Thursday Meditation, Little Altars and Thanksgiving

Welcome it all, whatever may come... for in the end we are each works of art being shaped by our living, both joys and struggles, along the way...
A few Thanksgiving thoughts before I'm off to the kitchen to prepare our special dinner for today... This picture is of a very small Italian ceramic from a thrift shop that holds these objects that stay on my table where I eat. I have a habit of collecting little things that end up grouped together like little sacred altars here and there, little reminders of places I've been or special times or a way of being. I'm especially fond of beach stones and shells, dropped feathers....

This one holds...
... a lucky penny on the bottom, who doesn't need that?
...a crystal skull, symbolic to me of the shortness of life, you know, carpe diem, do it now
...a stone for serenity reminds me of an African tale of the stones that hold all our stories, they have heard every one, and they still sit silently in serenity
...a few fortunes from Chinese fortune cookies tucked discreetly behind, and
...a winged heart from an Artfest retreat, reminding me of the spirited good times with like-minded souls, and a symbol for choices based from my center, and the English heraldry from my last name...

All this in this small container.... Now I'm wondering, what special little reminders do others keep? Are you a collector of little tidbits of nature?

So now, I'm off to the kitchen. And I send you the most positive thoughts and appreciation for sharing my blog journey this day of Thanksgiving here in the US. Make time for family and friends, and, of course, yourself, do take time to play and create.

A Canadian Retreat and Painting with a Red Sky

Playing with colors and a little retreat... so soothing...
Playing with Color
Here is a start on another acrylic painting, I think it needs a little bit more... I have been experimenting with lots of color. Why not have a red sky and blue rocks? Maybe it's to compensate for the northwest rainy season, our "monsoon" season which has arrived and here to stay til, perhaps April or May?

A Short Retreat
Last week we drove up to British Columbia for a couple of nights private celebration in one of our favorite places. This time of year the tourists have packed up and gone home, the sun is only occasionally seen, misty fog covers the land, the lake and mountains, and you can hear the geese flapping their wings as you walk along the lake. Stunningly beautiful, quiet and serene.
Below are some bucolic farm scenes we always see as we come and go to this favorite place. I finally managed to get a picture of the candy cane silos from the car as we drove by. And the skyscapes and mossy trees caught my eye too.

Abstractions, Seascape Painting, and a Quilted Fiber Gift

Sometimes within the chaos, churning, and turnings of our lives, messages emerge from the deep ready to be received...

"Messages from the Deep" #1, a series - copyright Delorse Lovelady

Abstractions
Happily, I have been painting regularly again and must have a dozen or so abstractions finished or in process since Oct. All in acrylic, mixed media, a new direction for me, as I have been doing watercolors for years. Such different properties of the paint and how it can be used... I see lots more experimenting with texture and, of course, color, and have several series in mind to pursue while I experiment with the acrylics and mixed media.... Of course, I won't abandon watercolor totally, as I always like to play with a variety of media.

Although I've done a few abstractions here or there, this too is fairly new territory for me, and exciting to explore. Abstraction fits with my view that there is much that is ambiguous in the world, not what it seems, not totally definable. And that is the subject of the painting above. Another seascape, I love to paint them, but a different quality than the watercolors of the past (look at the one in my sidebar!).... I entered two paintings this week in a local show, and am in the process of preparing six more for the annual small works and miniature show I participate in.

A Quilted Gift
A friend in one of my sewing circles learned she has cancer, and thankfully her news about recovery is very good. Another friend Sharon, thought up this quilt project and sewed together the quilt squares that we all made for her as a comfort gift. I thought it came out lovely and it was much appreciated.

