Grow Where God Plants You

I have taken a photo of a Dandelion. That pesky little yellow flowered, uh, 'flower-weed', that grows everywhere, that you can't get rid of, that blows little white 'fluffy' bits all over your yard, and there grows again. The true visual of "Grow where God plants you". My Grandson loves Dandelions, and always, ALWAYS, picks them and blows on them. I love to watch him as he gets such a kick out of it. Awww, I don't care if more grow. God gave them to us after all. He takes all things and makes them good. They are good in salads. They are good to add color in my yard. They are good for my Grandson to play with. And I got a very good photo of one. Actually I took several, and I liked them all. I am sharing one here today.

I first saw the words 'Grow where God plants you' on a little sign in someone's yard, while on a walk years ago. I never forgot it. It became my motto of sorts. Every time there was a change in my life, either planned or unplanned, I told myself those words. There have been many changes and not all of them did I want. But those words kept me going, kept me centered, kept my eyes on God and His plan. He has a plan for my life; He sees the big picture, He knows my future. In Him will I trust. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

When I was growing up people always said "Mary. Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" I just started telling them my garden died and then they wouldn't ask me anymore. It was true, my garden pretty much always died. No matter what I did in my garden I couldn't make it grow full and vibrant. I certainly did not have a green thumb. But once I saw that little sign in that person's yard, my concept of my 'garden' changed. I may still be Mary, Mary quite contrary, but my garden thrives, in Him.

Scrapbooking is an art

I am new to the art of digital scrapbooking, started the end of February this year, so have been doing it about 2 months. I have made a whole lof of pages! It truly is a wondrous and wonderful way to spend your time. And the Freebies! Wow! I just love all the freebies! Thank you to all those who post freebies. I don't even know how to do that, yet. I hope to learn though and someday I can share back. I do have Photoshop and that I also need to learn. There is so much to learn, it is overwhelming. I have books and DVD's and online instructions I have saved to PDF's. I don't even know where to start. I'd love to design papers and embellishments. Where does one begin? Well, one thing I do know, "to begin is the first step; to keep on keepin' on is the next step; and to do my best to retain what I take in is maybe the biggest challenge of all".

I spend a lot of time downloading freebies. It feels like Christmas, my birthday, and Mother's Day all rolled into one - every day! Love love love it! I also love the QP's (Quick Pages). I always add embellishments and all that. I find I pretty much like the 'cluttered/busy' look over the simple page. I don't know why, probably because I try to cram it all together and don't want to leave any of these little jewels out. Like my life, I cram it all in, not wanting to leave anything out. Art, all forms of it, should make you happy. Go for it. So, I hope you all give it a try. You can Google scrapbook freebies and get a whole list of where to go. One important note: it takes a lot of computer space, so perhaps you'll want an external hard drive to put it all in. Also, don't forget to back it all up on DVD's regularly so you don't ever lose it. Yep - I gotta do that today, LOL! More work, onward and forward I march...

Artist reception

For the month of April I am the Artist of the Month featured at the Village Gallery of Arts. I consider this to be quite an honor. There is one whole wall that has only my artwork on it, customers can vote for their favorite choice (People's Choice Award), and I have handouts they can take (my art brochure and postcard). Yesterday we held a reception in my honor. I was delighted and I think it turned out nice. I have attended a lot of receptions over the years. Any more I tend to think of them like Tupperware Parties. Once you have seen the product you no longer have the desire to attend the party. You can have oh so much Tupperware after all. In today's world people are busy, in a rush, flitter from here to there and don't have much patience for delay, they want it now, and they want what they want. It's all about fast food, in the fast lane, getting a faster heart rate. There is not much time left for the 'other guy'. There's not much time left to attend a gathering to honor someone else. The more receptions I attend, the less people I see there. It's a sad thing. Why can't we take the time to show our respect to someone else, take the time, it isn't much time, just a little. Just stop by and give a little love. It can't hurt, but it can mean a lot. Thank you so much to all those who attended my reception. It meant so very much to me. The piece in the photo "Follow the Dots" won People's Choice.

