Sparkle, shimmer, & SHINE – Art 101 Week 8.5

Put my brave girl boots on this week!  This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine… Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine.  Sure hope to bring smiles and encouragement to all who see my very first postcard series – now available in the Loving Rd shop!  This is something I’ve wanted to do for years.  I finally made the investment of time, effort, and money to create, print, and offer these!  🙂

Along with all the administrative aspects of scanning, resizing, uploading, and writing detailed listings for the postcards series, I squeezed in my daily creative play time for art 101.  Here are several pictures of this week’s work in progress.

While still away from home (in Florida visiting my Dad), I started these lovely ladies.

The paint pictured here is all the paint I brought with me!  My kids enjoyed doing dot-to-dots like Grammie used to print out for them while I was painting.

 

candlegirllq  girlsketcheslq

After returning to home, sweet home, I couldn’t resist being outside to enjoy the cool mountain air, porch sitting, fireflies, and shooting stars!  I had morning coffee by the zen pond in our front yard with my husband’s acoustic guitar in the background, fresh blueberries and peaches from the yard, picking tomatoes, peppers, and onions from the garden for salsa, lots of meows from the kitty, birds chirping, tall grass waiting to be mowed, weeds trying to take over, and 1 iffy fish… keepin’ it real – glad to be home!

Kept the art supply bag packed from the trip and took it outside with me!  Set this folding chair up right in front of the zen pond for a closer view than usually have from the porch.  My Dad gave me the little pagoda candle holder while we were visiting him in the Keys and I thought it would look right at home by our little water lily pond (I swear there are koi/goldfish in there, too!  It’s a little overgrown this time of year).  However, our orange cat, Koiya, is very curious and knocked the pagoda into the pond!  Thankfully, I managed to fish it out with a broom handle and place it back on shore. 🙂

chair  zenpond

Lily blooms, pond and pagoda inspired this zen girl.

zengirl1The ground where I live sparkles with bits of mica.  I collected some of this shimmery dirt on a walk along the driveway to add to the shoreline with the zen girl.

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I finally got around to watching part 1 of the Rainbow Mermaid course by Tamara LaPorte (which she generously offered as a free gift for her water campaign that I donated to a while ago).  I was obviously feeling inspired by water this week… surrounded by water when we were in the islands, then home to the beautiful mountain lake near our home and our own little ponds.

lakelq   mermaidlq

She wanted some shimmer, too, so I added bigger pieces of mica (that I’ve collected from our driveway on daily walks to barn and mail box) to her tail for scales.

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I also finished a special girl for a very good friend’s birthday.  We have always loved singing this song together.  I am still learning to embrace imperfections as I noticed that the handwriting I attempted to cover up ended up showing through on the scans (going to call that another layer 😉 ) along with other things I’ve noticed but don’t feel the need to point out.  I recall my mom suggesting that the goofs I made in the first baby blanket I ever crocheted for a friend were part of what made it even more special (as being made by my hands and not some machines).  I’ll try to keep remembering that and hope others feel that way, too. 🙂

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I also started this one for another forever friend’s birthday.  So grateful for the support, encouragement, inspiration, and love of awesome friends!

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HUGE thanks to the Art 101 and Kelly Rae Roberts’ Flying Lessons groups for so much support, encouragement, and inspiration!  All but 2 of the postcards now available in the Loving Rd shop were completed as part of the art 101 challenge.  These past 8.5 weeks have been so full of growth and joy and learning to trust the process and embracing vulnerability to let my light shine.  I hope that sharing my story will inspire others as well and pass on the positive energy!

This postcard, created a few weeks ago, was the first one to be purchased and it’s message is worth remembering.

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My heart overflows with gratitude and joy as people share this journey with me!  After listening to the audio speech “Unleashing The Soul of Money” by Lynne Twist, I’ve gained a broader understanding of money as an exchange of energy.  Within less than 24 hours of listing the postcards, 4 lovely people had already chosen to exchange loving energy with me through their purchases in this way.  Thank you, Corinne, Iris, Erica, and Debbie, from the depths of my heart. <3

Let Your Light Shine!

 

     

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