Ashland Road Trip,The Tulies, Lava Beds, Photos and Sketch Paintings

Off we went on our fall odyssey, down familiar roads, and some less traveled blue highways...
Gorgeous scenery everywhere... above, a scene from the breathtaking Three Capes Scenic Route along the coast of Oregon, and next to it a Photoshoped picture of the last of the sunflowers at a nature preserve in Ashland, Or. Below is a view from our room in Ashland... the famous Ashland hills, with vibrant colors in the trees. Ashland is such a wonderful small town mecca of culture and art... the Shakespeare Festival, the Cabaret Theatre, the local art galleries called the "Railroad district", Lithia Park and more... We love the "co-op" food store and often picked up something fresh to eat there.
My sketch painting of the scene...
Tillamook and Abstractions
And here is one inspired by the Tillamook, Or area... famous cheese country, lots of pastures and cows and a pungent aroma. The most amazing thing there though, is actually the Air Museum, or we call it "the Blimp" museum since it is a HUGE hanger built in the middle a cow pasture in WWII specifically to house blimps used for surveillance back then. It is SO unexpected to see it sitting there in the field... and fun to visit again, the last time was probably ten years ago.

I was fascinated with the inside of the building and odd pieces of planes and rusted equipment, and rusted old trains outside, so took many photos which look like little abstracts. I also did this at the cheese factory which had a wonderful collection of very old trucks and equipment. I am compiling a "rust" and "decomposition" series for abstractions which I will organize and post at a later time. Since I am playing with abstract mixed media painting now, they serve as great inspiration.

The Tulies and Lava BedsFrom Ashland we took a 200 plus mile side trip one day to Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge and Lava Beds National Monument in California. We took the "quick" route over the mountains directly from Ashland, which included a stretch of hairpin curves with spectacular views, though we were glad to be done with the mountain driving.

Now I'm imagining I know where the saying about being "lost in the Tule's" comes from. Tules are actually plants that look similar to the thick sturdy stems and leaves of cattails but without the same head, they get flowers instead. The Wildlife Preserve has 39,000 acres and we did see many birds that day in the small portion we visited. We spent most of our time exploring the lava beds and learned that the area has the largest concentration of lava tubes, a couple of which we walked through... And learned the whole area is a massive volcano covering 150 miles, but not in the traditional style you think of, such as St Helens. This one is underground (like Yellowstone), and is called a shield volcano. No steaming vents here, just acres of lava, lots of tubes and cones and interesting desert. And one area of the park has many petroglyphs to examine, some of which we did.

Little Things
Sometimes it's the little things I remember the most about a trip (or a moment)....

...that perfect shell with lines of shimmery wet color and the undisturbed sand
...the delicate lacey undulating grass on a desert trail
...and the satisfaction of sharing it with someone special

Photoshop Pix, Witches, Road Trip Doll, Figurative Handstitching, Funky Fiber Stuffies

Fall colors, last of the local veggie/fruit summer harvest, crispy weather, and a witch who wasn't paying attention!
Pumpkins and Photoshop
Above are a couple of pumpkin pictures from our local Yakima Fruits & Veggie Market, only one more week, then the harvest is gone and they switch totally to pumpkins and Christmas trees. The scarecrows on either side were pix I took in Jacksonville, OR, then, "developed" in Photoshop. There are endless possibilities on PS, I have so many more tools to try out...

Witch Way did she go?
I am loving these witch pictures. We were passing through Astoria, OR on our way home from Ashland and the Oregon coast (more on than in another post), and I noticed EVERY street light pole had one of these characters on it.... I took one threw the windshield as my husband drove, then he pulled over and took another better one. SO, happy halloween to you! Be sure to buckle up and fly in the right direction without any brew...
Fibery Fun
Aside from painting and trips, I have been having fibery fun too...
Top row:
1) & 2) Two self designed handstitched "softies" or "stuffies" from a sewing circle challenge
3) Silk beads made in a recent class
4) Dyed fabric & free motion applique technique from machine embroidery group
Bottom row:
1) & 2) Front and back of my recent self designed road trip doll - we went to Ashland Shakespeare Festival plus a side trip to Lava Beds -- so it looks rather theatrical and has lava sewn in the belly.
3) Figurative handstitching/collaged piece with close-up below from a recent class
4) Twin needle technique from machine embroidery group

These were fun and some were challenging, and some are easy things to do in the evening if I'm not journaling, while watching Survivor or Project Runway, yes, I like those reality shows....

