Inspire Me Thursday: Moon

Thy beauty haunts me heart and soul,

Oh, thou fair Moon, so close and bright;

Thy beauty makes me like the child

That cries aloud to own thy light:

The little child that lifts each arm

To press thee to her bosom warm.

Though there are birds that sing this night

With thy white beams across their throats,

Let my deep silence speak for me

More than for them their sweetest notes:

Who worships thee till music fails,

Is greater than thy nightingales.

William Henry Davies

Sunday Scribblings: Lost

I have a recurring dream or at least a recurring theme in my dreams. My parents have both been gone for some time but I dream that I've "lost" contact with my mom or dad. Suddenly they are here again and I'm always extremely upset because I don't know why haven't seen them in so long, it's as if I lost my memory of them for a while and then it suddenly returns.

I've also dreamed that I have "lost" or forgotten one of my grandchildren. They are here with me and I leave them, forgetting they are here.

It's really a very disturbing dream to have and I always wonder why this theme of something lost is so prevalent in my dreams. And why is it always loved ones I seem to lose? Thankfully in the end, they are always found again. I don't know much about dream interpretation but I'm sure someone somewhere could tell me what it all means.

Video: Painting Angels

Beautiful video for you to watch:

You can find more of Renea L's work here.

My Latest Inspiration

A site I've been enjoying the past few days is Amanda Blake Soule's, SouleMama. The photography with all the colors and textures are a treat for your eyes. Her writings inspire you to live a simpler, repurposed, handmade life.

Finding my Creative Voice

I've been seriously playing (oxymoron?) with art for the past year. Most of my time is spent studying other artists and their work ~ people like SuziBlu, Willowing, Mystele, Gritty Jane, Milliande, many others ~ and then learning by imitating their work. It's so great that these wonderful women are so willing to share their craft and bring others along on this artful journey and I will be forever grateful for what I've learned from each of them.



But lately I'm growing restless. I feel like I've learned enough to get me started on finding my own creative voice. I just don't know how to get started doing that. How do I go about finding my own style? Where do I go for inspiration? When I look at what others are doing, I think, 'I can do that!' But that's not what feels right to me now. I need to find my own way, my own subject matter, my own inspiration, my own style, my own voice.

I'm so excited!

Wow! I just signed up for the creative textures class taught by one of my favorite online artists, Jane DesRosier and her friend Maureen White, who I am excited to get to know as well. The workshop videos are phenomenal.! If you're interested in learning more about creating canvases loaded with color and texture and depth, you'll want to take this class. The link is on the right. Hope to see you there~!

Prayers welcome

I'm sending out this prayer request to all those who believe in miraculous healing and who are willing to pray with me.

Last week, my husband noticed a sudden change in the vision of his right eye. After a couple of doctors visits and several tests, we now know that he has had a "stroke" to the optic nerve in his right eye, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. As of today, he has only a small amount of upper peripheral vision left in that eye and we are told there is no treatment. We can only hope that the swelling in his optic nerve will go down, that the blood flow will be restored with time, but this will be a matter of prayer and not a medical cure.

I appreciate all who are willing to pray with me.

Things that inspire me in my art

Walks in the woods

Birds

Trees

Nostalgia

Peeling paint

Antique malls

Old bottles

Beads

Photos focused on the things we don't usually "see"

Bright colors in unexpected places

Words

Love

Quiet

Solitude

Music

Meet Phillipe

A few months ago, my youngest daughter moved out, taking her beloved cat, Amelie, with her. I had fallen in love with this sweet petite kitty and I've really missed her. Last weekend, for my birthday, my daughter blessed me with a new little feline, a very affectionate and loving 3-year-old cat named, Phillipe. He is wonderful and I am in love all over again!


Except when he wants to get into bed and snuggle with me at 4 a.m.

Five things about me

Since I'm just beginning to establish my presence here on this blog, I thought I'd do a couple of lists about myself over the next few weeks. Here are five basic things about me:

1. I am a nature lover. I'd rather be walking in the woods or sitting beside a lake than just about anywhere else in the world. This has been a part of me since I was very young and spent hot summer days fishing for crawdads in the creek and exploring the woods and fields close to my home. Trees and birds are of special interest to me and I enjoy luring birds to my window with yummy treats.

2. I've had a camera in my hand since I was 10 years old and received my first Brownie. I spent my young taking pictures of my neighborhood playmates, family events, and the world around me. I received my first 35 mm camera when I was 16 and took a couple of classes. But I prefer a my point and shoot Canon AS2 Powershot. It's fast and easy and takes pretty good pictures for a point and shoot.

3. I was raised Catholic, spent much of my adult life as a Baptist, and currently belong to a small Presbyterian church. My Christian faith is very important to me.

4. I am educated as a social worker but I work from home as a medical transcriptionist for a local hospital. I love the comfort and flexibility working from home gives me and my desire to reach out to others is fulfilled through my church.

5. I am married to a wonderful man who is a disabled police officer from Mississippi. After getting hurt on the job, he went back to school and now works for the state children's division as a hotline investigator. He is an overcomer and I admire him for that.

Enough about me... tell me about you!

New blog and Sunday morning

I'm officially making the move to this new blog. I've been hitting the paints hard this past week, feeling more creative than I have in a long while. And this space allows for more creativity.

I was naughty this morning and skipped church. I worked 10 hours yesterday and needed some downtime so I've spent the morning on the couch, sipping my yummy coffee, blogging, taking a few photos and posting, and now I need to go clean up my art space.

Tonight is the celebration of my youngest daughter's 21st birthday. I am now officially old.

Have a peaceful day,
Pearle

The List

I'm sure by now, we've all seen the Bucket List. Do you have your own list of "things to do before it's too late?"

Here's a list I found at Nicki Jackson's blog. I hope you'll play along!

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors - Ireland 2016!
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa - my big dream!
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job - actually laid off
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible- in progress
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the alamo in person.
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Copy and paste into your blog with your own answers. Be sure and leave a comment with a link to your blog!

Here we go again...

So, here we go, creating yet another blog. But I really like blogger. It is so much more user friendly that what I've been using. I think I'll play here a while with all the bells and whistles.

I like to play.

It makes me happy.

Goodnight.