SPRING: Waxing Poetic

This new poem is printed over 
my own photographic images 

of springtime flowers:   

It's Spring!  It's Spring!  Oh, lovely Spring!

When flowers bloom and birdies sing.

And clever insects on the wing

the necessary pollen bring.

Bright sun with warmest golden rays

brings promise of idyllic days.

Green buds emerge, then leaves uncurl.

Soon, rising fiddleheads unfurl.

Now newborn lambs and calves will run

as children long for summer fun.

White wispy clouds drift overhead.

Bright colors crown the flower bed.

Small "peepers" in the swamp will sing

their proclamation:

"It is Spring!"

Green and Blue Makes- Black? Envelopes

I needed some smaller envelopes for Artist Trading Card swaps. The backgrounds are smooshed acrylic paints.  Although these look black, in reality green and blue predominate.  I had fun using rubber stamps and embossing powders for accents.

These two post cards were made with the same paint colors:

Cut And Shuffle Squares

The Spring Hill catalog arrived with so many enticing pictures of gorgeous flowers, I wanted to order most of them.  Instead, I had to think of a way to make art with the pictures.  This idea was #8 "Reassemble" among "50 Creativity Exercises" in The Collage Workbook Book

by Randel Plowman.

Purple Lilies and Roses

Roses

Pink Lilies

Red Peonies

Fancy Peonies

Peach Roses

Hens and Chickens

Clematis

My secret technique?  Backing each picture with 

full-sheet white labels, then cutting out the smaller 

pieces (either 1", 1+1/2", or 2+1/4").  

I glued the squares to card stock bases 

to make the designed cards.

Artist's Trading Cards To Swap:

Mood Lifters List

ONE OF MY HAPPY PLACES

Yesterday it occurred to me to have a "Bag Day" each week, where I go through the collection of snippets and clippings which, when I swept off the work table to make more space, ended up in white trash bags.  What's the use of cutting out/saving/storing stuff if I (forget I have it and) never use it?

Several hours were well-spent sorting, and a few started projects found completion when forgotten collage elements were added here and there.

At the bottom of a bag was this list, which may be original, or may have been copied from some unknown source.

Perhaps the suggestions will help people who live in the Northeast part of the country and may suffer depression or lack of energy during the shortage of sunlight during winter months.  (I sometimes work under a full-spectrum goose-neck lamp which mimics sunlight.  Mine is by OTT Lite) 

MOOD LIFTERS:

1.  look at photographs
2.  consume Omega-3 fats 
(found in salmon, for example)
(What about supplementing Vitamin D?)
3.  breathe in the aromas of orange or lavender
4.  get some early morning light and exercise
5.  boost daily light exposure and exercise
6.  have a hot beverage
7.  organize or clear up some clutter
8.  think rapidly (?)
9,  go out, have fun
10. smile
11. allow "zone-out" time
12. spend frequent time with up-beat people
13. chop vegetables
14. volunteer to help someone/somewhere
15. be grateful
16. make a TO-DO list

  

Another Batch of Altered Rolodex Cards

On this first day of March, I enjoyed spending 

a few hours putting the finishing touches 

on these altered Rolodex cards.