Art & Life Interwoven

Command Post!

2012-01-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

This is the high point in my art studio. All can be surveyed from this step!
These are the basics of life....time, color and a fantastic pet!
Well, some of the basics!

The art of food presentation

2012-01-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

The holidays certainly present us with much that pleases the eye AND the
palette. This was the dessert my son and I shared just before we
went to a marvelous play at the Kennedy Center - my Christmas gift
to him (and myself as well!).

Sharing is also what this time of year is about and so here you have
my symbolic photo of sharing and a treat that is beautiful to look at
and eat.

Shortbread crust ! Yum!

Moonlight at Christmas

2011-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

A full moon is working to outshine the Christmas decorations
and doing a very good job, I'd say!
Something rather enchanting about the dark cold nights
and the lights of many colors all through the streets
of my town.
Then to top it off is the big white moon in
her majesty.
Delicious.

Form and color

2011-11-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

It was an overcast day and somehow it made the golden colors

of this tree even richer.

The mist adds to the dreamlike quality of it.

When the colors are gone we have to learn to love the

subtleties of greys and browns.

Can it be?

2011-11-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Oh my.

What you find when you go through old family papers.

These are from a stack of letters I wrote my parents while I was

1000 miles away at the State University of Iowa.

I loved it there.

But I missed my family terribly. We were very close.

If these had been emails, I wouldn't be photographing them today.

Nor would I have the chance to revisit evidence of how close we were

and how happy I was.

I think it is a very sad state of affairs.

Snow in October?

2011-10-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Yet another shot of the remarkable October snow here.

Poor mums are weighed down. But they bounced back!

Nature is resilient.

We're part of Nature!

The past, the past and the present!

2011-10-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

The subject line for this post is full of layered meaning.

We have here an absolutely beautiful pastel done by an old friend

who is very dear to me.

This is Lillian Russell (no, she was not my friend!).

The artist once was my babysitter. Has to have been well over

sixty years ago, too long ago to count.

I just received this image in an email and HAD to print it out

and put it on my studio bulletin board.

There you have it.

Someone from the past drawn by someone from my past who is

now in my present.

This vase is loved

2011-09-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

This lovely iridescent vase has been in my

family for many years.

I use it often and every time that I do,

I think of my Father carefully and

lovingly washing it after

the flowers that had faded away

were gone.

I can see him at the sink with his

hand down inside its narrow length.

Washing it oh so carefully so all the

spots of residue were gone

and no quick moves were made that

might break it.

Now I wash it with the same care.

And here it is for you to see.

It is about 14" tall and has such lovely

colors that play over its surface.

Behind it

on the wall

is another memory of

love.

All of a kind

2011-09-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Recently, when I decided to group all my stuffed animals and figurines of animals on one shelf in my studio, I had no idea that my Lucy was paying so much attention to my plan. She was!

Juxtaposition

2011-09-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things present themselves unexpectedly. I was having lunch with a friend and was looking around as I always do....for compositions that might make a good painting. How's this!

Love Potion recipes

2011-08-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

I can't see my photograph as I type this. I hope it is there! Just wanted to know if anyone has some recipes that WORK! Found this in Frederick Maryland.

Clouds Part Two!

2011-07-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Now you're talking!

See them galloping across the sky?

Cloud Pictures

2011-07-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

I remember my Dad telling me that he loved his Grandma Wiggins very much.

He told me that she would hunt for cloud pictures with him when he was a little boy.

And so in these lovely summertime days, I think of my Dad and his Grandma as I

look up at the fantastic clouds all around me today.

What can you see in these?

A fat lady with a topknot beckoning?

A baby seahorse cavorting?

Look up.

Find the pictures in the clouds.

If you know a little child, show him how to do it, or

maybe he'll show you!

Summer glories

2011-07-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhhhh the hydrangeas reign supreme on this early July day.

I am grateful for my zoom lens giving me this look into the intricacies of the center of

my beloved Lacecap hydrangea.

This started out in a pot as a Mother's Day gift to my wonderful mom.

Now it is huge and glorious.

Everyday I receive the greatest pleasure from its beauty.

Here' a little look for you!

Washing Machine Rant Saga

2011-07-14T09:21:00.001-07:00

OK, first of all I don't have any beautiful photograph to show you this time. I just want to say that some days you have to run as fast as you can across the flat but shaky rocks in a fast moving body of water so you don't fall in. That is what I've been doing these past three days.

I've had all my 'spare' time taken up and then some, trying to get just what I need in order to replace my defunct washing machine. I went to Sears to buy a new one and they didn't have ANYTHING that would work in the space I have. The one I got from them is 'out of stock' and the salesperson didn't get me any information as to how long would that be the case and said she thought it had actually been discontinued.

No one wants to read all this nonsense. So I will do my best to not prolong all this annoyance I have had to contend with. Good thing, and VERY good thing indeed, is that with one exception, ALL the people (a LOT of them) that I have contacted (repairmen, store personnel, knowledgeable friends and family) have been so very very helpful.

My task is to try to keep all the long lists of data straight on the myriad post-it notes I have on my desk and then decide on a sequence of action. I may just have to spring for a dryer too, even though mine is working just fine thank you. The thing is, there are no guarantees that the old dryer will fit a kit that secures it to the new washer. AND will the men bringing the new washer even TOUCH the old dryer. I'm serious. Touch it. Much less take it off the old washer, and put it back on top of the new washer secured. Crazy.

But at the very least I finally found a top recommended brand that is the size I need to fit in my space. That was a big deal. Only it will take two weeks to get here from Michigan!

OK, before I just end in a huff, let me say that Tom at Lowe's in Gaithersburg rocks! He has been fantastically helpful and patient and funny and I am grateful for him today!

Family

2011-06-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

My sister and my cousins at my 16th birthday party!

Such a long time ago and yet so sweet to see all of us in party clothes honoring the natal day of one of us. We did this for each one, but of course this is the one my Dad recorded and therefore I have the photo.