Shoot for the Moon

I recently made this scrap-page titled Shoot for the Moon. If you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. That's kind of the way we live life isn't it? We don't like to lose, or to miss. We try to plan our choices so that even if we miss the mark, we at least hit something. We, at least, try to move forward. I am getting older, duh, and in looking at my life I try to continually learn new things. I may not ace them, I may not master them, but in the process I gain from them. Even if I miss I have grown, smarter, wiser, better, more able. It is because I have tried and put out the effort that I have landed among the stars. Of course, I do hope some day to Master Something... unless it's not in the stars for me (pun intended).

Beginning Today...

Beginning today, I will embrace my life. I will accept that within myself there is true beauty. I will salute forgiveness and forgive my faults. Out of utter truth and honesty, I will strive to be open with myself and accept myself as I am. I will not try to be something I am not, or try to be 'like' someone else. I will bury self-doubt and celebrate my optimism. I embrace virtue and integrity. I will turn from discouragement and face each challange that is put before me with a conquering spirit. I will hold tight to an "I can" attitude, but I will falter, and I will try, try again. I will be inspired by obstacles and face them with determination. I treasure genuine laughter and strength of heart. Beginning today, I will smile more, be sillier than I have in awhile, relax more and not worry about what someone else thinks of me. I will like myself, because, after all, I know myself better than any one else. Life goes by too quickly, therefore I shall eat ice cream if I want. I may lay in bed an extra amount of time on a rainy day with the blankets warm and the windows open, and smell the rain. I will take fewer things seriously and will take more chances. I am a child of God. I am His and whatever I face in life, He will walk me through it. I trust, and I surrender all. MY PHOTO: Mary's Blue Rose

My Art Biography

I have been an artist for a few years now. I like to work in a variety of medium including watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastel, graphite, and inks. I regularly teach Drawing Fundamentals, believing that anyone CAN draw if given the proper tools and techniques. I enjoy teaching very much. I often watch my young grandson and wanted to find an artistic and creative outlet that I could do while he is here. We do like to scrapbook together. He does love to paint, but that takes my attention so I am not able to work much on my creations while helping him. I was already doing photography, and discovered that I could be a lot more creative with that...

My work in digital photography developed recently. I have always loved photography but the door opened when I discovered I could manipulate the photos and create abstract and/or ‘digitally drawn’ works. This intrigued me and I have not looked at a photo the same since. I take my photographs and manipulate the images until I find a pattern that I am drawn to repeat, to zoom in, and to mirror until an image is created that satisfies my search for the unique.

Growing up between the rugged Cascade Range and the northernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada Mountains I was surrounded by God’s beauty and bounty. I spent several memorable summers in the renowned artistic community of Mendocino, California. This instilled in me a fantastic love of nature, the mountains and the ocean. Seeing such beauty all around me nurtured a tremendous desire to draw and paint; to put the beauty of the moment on paper or canvas, to capture it. As education in art was not available to me, I studied and created independently, using available materials. For thirty years I put my art aside to raise a family of five children. I invested several years in theatre (my other love), and pursued a career in financial management. With my children now raised and raising families of their own, being blessed with 12 grandchildren, I have returned to art full time and loving every minute of it!

Spring!

I am so ready for spring! We had some beautiful sunshine a couple of days ago, it really gave me an energetic feeling. When the sun shines I play the stereo loud and set to work to make accomplishments! When it rains, which it does alot here in the Pacific Northwest, it seems to drain my energy, I want to eat, to read, to watch a movie. I've already done that all winter - it's time for ACTION! I want to get outdoors and work in the yard and go for photo-walks. But, it is raining today. It is April, but it is supposed to snow over the weekend. Can't believe it!

If I must be inside, then I will just have to scrapbook! I scrapbook so often, that I feel guilty. I love to scrapbook. I love the craft, the art, the glue, the paper, the embellishments, all of it. I LOVE IT! I am Scrap-Crazed. My daughter introduced me to digital scrapping. WOW, is all I can say. I LOVE IT TOO! Have I gone completely mad? My life has become my computer and the chair I sit in in front of it! I forget to eat, except for coffee, can't be without the coffee. Sooo, here I have shared one of my little crafties.

Off and Running

I have been looking for a Blog Spot for some time now. I am thankful my daughter referred me to this site. Now all I need do is learn all the bells and whistles and then I will be off and running. I do love to write and to talk. I hope you visit frequently.