listening, a harmony to the rain...

what i'm listening to today, with rainfall as my backdrop... a little angus, a little julia

from angus and julia stone's new album, releasing this month, 'down the way'

the trill of the birds' promise...

sunday thoughts ~ 

the trill of the birds' promise, messenger of time  

dialects of song, relaying the universal language of seasonal progression; still remembering to recognize the circle of each new day's time along the larger path

traveling band of sound waves carried to hungry ears.  the epidemic spreading of an infectious joy

earth listens carefully; trustworthy provider, nodding to the call with breaths of warming air

slow, patient crackling undertone as the ground carries the thaw on a northerly trek and sleeping life stretches toward a new year

saturday shopping list - march 6th

"i like nonsense,

it wakes up the brain cells.

fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,

it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.

which is what i do,

and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."  ~ dr. seuss

honey, by ohmycavalier

absinthe one piece swimsuit, by ladramaqueen

banksy i pledge allegiance to the bag, by visualcreatures

drops, by elsita

mr bluebird, from mushroomandmoss

leather crochet necklace, by lemkab

if i could pick just one, by blissfulimages

stairway to heaven bamboo jersey, by ginamichelevintage

the coming spring, by woolandwater

great leggings with a twist, by mylolafashion

"when i examine myself and my methods of thought, i come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking."  ~ albert einstein 

as always, you can visit fancypicnic for links to all the saturday shopping lists

happy weekend!

inspiration on a thursday...

such an abundance of inspiration to be found in the collection howard lynk (via automatism) has put together of antique victorian microscope slides ... nature manipulated (and, in the case of the exhibition slides, painstakingly arranged) into works of timeless art... scientific history captured and frozen under glass... displaying the beauty of a fragile microscopic world within us and around us; our human eyes pass over, incapable of seeing unaided

these first pictures, below, come from the 'arranged' and 'exhibition' categories; tiny individual objects grouped together and arranged geometrically (even creating still life 'pictures', as seen in the last slide of this group, appearing as a bouquet of flowers).  objects included "foraminifera, radiolaria, diatoms, insect and butterfly scales, seeds, sponge spicules, ect." 

lynk's collection is a broad range of exhibition, insect, marine, fossils, minerals, botanical and beyond... and of early histology, including these two slides of "injected and corroded kidney section showing structures" and a "photomicrograph (dic) of section of human tongue"... incredible

visit 'a cabinet of curiosities' to enjoy the full collections

simple world...

moss, by citrushearts

oh, how i wish i could remember more often to live a simple life.  to focus on each piece individually.  breathe and remind myself it is not a race of quantity

perhaps this is why i've always been drawn to novels of centuries past.  i don't deny the hardship and pain associated with many of those eras, but i try to pull out the slow pace.  the focus on each word that slips through the mouth.  the necessity to watch the seconds tick by into tomorrow.  

it has been lovely not having a television this last year.  now, i will admit to watching a few shows i love on the internet (when i get around to it) as well as endless movies that accomplish the task of holding my interest and stirring my mind (or simply making me laugh until my stomach hurts).  but, to not waste the hours in front of drifting, soon to be forgotten images.  hours flashed by in a hurry of mundane, just passable use of my time.  sitting down at night to sew or read or watch a film which i truly enjoy makes the hours pass more as i remember them from childhood.

and, the more i force myself to pull away from constant use of technology, the easier it becomes to slow my body to match the beating of my heart.  but, there are many days i get sucked into the land of the computer, my fingers fluttering in anxiousness for something to hold and buttons to push.... a cycle of checking websites, emails, my phone....  

so, now i will leave you with these simple images of beauty.  i will pull myself away from the buttons.  i will cook my dinner.  i will read my book.  i will slow my world

 click on the links under each picture to see the photography on flickr and to see each photographers vast array of beautiful images

simple, by kickasscanadian chick

untitled, by xaomena

windowsill II, by fadedfilmstrips

la guitarra, by rebecca lily

untitled, by sylvain-emmanuel .p

untitled, by t.tum

new. years. resolution. failure. #25, by { kris }

untitled, by . marie

stairs to heaven, by werner kunz (werkunz1)

progression of a flower...

sunday thoughts  ~ sculpture pieced together, twisting strands of thought, mental images, pulled through needle, stitched from memory... 

thinking today, as i complete this sculpture in fabric inspired by the daffodil, of the parallel between nature and art

 in nature, a flower bears seed, scattered by wind; reaching deep within the earth, grabbing hold and blossoming anew to the light, preparing to continue the cycle.

but, can the same not be said for the creativity of the mind and the resulting construction of art?  instead of sun, water, and soil, we use thoughts, dreams, tools, and hands to create.  inspiration harvested from the scattered seeds of those who created before us... built upon centuries of ideas and work, cultivating for new growth in the centuries to come

we hold onto these individual treasures for as long as we can.  in nature and in art this may last for days or for generations.  but ideas passed on can live forever... ideas waiting to plant themselves and give life to something new

'daffodil bulb' ~ wool soft sculpture

saturday shopping list - february 27th

escape fine art print, by alisontyne

i've never seen dreaming as a reflection of unhappiness, but as an exploration into the unused spaces of the mind... the discovering of portals into unknown worlds

here's to undiscovered dreams of miniature worlds, far reaching lands, soaring through winds, circus tumbling in the sky, fingertips touching endless fields of wildflowers, ... and to capturing a piece of the wild, and bringing it home to your reality

little giraffe felted wool animal, by littleloveblue

red cedar mixed media, by corikindred

mermaid desk topper, by monkeyandsquirrel

fluttering away print, by sarahblank

though evelyn knew the circus was her home..., by thisisalliknow

margareta dream whisperer, by caracarmina

interspecies couple, by melabo

baboon fine art print, by sharonmontrose

as always, you can visit fancypicnic for links to all the saturday shopping lists

happy weekend!

inspiration on a thursday...

feeling a bit under the weather today, and, therefore, a bit quiet... enjoying some rest, reading, and bit of sewing.  so, today i will share an abundance of visual inspiration on which to feast, courtesy of australian photographer, sharyn cairns

p.s. this last image of the bed on the beach?  "i want to go to there"