I'm feeling the presence of the older generation around me these days as I have delved into

many files of letters and photos.

We just held a small get together of some of us.

It was so precious.

Nothing else can substitute for family.

I would wish that everyone had the amazing one I grew up in.

Great Foundations!

2011-06-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

My Mother and Father!

Full of mischief and good humor!

Lucky me and lucky sister!

It is a joy to me to see their smiling faces and how much this reminds me of the

best childhood ever.

I'm doing all I can to carry on what they did for me and how huge a difference it makes in

this world to see the fun in things and the pleasure of living.

Look Up (did I say this before?!)

2011-06-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

We miss a great deal when we don't look up.

I found this out recently when visiting a museum presenting a retrospective of a

famous artist.

I was intent on the paintings until my son said to me,

Look up!

When I did, I saw marvelous quotes by the artist that had been put on the walls.

They were actually quite far up the tall walls, and without his nudge to look up,

I would have missed some great deep thoughts!

Here's one of my latest cloud shots from looking up.

It's a good summer here for fabulous clouds.

So start doing it!

Look Up!

The company of a cat

2011-06-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

As I sit at my desk there is this window to one side of me.

Last year I got a carpeted shelf for my companion to watch the world go by.

Here she is, no doubt having spotted a bird in that luxurious tree.

She likes it and I love seeing her enjoyment.

Art and Life interwoven.

Lucky me, a garden!

2011-05-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the beginning of something wonderful. Next door there is a gardener, someone who last year started a garden where previously there had been three huge pine trees which we had taken down. Now, on this side of the property line, this wonderful neighbor and his son have put in even more garden. We will have pumpkins, watermelon and lots of other cool stuff to share!

Last week his young son came over with the first lettuce crop of the season!

Life is a team effort, folks!

Surround yourself with beauty

2011-05-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why the text is appearing at the top above my photos now. But anyway, here is a gorgeous new glass bowl I found for $10.00! WOWEE, doesn't it look great? Put the irridescent balls and shell on it and voila! Cobalt blue is my new 'go-to' color this season.

My friend flies free now

2011-04-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

My dear friend has left this life and now flies free of its cares and difficulties.

As I thought about what to post to share what I feel about him, I imagined a heart.

I began looking through a few of my thousands of photographs and within a few seconds,

there it was. A picture of a heart.

Just what I wanted.

Somehow I know that he is around me just now and helped me find the heart.

He was and is very dear to me.

Someone who was a teacher of mine many years ago.

A man full of passion for life and for people.

A man with GREAT interest in life and all it has to offer.

A man who did really wonderful art and who wrote me

wonderful long newsy letters, always with photos or pictures in them.

A man who cared about other people and often spoke of his children with that

care, concern and love.

I remember that he always wished he knew how to help them better if they were having some difficulty.

Oh how he LOVED to talk and yet he truly listened as well.

Over the years I don't know how many times I saw him because he didn't live

where I lived. But when he came to town to visit an elderly aunt of his, he

would always stop to see me, see how I was doing, share the doings of his trip.

He had the greatest laugh.

I LOVED hearing him laugh and he did it so easily!

He knows how to play and joke and I know for certain

that he is playing and laughing.

I can hear him.

My heart glows with admiration and affinity for this amazing spirit.

You made my life richer for knowing you.

Bon Voyage til we meet again.

Seeing what is right in front of us

2011-04-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes beauty just comes together in the simple things

that we use everyday.

Look for that beauty where you are.

It is there.

It is up to you to behold it and to perhaps make a bit of an arrangement

out of

such beauteous elements as present themselves to you.

Related....

2011-03-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Mother on the left and me on the right.

We're about the same age in these two very different presentations.

Mom is holding her favorite doll, one that had a bisque head and was lovingly outfitted by friends of her mother's who gave it to her one Christmas.

Mrs. Wiley cut out the silhouettes of all of us that were in her first grade class.

I look pretty grown up, I'd say.

Do click on the image so that you can see how sweet my Mother looked.

You will see, however, that the paper of my profile is pretty tattered.

I just decided to frame it last year before it disintegrated.

I'm not planning to do the same thing...

Disintegrate, that is!

Elegance and a gift

2011-02-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

This lovely porcelain bird was brought to class by one of my

students.

I fell instantly in love.

What a gorgeous form, origami-like in its sharp angles and the

paper white look of it.

The shadows it cast just doubled the visual pleasure.

Here you see two shots I took of it as it sat on my desk.

Then, my lovely student, and new friend,

gifted it to me.

Sigh................

Oh tree of winter beauty!

2011-02-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when the weather and season is particularly wonderful,

I drive around the streets in my neighborhood to enjoy it.

A recent wet and heavy snow did amazing things to the trees.

I came across this gorgeous weeping tree and now I am sharing it with you!

Doesn't it look a bit like a stork? Or a crane?

See how it is made!

2011-01-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

These youngsters were getting quite a treat!

Seeing how glass can be turned into something beautiful and useful!

This is at the Art of Fire in Laytonsville, Maryland.

artoffire.com

Right now, with our wintry weather, this summer scene and the heat of

the glass furnace is especially appealing!

Gifts for our studio mascot

2011-01-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

I admit that I can take my wonderful cat for granted sometimes.

But my students never let me do that.

And so here you see her the week before Christmas with

her new toys courtesy of one student who loves her more than anyone!

Of course how to you measure love anyway?

You don't.

You just know it is.

Words of Love

2011-01-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

My Mother would be more than surprised to know I am going to share a beautiful message she wrote to my Dad for a birthday card in the 42nd year of their 70 year marriage. But it makes me see so much of what was the vital factor in their relationship ~ BEAUTY. Here is the letter:

To My Darling

On a most important Day (my Dad's 65th birthday) we've been going around together for so short a time ~ our life a kaleidoscope of color, so much enrichment, so much of joy, that whatever shadows crossed our paths the brilliance of our life has kept them all subdued.

