Busy, Busy Week with mostly Zen Doodle Creations

It was a crazy busy week and I had very little time for putting pen, paintbrush or pastel to paper. But I did get my little daily creations done and for most of them - I had no idea where the initial lines would lead! Only on two days was there any forethought. That is one of the cool things about the zen doodles/zentangles - they just evolve. You don't need a plan to start them. So they are perfect for the days when my mind is numb and I am not feeling creative. I put pen to paper, draw a few lines and a little creation evolves!

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday: CONGRATULATIONS, RUTH! One of my daughters graduated from high school today! Yay!! I am so proud of her!

Saturday: Celebrations continued! A Garden party, Dinner and then off the grads went on a midnight boat cruise!

Sunday: 

I also worked this week on a page for The Diary Project which I found out about from Linda at Tortagialla and Jamie at Hybrid J. Since I have been doing a lot of zen doodling, I thought I'd try that. Lots of angst about this since it will be "published" but it is due Thursday. It feels a little lopsided but I like most of it. I doubt I'll have time to try another version by then. So here is what I'll be submitting. 

Hope you had a great, creative week! I look forward to seeing your check-ins at CED2010!

Mostly Bliss with Zen Doodling Distractions

I stayed --mostly-- focused on the theme of Bliss this week for CED2010. Zen doodling distracted me from it on a few days though!

Monday: Distracted!

Tuesday: Dark, strong, black coffee - just one - gets the day off to a blissful start!

Wednesday: I love it when cherries are in season!

Thursday: Summer Bliss - floating around in the pool on a hot summer's day!

Friday: Walking to the corner store and getting a chocolate popsicle...

Saturday: Seeing your 89 year old Dad perform in a tap dance recital! (accompanied by his instructor)

Seeing he hasn't lost his sense of humour! 

Then later, zen doodling before bed...

Sunday: Clear skies and a radiant Moon = Bliss!

Hope you found incidents of Bliss in your week!

Looking forward to seeing all of your updates! Have a great and creative week!

Sunday Sketching 20June2010 "Planter"

I planted my big planters this week by the pool and chose majesty palms to give it a more tropical feel. Today (when I was inside during the downpour), I discovered some charcoal pencils I forgot I had and so I tried to sketch it with them. 

Here is my little contributions to Sunday Sketching with Sophia at Blue Chair Diary. 

I look forward to seeing your efforts!

(Boy, charcoals are messy! But they show up so much better than pencils sketches on the scanner!)

More Bliss

"Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded."

-Shelley, Mary Godwin   Frankenstein
Frankenstein's monster. Ch10

Frankenstein's monster may not have seen bliss but I am convinced it is all around us, often hidden in little things. Sometimes it is hard to see especially when negative emotions such as grief, fear or anger cloud our souls.

When it is BIG BLISS, it often relates to people - those we love. Or to the callings of our souls, our passions, our goals - work we would do regardless of payment. If it is hard to see bliss, as it was for the monster, sometimes the easiest way to find it is to focus on the small, on the little things that bring us joy and bliss.

I am still not my usual happy self after last month's death of my sister, so that is what I have tried to do for this month's theme of Bliss for CED2010, -- focus on the little things that bring me a sense of bliss. It does help.

Monday: Zen doodles are indeed very "zen"-like to me and really help bring me to a much calmer and often blissful state.

Tuesday: The sight and smell of my wonderful peonies and their satiny texture bring a smile to my face. Wish I could paint them better though!

Wednesday: I love my Kindle!The last trip I went on pre-Kindle, I put all my books and papers in an extra bag on the way home - it weighed 18 pounds! My Kindle fits in my purse and so far I have 70+ books on it and a variety of pdf documents. No paper. No extra weight. Lots of choice in what to read! Bliss!

Thursday: Mmmm, I love a glass of  good red wine. I'm partial to zins and merlot, but most are bliss!

Friday: Some nice cheese to go with that zin.... mmm

Saturday: Living in a northern climate, often the weather can get us down, so when the warm sun comes out from behind the clouds, as it did on Saturday, the feeling on my skin was bliss! (Of course, like wine, cheese and chocolate - too much of a good thing is not more bliss but often just the opposite!)

Sunday: Dang my scanner! It doesn't like pencil drawings or this watercolour pencil sketch. Holding Hands. If you click on it, there is a bit of an improvement but it looks much better in my book!

Also all through this month, running through my head has been this song "Kissing" by Bliss. I can't figure out how to have it embedded here from Youtube but the link takes you to there! A great song!

Did you find a way to find and enjoy some small or large Bliss in your life this week? I hope so! I look forward to seeing or hearing about it!

June - The Start of Bliss

The theme this month is Bliss at CED2010. So as soon as June started, I started with this as inspiration. I totally love the Joseph Campbell quote:

Follow your Bliss and the Universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.

Monday: Still May - and while I was not working with Bliss in mind, flowers in my garden do make me happy and these wave petunias are an unusual colour that I really enjoy!

June - Tuesday: For just over a year, I lived in Vancouver. I find that city blissful in many ways. I love seeing both the mountains and the ocean at the same time. I love them both - but together is Bliss!

Wednesday: A lovely mug of peppermint tea!

Thursday: Thinking about Joseph Campbell's quote.... This is one of my favourite quotes. (I like quotes) When I have followed my bliss, I have doors open for me and I frequently describe my activities as "walking through opening doors". 

Friday: mmmm Big, ripe strawberries!

Saturday: A long bubble bath!

Sunday: Extra dark chocolate!

These are a few of my favourite things! Blissful! What are some of yours?

Sunday Sketching 06June2010 "Bliss in the Bathtub"

I was working on this for CED2010's June theme of "Bliss" and thought it would be fun for Sophia at Blue Chair Diary's Sunday Sketches as well!

Now to go and do what is in my sketch! Ahhhhhh........

How does my Garden Grow?

My Garden is frequently on my mind (and affecting my body with multiple aches from my efforts) these days. It has the potential to be an amazing garden but the weeds have grown faster than I can pull or dig them up. I have one of my daughters helping this year, so I am hopeful it can finally be free of weeds (at least for a few days!). And sometimes I lose track of what I planted where. So this year, with my renewed interest in art, I thought I'd keep track of my garden in an "art" journal. My previous gardening journals have only been lists and a few pencil maps. Now there is already paint, collage, pens and pastels used and I have only just started. 

My "submission" for this week's Inspiration Avenue Challenge is the cover I created for it - all photos in the collage show how my garden grows!

Today it is raining out so I am rearranging my office at home to do more artwork in it, including updating this journal! Busy, busy, busy!