These are straight out of the camera. They require little introduction.
Freesias, Poppies, Pansies. Oh my!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 5:32 PM 3 comments
Peaks and Valleys
I have been avoiding my thoughts by digging in the soil, planting vegetables, flowers and herbs. It has worked. Until today. Today, my heart is heavy and my limbs barely move. The garden calls to me. I ignore her. The phone rings. I ignore it. The wind gently calls, but I can barely hear it, I can't feel it. I guess this would be a valley.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 3:16 PM 2 comments
What I did this weekend...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
We spent the weekend building soil sifters, preparing garden beds and a general cleaning of a winter of birth and death. When I say,"We," I use that term very loosely...Some times, I am not actually even present! Peas, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs and tomatoes were planted in the new beds. I am very optimistic! Will share more later...
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 9:03 PM 1 comments
Ripped Away From the Garden
Monday, March 23, 2009
Last year at this time, I was hoping for insurance approval for a back surgery. I could do nothing more than lie on my back, looking straight up at the ceiling. Still needs to be painted, by the way.
On Turning Ten
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
Billy Collins
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 7:34 AM 2 comments
Labels: Morning Musings
Lichen Gnome
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I simply could NOT leave this wee gnome behind. Not only does his stump match my striving plum tree, but it also has matching lichen on the stump. Just like MY tree. The clincher, his left hand is behind his back and his fingers are crossed. That sly little gnome, what fib is he hiding? I had to bring him home, because there is something so tasty about a mischievous gnome hanging out in the garden. Oh, don't forget to look at his "furry" boots. One more garden gnome and I will officially be known as Crazy Garden Gnome lady by the neighborhood children...
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 2:54 PM 0 comments
100th Post Giveaway!
So, I finally found a moment to get out of the garden and take a photo of the GIVEAWAY gift. It is a vintage hankie, hand embroidered with a quote from "A Street Car Named Desire." I have been using my time in doctor's waiting rooms to hone my stitchin' skills.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 12:06 PM 3 comments
This is an interim post while I get out of the garden 100th post coming soon
Monday, March 16, 2009
I have been tagged by Circe. I have never done one of these, secretly, I was envious that I never had been asked. Let us see how this goes...
What is your current obsession? Working in the garden, I can't stop. The family had to pull me in last night because it was getting dark. Then, in the house, all I could think about was what I would do tomorrow!
What are you wearing now? A pink nightie with rosebuds and cotton lace. I am still in bed, it is early...
Who was the last person you hugged? My teen man/boy. He has to bend over about seven inches to reach me.
If you were a tree, what tree would you be? A mango tree, easy.
What's for dinner? Brown rice, mung dal and homemade chapatis. With a little mango pickle.
What was the last thing you bought? Oh, my. I hit a thrift store that is closing it's doors. I bought a green and black vintage coat, sweet English plates, a box of ric-rac, (Have I mentioned how much I love ric-rac?) Crazy Bakelite sunglasses for my daughter and loads of vintage bark, cloth, linen, a jar of vintage buttons and a beautiful vintage pipe tobacco tin. You asked.
What are you listening to right now? The morning birdsong and the wind.
What is your favorite weather? Sweet, sweet spring like days. Warm sun soaked summer days and cold grey rain.
What is on your bedside table? The Keeper of the Bees, the camera and a vase of fressias from the yard.
What is your most challenging goal right now? To be at peace with some of the choices I have been free to make and some I have been forced to make.
Say something to the person who tagged you: I love your warm, sweet energy and am I so happy to have made contact and share with you our musings...
If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, where do you want it to be? Carpinteria, CA
Favorite Vacation Spot? Italy
Name the things you cannot live without: My loves, a bit of earth to dig in, art, water, for starters...
What would you like to have in your hands right now? A hoe
What is your favorite fragrance? I make an oil from geranium, bergamot and a dash of patchouli. I keep it in a vile in my purse. It makes me feel like an alchemist.
What is your favorite/favourite tea flavor/flavour? Coconut Pouchong for iced. Caramel Rooibos with raw honey and cream, hot. I could drink an ENTIRE pot!
Here is a second question I've added; when it's time to brew tea, what do you use? Kettle, fresh water, warmed pot.
What would you like to get rid of? Regret, self-doubt.
If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? India
If you could have your portrait painted/made by any famous artist from any era, who would you choose? This is a tough one. Pissaro, or my friend Chris.
2 . Tag eight other untagged people. (And I say, "Or more. Or less!")
These are the people I'd like to have play, Kristin Lea, Betty, Stacy, Emily, Denise, Liz if they'd like to! Even though his blog is not really inclined towards such things, I'd like to tag Chris It's still a fun way to be introspective... even if you don't publicly play. Still, it'd be grand if you did.
