scenes from an early summer week

Summer Vacation has officially begun and the weather still hasn't quite caught up to the fact. I love it though, June Gloom is a favorite 'season' of mine. It's a wonderful feeling, having the windows opened in early morning and that sweet chilly breeze wafts into the room.  June has afforded me some great moments, in both the big things and the small. As always, I see His work being orchestrated from everything around me and within me.

Natalie ended her first grade year tremendously well and we are all so proud of her. On her last day, we gave her vibrant dark pink peonies and red carnations to congratulate and celebrate her on a year well done. I am now looking forward to the blessing of having her more with me during the summer and continuing to establish our relationship as mother and daughter. Sometimes, during the school year things get a bit lost family wise with homework, school activities and extra curricular activities as well. Summer is the time for me to gather everything back and enjoy my daughter with love and with life itself.

Every summer, it would seem, I always have the same notion of thoughts. I remember my fondness for herbs, for making dolls (like mandrakes and owls), and for fall. Always in the very beginning of summer, I love it even though my heart is set on autumn. I don't know what it is but I certainly hope that the resurgence of creativity and thought will manifest itself in very productive ways! I am looking forward to September, where a piece of my artwork will join a handful of others at the 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod Welsh Festival of Arts. Lorin Morgan-Richards is the artist heading this up and he presented a wonderful opportunity for some artist friends. He put together his own original poetry to the Welsh Alphabet, with each artist getting their own letter. I have:

N is for Nissien
Who battles amongst the celestial star
He combats his twin Efnissien
Dueling for peace afar.

 I finally finished my piece and will be scanning and sending it to him this week. It's all so very exciting and am so interested in seeing what every one else contributed!

Again, I have been filled with so much joy coming from every which way. We have been spending more time with family and old friends whilst making new ones as well. We are seeing and understanding the value of 'community' and living life with others, not just learning to live individualistically. It's been sort of amazing, for me, seeing those little barriers come down that I've never really realized I had in some ways. We are also planting again and truly trying to start a little container garden of sorts. Rick's friend has given us more than a handful of pumpkin seedlings along with a few pepper ones too. We finally managed to get them all little homes with new soil so they can grow and flourish. I really hope as we learn to do all of this our newly green thumbs won't turn black!

It's afternoon now and that last photo of fresh basil leaves brewing for tea is reminding me how I have not had any tea yet today. I am off, but I hope everyone is truly enjoying this season. For all the wonders and beauty it brings, from every which way around :)

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.  ~Henry James

where a little letter went...

I had to share these lovely photos of my most recently acquired pen pal, Polly Bland. She is a wonderful (and adorable!) gal with a great personality and love for so many things. Her blog, The Littlest Polly is filled with vintage delights and fantastic photos. These are her photos (of my letter to her) for her post I love getting mail and new library fashion books I'm reading and I had to show them off, Thanks Polly!

a little dreamboard...

After reading a post about the pink full moon and dreamboards over at Green and Pretty (and following links to here and here) I decided I would give it a try as well. I know I'm behind now since April's full moon was on wednesday (this full moon is referred to as the pink full moon because of pink flowers that so lavishly bloom in the month. The Wild Magnolia also posted a but about the pink full moon also) but I still wanted to create a little something. I actually found a site that you can create dreamboard collages on and so I looked for various images that I wanted and came up with the one above. I actually had a bit of a hard time with it though, since every time I thought it was perfect I would save it and view it and it always looked a bit different. I finally got tired and just stayed with the one I am sharing. It is also showing a fraction of one image that is behind the herbal one. It's an illustration of Ursa Major but you can see the eye peering out from behind.

