A Love Affair with Pumpkins

 

I love pumpkins!   I'm not sure what it is about them that has captured my heart.  But I've loved them for as long as I can remember.  Perhaps it is their shape.  They are so fun to draw and color.  The ripples in their form provide ample opportunities for creative shading and highlighting.  And yet they are not difficult to draw.  The natural variations in their shape gives lots of grace for those struggling with perfection when outlining their form.  

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 Perhaps it is the season they come in.  I love Autumn with its crisp new air.  I love the colors of the leaves changing.  Autumn provides a sense of nesting as we get out the quilts and prepare to snuggle in for the winter.   Autumn reminds me of the fun memories of football season when I was in High School band.  And although I'm not much of a sports fan, those were very important days that made a huge impact on my life.

 

Maybe I love pumpkins because I love its pie.  I love pumpkin pie so much that when I was growing up, I used to ask for it in lieu of a birthday cake.  And I married a man that loves it equally as much.   Just give me a good pumpkin pie and I'm a happy girl.  

We had a pumpkin vine grow up volunteer in our yard one year.  That was fun.  It was as if the seeds knew, just like those stray kittens know, that this was a house where they would be loved and well cared for.   The vine grew large and beautiful with all its twisty curls.  I think, perhaps, I will plant a pumpkin vine next year.  Or maybe 2 or 3. 

 

I can tell you this, though.  My love for pumpkins is definitely not because of their color.  I'm not really fond of orange.  Shhhh, don't tell my OSU Cowboy friends.  I will be the first to shout "Orange Power" at those games.   But only out of loyalty, not out of a love for orange.    

So I love my pumpkins, color or not.  And even though the reason is a mystery, I will enjoy them just the same.  Now, pass another piece of that pumpkin pie, please.

Wind and Honey Creations

A Few Days in Eureka Springs

I recently spent a few days in Eureka Springs, Arkansas with my family.  We each came from our separate places of residence and met there.  Two of the four of us had been there before.  I was one of the ones that had not.  We enjoyed our time together and enjoyed the unique atmosphere of the town.

The locals complained of the unusual heat they were experiencing. But we LOVED the moderate temperatures compared to the 110F plus temperatures we had been experiencing for weeks prior to our trip. 

This is the Sweet Spring noted from the 1800's for its sweet water.  The spring is down a number of very old winding steps. 

This vintage water fountain still works.  The fountain and this wonderful old bench are both by the Sweet Spring.

The whole town has a laid back atmosphere to it which was just what we were needing.  We visited art galleries, quaint shops, and antique stores.  Each of the restaurants we visited were extraordinary.  Of course photography was not allowed in the galleries.  And I guess I was always too hungry when in the restaurants because I never remembered to take pictures there.  

I would LOVE having a studio on the top floor of this building!

I especially noted the vintage and unusual musical items I found.  Arkansas is a very musical state.  

I'll share a few other images with you on another day.

Wind and Honey Creations

The Benefit of Fun

What difference does it make to have fun?  Well, kids could answer that in about 2 seconds.  It makes ALL the difference.  If a lesson plan isn't fun, I've lost the students almost from the beginning.  And that's even true of the adults, too.  Their heart isn't in it and soon their concentration won't be either.  They stumble through the activity with only half the effort.  And the 'less than wonderful' results at the end of the project prove this project was not fun enough.

I know that life isn't all fun and sometimes one must do tasks that are simply necessary and not so pleasant.  But what if we began to look for ways to put more fun into our lives?  If we smiled more, if we laughed more, if we had more fun, wouldn't those unavoidable less fun things be more tolerable?  Doesn't the chocolate pudding at the end of the meal make the brussels sprouts less  unpleasant?

The Fun Theory by Volkswagon is a site dedicated to the idea that simply adding fun to our lives can make a difference for us and for the world around us.  Here is a video of an experiment proving this theory.  When the only way to get from down to up was a flight of stairs and and an escalator, the stairs were a lonely place.  But after a piano keyboard was added to the steps, thereby creating instant fun, the stairs became a much much more popular route.

