Tag: Creativity

Zibaldone|28 November 2022

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November brought 1- Congressional elections; 2 – spectacular color courtesy Mother Nature; 3 – old, new and many-paged books in my reading stack; 4- delightful morning walks, although for about ten days, the temps hovered in the low to mid 30s. 5- birthday celebration: floral bouquet for my 80th birthday trip around the sun and 6 – my great grand nephew, Elias’ 5th. AmaZing! 7 – The photo that shows a doll on my path caused me to think how sad it got lost. 8 – I was intrigued by the painter capturing the autumn scene in watercolors… 9 – I walked to the Franciscan Monastery Saturday and was delighted to see the Koi pond filled with fish.

I am also delighted with this quilt-let, approx 12” x 12.” I made it after my trip to Sisters OR in July. I call it “I Left My Heart in Sisters…” and am embarking on a new and exciting “slow stitching” program.

Stay tuned for December’s magic. And thanks for joining me on my journey.

Cheers~

Loof Lirpa

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IMG_1683   Norman introduced me to Loof Lirpa – April Fool spelled backwards. Rather clever,  I thought. Decades ago, one April First, he called an emergency staff meeting, sharing that due to increased competition from rivals, sales were dipping – the office/warehouse (he was in the beer business) might need to close and staff, furloughed. Understandably, staff were flabbergasted: What would they do? How would they meet their financial obligations? Questions came fast and furious… Norman had posted an agenda; the heading: LOOF LIRPA. He suggested that staff look at the agenda and see what they might learn from a careful analysis. After a few quiet minutes, someone shouted : APRIL FOOL! Ah yes! The secret was out…and staff, could and did breathe a gigantic sigh of relief. Years later, every April Fool’s Day, they remembered and ribbed him – even after he’d retired – about Loof Lirpa. I remember in elementary school how much we reveled in playing a joke on classmates …and then we’d convulse in laughter, feeling quite smug that we’d succeeded in besting each other. Our jokes, crazy questions, pranks were never created out of meanness – at least I don’t recall.  Just plain old fashioned fun. I looked up the origin of April Fool’s Day and found an article on History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day. And this: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/g38986579/april-fools-quotes/ It seems that the news industry, including social media, takes April Fool’s Day quite seriously. There are all sorts of Loof Lirpa cartoons, coupons for fast food, gifs, poems, quotes, recipes, stories, tweets, videos, etc… Gretchen Rubin, prolific author of books on happiness and the very popular podcast: Happier with Gretchen Rubin, shares a story of introducing her older daughter, who was then about 7, to April Fool’s Day…you can read about it here. It’s a delightful story.  I imagine a 7-years’-old-soon-to-be-8 young guy I know might enjoy learning more about Loof Lirpa, this way, too. For me, I don’t have any Loof Lirpa tricks up my sleeve -but Chris, my 7 nearly 8 years old great grand nephew did: He made a bandaid out of toilet paper and pretended that he’d been hurt. Fooled his mother and grandmother and me and aunts, etc… I’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane and learning more about this fun day, especially on a Friday that began with cloudy skies, now blue; the sun’s out; clouds are for the most part puffy, white- tinged with grey and the temp’s on it’s way to a high of 65 degrees. What Loof Lirpa stories come to your mind? Whatever and whenever, do enjoy! Cheers~

simply a moment | 1.15.22 …

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~watching Ali Edwards Story Begin presentation~

Saturday. 1:15 pm – well, 1:18 pm.  Just as I started to “pen this post,” my sister called to see if I’d be home this afternoon – Yep!  We caught up a bit, said “goodbye; see you later.” I sat down to write, capture the moment.  The morning has been quiet – just what I needed and “scheduled” via default, i.e., I planned to not do much of anything, texting to a friend : “Just enjoying a slow morning/day. Nothing pressing or urgent or exciting on the docket – and that’s A OK with me. To be continued…”

A while back, I saw an Instagram planner entry dubbed “Self-care Saturday.”  The idea has intrigued me and I’ve toyed with it ever since.  What are the things I do or could do that could/would be check marks in the self-care column, hmmm?

1. Enjoy a leisurely morning, journaling, watching the weather evolve, birds and squirrels forage, study the sky as the weather changes. Things I do pretty much everyday…

2. Read.  My morning reads are mostly non-fiction … On Saturdays, maybe switch to fiction?

3. Plan and Journal the day’s agenda/itinerary – if there is one …

4. FaceTime and /or Text with family and friends …

5. Drink tea. Prepare/eat breakfast or brunch …

I don’t sleep in – I’m generally up at the same time everyday and I deliberately don’t look at news or email. I definitely don’t plan, if at all avoidable, to run errands, grocery shop, do household chores unless an event/task, such as going to the city’s “transfer station,” a fancy title for dump, falls on Saturday. Later today, I have a 3 PM Zoom session on a craft technique: stamping…a skill that comes with practice, patience and persistence.

