15 Artists 15 Journals 15 months

 The drama that unfolded over an international journal swap was intriguing. A swap was started with 17 artists. It started off shaky due to the originator disappearing for periods of time with very unusual explanations.
 To make a very long story short, the very ingenious women of this site solved the problems and we are now known as 15 Artists 15 Journals 15 Months (plus 1 artist). Check out our wonderful blog created by Kalona with the input of all the other women. http://www.15-15-15.blogspot.com/

Wichtel Ornament

 Palma, at http://milliande.ning.com  had a wonderful international vintage ornament exchange for Christmas. It was called a Wichtel, which is German for Secret Santa. Many people signed up from all over the world.
 As Christmas neared, the members started to receive their gifts from their secret Santa. They can be viewed on the site http://milliande.ning.com/group/art-exchanges/forum/topics/gallery-for-2011-wichtel-ornament-swap. 
 The artistic talents of these lovely ladies is nothing less than amazing. The ornament that was to be sent to me was never made or sent. Palma, bless her heart, has arranged for another kind spirit to make an extra ornament for me. I wait with anticipation for its arrival.
 The ornament I made went to Maine. I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it. Here is the Wichtel ornament That I made.

 Merry Christmas to all!

I'm a winner!

I received a wonderful present in the mail today. Nothing like starting the day off with a gift. I was the winner last week at http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com on Alphabe-Thursday. Here is he cute Halloween runner I received and guess who thinks it is marvelous. It's Isabella doing the once over.

 Thanks, Jenny, for the runner, recipe book and Halloween card.

Autumn Berries

Over at http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/ it is Alphabe-Thursday. It is fall break and the topic is "Autumn Colors". Here in southeast PA it is Fall, one of the loveliest times of the year. The leaves have begun to change to gold, scarlet, and orange. The biggest show of the changing maples has not occurred yet.
I have always been mesmerized by the appearance of all the beautiful berries that suddenly appear. Mother Nature knows that her little creatures will be needing some food when the cold winter(ugh!) descends upon them.
As I went for a morning stroll with my sweet dog, Spencer. I snapped pictures of the beautiful berries in my neighborhood. There are Holly berries, Juniper berries, Vibernum berries, Nandina berries, Winterberries, Pyracantha berries and the beautiful blue and purple berry of the Ampelopsisor vine (porcelain berry).

 

Alphabe-Thursday Letter Z....Zsa Zsa Gabor

Over at http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/ it's time for letter Z. Now, I'm really showing my age on this one. Who remembers the Hungarian beauty, Zsa Zsa Gabor? she was an actress that appeared on numerous TV shows and movies. Best known for her quote, "Dahling". Her free spirit, eccentricity and wicked wit made her a most memorable celebrity. She was married 9 times. Once to Conrad Hilton, which would make her Paris Hilton's great aunt. She was known for her puns and innuendos about her numerous marriages. One of her puns was, "I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man I keep his house." She is still living at age 94 and remains married to her 9th husband.

Milliande September Journal Page Swap

At http://milliande.ning.com/ the journal page swap was " A Moment in Time" and "Mythical Goddess". My pages are going to Tasha in California.

x-traordinary Spencer

At http://www.jennymatlock.blogspot.com/, it is Alphabe-Thursday and the letter is "X". I have to say I have the most x-traordinary dog. He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Regal, huh? His name is Spencer. He is named after Spencer Tracy because I found Spencer Tracy feisty but endearing just like my pup.

Now, you ask, what is so special about him? Just look at the pictures below, and you decide.

 

First day home...x-traordinary cute!

 

First Halloween....x-traordinary patient!

 

Trying to  rest...x-traordinary sleepy!

 

Posing...x-traordinary friend.

Wet Weather

It's Alphabe-Thursday at http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/search/label/Alphabe-Thursday. Today's letter is "W". The weather in PA is the wettest weather we have ever had. August went on record as the wettest August on record.

Now, there are some benefits to all this rain. Usually, our flowers are burnt to a crispy brown, but look how beautiful they are.

 

There are some disadvantages in my garden. Check out the giant purple berried weed in my beautiful Pyracantha.

Weeds have grown to gigantic size along with the growth of the flowers. So you see you have to take the good with the bad.... wet, wet weather!

"V" is for the color Violet

At http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/, it is Alphabe-Thursday. The letter of the week is "V". In the last year I have returned to my love of art. I have a room devoted to drawing, painting, gluing and journaling. I love color. So, the obvious. "V" is for violet. Violet is a shade of purple. It is a lighter shade than actual purple, and it is a mix of blue and red. I have the color violet in many forms.

Violet is associated with mysticism, purpose & imagination. Violet is the symbol of royalty, nobility, ceremony, mystery, trans formation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, and mourning. V is for the Very Vivacious Violet!

moby-porcelain(the beach soundtrack)

Something about this song touches my heart.

Hanging Decorated Owl Postcard

At http://milliande.ning.com/ , Palma was hosting an owl hanging decorated postcard trade. This was my first postcard trade. Who doesn't love owls? I decided to go whimsical. My owl is made using mixed media and hung with an old beaded necklace. He flew off to Pandora in Dallas, Texas.