Well, that is how I feel on your birthday ~ I hope you feel that way too.

Many many more wonderful years.

I love you.

Your Ginni

October 20th 1976

Where Have They Gone?

2010-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

Some folks have fallen off the radar this year.

They were friends of my parents and so are in their sunset years.

Perhaps the sun has set for some of them.

I sent Christmas cards to the few that I have been in contact with

over the last years since my parents left this world.

They, and I, have been grateful for the continued contact

and for the pleasure of remembering my incredible parents.

But where are they in fact?

I tried finding two of them on the white pages in Google, no luck.

One was dear enough to send out cards with her new address

now that she lives with her daughter and son-in-law.

When my parents were here with me we spoke of a long-time friend

with whom they had lost contact.

I decided to try and find out what happened to her and so

managed to get in touch with the retirement community administration office

of the place where she had moved years earlier.

She had died some years ago, they told me.

I told my parents.

We just sat quietly for a while.

People leave this life.

But they are always with us even so.

Fare well old friends.....

Happy New Year 2011!

2010-12-28T10:42:00.000-08:00

Many places have had a lot of snow this year over the holidays.

We, having had 3 major blizzards last year seem to have been

spared, at least for now!

Here are a few of my treasured pieces of winter jewelry.

My Mother gave me the great big snowflake pendant and

matching earrings.

My sister made the holly leaves pendant

and

my cousin gave me the wonderful star pin for Christmas last year.

I love them all for their beauty.

But I love them best for their sentiment.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

With all my sincere wishes for a beautiful holiday with your

friends

and your families.

Winter moon

2010-12-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

Middle of the night moon out my window.

There is something about the cold and a winter moon that goes together.

The silvery quality of that sight with the tips of leafless trees in the frigid night.

Just a bit of a poem beginning in these words.

My homemade wreath

2010-12-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Each year I make my wreath by taking a grapevine wreath and cedar bows from

the trees in my yard.

Then I add the decor and a big red bow!

The last touch is a light which I shine on it for the dark and cold winter nights.

So here it is for you, wherever you may be this Christmas season 2010.

Merry Christmas!

My Mother's wooden spoon

2010-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

First you see the entirety of the spoon.

Then I had to shoot it close up so you could see the worn edge from the many years my Mother cooked with this spoon.

As the holidays approach, I am doing more cooking of various kinds and I often find myself reaching for this particular spoon of my Mother's because it is so obvious she used it so much that it wore down.

You may think it is dirty, but it isn't. Just has been burned somehow and nothing short of sandpaper would take it off.

But you know that I would never do that.

It's the patina gained from many years of her dedicated and wonderful meals lovingly prepared for us. Not all mothers are like this. I know I was blessed.

Thanks Mom, I'm adding my own patina to yours.

Love, Lynne

I have other wood spoons of my Mom's, and a few of my own, but this one is the one that connects me to her in the most special way.

Ready set GO!

2010-12-01T07:56:00.000-08:00

I have a LOT of cookie cutters gathered over many years.

Here are just a few of them.

I haven't made any cookies for a few years now and so recently I got these babies out

and made some sugar cookies.

There were a few cutters on the counter and I noticed how interesting they were with

the overhead kitchen lights coming from the left and right.

Then I had to make an arrangement (you know artists!) for this photo.

So there you have it!

Now that they are out, I have made three batches so far!

Get busy!

Cookie Treats after the BIG meal!

2010-11-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

My contribution to Thanksgiving dinner was a side dish and these star cookies!

I was thinking that after the BIG fabulous meal,

a home-made sugar cookie would be just the thing!

The photograph of my dear friend's DEAR father is the proof!

Gratitude's face

2010-11-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is the face of a statue I bought because I loved the

sweetness of the expression. Just under the flower

are the hands in a prayerful position.

It always makes me think that he is saying -

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

May you have a very long list of things you are

thankful for!

I do!

Cloud painting

2010-11-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

When the weather gets cold and colder, we often do not get outside enough.

We all need space....

Most of us work with our focus on things that are just a foot or so away.

Recently I went for a drive in the country just to break that fixed focus and it really felt wonderful!

So remember to get out and get some space!

Decisions, decisions!

2010-11-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

I was able to grab this shot before this darling child moved away or others came into the picture field. She is just so taken by the array of decor that she never even knew I was there.

I am particularly loving her outfit and stray curl on her forehead!

You never know what

2010-10-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Now you can see why I have my camera with me at all times!

Hard to explain why I am posting this on my

'Art and Life Interwoven' blog, but here it is nevertheless.

Remember, art is in the eye of the beholder!

And remember to keep your eyes open!

Poised

2010-08-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Poise....

Interesting to contemplate the difference in meanings of the same word.

Here we have a butterfly poised on a flower.

We say a young lady with good social graces has poise.

In both cases, we can see the shared idea of balance which you find if you look up the definition.

Both words have the root meaning of 'weigh', 'ponder'.

I love words.

Especially ones that sound good when spoken.

But they also have to have a good meaning.

Like these: symphony, delicious, magical, ridiculous, besotted, sparkly, tickle, camisole, roundabout, fuzzy, Lake Wononscopomac.

Sharing Love

2010-08-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

It is easy to understand Monet's intense love of water, of water flowers, of reflections, and of gardens.

But his images give us what he loved so that we can love it too through his eyes, and then,

through our own.

Thank you to all artists who show us their loves and share it.

My Aunt Milly

2010-08-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, my dearest Aunt passed on to her next adventure.

I cannot begin to say how much I will miss her because of her great good sense of humor and fun that was, for me, what gives Life to Life!

I was looking through some family letters this morning and found this poem.

It was in a very faded letter that my wonderful Mother, at the tender age of 28, had sent to her new mother-in-law.

It could not be a better description of my Aunt if it had been written expressly for her.

Build for yourself a strong box.

Fashion each part with care.