Have fun! Homemade giveaway coming soon! I promise.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 6:27 AM 3 comments
Pretty Tins
Thursday, March 12, 2009
I have been amassing these darling tins on my thrift store excursions. I can't resist a really spectacular tin. I use them for storing buttons, bobbins, threads and other sweet things. I keep imagining them in my studio. The one I do not have as of yet, but will one day soon. I keep envisioning the color of the walls, the neat stacks of vintage fabric, an easel, paints and brushes out and ready. There will be a table for cutting and creating, the sewing machine, and all of my "found" things that I incorporate into my art.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 4:09 PM 1 comments
Coming Soon-100 Post giveaway!
Stay tuned, two more posts and then I will be offering a sweet, handmade giveaway. Poise your fingertips at the keyboard....
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 7:13 AM 0 comments
March Moon
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Full Worm - March Moon
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 4:29 PM 1 comments
Bulbs
These were placed in the quiet, dark earth last autumn. The bulbs were brown and hairy, rough and unruly. I knew they were there all autumn and all winter. Yet, I am still surprised when I walk out of the cottage door and find new Freesias, pink, red, white and yellow, greeting me in the cool morning.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 1:21 PM 0 comments
The Sweet Days of March
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
As I gaze out my window, a butterfly dances in the copper sprinkler and the new green leaves shimmer like golden fingers on all of the trees. The mornings are cold, but the days are filled with filtered sunshine and birdsong.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 4:44 PM 0 comments
The New Sunrise
The morning comes in a quiet gray dawn. I miss the sun greeting my eyes as he rises, I miss the shadows cast upon the walls over my bed. This Daylight Savings time always irks me a bit. I am not sure why. Perhaps because I wake with the sun and now I must wait until the tea water is bubbling in the kettle to see the first pink rays. I should be grateful to see it all, to be blessed with sight, inside and out.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 7:12 AM 0 comments
Labels: Morning Musings
Vivid Dreams
Monday, March 9, 2009
My nights have been filled with vivid dreams of things past and things future. I just can't seem to read the urgent news. I awake tired and spent from the nightly travels and yearn for a few more minutes of dark, dreamless rest. My memories have been flooding back to me in rushing torrents and waves. Faces, young and old, of my students flash before my heart and eyes. I feel relief and remorse. Failure and triumph. I want to run toward and away. Move back and then rush to the next chapter. Everything in my life reminds me of my time with my students, in every corner, something takes me back and moves my heart. The only thing I do not know, is how to proceed in the present. I find myself wandering the empty house without purpose. There are things that can be done, I just can't reach them, physically, spiritually. I want to walk in the other direction, onward, alone, if I turn to look back, I fear I will turn into a pillar of salt. I would be stuck with my past, unchanged, unexamined. But, oh, the fire of change! I yearn for the sulphuric experience. Burn the past, release the gaseous memories to the air, transform the carbon into ash, dissolve it in the waters of life, and the salt of earth rises once again. A resurrection of soul, memory and wholeness.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 9:34 AM 2 comments
Someone Should Start Laughing
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 6:59 AM 3 comments
Through The Lens
When we peer through our lens, which part is an illusion and which parts comprise the true picture of who we really are? What is the arc of our whole life? Are we looking through a teeny tiny lens and only seeing the physical, the external? Or are we, at times, able to peer in more deeply at the true self, the one that lasts forever? I wonder if our troubles would seem less urgent if we could see them as a speck on a stretch of life that is eternal...
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 6:36 AM 2 comments
Wellies
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I will use any excuse to wear my new wellies. We usually have little opportunity in Los Angeles to don rain gear. After living in the Pacific Northwest for many years, I know first hand the benefit of proper rain gear! It makes the wetness, not only more tolerable, but more fun. I found these wellies in a thrift store for $3. They were half off! I LOVE half off sales at thrift stores. I feel like I am getting away with something.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 6:52 PM 3 comments
Labels: Evening Musings
Hafiz
Monday, March 2, 2009
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 11:51 AM 1 comments
Spring Afternoon
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The cherry blossoms are numerous now. The tree outside of the kitchen window, once bare and reaching out to the sky with it's stick arms, is bursting with tender green leaves. The birds, once out in the open with the bare branches, are hidden in the bushy foliage. I can hear their sweet song, chirping and chattering. I have taken to throwing our bread and biscuit crumbs out of the kitchen door, attracting the brave birds to our doorstep. One even hopped into the kitchen. I can never get the camera quickly enough.
Posted by Alberta Art Classes at 3:37 PM 2 comments