life and her family, and all the beautiful lessons she learns from the ocean.  Her photographs are spell-binding and she can make me smile or cry...

Gwen, lives in a seaside village in the Bay of Fundy.  With her words and paintings, jewelry and photographs, I am taken far away from my own small town and with her as she tells of her beloved world.

And lastly, the beautiful Azirca, of Speak Without My Voice, who can transport me into another world of mystery, and joins the past with the present with her beautiful assemblages and photographs of the her home country of New Zealand.

I want to say a heartfelt thank you to these women, who I learn from and rejoice in life with.  Please pass this award on for the sake of every beautiful word and thought, poem or story!

And while I am at it, thank you to all of you, my bloggy friends, who inspire me everyday, who encourage me as I search for my own artistic core, and thank you for sharing your own journeys with me... 

a time to think

"a time to think"

to think of another time

another country

exploring in my dreams

and on paper...

pale greens and yellows

shades of browns

lines

always the birds

being charmed by stamps and fabric

patterns and grids...

a young deer is charmed by our dining room window

how she would love to come into our garden...

scattered beads in the light...

and my newest little landscape

about five by seven inches

acrylic and watercolor

one of my own hairs

cheesecloth fibers and burlap threads

cut dictionary pages

and matt medium...

a little Italian jar 

that I found in a little antique shop

and lastly a closer view

of

"every house has a story"

have a beautiful week...