When it's stong as your hand can make it

Put all your troubles there.

Hide there all thoughts of your failures

And each bitter cup that you quaff,

Lock all your heartaches within it,

Then sit on the lid and laugh.

Here's to you my darling Milly.

Thank you for every laugh you gave and for every one we shared.

And for every time you said to me 'How're you doing, Lynnesey Baby?'

I will see you down the line.

But til then, I seek to follow your example

Inspired by this photograph of you and Dad.

Love always and forever,

Lynne

A very hot summer.......

2010-08-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

When I took this picture which was sometime in the last month, it was a very very hot day.

I was taking visitors to see this beautiful place and it was the only time we had to go there.

When you look at this photograph, you can't tell that it is a beastly hot day with no shade for relief.

It is hot today too.

It has been really really hot all summer this year.

Then I started thinking about the people who live in Moscow where there are toxic fumes and smog in the air from ferocious forest fires, as well as extreme summer heat.

I heard one report that it is so bad there it is like smoking 1-2 packs of cigarettes an hour.

Then I started thinking about the people in Pakistan who have had their lives and possessions washed away by heavy floods.

Then I started thinking that the heat here isn't so bad. It's only hot, it's not life-threatening because we can be in air-conditioning.

Well not everyone maybe....we had a very intense thunder and lightning storm early this morning and many of my friends and colleagues are without power and it is still HOT.

OK.

I'm good now.

Just had to rant.

And then realize that I have so very much to be thankful for.

And I am.

Basic Choices

2010-08-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

My Mother

2010-08-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today marks the anniversary of my Mother's birth. It is now 103 years ago that she showed up on this crazy little planet and lived her long and valuable life.

Here she is in a photograph taken of her by my Father when they were first married.

She never thought she was beautiful, but everyone else could see it.
I never have to try to think of wonderful things to say about my Mom. They just were evident as soon as you first met her.

I, of course, had the great privilege of being part of her life for all of her 95 years here.

Her stellar qualities are:

Humor

Caring about others and helping them with her

Wisdom

Flexibility and willingness and interest to try new things

A love of color and knowing how to use it, especially in her watercolor paintings

Her love of art and artists

Observing what others wanted or needed and then doing that for them if possible

Sweetness and no nastiness, just a streak of great humor about others and herself

Her smile

Her love of my Dad and her support of him always

Her love and help to my sister and to me

Her devotion to her grandsons

Her incredible sense of fun and mischief!

Her courage

Grace and dignity (unless she was making a funny remark!)

Not complaining but going off to herself and not putting what challenged her on others.

Again, her ability to always see what was funny about life and the gift

of making others laugh about it too.

Her lifelong ability to listen and to understand.

Thank you Mom.

My life is what it is because of these gifts from you.

Love always, Lynne

Sparkling color of another era

2010-08-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog is Art and Life Interwoven.

The art is the beauty of this necklace.

(Click on the image to see it large and gorgeous!)

Life says let's clear out the great accumulation you have amassed.

I let Life reign here over the beauty.

But now I know someone else is enjoying this piece.

It was one that someone gave to my mother after their wife died.

Still, it was beautiful and I can visit this page to see it once in a while!

I am happy with the decision to pass it on.

There is always new beauty to find in life.

It is the search I love most!

Sailing away from me

2010-07-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is a place, this blog of mine, where I say what delights me, interests me, moves me.

A dear friend came to visit me from very far away.

Now he has returned to his own land and the full life he has created there.

I also return to mine.

But he has sailed away and I am feeling sad today.

The day after.

Summer colors!

2010-07-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

After being without a finch feeder for some years, and having racoons get to the one I used to have and pull it down and eat all the contents, I got this one!

I have hung it high enough (I hope) to keep them from reaching it,

and for the visual delight of seeing these brilliant feathered friends use it!

A student gift for me!

2010-07-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

This little guy is just over an inch tall!

He is a gift brought to me all the way from Bolivia by a student of mine who

has just visited her home country!

She saw it in a market (she has good eyes to spot something so tiny!) and

thought of me.

Now that is special.

Very special.

I glued him onto this block that has a piece of one of my watercolors.

If you click on the image you will see it bigger!

Cool, huh?

Sombrero in unexpected place!

2010-06-30T13:59:00.003-07:00

Waiting at a stop light I notice something shiny off to my left.

I turned my head to see what it was.

Here you have it!

A gorgeous embroidered sombrero on a young lady in a very spiffy convertible.

You have to stay alert or you miss these delightful things in your environment!

Surveying the kingdom

2010-05-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Black, white and red all over.

An old joke applied to my Lucy.

She loves surveying her kingdom from the

screened-in porch!

Of course I have to wipe off the table before we have

dinner out there!

All kinds of students!

2010-05-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have to admit that the painting on the easel is

not one of Lucy's. (Hers are still drying in the back room)

But after one of my students got up from her stool, Lucy

had to give her critique and check out the palette. She

didn't say anything, just looked and then got down.

She does this all the time. I know she's going to come

back in another life and be a dazzling prodigy with no

one the wiser (except me, because I'll be on the look-

out!)

Cats who supervise

2010-04-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here you see my studio mascot intently watching one of my students at work.

When students arrive, she greets them all and then

supervises their creations.

Her usual mode is to sit ON top of their notebooks which lay open on my desk.

Occasionally she will jump up on one of their stools in front of their

drawing or painting.

I just know she's going to return in another life and be some hot shot artist

and only I will be the wiser!

A friend has gone

2010-04-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

In the lovely wooded yard behind my friend's home there is a stand of bamboo, just like this one.

As I looked through my photographs to find one that would be just right

for this moment, I found this one.....

An empty bench in front of beautiful bamboo.

And so my friend Doug has left us.

He lived a very good and long life, carrying it on all the way to 92.

His marriage of 68 years was a very good one

and I am happy to know that his dear wife is doing well, though as she told me,

there is a hole in her heart.

