just paint

Earlier this month,
I joined some of my Illinois family
to paint my sister's garage: pure white!
As the month of July ends,
I have returned to Houston
to get out my acrylics, brushes, and old canvases
so I may join Pixie Campbell
& others in a 5-week paint exploration!  
http://pixiecampbell.com/visualquest

the Artist's Rule notes and quotes

i am pre-reading
one of the books
on my summer reading list:
the Artist's Rule
because i just can't wait
for some encouragement for my soul.
This morning,
i perused week 8 with my morning coffee.
the view, with my morning coffee,
from my apartment
is not nearly as grand as this, yet,
 ~> i am a dreamer,
and i hope for morning coffee in spots like this!


-"love can be demanding.  making our relationships a priority, and serving even when we don't feel lite it are not always easy.  love necessitates that we allow the people in our lives to be themselves without our wishing they were different.  in our challenges with others, we are invited to welcome dissonance and notice the stirrings in our own hearts."

-"others often can see aspects of ourselves that we cannot .  consider asking someone you trust deeply to tell you how they see your gifts at work in the world and the places where you seem to hold yourself back.  receive these words with reverence and humility, and welcome in what they might have to teach you about your own creative journey."

-"the friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion,
   who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement,
   who can tolerate knowing.... not healing, not curing...
   that is a friend who cares."  ~Henri J. M. Nouwen~

glean

1) to extract (information) from various sources

2) to collect gradually and bit by bit

   synonyms:  gather, collect, pick up

the gleaners, the creation of Jean-Francois Millet, is a reflection of the book of Ruth and often referred to as a hymn of labor.

 Ruth tells the story of a woman gleaning fields 

 for sustenance and the long ago practice

by wealthy landowners to instruct the reapers to leave behind bits of grain during harvest time to assist those in need. on my bleak grey days i feel in need. after the doubt, despair, pity and tears are over, I get quiet. it is then i can hear a still small voice inviting me to gather up beauty, creativity, and simplicity to sustain me.

a friend has introduced me to the book: the artist's rule, 

by Christine Valters Paintner. 

i bought a copy & will make a summer study of it, 

but summer is a few months away

and i need the kindness of this author now.  

so i have been opening the book up, bit by bit, 

and  collecting some goodness to nourish my soul.

Jane Redmont writes this recommendation of the book:  

"Monastic practices are not just for monks;

living a creative life is not just for professional artists.

Christine Valters Paintner teaches us these truths as a wise, 

gentle guide who knows when to speak and when to get out 

of the way.  With her help, we open ourselves to the Mystery

at the heart of life, and in so doing come to know ourselves 

more deeply and to bring forth gifts for others."

Those who go out weeping carrying seed to sow

will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126

deliberate

this post is my response
to a blog challenge
given by Andrea Hiltbrunner,
who lives in the Alps in Switzerland!
i am honored to be connected to her through Art.

Andrea's challenge is a word:  deliberate
deliberate: done consciously & intentionally

i chose this image from my photos
as a match for the word.
when i am @ my most deliberate
i don't hold back
i draw boldly
and engage enthusiastically.
when i am deliberate doors open!

focus

the summer of 2008,
i studied ART in Italy and Germany.
there i learned to "focus".
there i began the mark-making
that most pleases me:
blind contour and contour drawings.

i focus on the line,
let my eyes instruct my hand,
allow my brain to be bypassed,
and watch as a simple clarity
is captured over and over
in my sketchbook.

gazing @ the woman
i was almost 5 years ago,
i see myself as i am...
a wanderer
and a beholder of beauty.

broken open

"What is asked of us," Raymond John Baughan had said,
"is that we break open our blocked caves and find each other.
Nothing less will heal the anguished spirit
or release the heart to act in love."

(quote found while re-reading the Mitford series by Jan Karon)

over and done

we attended a party

before we were married.

we danced,

we smiled, we laughed,

we glowed

out 
on

that little dance floor.

we attended the same party

one month married.

I wanted to dance, 

to smile, to laugh,

to glow,

to hope others 
would join us

out 
on

that little dance floor.

he danced with me once,

and then had enough.

"what kept you from dancing?"

there was no reply.

"what kept you from dancing?

i want to know why.”

he chose not to dance

when other men said:

"if you dance with your wife, 

hold her close 
like before~

then our wives will watch

they'll pressure us more

to go

out with them 
on

that little dance floor.”

a choice

kept his presence 
from me that night

a connection of joy and affection

was broken by slight

out 
on

that little dance floor.