Thursday Doors: Morristown NJ (Part 2)

Tags

arches, Cee's Photo Challenge, Church, doors, Norm 2.0, path, photography, Which Way Challenge

Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world.  Thank you to Norm 2.0 for hosting!

Some more doors from my new hometown. This church, Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, is across the street from the library I featured last week. In fact, you can see the library in the background of the sign.

This church has quite a few lovely doors and archways. I would like to go to a service here one of these days. The stained glass windows and organ are supposed to be amazing, too.

There are a number of interesting paths in the above montage, but my favorite is the one below. This gateway is so inviting and I think it would make a lovely entry for Cee’s Which Way Challenge.

 

Still We Rise

Tags

100 Mandalas, acrylic paint, art, art journal, flowers, gratitude, gratitude journal, I Rise, mandalas, Maya Angelou, Poems, quotes

My new gratitude art journal is my first mixed media sketchbook!

I can journal for quite a few days and really play with things with this book. This page layout was from the past week and culminated in the Women’s March. I didn’t make it to Washington, DC, but I did go to Trenton NJ. It was a really uplifting day. Yesterday I taught part 1 of a mandala drawing class at my Unitarian Universalist Church. I donated the class for their annual service auction. The people who made it were really happy with part 1 and I’m looking forward to part 2 next Sunday. You will see some of my samples in this journal.

Here is my sample free-hand mandala and some very free for all art journal play. I’m going backwards chronologically so here is the beginning of the gratitude journal.

I got some new art supplies that are used in these pages and am playing with lots of flower images. I’m kind of doing a 100 flowers challenge as well as the 100 mandala challenge. I have really enjoyed doing a lot of mandalas as samples for the class. It gets me working in different ways. Another focus for the new year is to get a new blog for just my art and beef up my Etsy site.

The right hand page of the top image has much of the Maya Angelou poem, “Still I Rise” written out. It really captures the spirit of the march and was part of our minister’s sermon yesterday. I’m so grateful for the legacy of Maya Angelou. Here is the poem in its entireity.

Still I rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

I hope you encountered beauty today.

Mandala 27

Tags

100 Mandalas, flowers, Mandala

Doors of Morristown, NJ: Part 1

Tags

architecture, doors, Library, Morristown, New Jersey, Norm 2.0, photos, Thursday Doors, Wordsworth

I have a whole bunch of lovely door photos to share with you all! Thanks Norm 2.0 for providing us with a venue and community of fellow door lovers. I have been admiring quite a few of these doors since we were first looking for a house in this neck of the woods. I’m happy to report that I got some mid-day pictures and hope to go back for some golden hour photos in different seasons.

I’m going to start with one of my favorite places in Morristown, the library. The main entrance is a little mundane, but it has some wonderful alternatives.

It doesn’t look like much from the street, but there is a vestibule before the door that has some interesting views.

Here is a view of the whole building. The older part of the building dates back to Dec. 13, 1917. It has an interesting history if you want to know more click here.

The sunny side of the building has a really wonderful door. I took some closeups so you can really appreciate it.

The quote on the door is from Wordsworth:

“Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,
Are a substantial world, both pure and good:
Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,
Our pastime and our happiness will grow.”
― William Wordsworth

Did you go somewhere beautiful recently?

Illuminated Box #3 and Mandala 26

Tags

100 Mandalas, acrylic paint, acrylic paint markers, altered box, collage, storage

I’m not done with the top of this box, but the rest is good to go. I used a variety of paint markers for this. I wasn’t really crazy about the Liquitex markers, but I did like the Permapaque markers.

Art and Social Justice

Tags

art, March on Washington, social justice

I don’t usually blog about content that isn’t my own, but this is such a fantastic combination of art and social justice that I needed to share.

Quote from the PBS story:

“Eight years ago, a poster designed by Shepard Fairey became the iconic image of the 2008 presidential campaign. The “HOPE” poster, featuring an image of Barack Obama, began with a print run of just 350, and spread after it was distributed on the street, at rallies and online. Now, the graphic artist, muralist, illustrator and activist is back with another street art campaign called “We the People” for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. But this time, the new president’s face won’t be on it.”

Let’s make something beautiful today.

Mandalas 24 and 25: Artist Trading Cards

Tags

100 Mandalas, acrylic paint, art, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Mandala, Zendala, Zentangles, ZIA

So, I’m teaching a mandala drawing class next weekend and I decided to make some ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I was inspired by my friend Claudia McGill, she makes fantastic ATCs and she sent me some in the mail.

Here is my first batch of ATCs and then the process I used to create them!

Start your day with Shredded Wheat, or if you are gluten intolerant as I am, you start it with the empty box! I collaged paper onto it with matte medium and some blue and yellow acrylic paint. Then I added some more paint.

And some more paint.

Then I mixed up a glaze of white acrylic paint, matte medium and water and made a nice smooth surface to draw on.

Then I drew on it! And cut it up into ATC’s! Thanks Claudia for your inspiration.

Let’s make something beautiful!

 

Mandala 23 of 100

Tags

100 Mandalas, Mandala, secondary colors

Getting back into my mandala groove.

Return to Gratitude and Art Journaling

Tags

acrylic paint, art journal, Art Journal Every Day, art therapy, gratitude, inspiration

I’m doing oversized index cards as (one of) my art journaling outlets to share with the art therapist I am seeing. I have been doing this since mid-December so I’m way behind in blogging about art journaling. This may look familiar. I had another one that was part of the holiday card development, but I didn’t photograph it. The journaling part is on the other side of the index card, so that is a different way of doing this. I struggle with anxiety and depression and the holidays are difficult for me so some privacy with my journaling was nice. I have had a variety of therapists in the past, most of whom have been extremely helpful with the challenges I have faced. But working with an art therapist is so exciting! I look forward to my appointments in a new way and feel more connected to my art process. I highly recommend it to anyone!

Here is what else I’ve been up to and each one is influenced by the many art projects I have going right now. You will see more as I finish things, I promise!

Influenced by my acrylic painting classes. (above) Playing with acrylic paints influenced by The Creative Edge by Mary Todd Beam. (below)

Happy new year

I have a mixed media notebook that I’m using to art journal everyday and I will be sharing that soon!

Let’s make something beautiful!

Thursday Doors: Jersey Shore and a Surprise

Tags

Church doors, Jersey Shore, New Jersey, Russian Orthodox Church, Thursday Doors

Many of the houses along the Jersey Shore are pretty spectacular. I managed to get photos of the front doors of 2 that I particularly liked.

Here is the surprise. On our way home we came across this Russian Orthodox Church right as the sunlight was hitting it so beautifully. The front door is simple, but beautifully framed, but so is the whole building.

For more doors check out Norm 2.0 who hosts the Thursday Doors Challenge. Have a beautiful day.