I have know this remarkable family for many many years. There are lots of them! In Doug's generation, there were 6 siblings. I have been close friends with 4 of them and their special grace and humor has been a constant gift in my life.

No one I know in my life knows them except my son, and he was too young to really have the relationship I have had.

So I am finding it somewhat lonely not to have anyone with which to share this loss.

Of course there are the others in Doug's family,

but that is not the same as having friends that have a real idea, a deep understanding of what this means in terms of the loss that it is to me.

There are some people that have made life so precious, so celebrated, so funny, so full of care and attention,

that their departure leaves a hole of magnitude....

and an empty bench.

Today I sit on a bench like this and know that anyone who may read this will understand, especially Doug.

Abundance of pleasure

2010-04-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

This seems the perfect illustration of what this blog is about and why I am writing it.

Life has much in it that is not so beautiful and is hard to admire.

Perhaps if we didn't resist those things we don't consider beautiful they would change for us.

After all, it is we who determine beauty and ugliness.

Benjamin Franklin, in Poor Richard's Almanack, 1741, wrote:
"Beauty, like supreme dominion

Is but supported by opinion."

With this cherry blossom loveliness, I daresay the opinion of loveliness is

unanimous!

Springtime in Washington D.C.

2010-04-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

It has been many years since I saw the quintessential cherry blossoms

in the heart of Washington D.C.

This year I had the great good fortune to be invited along with friends of mine and WOW

What a Day!

It was, as you see, all blue skies and blossoms at their peak.

Even if all the things one can say have been said about this experience,

it is still so absolutely marvelous and enchanting.

I loved seeing the people taking in the loveliness of the day and its visual treasures.

Thank you once again to Japan for this tremendous gift.

Beauty and drawbacks

2010-02-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

I photographed this very long icicle out my bathroom window early one morning last week.

I have never seen such a large icicle on my house in all the time I've lived here.

There were other large ones that formed as well, but this one, a real beauty, presented

problems that developed over the days of our very intense 2-punch blizzards here in the northeast.

An ice dam formed, jutting out over top of the icicles.

Oh oh.

Several years ago before the new roof went on, there was water pouring down the INSIDE of the bathroom wall. Was this to happen again?

Yes.

BUT it only last a short while and it did not run down the walls, just dripped from the window onto the window sill.

I am told the the insulation needs checking.

Next job.

This is the life part of life and art interwoven.

I know, I didn't have to tell you that...

Gifts of the very best kind

2010-01-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is a thank you to my son for helping me over the holidays. He stayed a week longer than originally planned and made sure all was well here before returning to his home.

This gorgeous stargazer lily is a gift he brought me on one of those days.

I call this blog Art and Life Interwoven and that is

what this is to me.

The art of living,

of celebrating what is beautiful

interwoven with love and caring.

Gifts, beautiful loving gifts

2010-01-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

I have been regaining strength after getting a new hip.

Throughout this somewhat lengthy and intense process,

I have had many blessings.

Friends and strangers were truly there for me - were kind and loving and supportive during the challenge of these weeks.

Above you see a beautiful lady in front of a graceful tree that echoes her loveliness.

These are both gifts to me and like everything that I have experienced,

they compliment each other and yet were not planned to be so.

I think it is a life lesson to receive what others give you from the deep kindness of their hearts.

It is a treasure in my life to experience this.

I am deeply thankful for such blessings.

Before its entirely over

2010-01-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

One of my neighbors across the street had their lights down by New Years Day. But yet another still has their small white twinkle lights gracing the cold winter nights we've been having lately.

As for me, I have candles in the windows and my wreath still gets lit by

a spotlight that is on for several hours each dark winter's eve.

I usually leave my candles in the windows until the end of February. Things are so bare that I feel it all needs a little visual warmth!

This image is one I made while playing around with my digital camera as I photographed our Christmas tree.

I almost like it better than the realistic photographs I took.

Artists - they play around! Here's to a year of happy playing around to us all!

New Year Moon tonight!

2009-12-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

I confess that I took this photo last year, but it seemed so perfect because tonight, as 2010 arrives, we will also have a rare blue moon.

A blue moon means there are two full moons in one month.

Where the name comes from I have no idea....something to google!

I wish the very best for each one of us for the coming year.

Should everyone actually achieve the very best, then we all win!

Happy New Year!

Beauties of the Season

2009-12-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

The first snow has come before Christmas this year.

On the mid-part of the East Coast of the USA that is unusual!

It was a perfect sort of snow. It blanketed the trees and not the streets!

This morning the sun was out again and as I looked from

my window at the tree out front, I saw a ROBIN!!!!

What the heck!

For Thanksgiving Day 2009 - A Poem

2009-11-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here and Beyond
By Lynne Oakes
Thanksgiving Day 2009

Living on this planet is not an easy matter and so the times that are
Extraordinarily wonderful
Extremely good
Especially precious
Exceptionally beautiful
Ever so succulent
and
Beyond any physical measure

Become all the more extraordinary for the ugly that is out there.

We try to never let any of it touch our children or ourselves, but
Living here in this place it is not yet possible.

It can be done much better than most think to be true, so
Give it all you’ve got to make it
Especially, extremely, extraordinarily, exceptionally fantastic
and
Ever so succulent
carrying it
Beyond any physical measure.

It is a sacred trust, a Sacred Trust to make all Life as sweet as you can~
Your own life and the lives of others that
You touch fully or partly or briefly.

If you had no other purpose than that, it would serve.
It is no small thing –creating the very best experiences in the face of
The daunting challenges of this world.

Basically we come down to the only force worth propelling us beautifully forward:
LOVE.

Reflecting....

2009-11-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

While reflections are quite wonderful and interesting in themselves,

what they do is expand that which they reflect, making even more of it.

In this Thanksgiving week, as we are among family and friends,

we will see reflections of each other.