"Famous Painting" ATC

Willowing trade for August was "Famous Painting". My trade partner is Kylie from Australia. I chose The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. I'm enthralled with his use of gold. He is my favorite artist. The second painting was "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by Johannes Vermeer. It is such a beautiful portrait. This is my interpretation.

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday Under the Stars

It is not a pretty plant! My sister would tell me stories of an event that would occur in her home. She would arrive home from work and be smacked in the nose with an unbelievable fragrance. She knew what was happening.....The Night Blooming Cereus was getting ready to bloom.

 I became the lucky recipient of this gangly looking cactus when my sis moved from PA to Hawaii. I've had it for two years (almost). It sits on my windowsill during our frosty, cold winter months. When spring arrives, out it goes, to sit in my garden under the Redbud Tree.

Well, It happened! One day seven blooms appeared. I wondered would it happen that night. You see, this plant only blooms in the darkest hours of the night and only blooms for one night. I checked all night, afraid to go to bed and miss this event. It didn't bloom til the next night. It was like watching slow motion. It started to swell around 9PM and continued to open fully around midnight.

I enlisted the help of hubby (he was the flash light holder) while I snapped the pictures. Just to let you know, the flowers measured about nine inches round and had the sweetest fragrance that permeated the yard. Who would imagine that such a spindly looking cactus could produce such magnificence!

Vacation

 It was wonderful to have vacation. Tim, finally got to see our newly purchased condo in Honokowai, West Maui, Hawai'i. Our condo is next door to my sister, who lives here all year.
 We needed to do some painting and decorating, but, that did not stop us from enjoying the beach, pool and gorgeous weather.

 The first pic is the condo property. It is lush with beautiful, established gardens. When you face east, as in the picture, you gaze at the wondrous, green, mystical West Maui Mountains. Breathtaking!

 A view of a rainbow from the deck of the property.  It appeared to be emerging from the ocean. Rainbows are abundant in Maui.
 The island on the other side of the rainbow is Lana'i. You can only see it faintly due to the cloud covering on Lana'i.

This is the beach a few steps from our property. One day, while we were swimming, we spotted two manta rays swimming between the reefs. Then, we saw a monk seal resting on the reef. It is common to see giant sea turtles here. They can measure up to 6 feet and weigh up to 2000 pounds!
 In the winter months numerous humpback whales congregate here for their amazing courtship and breeding.

  Lastly, the sunset looked like this everyday! The peaceful beauty was magnificent.

                                                             Good night, Hawai'i.

Milliande July Journal Page Swap

The first theme was "The Day The Earth Stood Still".  It was a film made in 1951. An alien and his robot, Gort, land on Earth with the message," The people on Earth must live peacefully or be destroyed as they are a danger to other planets."  I made a multi media piece starring Gort. 

 

The second theme was "Kites".  Kites always remind me of family, summertime and the beach. Tim and I would take our grandkids, Bethanee, Joey and Sammy to Seaside Park, NJ to visit my sister, Rosa, and her hubby, Mike. Every summer they would rent a home there.  They would graciously invite us to visit. At least one afternoon would be spent on the beach flying kites. What a great memory! Here is my interpretation. It is dedicated to Mike, who left this life suddenly in October 2009.

The Prayer Flag Project

A beautiful project is taking place. You need to visit Vivika DeNegre's site http://theprayerflagproject.blogspot.com/. I had never heard of Prayer Flags.  They are an ancient Buddhist tradition. A flag is made with a prayer, intention or devotion on it, then, hung outside to blow in the wind. In Vivika's words,  "it is believed that the prayers on the flags are lifted to God and spread throughout the universe as they flutter in the wind.  Everyone who is touched by that wind, is touched by the prayers.  The wind spreads the prayers through the world, extending happiness, good will, and peace. What a wonderful concept."
 I hand dyed my flags in the traditional colrs of the elements. I added purple. My hubby strung them on our back deck. I see them many times during the day and I am reminded to remember what is important.

  The first flag is blue(space). I used thread from all the other flags and sewed in a chaotic manner. My prayer is for "Peace".  My thought is peace can come from chaos.

 The second flag is white(air). I have been involved in raising two of my grandchildren. This series of flags are dedicated to grandparents and their grandchildren. This flag shows an elder person holding the hand of a child. "Hope"

Red(fire) flag is a prayer for "Love".

After dyeing the green(water) flag, I placed it in the sun to dry. I made a sun print of a fern leaf on it. I beaded the fern imprint and the prayer "Dream".

 Yellow(earth) flag is a classic Prayer Flag with a picture of Wind Horse or Lung Ta. The Wind Horse  is a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune.

 Last flag is a purple flag. I constructed the Flower piece by piece. My prayer is "Believe".

Willowing ATC Trades

June's ATC theme was Dream. Sarah was my partner. My two Dream ATCs went to her home in Indiana.

Milliande monthly Journal pages

I have been participating in Journal page swaps this year at Milliande. Every month two prompts are listed and at the end of the month a partner is named. It is wonderful to be able to receive such artistic works from women around the world. I love the idea that a piece of me is scattered throughout the world. Here are some of my pages.