Florida Fog

 Unbelievable! It has been "thick as pea soup", as my Mom used to say, for the last several days. I am thinking about renaming Florida to the Foggy State instead of the Sunshine State! Before the fog it was extremely windy. If you were to walk on the beach you were blown out of your shoes! I really don't mind a few days of down-time where I can just stay inside and do jigsaw and Soduku puzzles, read and work on my crazy quilt but now it is time for things to clear off and give us some nice SUNNY DAYS!!

Look at that surf - it was wild and very LOUD!

Here are what the battered shells looked like the next day....

Crooked Island trip

Photography is one of those art forms that travels easily. All you need is a camera and a laptop! I love to post photos, especially travel photos, on Facebook and share my adventures with my friends. When we're in Florida, I really love taking pictures of the birds. From those big, graceful Pelicans to the little sand pipers that chase the waves, I love to photograph them all.

I took a jaunt last Thursday to Crooked Island beach (on the northern edge of Mexico Beach, Florida). It is supposed to have great shelling, especially sand dollars. It was a 60 mile round trip so I was a little peeved when I arrived and saw that the forestry people were there doing a controlled burn and had the access way blocked with their truck. Grrrr!  SO... I stopped in Mexico Beach to check out the beach there because I had never been on that beach before. Not such a great beach but lots and lots of birds, probably because there weren't any people around. I got some great pictures - my favorites were of the little terns (like a sea gull) with their tufted heads. They looked like they were having a very "Bad Hair Day" - just might have to do a scrap book page featuring those little birds!

A Little More ....

SO... to summarize the long post from the 8th -- once I determined that it was OK to have a large number of artistic interests I was able to move on and enjoy each one of them for what they bring to the table.

Now I strive to CREATE something artistic, beautiful and meaningful as often as possible. I would never say that I try to do it each day because life gets in the way of crazy goals like that and then I could be right back to where I was before -- feeling guilty!

Genuine CREATIVITY is looking at things differently and to make "art" using this new found perspective.  All the more reason to pull ideas and skill sets from all of the art genres that I love so much.

Finally – I’ve got it figured out!!

I have always thought that I have too many artistic pursuits for my own good and that I really should buckle down and pick one or two. NOW I know that I was looking at it all WRONG! Rather than thinking of each craft as an individual pursuit I now think that they should be viewed as one -- all merged together to make “My Art”.

Honestly I can’t say how many times I have tried to decide which pursuit I should give up and it was just impossible to come up with a satisfying answer…

Could I stop making cards? Never! I could not ever stop giving those little artistic masterpieces (as one of my friends calls them) to my friends and family. Maybe I could get rid of my scrap booking supplies and stop scrap booking? Never! I LOVE documenting events, emotions and people that touch my life and mean so much to me. Well, I don’t make very many little books – maybe I should stop making my little books? Never! For one thing, most of the supplies I use to make my little books are the same as card making and scrapbooking so there isn’t much to be gained there. AND I would be lost without the little books I have made for myself and I have seen the joy that the books I make for others can bring so who would want to stop that craft?

So let’s say I keep all of my paper crafting pursuits and I give up my textiles (cotton and fancy fabrics) and sewing supplies that I use in quilting; art, traditional and crazy? Never-Never! Embroidery was my first love at the age of 10 or so and fabric was my second (after I recovered from my HS Home Economics teacher!). I have been actively quilting since 1990 and when I need to feel better I just go upstairs and “play” with my fabrics. Me quitting that pursuit - that will just never work so forget it!

Maybe I could give up making wool projects? I know that my husband would love to see all of those bins of wool that I have collected (about 12 huge bins)…Never! Wool is the easiest and most versatile textile to work with and can be utilized in so many different ways – wall hangings, rugs, clothing embellishment, handbags and small carry-alls, oh! the list goes on and on….

Well, maybe I could do away with my cotton, silk and wool dyes and dyeing supplies? Well, if I do that I will be eliminating a crucial surface design option which I use for EVERYTHING so, that will Never! work. 

I also could consider putting my camera away and and not try and capture those once-in-a-lifetime pictures that I love to take. (see photo of the Sandpiper below). It is still a learning experience for me but I really enjoy it so much so no... Never! gonna give up my efforts to capture wonderful moments in time.

SO – after this very long self-examination I see that I CAN NOT eliminate any of my many artistic passions…Never! They are all inter-related and fused into each other. When I learn to make a pretty paper flower, that same flower can be used in a scrapbook, a card or a book and with some stabilizer it could be made out of fabric or wool and used on a textile.

However..... lately I have seen some really cute hats and scarves that have been KNITTED and would be adorable on my granddaughter….. better stop while I am ahead. I think I have enough projects to keep me busy for now.

See the little creature that is in the Sandpiper's bill? How did I ever get this picture!

New Look - More Posts

I PROMISE to improve my blog to make it more interesting and visually appealing!!

A Long Time Coming

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have posted - kind of the same way I do paper diaries... I think I see a pattern here!

Since last time I posted, I have taken up Crazy Quilting (CQ) - yes, another craft, but I love the creativity of CQ and the fact that there really are not any RULES.

I also have discovered Pinterest - great website to post to and to browse around. Beware, you might get lost in pinterest-land for hours on end.