It's not quite the same thing as a photographic reflection,

but if you look closely, I trust you will

see the best thing of all reflected in the faces that surround you:

LOVE.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I can now see

2009-11-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

I couldn't see this tree until earlier this year when my three 80 foot pines were

taken down.

Destruction can make way for new wonders.

This is certainly one of them in my world and I never could see it before those other trees

were gone.

I'm loving the light on the trunk and the changing leaf colors of fall.

Stools in Waiting....

2009-10-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

There is an old bar and restaurant that I enjoy going to for their truly excellent food.

The restaurant is upstairs and there is a cut out area where you can

look down to the bar as in this photo.

Every time I go, I think of the many years that lives of people that have interconnected in this

place. It could be as many as 100 because this is a vintage

building in a town that has preserved many of its wonderful old places.

To me, that preservation is about art and life interwoven.....

My mother still speaks to me

2009-10-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, my Mother still speaks to me.

It is from the written page in her own hand.

(Click on the image to enlarge and read it!)

Here she presents herself at the beginning of one of her many sketchbooks.

At at the end, she gives me her customary validation.

I always felt so totally accepted and validated by her.

Now that she is no longer in this earthly plane,

I treasure finding her thoughts and words again.

Remember this when you write everything in an email.

There is nothing like the written word on a piece of paper in your hands.

Without and with....

2009-10-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here's yet another reason why always having my sweet little Olympus camera in my purse

pays off.

There was no one around dressing these dummies and it just seemed a

moment too good to pass by.

Nuff said.

Oh Lovely Earth....

2009-09-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Wishing I could make this photo ENORMOUS and put it on a wall somewhere!

When you work up close as artists do, getting space is essential so that you

can keep your viewpoint fresh.

This gorgeous scene was on a light misty rain sort of day in the Maryland countryside.

That's Sugarloaf Mountain in the background.

Well around here, WE call it a mountain!

Even in rain

2009-09-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

I attended a concert this summer that was on wonderful open park grounds. Part of the theater is under cover, but then there is very popular lawn area as well.

I passed this scene as we were walking to the theater.

We had just eaten (under cover), but here you see someone who was having their meal only under cover of dripping tree branches and their umbrella.

How it actually felt to be there and how it looked is quite different.

I see romance in this scene as I am not having to directly experience it!

Then I think of what photographers have to do to get their artful shots.

We see the striking end result, never thinking that theyare

suffering heat or freezing cold, cramped waiting, bugs, scary heights,

and lord knows what all.

Artists often make the art they see more important than their comfort.

The Grass is Just as Green

2009-09-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my very own garden.

I see it every day.

Do I SEE it every day?

Hmmmmm.

Look.

That's the thing.....LOOK!

Nature Called me

2009-08-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

It was 5:45 a.m. earlier this week.

Having gotten up to answer one type of nature's call,

I noticed it was very bright out the window.

And so I saw that nature had called me in yet another way!

I had my camera upstairs with me which isn't always the case.

Being barely awake, I lifted the screen and propped the camera on the

windowledge.

Wow!

I got this shot and even the stars!

I seek to experience the beauty of this planet wherever and however I find it.

Stars at dawn.

Ummmmmmmmmmmm......nice, very very nice.

The possibilities are endless

2009-08-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

I carry my bright magenta compact Olympus camera with me all the time.

As I sat at a stoplight on a rainy day last week I was looking out the window at this scene.

I wondered how the camera would capture it and

here you have it!

I have had this small camera for over a year now and

I continue to find new shots to make which wouldn't have occurred to me before.

This is one of those.

Will I make a painting out of it?

Some shots just stand on their own!

I will miss this beauty

2009-08-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Until this past Monday, I could look out my window and see this lovely arm of pine needles on a branch that would sway lightly with the breeze.

Now it is gone, but still I celebrate the beauty it gave me.

Sometimes one has to destroy things in order to create newly.

A hard lesson, but one that is necessary on planet earth.

Elegy for my trees

2009-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is the last day in the life of this enormous pine tree that is between my home and my neighbor's. It is the first in a row of three that goes downhill.

The middle one, which you cannot see here, is dead.

And that lead to evaluating the three of them and the problems such huge trees cause having

grown to maturity in a small space.

The one farthest downhill is leaning toward my neighbor's roof for one thing.

But I LOVE trees and I hate the thought of seeing these living things cut down. Living things that bring me pleasure in their majesty.

They soften the hard lines of the houses.

They sway and whisper in the breeze as pine trees do.

And they hold snow fall better than any tree alive.

Please forgive me.

Great Grandpa's awl

2009-07-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working very intensely for the past 6 weeks along with my son. We have been going through many family things that were still in my house.

This is one of many.

We have had the privilege of holding the past in our hands.

My Dad called his Grandfather 'Grandpa Wiggins'. This awl was in a large old wooden tool chest that was my Grandfather's. My Dad told me he used to climb into it when he was just a little feller! And it was still full of so many tools.

I had such a feeling when I picked them up of getting just the tiniest bit of him in my hand.

I saved a file with a handmade handle.

Surely he made that handle.

When he crafted it, he had no idea that one day his great great granddaughter and great great great grandson would be holding it with affection for his work.

Going over things and deciding

2009-07-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

When one has lived a lifetime of considerable years and has the taste of an artist, a problem arises.

Too much stuff.

Too much beautiful stuff.

Can that be possible?

Uh-huh, definitely!

Having not only my own beautiful stuff, I have now acquired a great deal of my parent's beautiful stuff and the problem expands!

These lovely glasses are not just beautiful, but were a wedding gift to my parents from my Mother's mother. She had few funds to buy such a wonderful present and I knew that, and so here I see them, a gift of love given some 75 years ago, and I can't part with them.

Even though one glass is missing from the set.

And this is only one example of my dilema.

I'm only ruthless to a point.

Nature in two aspects

2009-06-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

I have planted flowers in this double planter every year for quite a while.

This year I especially love the colors of this collection.