I have my reasons and ideas why I picked the various images (including some of my own illustrations) but I do have a hard time explaining things that are a bit profound to me. It was just fun putting every thing together and I think it's something I might do with Natalie. I don't mind if it's not necessarily on the day/night of a full moon. Just something to get her mind, creativity and inspirations going...

if i was...

if i was a month i'd be november

if i was a day of the week i'd be thursday

if i was a time of day i'd be dusk

if i was a sea animal i'd be a seahorse

if i was a direction i'd be east

if i was a piece of furniture i'd be an old chair

if i was a liquid i'd be the sea

if i was a gemstone i'd be topaz

if i was a tree i'd be a willow

if i was a tool i'd be a paint brush

if i was a flower i'd be a hellebore

if i was a kind of weather i'd be rain

if i was a musical instrument i'd be a banjo

if i was a color i'd be earth brown

if i was an emotion i'd be longing

if i was a fruit i'd be a anjou pear

if i was a food i'd be my spinach, sausage and bean soup

if i was a material i'd be cotton

if i was a scent i'd be tuberose

if i was a flavor i'd be sweet

if i was a sound i'd be a 'ssshhhh'

if i was an element i'd be wind

if i was a mammal i'd be a fox

if i was a phase of the moon i would be full

if i was a berry i'd be blackberry

if i was a bird i'd be blackbird

if i was a book i'd be the lion, the witch and the wardrobe

if i was a place i'd be a forest by the sea

thank you dear heather of moonshine junkyard for sharing your lovely list (and for those who were before you too, the girl who married a bear and a cup full of sunshine...)

for art and photo credits, click on pictures...

inuit art and inspiration

With keeping in content of the previous post, I wanted to share some beautiful inuit art and crafts and some inspired by (click on photos for link and credit)...

from Rainmelonpie
Inuit art, birds
Nikotai Mills, Mother owl shelters young


original agnes nanogak (1925-2001), an esteemed canadian Inuit artist.


Minneapolis Institute of Art.


My books: An illustration in Inuit Women Artists


The Inuit Sea Goddess taken at the Native American Art Museum in Toronto


Inuit Myth: Creation of Sea Mammals by Jacqueline Kari


Illustrious Owl by Kenojuak Ashevak. Lithograph.


Inuit carved ivory and imbricated grass basket


Inuit girl in her native costume


surfacing


Yua, Spirit of the Arctic


Esky girl back from fishing by Patrick Gildersleeves


in the style of inuit packing toys by Margie Oomen

and my favorite, also by Margie Oomen:





saimanaq on ressurection fern

making totems

As of late, I have been really interested in Pacific Northwest and Native American heritage and art. I've always seemed to like the one thing that stands out the most (to me), totem poles. When we visit Disney's California Adventure, our favorite place is the Brother Bear playground. I love how it embraces the beauty of the outdoors and incorporates the rural look of wooden totems and such.

After watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I fell in love with the scenic views they had in the movie. Part of the movie takes place in Canada and they show this sprawling, panoramic view of the Rockies and my heart just swooned. After a little searching and reading things online, I finally decided I would draw my first totem. I completed it yesterday and quickly scanned and colored it. I have the original still, that I will work a little differently. I drew a wolf first, holding a mouse. Above him is a bear with a bee and hive and the top most animal is an owl. At the very top is the moon. I also began to think of simple totem crafts Nat and I could do together.

I found the meanings of different animals and such on this children friendly site, Paper Totem Poles. Since I've been sharing my love of wolves as late, I decided he would be the animal I drew first. According to that site, a few attributes (or symbolism) of the wolf includes intelligence and leadership. I had the wolf holding a mouse because it's attribute is the ability to notice the little things in life which I was particularly fond of. Next, the bear, which two of the attributes listed is motherhood and teaching. I also liked the story of bears transforming into lumbering humans to marry human princesses. The bee is for honesty, pure thinking, willingness and drive. The owl not just because they are my favorite but also for wisdom and the ability to see beyond normal view. Of course, too, I had to add the moon because the moon simply is beautiful to me.

I wanted to share some beautiful totem works I found via Flickr. Please click on them for link and credit:

Yesterday evening, Nat and I began our first little totem craft made from a toilet roll (recycling too!). We both drew a bear and an owl, I drew on one side and she drew on the other. She colored while I began to make the wings which I later glue on through slots I made on the sides. I cute a square for a base and wrote a few things on the bottom of it:

I don't think in any way that I am done being inspired and influenced by these traditions. You may see some more work from me with these beautiful and time honored elements.