Pink Purl

By The Sea

We had a BLISSFUL weekend by the sea!  For two days we went to some favorite places in and around Larvik--including the pretty town of Stavern.  A big highlight of the weekend was going back to the rocky beach/geopark of Mølen.  Much of our time was spent outdoors, walking harbors and beaches, eating good food and soaking up the sun.  We got a bit too much sun, and feeling a bit tired and sunburned... but it was worth it!  On the drive home we stopped along some coastal villages, among them Helgeroa, where there is a beautiful marina.  While we sift through some happy weekend memories, here are a few moments to share...

Wishing you all a sweet week!

With Love,

This Moment...

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment...  --Henry David Thoreau

"You Are Here" by Tracy Bakkelokken -- 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm) Acrylics on linen with modeling paste and metallic pigments

Taking photographs of art isn't easy.  And especially when it's one's own art work.  So much of the nuances of color don't always translate within photography.  Digital photo/art programs can enhance and help things along, tweaking color and light.  Sometimes the soul of the work seems to slip past the lense though... And I think that's happened here.  This is my newly finished canvas.  I showed a peek of this in progress a little while ago here

It is hard to tell in the photos alone, but there are some silver metallic pigments playing about on the canvas.  There are about ten different layers of paint.

The shade of purples and blues are so rich... I wish you could see them for real, see the canvas for real.  This painting appeared to me in a dream, completed... I just had the task of bringing it alive with paint.  Mindfulness and life in this moment is the theme... the foundation I try to build my life on.

Very soon I will be sharing more of my art and painting, as well as new creative projects under way.  But first the weekend now.  Dear Husband & I are heading away for a couple of days to enjoy some fun in the sun... I'll be right back!  Wishing you beauty, peace, love & joy in this moment! 

With Love,

Summer Solstice

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting...

--from To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time --by Rober Herrick

Summer Solstice... The longest day of the year, the real beginning of summer.  It is the time of the Wiccan & Pagan celebration of Midsummer, also known as Litha. This is also a fire festival day, and bonfires are lit.

Midsummer as a celebration is a bit of a paradox.  In December, at the Winter Solstice, The Sun King gains strengh, warmth & power.  Now at Midsummer, The Sun King begins his decline. Then we begin a slow farewell to summer, as the the days now shorten toward Midwinter again.  And yet He, The Sun, shines now, so strong, with beauty & the richness of life.  And so we celebrate.

The Summer Solstice invites us to live in this moment--the very now, to celebrate the loveliness of summer while it lasts, to revel in the joy of the Divine.  To delight in the gifts of this season--flowers, fresh fruits & vegetables, walk barefoot in the grass in the sunshine, gather roses, sing the sun a song...

Happy Summer! May we be blessed with the joy & grace of life's vitality and this season's bounty!

With Love,

Being Here Now: June Seduction

 

"Summer afternoon--summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." --Henry James

"A life without love is like a year without summer." --Swedish Proverb

• Taste--afternoon snack of my own homemade blueberry muffins, red grapes and green tea, eaten outdoors on our deck...*sigh*...
• Scent--that deep, fresh "green" scent of summer, all things lush & growing
• Sound--listening to Michael Brant DeMaria's Gaia and Ocean
• Touch--pink, light cotton cardi over my shoulders
• Sight--dreams sparkling still before me... possiblities ahead...
• Intuition--savor the summer days now, play, create time & space for nurturing my spirit
• Delight--peonies, irises and daisies blooming in the garden
• Comfort--new garden shoes a la crocs, aqua blue with pink daisy flowers: pretty & very comfy!
• Making-- more new love flags, malas & jewelry for my Etsy shop coming soon...
• Doing--making plans for summer...day trips, weekend outings, picnics
• Reading--enjoying magazines at the moment, especially Jeanne d'Arc Living, a Danish publication dedicated to Nordic-French style...now in Nowegian-translation edition from this year!  They have English on their website, and shop to order pretties from.  Also reading magazine treats bought while in the USA last month, Yoga Journal and Sage Woman
• Gratitude--the support of my yoga/meditation practice, which inspires me to be more & do better daily
• Happiness--the seductive days of summer now...
• Love--love to Dear Husband, my family, and to all you good friends!

Summery sunshine is promised for the weekend... so we plan to be out & about and enjoying it!  Something I'm going to try this summer during weekends is mini weekend digital sabbaticals--ultra limited or next to no computer/online time.  So I may be slow responding to email and/or shop orders/inquiries during the weekends until the week turns during the next month or so.  Just means fun is being had, creativity blooming, slow time enjoyed... :o)

What are you plans for the summer or winter, depending on where you are?  What's happening with you right now?  Tell me about the ordinary... and the extraordinary!  Wishing you all a JOY-filled weekend!

With Love,

P.S. For friends at Flickr, due to trouble accessing photos stored on our now defunct old home pc, I'm slow to updating my page there with newer photos, and here at the blog, and my shop too. I hope to be back at Flickr soon, though.  

Rhapsody in Blue

Blue skies! ...*sigh*... (June in Norway is highly recommended, by the way!)  The blue skies of late, got me to thinking how this seems to be informing my creativity lately...

Soft blues... some fabrics set aside for a customer order I'll be working on this week.

Bright, cornflower blue... a new knitting project taking shape.  This past weekend I used this lovely blue to cast on and start this child's vest.

A new order with beads arrived, goodies for making new stock for my Etsy shop... among them, these two strands of  gorgeous lavender-blue angelite gemstone rounds.

Painting in the works... can't reveal all yet, but I notice blues showing up more & more on my palette.   LOTS taking shape behind the scenes here just now.  I'll be able to share more soon... Do stay tuned!

Are you favoring a particular color just now?  What's your color?

Wishing you all a beautiful week!