5

Five years ago today - yesterday actually by date, but today being as we've arrived at the second Sunday of the new year - I was sitting in Starbucks, venti chai at the ready, laptop open, fingers poised over the keyboard, trying desperately to write the first post of what was to be my art blog...this blog.

Those first words just wouldn't come. It seemed years...decades even...before the first coherent sentence flowed onto the screen. And then the post was written. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Being an ex-accountant, I thought it would be fun to take a peek at a few stats while reflecting on the past 5 years. My most viewed post is

Cleveland - India Flint workshop day 1. While my bundle photo from that day is very popular on Pinterest,

it's this shot of India's hands that I prefer.

And that got me thinking about my favorite posts. Two quickly come to mind. The first was one of the most difficult to write and share because of the strong emotions associated with it. Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word - After not only offers insight into one of the exercises Sandra asked of the class, but is a treasured example of how my world opened and expanded because of beginning this blog.

Another favored post is Santa Fe - Sunday. Pam and I arrived in Santa Fe the evening before, tired and excited about the week ahead. Our first full day, Sunday, was an all round magical day and won't be forgotten any time soon. We both fell in love with Santa Fe and are planning our return later this year.

The writing of this blog has brought about so many connections with kindred spirits, new friendships formed, opportunities to travel, exhibit my work and even write a magazine column. All would have been unthinkable 5 years ago.

From me to you, a most heart felt Thank You! for sharing the years. Here's to another 5 more.

3 to celebrate

Many thanks to all for the lovely comments you left on my 509 = 3 post! As promised, the little urchins and I drew names this morning to see 

 whose homes these 3 journals would soon be winding their way to.

 Grace drew first. 

 Then Ellie.

Then it was my turn.

Congratulations to Wildnana, Dorit Elisha of life as a five ring circus and Barry of Rustnstuff!

Wildnana and Dorit Elisha, if you would send me an email at jcqart(at)yahoo(dot)com with the address you'd like the journal mailed to, I'd appreciate it.

My urchins are already asking when they get to draw names again... January will mark 5 years of blogging. What do you think? Will another give away be in order then?

509 = 3

Wondering just what sort of art math I'm up to now? In what universe 509 = 3? In the blogiverse, of course!

In celebration of passing the 500th blog post milestone (this post is #509 - 500 was back in Cleveland - day 4's morning walk, in fact), I've made 3 journals to give away as my way of saying Thank You! to everyone who reads my little blog.

The journals are made of papers that I marked on after returning from this year's artist retreat at Pam's .

Roughly measuring 6 inches square,

 each has 18-20 pages, including the cover.

There is movement

and color.

Mostly blue as I was dreaming of water as I did these.

The edges are rough

as are the journals themselves. They are imperfect and incomplete. Every other spread is blank - awaiting your own marks and words.

If you fancy having one of my little journals, you have until midnight New York City time on Saturday, September 6, to leave a comment here or on the corresponding post on my Facebook artist page. Next Sunday morning, the little urchins and I will draw names. Don't forget to leave your blog address or email address in your comment in case your name is drawn.

Good luck! And Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Tis the season

To be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

I'm working on the jolly part - far too much to do in far too little time since my return to Connecticut. I am, however, very joyful and thankful for so having so many good things and good people in my life.

There's my new favorite word - benign. It's really being all jumbled up with an extra n thrown into the mix, but it's also the sweetest of words to hear...especially when said in regards to one's mother.

Then there are friends like Pam

who saves tea bags for me and sends them along - 

all nicely emptied even though I keep telling her to just stick them in a box.

And who included a good bit of indigo from her own stash with the tea bags.

photo by Barry Smith

Then there's Fiona. Part of my whirlwind week back home has included being able to visit with Fiona and Barry in New York on Sunday. It still boggles my mind that they choose to visit during our winter. Think about it...it's summer in Australia just now. They've traded sun and warmth for snow/rain/sleet + wind + cold temps.

I'm so glad we had the chance to get together again. This time around we took in some bad art at MOMA. Really, really bad art at MOMA. The kind that leaves you wondering how on earth this stuff got to be shown there. Really? Just what were we missing? The kind that also leaves one thinking that their 1st graders made better collages back in pre-school. Yep. That kind of bad.

Lunar Architecture by Fiona

The good art came via a little bag that Fiona handed me containing gifts from her and Barry, Noela and Susan.

I've felt a kinship with Fiona from the beginning of our exchanges via the inter-pixies. And our work shows it, don't you think?

Imagine Peace by Fiona

Some time last year, I rusted a piece of cotton that printed beautifully...except that it had measles. Seriously. There were little dots all over it that I just could not get past. Noela thought she could do something with a bit of it so, not being able to see beyond the measles, I sent the whole thing to her.

She sent part of it back in the form of the most wonderful book,

all wabi sabi style

and playing off the measley parts 

in ways that left me speechless with surprise and joy

Peace by Noela Mills

and feeling very peaceful. 

 Susan's textured prints have me wanting to hold them

 
and examine them,

 to learn their language,

to listen to their tales

and secrets...for surely they are maps to another world, another time...

when feathers were magical and the most precious of possessions.

Barry's gift is one of reflection, stillness and meditation.

Encouraging me to smile, dream, shine, have hope, be at peace, to love and have joy. 

Tis the season for hearts to swell with amazement and awe, in my case at having such wonderful and generous friends. Thank you doesn't seem quite enough, but thank you all so very much for the gifts, but especially for being in my life. 

A stroll around the lake

In between bouts of rain, I slipped out for a stroll around Cove Lake yesterday. There were legs to be stretched, fresh air to be breathed and a bit of solitude to be found.

 
These mountains are visible from my parents' backyard. The cloud display has been magnificent these past few weeks. As have the sunsets...when it wasn't raining, that is.

My original plan had been to follow the path that rings the lake each day...gather a leaf or two and possibly a discarded feather or two. Rain and days spent at the hospital prevented that.

When the sun peaked through the clouds and a bit of blue was visible...well, it seemed the perfect time and place to offer up a most heartfelt thank you to the dogs above. All is well. And that is so very sweet.

400

Most times when I travel these days, a blank book of Khadi paper and a few rusty washers accompany me so that the bags from tea enjoyed on the trip can be used to create a rust tea book. That's my art travel habit/ritual and a book has been in the works this week using Pam's and my used tea bags.

We're not sure what that thing is that I've been using as a paper weight, but given how incredibly solid and heavy it is, we're calling it kryptonite. Truly, not even Superman could destroy this.

The rusting is centered on every 3rd or 4th spread so that the empty pages may be filled later on.

The tea bags, above is my favorite, are gorgeous and ideas for their use are flitting around my creative mind...whispering among themselves to see which they think is best.

Wondering just why this post is titled 400? Well....yesterday's post about the 4th annual artist retreat was my 400th blog post. Can you believe it? That makes this one number 401. And that calls for a celebratory give away, don't you think? I do. Now...can you guess what the prize is? Yes! My rust tea book from this week.

I must warn you that this will be a quick give away. It is Wednesday morning here in Oz as this post is composed. If you'd care to throw your name in the hat, so to speak, please leave a comment on this post or on the link to this post on my Facebook artist page by 7 pm US Central Time (that's one hour earlier than New York City time if that helps) on Friday, May 31. Pam will do the honors of drawing the winning name. I'll take the book back home and dress it up a bit, maybe even include a surprise or two before sending it off to the winner.

Many thanks to you, dear readers, for finding and following my little, mostly rusty, blog! You make it enjoyable, offer friendship and connect me to the whole wide whirled. For that, I give thanks.

Good luck!