inspiring artists...

mona at http://monaspicturesque.blogspot.com/ has challenged her readers to list their inspirational artists...

I did not post photographs or images, because i'm not sure if they would be okay with that.

however, if you follow the links, you should see what makes them so inspiring...

 

1. kim klassen...

she is an excellent teacher, a fabulous artist and an inspirational businesswoman. I've taken a lot of her courses and learned a tremendous amount from her. I admire her art, and also her generosity when it comes to sharing. 

this is the first image of hers that I saw and I remain in awe of it...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimklassen/4197600509/

 

 

2. erins arts and gardens...

I love her style, her photography and paintings inspire me and she stretches with honesty and bravery.  her blog is beautiful and can be found here -

http://erin-artandgardens.blogspot.com/

 

3. lisa Gordon...

a fabulous macro photographer...after stumbling on her somewhere online,

I went and got a macro lens...

http://www.lisa-gordon.com/blog/#

 

4. sue Bryce...

how she makes women feel is priceless...

how she teaches, generous...

how she opens up and shares all, courageous...

http://www.inbedwithsue.com/home.php

 

5. Dianne poinski...

a true artist in every medium she touches, from painting to iphones...thanks to her, I have found most of the others on my list. she shares her techniques so generously.

http://www.diannepoinskiblog.com/

 

6. mona's picturesque...

her work is distinctive, with a fantasy, ethereal feel...love her portraits, collages and flowers... :)

http://monaspicturesque.blogspot.com/

 

7. pixel dust art...

this website gave me 'permission' in my head to transform photos into digital art.  she takes it to a whole new level and when I am bored with myself, I visit here and come away inspired...

http://www.pixeldustphotoart.com/

 

8. French kiss...

she has some of the most beautiful textures, I love every one of them

 http://www.frenchkisscollections.com/

 

9. paint the moon...

love her blog, I always learn a lot from a visit...I scroll back on all the entries til I catch up. 

then I go shoot something :)

http://paintthemoon.net/blog/ 

 

10. sue gary...

found her on flickr one day.  her images of nature speak to me, love them all...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gr8fl89/

hellooo november :)

today is my mom's birthday, she would have been 84 yrs old.

she died of lung cancer 11/13/08 and I miss her terribly every day.

when she died, my sisters and I divided up her plants.

I have one of her Christmas cactus plants.

and in honor of my mom's birthday, it has this beautiful flower today

:)

 

this is also the first November since 1979 that I am not overloaded with retail stress.

I am going to see this month and all it's beauty :)

I am going to see the gray stuff,

the temperature drop, the election signs,

the wilting pumpkins,

the rusty dried leaves

and smile...

hellooo November, I hope to enjoy the hell out of you this go round 

:)

one more image to add -

I bought an annual for the front step this spring, and it barely made it through the season.

I brought it inside a couple of weeks ago and it now has a few buds!

it feels like an omen, a message of new life...

:)

so hellooo November :)



calendars for 2014...

finally :)

I pulled together two different calendars for 2014, and posted them on my etsy shop. 

being easily distracted, I had a hard time staying focused on the actual calendar I was working on. 

 instead, I found myself thinking - oh wait, what about a barn calendar? or a bird calendar. or windows.

 

in the end, I did these...

this one is Nature:

 

and this one is Cape Light...

 

if you are interested in them, they are available here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/mariegradypalcic

 

thanks so much for visiting!

mums...

 

 

watery softness...

 

 

enhanced with Kim Klassen's 'heartbeat' texture

and Pioneer Woman's actions...

 

sharing with Texture Tuesday (click for link)



somewhere along the way...

 

the path isn't always clear these days...

I alternate between embracing a wandering spirit

and needing a map for the road ahead...

 

 

what is clear, however,

is that the change from working-to-retirement hasn't changed my need

to feel productive and impactful. 

so the habitual overworking that I blamed on my job

still haunts me in this after-life :)

come to find out, it wasn't lifetouch's fault.

it was me all along

 

 

kinda makes me wonder if the cats that show up on my deck,

no matter where I live,

are a result of my own behavior too...

Batman the catman, on the cape cod deck, is not the problem.

turns out, I am doing this stuff to myself...

 

 

so i got some learning to do.

i think i'm going to stop trying to fill the minutes with checkmarks

on some mental to-do list,

and instead, let go for a little while.

 

i will let go of the new habit of trying to do everything i missed out on

when i was working 70+ hrs a week for 30+ years.

 

i don't have to decorate the house for fall just because i can.

(even though that was good, good times)

i don't have to refinish every old piece of furniture,

or rake every leaf,

or suck up every dust bunny with my new little dustbuster.

i don't have to do every creativeLive class,

or shoot every word-of-the day,

or post new stuff on my photography pages.

unless i want to.

 

for the time being,

i am just going to wander aimlessly around my life

and enjoy the little things...

 

 

 

 

 

 

this sign says it all...

no need to know where i am...

no need to know where i am going...

 

 

 

 

fall and nature . . .

when I think of fall, it is all about nature.

fashion people think sweaters and boots,

cooks think about soups and pot roast...

I always think flowers, leaves, birds, trees...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



i took a break...

I am not sure why I took a break.

I am not even sure what I took a break from, or what I did on my 'break'.

but I definitely was gone a bit.

 

spring and summer were busy and we loved it. 

retirement was confusing but enjoyable.

 

 

September was more painful, for sure. 

September actually hurt. 

 

my brother in law moved in with us, which was rough on everyone. 

he didn't want to be here, we preferred our lives as they had been,

but he needed help and we all knew it.

 

 

my brother and his wife decided to move away, far away...

all the way from their maine/cape cod homes in the northeast USA to southern California.

it's good for them but sad for me...

they were a big part of our cape cod lifestyle

and we missed them long before they actually left.

 

it was a lonely time.

 

I have a hard time looking at the pictures I took because I was so profoundly lonely.

 

 

 

but October has been better.

my brother in law has found some housing back in NY where he wants to live.

my brother has moved on but I have traded sadness for gratitude.

I am lucky to have had a few years of hanging out together at the cape;

it's more than I would have had, if we hadn't bought a house at the cape too.

so my heart is healing.

 

 

joey and I have been able to spend some time enjoying autumn together.

we lost us-time in September and it felt like we lost everything.

but as leaves fall and the outside world changes,

so does our inside world.

and we will find a beauty in the new season too,

as long as we're together...