[ gratitude ] six

#igivethanks for blue skies & fridays.

it is hard to tell the difference 
between the birds flying & 
the leaves falling off these old oak trees.

. new place .

rearranged the furniture -

now our new favorite place to sit

to listen to the quiet

& gaze at the beauty.

{ our song }

“the sun shines not on us but in us. 

the rivers flow not past, but through us. 

thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell 

of the substance of our bodies, 

making them glide and sing. 

the trees wave and the flowers bloom

 in our bodies as well as our souls, 

and every bird song, wind song, 

and tremendous storm song 

of the rocks in the heart of the mountains 

is our song, our very own, and sings our love.” 

#johnmuir

{...reminder...}

even if you are a small forest

surviving off of moon alone

your light is extraordinary

{reminder}.

~nayyirah waheed

{...photo walk...}

{...tree silhouette...}

I couldn't resist the lines of this old tree last night

with the sun setting behind it.

day 9 {diagonals}

{...bare in the light...}

{...i want to be...} mary oliver

{...trees...}

:::playing with textures & layers for different effects:::

{...night whispers...} 28:30

:::layered three different photos for this photo:::

i love how the clouds & moon

look as though they are being breathed

from the lips.

titled: "the night whispers"

:::stopped my car in the middle of the road to get this one:::

my oak & the moon

love.

{...looking up...} 26:30

{...reflection...} 25:30

:::trees & the sunset:::

catching a beautiful reflection

{...look about...} 20:30

{...the willow...} 13:30

{:::willow in my backyard:::}

The Willow is the tree most associated with the moon, 

water, the Goddess and all that is feminine. 

It is the tree of dreaming, intuition and deep emotions. 

This is the willow moon energy, 

which puts us in touch with our feelings 

and deep emotions, 

and it is the ability of the willow 

to help us to express these, 

let them out, own them and charge them 

in fantastical leaps of 

inspired eloquence and understanding. 

This is the underlying energy of the willow,

 and the key to understanding 

the powerful spirit of this beautiful tree.

{...the mighty oak...} 12:30

Oaks are symbols of strength, wisdom & nobility.

Its roots are just as expansive as its branches...

uniting above & below.

Whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable -

anything that is excellent

or praiseworthy -

think about such things.

~ Philippians 4:8

{:::the little feather I found stuck to me:::}

after visiting the oak

Winter Solace

One of my resolutions this year was to post a piece of art for the Creative Everyday 2011 challenge at least weekly. Once a week didn't seem overwhelming to me and it would get me back into making time for my art.

This week...a tree, which if you've read any of my posts, I love trees. I had an idea of rolling pieces of newspaper to create the tree to give it a lot of texture to resemble the bark. Originally, I thought I'd paint it after applying the newspaper, but I really liked the natural color created from the newspaper and left it as is.

The leafless tree and the cool, windy sky remind me of the quiet days of Winter, so I labeled it 'solace' - to find comfort. Trees are grounded, strong, always reaching towards the heavens. Their branches sway with the fierce Winter winds flowing with the turbulence...not fighting it. Other days they display the grandeur of a fresh fallen snow or glistening ice.

As we become recluse to the warmth of our homes during the cold Winter months and the New Year begins, we in turn are recluse with our thoughts. Thoughts of the year & years past and what it is we want to bring into our lives. I think of how a tree is strong and beautiful - uniquely its own. How it moves with the winds - not resisting - flowing until they subside. A lesson we could all use in our life's journey.

Be strong & beautiful - uniquely you - stand firm & the winds will pass.

(did i just create a quote? maybe so - i love quotes :)