However, nature can also have her own ideas and timing and in the

second photo, you see the top of a very long branch that landed on

the deck.

Nature does her thing and we continue to seek to

put in order.

It was a day's work with a chain saw.

Enough said.

The planter and contents just sat there continuing to look beautiful and orderly.

That is, after all, what I am seeking to do in life!

Bella and Jann

2009-05-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

I sit staring at the keyboard trying to think of what to say, what to write, what to do.

Bella is my friend Jann's pet - so well loved by her.

Jann left us suddenly last week in her sleep and all of us who love her are trying to

absorb the un-absorbable.

I think of Bella now and then, knowing that Jann rescued her from a shelter

and made a wonderful life for this luxurious kitty who was afraid

of everything when Jann first got her.

I remember one story Jann told me of Bella wanting to be outside so badly (Jann would be gardening and Bella would be on an upper porch watching) that Bella actually

leapt off that porch a full story up from the ground! Seemed to be no worse for it either!

Then Jann started letting Bella roam about her garden, making sure that Miss B didn't wander off somewhere. That would happen, but Jann kept a tight line of affinity and control on Bella.

I am trusting that Jann, though not here in the physical world, still has a tight line of

affinity on Bella

and on all of us who love her so.

We certainly do have that loveline on her now more than ever.

Gifts that grow

2009-05-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

My sister, who is a wonderful gardener, brought me iris from her garden some half dozen years ago.

They have bloomed each year, but this year they really took off and I was

able to cut them and enjoy them in this arrangement. And still there were

plenty to grace the garden.

This is one gift that gets better every year.

Thanks Sis.

Attention to detail and 'modern' life

2009-05-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

I trust that you will take the time to look at the three photographs I've taken

of this ivory netsuke.

It is 2 inches tall.

I am showing you several angles, because you can't see it in all its marvelous detaill unless you look carefully, turning it in your hand.

There is no part of it that was done in a glib tossed-off manner.

Every single side of it was fully worked out and carved.

The artist had a complete idea and then carried it out for the delight of the user and the viewer.

Netsukes were fashioned to be worn as weights holding the sash in place on the robes of Japanese men in the 17th century.

What I think, as I have admired these tiny exquisitely carved treasures, is that such work in the cultures of the world has been usurped by the relentless march of technology.

It is what we have allowed to happen.

And yet, I think we lose a great deal of needed personal attention to things when we can just fire off an email or watch mindless TV.

I am guilty as anyone, but what I seek to do is to find some balance so that the treasures that can be created and the time to admire and contemplate in the entire 'picture' of life instead of watching it tear by....

Well I think it matters in the short run and the long run.

It is about being present and truly being responsible for

the quality of life that makes it worth living.

Posing

2009-05-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine said that Lucy was like a person. Then he asked me if I knew why that was so. When I said no, he said it is because I treat her like a person.

OK. So here she is posing for me on the sofa...at her best angle.

Hmmm.....

Seems I've got others cooperating to make everything around me look good.

Cool, huh?

Spring at last!

2009-04-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally made up her mind and has shown up to stay!

We had a lot of back and forth days of warmth and coolth and so today we are now fully in the Spring Zone of action!

This is a shot from my home of the lake with a fisherman walking the path to find

the perfect spot.

Care for yourself

2009-04-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am using this photo from my local beauty shop as a symbol of caring for yourself and

your appearance.

That which we present to the world (regardless of how we look first thing in the morning!) is a responsibility. Our personal aesthetic enhances the lives of everyone we meet each day.

I appreciate those I know and those I don't know who look wonderful and "put together".

There is a larger purpose to looking good than just showing off!

It actually makes the lives of others a bit better, even if just for a moment in passing on the street.

Have you not passed a woman in a lovely dress, or a man in a handsome leather jacket and noticed? That is an enhancement to your day!

Here's to looking good and enjoying it in ourselves and others!

This is the sight that greets me in the morning!

2009-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

My springtime morning wake up scenery!

This gorgeous Bradford pear tree is all abloom now.

It is the largest one I have ever seen.

There is something joyous in seeing the return of pale blossoms after the greys and browns of the winter months.

I am thinking the seasons are passing faster and faster.

Today I came across something my mother wrote in one of her journals ~

Time is a ribbon that unrolls faster with age.

M. Virginia Haussler

Small pleasures

2009-04-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Out to dinner at my favorite Asian place.

The chef/owner did all the decor here as well as choosing the dishes, etc.

This glass has little indentations on the sides so it won't be as likely to slip when you

pick up the glass with its lovely condensation!

Little touches.

Then there is the remarkable way the lemon slice looks through the water.

Click on the image and see for yourself.

It's beautiful.

Little things.

Beautiful little things.

The "WOW" Factor!

2009-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

All of us have 'stuff'. Lots of stuff. What I try to do is pull together the stuff that looks good together. Usually it is spread around the house and one isn't seeing how those things can relate and create some WOW!

After bringing home these great tulips which were 'wow' in themselves, I put the glittery cloth out, found the vase that is gilded with silver, picked up a leftover bow from a gift that was laying on a side table, re-tied it around the vase, and placed the candle sticks with new yellow tapes to each side. Well that was very attractive, but that evening, when it had gotten dark, I turned on the overhead light and then we really had WOW.

An unexpected gift

2009-03-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

My friend just returned from a trip abroad and brought me this gift.

She thought it was a work of art and I agree.

She told me that she actually had no idea it was white chocolate with dried strawberries on top until later when she took a closer look!

I decided to put it here because the point is -

the art of something is always what grabs one's attention first.

So cloth your life with art and aesthetics and then

be sure that what is contained therein is also beautiful.

The Very Edge of Things

2009-03-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

In recent months, many friends have lost family members.

I remember how it was for me when my parents died and I hope I have been at least

a little helpful to the ones I have talked to.

Why, you may say, do I have a photograph of a house that is literally hugging the very edge of the road? How does that have anything to do with this subject?