Coming with the 15th of each month is also Ali Edwards’ Story Kits, Stamps, Prompts. This month’s theme: Begin. Perfect. It’s January, the beginning of a new year, accompanied by “resolve” to refrain from exercising old habits, ways, etc that did not contribute towards fulfillment. Certainly that holds true for me in many ways.  Recent life changes have forever impacted me, requiring that I begin an entirely new daily rhythm and approach each moment with courage and self compassion…that I take care of me. That I begin …

What new beginnings have you made for 2022? I invite you to join me on the 15th of each month – or whichever date you choose – to document a moment in time in your life. Such a chronicle makes for interesting reading.

Cheers~

 

 

 

olw| colors of august …

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..already, signs of meteorological autumn/fall are beginning to display in the trees and of course the flowers in my and neighbors’ yards – my crazy azalea is blooming yet again.  Black-eyed Susans, mums, add their  pop of color to the landscape.  This morning I saw a yellow school bus making its way to or from a school – yes! Kids in DC started school yesterday.  (Chris, my 7 years’ old great grand nephew, starts Tuesday – he lives in MD- and will also be going to school, virtually, yet again. I noticed Sunday – on a Target  run – all the children were  wearing colorful masks.) 

Yesterday’s mail brought a colorful collection of scrapbook papers, an order from The Paper Curator (how could I resist?) and an acrylic stamp set, depicted by the colorful geometric shapes on the left side of the picture. (The stamps are made by Ali Edwards and Laura Wonsik; more info here ). The colorful pencils I picked up from Barnes and Noble and the mini composition books from Walgreens – I couldn’t resist. Occasionally I use a composition book for a specific project’s notes. I am still making colorful Confetti Quilt blocks…and tho’ I’ve yet to master the  process of foundation paper piecing, I do like the final result. I’ve decided to make my final quilt a wall hanging – approx 24” x 36 .“ Which means perhaps  I’m half-way there? I plan to share a progress photo before the week’s end.

We’re slated for fallout from Hurricane Ida; slowly yet surely the sky is turning from blue to grey as the rain clouds start to move in.  At least it will be cooler and that’s always welcomed! 

Joining Carolyn and others for another look at our 2021 One Little Words. 

See you in September!

Cheers~

make life simple | 8.4.21 …

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Sitting on my computer shelf is a quote from Buddha: each morning we are born again; what we do today is what matters most. I’m astonished – too strong a word? – well, maybe amazed – that it is already 4 August. Where does the time go -when you’re having fun … or not? Each day I plan to publish a post and then the next thing I realize, the day is over. So, I tell myself: tomorrow. And here t’is… tomorrow! The question: How did that happen… 24 hours every day, the sun rises/sets … seasons come and go … For sure there is a lovely rhythm to the days of our lives, tho’ sometimes, the days seem to be just one long endless continuum…

Drafting this post has taken me all afternoon – with a few long breaks interspersed: Zoom sessions with storytelling scrapbooking friends and another with a quilting friend – then a walk on a most pleasant afternoon, the last of ? until? The weather forecast for the next nine days and counting: H-O-T! Besides that side activity, I had to connect with Word Press for assistance with the new block editor.  I do not like. Currently I’m reading a few assorted other titles, old and I started Anne Lamott’s newest:  Dusk, Night, Dawn.

So far, I’m enjoying the change of pace. Deep sigh: I’m still aiming to conquer making Confetti Quilt blocks. Daily, I tell myself: “this is the day” and then, “well, there’s tomorrow … fingers crossed, I hope.” Today I found this fabric remnant from a quilt I made for niece Chris when she left for Rutgers in 2010.  I can’t believe it’s been 6 years since she graduated! I think the fabric is a perfect bit of advice for an Unraveled Wednesday. Hope your day’s been less frustrating!

Cheers~

welcome summer 6.21.21 …

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Summer arrived with a vengeance ! Temps are in the 90s – even in Washington state! Yesterday, Norman’s son was visiting and as they are wont to do: solved all the world’s problems – I wish – in between watching baseball games and other TV events.