Wind and Honey Creations

Music of Spring

This lovely young lady is sitting in the fresh air of a lovely Spring day.  The songs of the birds, the purring of the cats, and the hope of Spring create a beautiful music floating in the air.  This is my entry for the http://jeanette-soartfulchallenges.blogspot.com/ today.  The challenge was to create a piece using the image of the woman sitting on the bench with her umbrella.  I will be using this image for something nice that will be in my shop soon.

And you have seen this piece before.  It is one of my favorites. And just fits right in with the http://createdbyhandchallenge.wordpress.com/ for this week which is "My Heart Dances".  The original of this piece lives in my home.  

Stop! Don't miss the music of your life!

On a cold January day in 2007, world renown violinist Joshua Bell stood by the wall and a trash can in the Washington, DC Metro Station.  He was dressed in common clothes but grasped a handcrafted 1713 Stradivarius violin worth 3.5 million dollars.  For 45 minutes Joshua played intricate, difficult, and beautiful pieces on his violin.  Many people simply hurried by.  Most hardly even noticed.  A few tossed a dollar to him but didn't stop walking.  Only six people stopped to listen for a moment and only one recognized him.  The interesting thing is that children wanted to stop and continued to stare as they were hurried on by a parent.  Joshua had performed a concert three days earlier for an average of $100 per person.  This day he made $32.  When he finished playing there was no applause and no one even seemed to notice that he had stopped.

This was an experiment by The Washington Post to see is we perceive beauty in commonplaces at inappropriate times.  Do we recognize it?  Do we stop to appreciate it?  

We rush through our lives only to wake up one day realizing we are at the end and forgot to stop and live.  You really only have this day, this moment.  Remember to look for the beauty of it.

What a Wonderful World

This video was sent to me via email from a friend. The video is about the sweet relationship between a fawn and a kitten. It is precious and stands to teach us all something about how we can treat others that are different than we are. And the fact that the song in the background is by Louis Armstrong is just the icing on the cake for me. I've always loved him, even as a small child. My father was killed in a fire when I was three years old. My mother says that when I was seven we were watching Louis Armstrong on a TV show and I said I wished he was my daddy. I'm not sure what prompted that comment. But I wonder if it wasn't that captivating smile.

I hope you enjoy this video.

Melange Wednesday Challenge

The theme this week for the Melange Wednesday Challenge is Dance. I have found myself drawn to the theme of dance for many years in my collage work. I have used it several times and still have uncompleted dance ideas in my head. I've chosen to submit 2 of my previously completed collage pieces. These original artworks both live in my house. I decided I wanted to keep them. So many people have requested these pieces that I offer prints and cards of them.
The phrase Dance with a Cat originated with my daughter. When she was a teenager and dealing with all the "stuff" that teenagers deal with, she would often scoop up her 17 lb Siamese kitty Fasa aka Mufasa, drape him over her shoulder like a baby, close her eyes and slowly begin to dance. Her theory was 'When life gets you down, dance with the cat.' The tabby cat was created with paper and colored pencil. The girl and her horn were created with pen and ink and watercolor. The background was done in acrylic paint. The music box still actually plays.

The second collage Dare to Be Free was created out of the idea that when one dances, one feels truly free. The feet and slippers are painted on vintage book pages. The roses are vintage cards, and the calla lillies are porcelain. The vintage library card is authentic.

Thanks for looking.
Elizabeth

Peter and the Wolf

Remember Peter and the Wolf?  Did you listen to it as a child with those delightful musical personalities?  It is a very fond memory for me.  Something reminded me of it today and I went on a search to recover a copy of it.  But not just any version will do.  It has to be the old Walt Disney version with Sterling Holloway narrating.

I did find some delightful Peter and the Wolf tidbits on youtube.  I strongly suggest you watch them.  They will brighten your day.   Walt Disney      Peter 1    Peter 2

Then in my search I turned to Etsy to see if I could find any Peter and the Wolf there.  I stumbled onto this Etsy shop.  What fun!  This artist has such wonderful creativity using the fantasies and imaginations of childhood stories.  

Please take the time to go to The Mymble's Daughter .  Spend some time just meandering through her imagination.  You'll enjoy the escape.    Pictured here are some of my favorites.

    Elizabeth