I am thinking that when one has not died themselves, but is hit hard by the loss of a person

dear to them, that is it like being on the edge of life itself.

It can be hard to get the distinction between what happened to the other person

and what is happening to them.

To be able to step back and regain one's sense of Life and one's self and then

to proceed on in the fullness of Life that one actually has and can have again

is the challenge.

To not become the effect of what happened to the other person.

The Beauty in Small Things

2009-03-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

This entire arrangement, vase and all, is no bigger than 3 inches.

The blooms are from my early summer garden and in bringing

their early tiny flowers inside, it gave me the promise

of bigger things to come.

So let's celebrate small things that are beautiful and see what

great and gorgeous things may come of them.

Children come to mind.

Go closer

2009-03-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

Some posts back, I showed the photo of this whole arrangement including the vase. The vase is no more than three inches high and so you see it is quite the tiny display.

Now to come closer, with the magic of the camera and see yet more

of the beauty of these tiny bits of my garden.

Some years ago when my Dad was still alive, I bought a scanner.

I did it to copy photos onto my computer scrapbook of little snapshots from his childhood.

They were all sepia-toned and rather small. I carefully removed each one and scanned it in.

The wonder of it was that for the first time EVER, these precious shots of days long gone were made larger than he or anyone had ever seen them.

They became a slideshow on my laptop for him and the family.

Small things really treasured and noticed.

Waiting to be chosen

2009-03-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

These little guys sit patiently waiting for a student to draw or paint them in one of

my art classes. Sometimes I imbue them with life which is a leftover of

childhood and a fun one at that.

But they are inanimate and I am animate.

They have to wait to be chosen.

I can wait to be chosen.

I should chose.

That's way the better thing to do.

Round and Round!

2009-03-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite so marvelous as a beautiful old carousel. But have you

ever considered as you go round and round in your life that there may be a

tiger right behind you?

That you may get lulled into a sort of stupor because of the apparency of things

being as they always are, and yet, when one is in a sort of haze due to doing

things routinely on automatic that you miss stuff?

You can miss the beautiful stuff and you can miss the stuff that you had better handle.

This is the carousel at Glen Echo Park in Maryland.

Be flexible

2009-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

OK, so this is a funny photo to go with this idea, but listen!

I am finding as I get older that I get into such grooves that they can turn

into (god forbid) ruts!

Of course each of us has to assess which is which, but I recommend that

we all take a moment from time to time and see what we can change out

from old patterns and get a new look at things from a different viewpoint.

My cat inspires me to consider that even if I am not as physically flexible as she is,

I can be flexible in my life's activities so the grooves don't turn into ruts!

The personal value of visual beauty

2009-03-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Most of us know how we feel when there is a messy room to clean up. Yuck. The disorder of it affects our sense of peace and order. It is soul-satisfying to see it all fixed up.

This is not a small matter.

Continual disorder can reflect our mental state.

Temporary disorder affects our mental state.

When I see the beauty in a sparkly clean wine glass, all the reflections dancing in it, I see order as well. Smudges on the glass would distract from the beauty there.

Disorder distracts us from moving ahead because so much is incomplete that it can

trap us in the past.

I have just completely revamped my office. And now I have the feeling that I can move ahead with my projects, instead of having to override what is unaddressed and confusing.

I salute order, and in order there is much beauty to be found.

Sparkle

2009-02-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

I took this photograph a few summers ago near the home where I grew up on Long Island, New York. It wasn't until later when I saw the actual photo that I could see the effects the light caused on the water.

Please do click on this image because you will see the sparkle magnified and gorgeous!

Today I am making a case for sparkling. Being sparkling oneself...whatever that may

mean to you. To me, it means being of good cheer and really meaning it.

I am happy most of the time because I am doing what I love and am surrounded

by people I love and who love me.

It makes a difference in the amount of sparkle one can muster.

So the more you get your ideal life in place, the more you will find it easy

to sparkle.

It has to be real, not put on, and yet sometimes I make a decision to sparkle

in the face of unfortunate circumstances or news. I've certainly had some

in the last few weeks and so I decided I would not stay stuck in these various matters,

but would consciously grab back my sparkle so that I would

1. Enjoy my self

2. Be good for others

Do whatever you have to so that you can polish off the dullness and shine with your

true self.

Networks of Strength

2009-02-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

I have heard a great deal of sad news in the last two weeks. Just way too many losses of people for many reasons, not all of them from death. Under the circumstances, I have had to take a very big dose of my own prescription to overcome the feelings associated with all this. But I have also had the opportunity to be of service to some of those who have suffered losses and so I have been finding my own way through it to this point of view which I am expressing here today.

In order to not get stuck in the heaviness that loss can trigger, we must have networks of strength that we continue to create throughout our lives. These are the people that are truly positive and who do not minimize life's difficulties, yet they do not get mired in it and stay there, sinking lower and lower.

Find and make those connections and build them so that you will have the spirit-filled space you need when it seems that all the air was sucked out of your own. We can expand the free calm space of others by adding our own. When we need that from them, then it will be there.

I have chosen the tops of these trees against the sky to illustrate a network of strength. Without the gifts of the air, sky and sun, the network of branches that makes up the tree would fail...so look up and out and find your own networks of strength for the give and take which makes life what it is....a team effort.

Create Magic

2009-02-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

I wish to invite you to create magic, to find magic, to look for it all around you.

These are times when magic seems in short supply, but it is only because you have stopped putting it out there, or at least enjoying what magic you find!

You are the one who can drop down into despair as well as the one who can simply affirm your own truth, the one that you want to have!

So just grab hold and say, This is me!

I can do this!

I'm in charge of the quality and magic of my life!

I do not, however, seem to be in charge of the way this blog is putting my text and photos together. Well that's not so bad! I did take this photo and now you see something magical that I caught in the window of a restaurant near where I live.

You see, magic is all around you. If you smile, it the magic will start right there on your face!