I took my sister to Laurel and decided, since I was near, to make a quick run to Savage Mill. I needed help with a couple fountain pens that were not writing ( probably becuz the ink had dried, duh!). It was very quiet, i.e, I didn’t hear any cicadas; perhaps their time is over – or at least winding down. I was delighted to see my friend Patti, owner of The Queen’s Ink; I’ve know her easily 10 years and last saw her Dec, 2019. She looked great; her hair was especially delightful – you know color – my 2021 word. And the t-shirt she was wearing was stamped with outlines of cicadas – her cicada had a crown! If you look closely, you can see the tips of the crown on her shirt …

In addition to ink, I bought a couple 3.75 x 5.25 sketch book journals – the paper is ideal for drawing, sketching & journaling with pencil, ink, crayon, markers, pastels, etc – and the eight signatures are sewn! I also bought a 3″ x 5″ GELLI printing plate. Playing with it, the sketch journals and my fountain pens is going to be sooo much fun!

I am eager to resume my WANDER journaling/sketching dates to the National Museum of Art’s Sculpture Gardens. When I do, guess what’s coming along with me?

Trust it’s cooler in your part of the country .

Cheers~

one little word/oct 2020…

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Two months left in this year for time with my word: habit. This is my second go-round with the word and even tho’ 2020 is soon to end, I’m sure my relationship with habit will live on…how could it not? One thing I’ve learned – or at least had underscored this time: habits are made without one’s really realizing that’s happening. Some are good; others, not so. Some are easy to establish; many – and perhaps these habits are the most important to cement – are difficult if not just plain elusive.

Thirty days ago, I announced a plan to create an art activity following the 12 noon Daily Pages session, thinking to so do would make a natural progression. In theory, yes. In actuality, no. It didn’t happen. Something or someone (as in moi ) generally upended my momentum. This time around, I think I’ll try before rather than after.

My agenda for these next 65-66 days of 2020 is full – in addition to just the stuff of life. Plans and ideas conceived in 2019 abruptly cancelled by Covid-19. Some may still come to fruition. Others abandoned. New ones imagined. Usually, this time of year, my word for the new year has arrived; this year, not yet.

In the meantime, I shall continue with finding the sweet time for creating art.

How has your word shown up in your life this month ? Please share via the link up and if for any reason you have a problem, do include a link to your post in the comments. Thank you for joining in and sharing your one little word experience.

Cheers~

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

unraveled wednesday |7.8.20…

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In early April, I started a noon time practice : Daily Pages, led by rukristin of the Awesome Ladies Project. We meet via Zoom and have a virtual creative party for about 20-45 minutes… each of us makes some type of art page in a journal of our choice on a technique/topic of our choosing. We can choose to share or not! No pressure. Just a lovely way to spend time during Covid-19, +++

Over the past two months, I’ve shared about 6 of my pages on this blog. The photo above shows the pages I made yesterday and today; the top half also features the little art zine booklet by Malaka Gharib that appeared in npr’s Jan 7 Life Kit (and also shared by Bonny on her blog, Highly Reasonable). I find that I really enjoy this noontime break and have at least 3-5 pages in various stages of make… No pressure. No illusions. Just fun!

Today, I went to the dentist and my hygienist inquired about my quilting. I admitted I’ve not really done any quilting. I’m not sure why – other than I’ve just not been so inclined or inspired or both.  In fact, I’ve barely stitched anything – other than mask making – since I finished Kayla’s quilt (pictured above in the lower photo) when she graduated high school June 2019!  Funny that she asked that question for just earlier this morning, before my appointment, I began again – for the first time-  a book from my personal library: Why We Quilt: Contemporary Makers Speak Out about the Power of Art, Activism, Community and Creativity by Thomas Knauer,  Storey Publishing, ©2019. Perhaps I was feeling the desire to resume quilting. I suppose time will tell.

I find it interesting that on the one hand I’m buoyed by a new creative practice and on the other, rather out of sorts with an older one … for both have in common creating something new and whole out of pieces.

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

 

sometimes mondays | 7.6.20…

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It is Monday and post to blog is always a staple. Most Mondays I do… As the day moved on, I found my energy fizzling, my list of must do projects/tasks growing and several creative projects forwarded to tomorrow ~ which is probably already overbooked. Ah, such is life.

I shall blame my inertia on the heat – low 90s. As I look out the window, I see a darkened sky, moving trees, a flash of lightning and off in the distance, hear the rumble of thunder. A summer storm … an invitation to bring this post to a close and to play some with the creative project I paused earlier this afternoon. Yep, I think that’s what I’ll do. Fingers crossed we don’t lose electricity!

Cheers~