This weeks "Inspiration"

This week's card for Art Inspiration:
The idea is to de-clutter!  Both your physical workspace & your mental one.,  As most of ypou know, that's pretty hard for me.  I'm both a pack-rat and a procrastinator!  So I'm trying to get rid of one box of "stuff" a week.  And since my life is not too complex now, I'm trying to energize both mind and body by exerecising a bit.  We'll see how this works!

You can help!

My daughter, Deb Taylor, recently suffered serious flood damage to her home and business.  She and Matt returned to Texas after a few days here in Florida to find broken water pipes and a flooded house.

So many of you have expressed concern and a desire to help.  Here is what you can do:

 Friends in her local community have set up a bank account to accept donations.  Although the building and contents were insured, there is no provision for temporary living quarters and loss of revenue.  If you wish to donate the address is:

Hamilton - Deb Taylor account
Carmine State Bank,
235 Centennial St
Carmine,Tx  78932-5206

for more info you may contact the  bank at  979-278-3244 or  Linda Hamilton at 423-502-1374

Also, any cards or messages of encouragement may be mailed to:

Deb Taylor and Matt Hager
PO Box 284
Carmine TX 78932

Art Lottery

Just for fun I participated in an Art Lottery Post card Swap on the Fiber Art Traders Yahoo Group.
The instructions I received were:

Set A: Start with a base fabric that has shapes on it (some easily recognizable shape like hearts, bells, hands, stars, etc), Add a skinny line, Add a fat line, Piece something, Add curvy lines

Set B: Piece your base fabric, Applique something on, Do a fancy embroidery stitch, Add a sketch, Add a fat line

Set C: Gather or corrugate your base fabric, Pleat or origami fold something, Add an ethnic element, Add a different type of fabric/paper, Add single thread stitching

Here are the bases:

And works in progress:

And finished!

ASPIRATIONS

Here's my "inspiration"card for this week. Not sure how to apply it. I'm pretty content with my life. And maybe at my age I'm realistic about becoming something or someone else. I've grow accustomed to ME.

But I can aspire to:

Be more patient,

Be a better Artist,

Become more healthy,

And just BE - and take life one step at a time!

Nurturing - -

This is my creativity inspiration for the week. But the real nurturing must be done by phone. My daughter, Deb, and her wonderful life partner, Matt, went home to find burst pipes and a flooded house.

I wish I could be there to help and comfort. But from this distance all I can do is wring my hands & repeat "POOR DEB. POOR MATT". See her blog - link at the right to see more.

On a happier note - she and Matt had just been visiting here to celebrate my husband, Jack's, 80th birthday. They prepared a wonderful dinner. Lasagna, meatballs, peppers & sausages. YUMMY. And the topper - angel food cake and vanilla ice cream drizzled with DARK CHOCOLATE BALSAMIC VINEGAR. Delicious.

DO IT WRONG!

That's my New Year's Resolution. It's one I won't break!

Actually - looking for a theme / mantra / inspiration for the year, I came across a card deck called "52 Ways to Nurture Your Creativity". That would work! I'll select one each week and see where it leads. Here's the first one.
This will be easy - I ALWAYS do things "wrong" or at least not exactly correct. Hmmm - maybe a freeform crochet scrumble, a freeform beaded bracelet - or I'll look from something new to to wrong!

Winter in Florida!

Affected by the winter weather - which is lasting way too long for me - I've been playing with some crochet. These curly sarves were fun!

Here they are laying flat.

And every morning I see the dew on all the flowers & plants. Beautiful!

A Florida Christmas

Here are just a few images of my backyard in December. The cotton plant that furnishes nesting materials and food for the birds;

The perpetually blooming bouganvilla;

And some tomatoes - since ripened & will be enjoyed for lunch.

even though it was colder than I like (some days the high was in the mid sixties & nights in the forties) No snow & it only lasts a couple of days at a time.

Where ever your, and whatever the weather - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OOPS - missing photo

Here's the Instant Art Quilt picture missing from the last post. I highly recommend the on-line class by Ellen Lindner - see link at the right.