Blog Action Day: Climate Change, Going Green, Photos & a Painting

What are we waiting for??? We are the ones we are waiting for...

"My Green Heaven Mosaic" - created in Photoshop

Blog Action Day: Climate Change
We are on a road, a path from which it is difficult to remove ourselves. Stuck in patterns, bad habits, bad attitudes, we wait for a renaissance, but we must create it ourselves, take a new path, alter course........ We are after all, still part of the food chain, a part of nature, not apart from nature... When did we forget that or presume to think otherwise?

There is so much information available about environment these days, which is a good thing, but it can seem overwhelming, what to do, there is so much happening. However, the overarching issue appears to be climate change, because, well, we all need to breath good air, and we must have liveable temperatures... And, it does seem climate change is getting more attention at the higher levels, but it helps to remind them... And if we each took even tiny steps, they all add up to change towards a liveable future...

Data: Check out the environmental section in my sidebar. Also, check out the Pew Center on Global Climate Change which is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing credible information, straight answers, and innovative solutions to address climate change. Go here to read about the basics and facts and figures on global warming. Or watch the You-Tube video from Al Gore at the bottom of this post. Go here to the TckTckTck organization which is tracking the countdown to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in Dec 2009 - many many organizations are partnered with them.

Things to Do: Blog about climate change, share what you know with others, write to your Senators, or Congresspersons or President Obama asking them to make climate change a top priority and to push for a real change and agreement of nations to fight global warming at the Copenhagen conference..... and....
here's a cool list of 50 practical green things you could do in your home or in your everyday life. The creators of this list, B.E.S.T. (Building Environmental Science & Technology) showed the approximate money savings in parentheses plus avoided environmental impacts based on CO2, so choose what's most affordable for you to do and start (or keep) greening your lifestyle. Check out Yahoo which also has lots of living green ideas, tools, and resources.

Some Art about Environment
A week ago I had the pleasure of taking a 2 day experiemental mixed media class with Chris Romine. I started a collaged acrylic canvas with an abstracted radial design. Below is the finished painting a couple of days ago, as I was thinking along the lines of sun, light, solar events, too much heat.... And here is a terrific You-Tube video by Aurum, you can visit his website here. It's called "The Drawing of Melting Planet" and it shows him drawing on his PC (I wonder what he used).


Al Gore You-Tube

Camano Island Sketching & Painting

A day of exploring a couple of state parks on Camano Island, about an hour and a half or so north of Seattle...This quick painting (no pen) above is my second go at the scene in one of the parks we visited. Much more vibrant than the first that is below. The first one I started with pen, then added paint.And here is a photo I took of the scene, very typically grayed out Northwest, not a lot of color, my eye and hand just adds it in when I start painting...
Here's what lunch looked like in the park, we like to bring out own. Those are tiny tangerines I had just found in the local produce market, honestly, the size of golf balls, but very sweet and good.

National Parks - Places to Refresh, and Photos

Stunning natural beauty, raw rugged lands, clear moving waters, big skies... I have a goal to see every national park and monument...

"Nature's Painting" - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

This small piece of Yellowstone is a stunning example of what I saw throughout the park. I was amazed by the dramatic colors created by sulphur and other minerals, misty steam, creeks and channels, and the grand size and variety of beautiful scenery. To know that I was atop the huge caldera of an ancient volcano was eerie but fascinating.

National Parks Photos
I just entered these 5 photos in Fodor's National Parks photo contest (wish me luck!)... some of my favorites, these are from recent road trips. Looking at them again, I'm getting the urge to hit the road and see all I can see, drink in that gorgeous outdoor beauty, and crisp cool air, satisfy that desire for becoming just part of the landscape... no phones, computers, lists... And I think, too, my photos are just waiting for me to paint them soon.

"Contrast and Mystery" - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

I traveled this planked walkway through the misty steam, over delicate areas hiding thin crust and bubbling underground geothermal activity. This place spoke to me of the beauty and paradox of nature. Yellowstone offered amazing contrasts that I often remember.

