NATURAL WONDERS

March 6, 2014

 

Greetings from sunny Central New York! There are still hills of snow all around us, but today, it looks like spring is right around the corner...after a few more snow storms of course [big smile]. I remember years when it has snowed on Mother's Day in early May!!!

It's Mother Nature's kind heart that keeps beautiful birds around us year round... ever changing, always singing.

No matter where you are, if there are wires strung on high poles, there are always birds sitting on them, visiting with one another or just resting. In this week's challenge blog, TAKE A WORD, "blackbirds" is their theme.

 



 Going from birds to monkeys... at COLLAGE OBSESSION, the theme is "monkey business." Now, I know that technically, chimpanzees are considered Apes, but both are from the biological Order Primates. The most obvious difference between monkeys and apes is that monkeys have long tails...apes have no tail. Too, apes are highly intelligent beings...monkeys, not so much! I've had one-on-one experience walking and playing with an 11 year old female chimp named ICARU. I met her in Uganda, on Ngamba Island,  a sanctuary for rescued chimps. We were together twice in as many years. This is one of the photos I took of Icaru with some of her friends... they're very playful, giggle when tickled, and spend a great deal of time grooming one another. Icaru didn't put the basket on her head, but would have, if given the basket!! :)

 

Finally, on INSPIRATION AVENUE, a theme that's not nature-oriented..."lanterns." Can you imagine a story about this piece?

 



That's all for this posting. Enjoy the days ahead as we inch ahead to our next season...for us, it's spring.

 

Hope to see you for my next...

 

Big Hugs,

abbyj

ALL ABOUT ART...

June 10, 2013

 

"Peaceful coo of the dove...relaxing!"
(done for THREE MUSES challenge blog...birds)

 

Happy Monday, Family and Friends! I trust that you had an enjoyable weekend...

 

There are a few art challenges I'd like to share with you... fun themes... like this one:

COLLAGE OBSESSION asked to see art about brothers and sisters. I used an old photo of my Father and my Aunt... 

 

SOARTFUL CHALLENGE blog was interested in owls...

F

 

THINK MONDAY-THINK ATC requested art with columns. I remembered a scene in Petra, Jordan, and played with it... amazing buildings carved of sandstone, centuries old.

 

Finally, Flicker's DIGITALMANIA introduced us to the art of Stephanie Ledoux. From Toulouse, France, she's a traveler, a journaler and a designer...a wonderful artist who incorporates bits and pieces of the life of each person in her portrait collages. These two pieces were inspired by Stephanie's style of art... one is of a man we met in China and the other is a member of one of my Ethiopian families. I'm sure I'll be doing more in her style as I really enjoy her art! It's personal, recording the people as well as memories surrounding them.

 

 

Wishing you a good week...and that you get more sunshine than we've had. It's been raining here for the past several days!!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Hugs,

abbyj



MUCH ADO ABOUT...

March 14, 2013

                                            Dear Audrey passed one year ago.

    

This is a week of important events...in my life as well as that of people around the world. For me, personally, it's the first anniversary of the passing of my dear friend, Audrey. I honor her memory and treasure all she taught me. I'm grateful for my ongoing relationship with her family...always. Thank you, Audrey!

Globally, Pope Francis, the new Il Papa from Argentina, has been elected the 266th pope and the first non-European pope in 1000 years. Touted as a man of peace, poverty and simple living, perhaps he'll clean up a church that needs a new heart (and new ethics.) He asked everyone to pray for him...I certainly will!

Finally, St. Patrick's Day...the wearing of the green. Hope your day is filled with the good times and celebration associated with the day!

On the art challenge front, THINK MONDAY-THINK ATC is in the mood for Spring (as it continues to snow here in Central New York.) They asked to see birds...

I found a new artist who's style I really like...his name is MINJAE LEE. He's South Korean. Here's his art...

and here's how he inspired me...I used one of the children (also named Abby) in one of my adopted tribal families in Southern Ethiopia. I know I did too much considering the face...Will try again. Anyway, here's Abby a la Minjae Lee...

That's it for this week...enjoy your weekend and be joyful. We have so much for which to be thankful!

Much love,
abbyj

FLAT STANLEY AND FRIENDS...

FLAT PEOPLE...TRAVELING
June 14, 2011
Hi Friends,

Have you given any thought to a six-word story that would serve as YOUR current memoir? Here's mine for the week... I was recalling a comical incident that occurred when I was recently in Italy. I guess I'm a shopper at heart... (my husband wouldn't argue with THAT!!)

Literally caught with my pants down by my friend, DJ, who was shopping with me...but what's a girl to do when there's no dressing room???

This was a week where I returned to some of my favorite online art group roots...  PAPER TRADERS is one of them. Happily for them and for all of our group members, there's now a blog for us to enjoy. They've asked group members and random readers to create an art piece entitled CELEBRATION... to toast the creation of this new blog. Here's mine...

The group created an ongoing challenge for group members...we're working on a Word Prompt Journal that involves creating pieces of art with words of inspiration... here are LOVE, COURAGE and COMPASSION: 

 A long-time cyber friend in Germany, with whom I've exchanged pieces of art through the years... Marion Bockelman...has asked some of her artist friends to participate in a swap. Our task is to create 3 small pieces utilizing artists' portraits of women of the Renaissance. (By small, I mean 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"... they're called  ATCs or Artist Trading Cards.) She's calling the swap "MONA and FRIENDS." See it on her blog, and see my entries here...

 

Now, let's consider a different kind of art... the art of writing! Have you heard of  FLAT STANLEY? 

Poor Stanley was a normal little boy who was FLATTENED when a bulletin board  fell on him during the night. This was both good and bad...he could certainly journey to places he'd never thought of visiting before he was flattened, but he couldn't be a normal little boy. He  could fit in an envelope or in a suitcase and travel ANYWHERE! What adventures...what possibilities! Our family has our own Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly...(our dear grandchildren) that we take with us on most of our travels. Their appearances have been altered considerably through the years, but the thought is the same...here they are on some of their travels as Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly...

Flat kids overlooking the city of Jerusalem, Israel, on top of a camel saddle

Flat kids with part of my extended family in Ethiopia...Dido and his son, Gallipo

Christmas in Paris, France

Enjoying the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy

In a temple niche in India

 Since turnabout is fair play, on a recent trip that our daughter, son-in-law and our grandchildren (aka Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly) took to Las Vegas, they brought FLAT PAPA and FLAT DOODLELOO (that's me) with THEM!!

Finally, a quick look at recent visitors to my bird feeder...must get a book about birds  so I can learn their names-  I'm new to this bird-feeder thing! They're so sweet, though...I photoshopped a bit, but the birds were truly a couple of today's many visitors...

Thanks for stopping by this week...hope to see you next week...


xox, abbyj

HOPE

HOPE is the word... 

February 15, 2011

One of my online art groups, PAPER TRADERS, has announced its 2nd word  for our WORD PROMPT JOURNAL...it's HOPE. Our task was to create a journal page using stencils as part of the finished piece. I used 5 different stencils as part of the background. This is a mixed media piece. You can see other entries here. (Our 1st word was LOVE!)


Thanks for stopping by...
XOX, abbyj

SILENT WEDNESDAY

MY FIRST SILENT WEDNESDAY

FEBRUARY 2, 2011