"Land of Fantastic Shapes" - Badlands National Park, SD

I was captivated by the array of mounds, spectacular formations, and golden grasses in the area. I could see the effects of erosion on the dry rugged vistas. I understood why the aridity and treacherous canyons led the native Americans to name it "bad lands".

"Otherworldly Beauty" - Badlands National Park, SD

As I walked in the white hot afternoon over the undulating dry landscape, I felt transported to an otherworld of stark beauty... punctuated by the occasional sound of a rattlesnake.

"Dusk at Lake McDonald" - Glacier National Park, McDonald Lake, Montana

The breathtaking beauty of early evening evoked a feeling of being at peace. Rugged glacial mountains, deep green forests, and shimmering reflections in the water called up the desire for adventure and exploration.

Birch Bay Sketching and Painting

Fresh sea air, wispy clouds, people digging clams, crows, a peaceful day by the sea, just you and me...Birch Bay Trip
Another outing for the day, we headed north about 90 miles to Birch Bay almost to the Canadian border. It's a small quaint town where nothing is happening, and it's nice and quiet. And it has a wonderful park along the length of the beach and forested park area in the hills above the beach, a perfect place to sit and observe, take a walk, just be.

Above is one of my on-scene sketch paintings. For this one I did the sketch first, then laid down the paint over it. Sometimes I paint first and embellish with pen afterwards... this time the people kept moving and so did the crows, and I added a bit more color than the real thing. We do have a few brilliant days here, but often we have that NW gray overcast, and I may not want it to look photo realistic anyway, or sometimes I just like to make it up, imagine something a bit differently than what I'm really seeing.
Below is a photo I took of the same place I painted...
And below is the same Birch Bay beach but looking down the road, and even more colorful. This sketch painting I did in 2006 in my personal journal.
And finally, another sketch while riding along in the car....

North Cascades Mountain Trip, Sketching and Painting

A relaxing day of road tripping, sketching and painting in the mountains... Peshastin Pinnacles and a Painting
This is my final painting of the day, painted in the car in the dark while my husband drove back to Seattle at the end of our day. I'm very pleased with the vibrant colors and had wondered how it would come out given the lighting, but I challenged myself to paint it in the dark anyway. One of the last stops of the day's outing was at Peshastin Pinnacles State Park near Cashmere, WA, basically very dry rolling hills with lots of golden grass and orchards... almost a feeling of the Southwest. I took artistic license with the colors in the painting, as I had to have some reds in there, and my golds are much more gold than the rolling hills I observed that day! The above photo is of the 200 ft pinnacles, very craggy sandstone slabs and spires which are a rock climbers paradise. They are quite stunning shapes, almost looking like gigantic dinosaur spines rising from the ground, and I can imagine several paintings out of the photos I took. Originally located within private land in the midst of orchards about a decade ago, several local climbing and outdoor groups, including REI (great outdoor store), mounted an effort to save these and have them accessible, thus they are now public lands, a state park.

North Cascades Hwy 2
Above is my first sketch of the day, pen and watercolor as I was riding in the car on our way east on Hwy 2 which is a portion of the fabulous North Cascades Scenic Loop trip which we have driven many times. And below is a quick photo right through the windshield, you can see some of the fall color changes beginning. The vine maples and wild huckleberries turn brilliant reds while the cottonwoods and other trees scattered among the firs wear various golden colors. Spectacular mountain scenery along this route and as it get closer to Leavenworth, bordered by a river on one side.
Leavenworth
We stopped in the town of Leavenworth which is known for it's "Bavarian" style and cross-country skiing, but skipped the actual town as we have seen it many times. Instead we revisited the Icicle Creek park area, some serious rock climbing areas with huge boulder overhangs, and a salmon fish hatchery. Below is an on-site painting sketch done in a gazebo at the hatchery where we enjoyed lunch and more mountain views.
Nature never fails to inspire me, the shapes and lines, the shifting colors, a never ending art work in itself.