Life&Studio 360

2012 so far for me has made me feel like an old LP. One of those old albums that spun on the turn-table. Spinning, while allowing really great music to fill the room. It has been so far a year of traveling here and there and having a grand time teaching, sharing and meeting some great people.

This past weekend I finished up and delivered the large commission piece that has been my traveling companion these past few months - then got my taxes done - leaving just enough time to clean the studio and the surrounding digs in time for a magazine photo shoot yesterday. (more on this later on)

The studio is now so clean that I just had to stand in the middle and take a 360 set of photos. As I put things away yesterday I found bits from my teaching gig at Road to California, and the remaining materials from my two-week Hawaiian Cruise.

As all these things got set straight my mind wandered onto 'what's next' and of all the bigger picture life lessons I have picked up along the way. There is a time for enjoying the beginnings and the ends of all things, a time for clearing the decks and a time for messing everything up. With my one remaining trip this month -- this time I'm off to Mountain Home, AR, my plan is to have a wonderful time messing up the studio!!!!!

Wild Weekend

The weekend had been filled with friends and visitors stopping in for my Open Studio, but right in the middle of the whole thing came the announcement about the arrival of a full lunar eclipse way earlier than the crack of dawn on Saturday.

I could not resist the idea of seeing this happen first hand, so I headed out around 5:30 and headed up the hill for the seemingly best vantage point. Many of you know that I live on a hill smack-dab in the middle of Long Beach and on a clear day I can see downtown Los Angeles to the NE, Catalina Island to W and up and down the southern California coast.

Well, I was not disappointed. I pulled up and found that I was far from alone in my desire to see the red moon. Cars were already beginning to line up along the two lane road that sits along side of the hill top park, and folks young and old were taking up the watch.

I took over a spot to enjoy the spectacle both in the sky and there in the park.

Not really thinking about serious picture taking I just grabbed my digital camera...of little value in the middle of the darkness of the early morning.  Not worrying too much, for it was obvious that there would be plenty of documented photos to be found, I settled in.

The full moon was slowly being engulfed. Brightly it still lit the sky, and I sang quietly to myself an all time fav song; John Renbourne's, Travellers' Prayer. There were more than a dozen stars making themselves known even with the lights of LA trying to outshine them all.

As more and more of the shadow of the earth took it's bite out of the moonlight in front of me, I could feel the sun rising to my back. It was a grand feeling watching the moon disappear as the colors of the dawn light spread further and further.

I was happy to have chosen to get up and out to experience this for myself.

Remember that silly camera? Well, as the dawn light came it provided a fun backlit photo opp of those others who chose also to see this for themselves. This is the picture I'm sharing with you here.

Being Thankful

The sun was coming from the west and the shadows began to get a bit longer. Then as we stood there chatting, a breeze began setting the fabric strips, each with a message of thankfulness, each brightly colored when originally tied....slightly fluttering.

This is how most of my visit with Val Kamikubo went this week. Peacefully keeping you a place of thankfulness.

Val and I live within 15 minutes of each other, have kids around the same age, and have a love of all things fabric in common, but we had never met before Twitter. Now, we've been tweeps for quite a while and have been able to share in person as well. So, I just had to stop in and visit her 2011 Thankfulness Installation. Starting back in January Val began taking strips of fabrics each day and writing something she was grateful for on the fabric and giving it to the elements.

I really went to experience it for myself, but there were a couple of questions that I found I was curious about. Has having this here made a difference in how you feel? Val shook her head yes, and said it made it hard to remain upset when just a glance made you appreciate all. Do the neighbors think you're crazy? Laughing quietly Val said no, but one friend said she really should have put it out in the front yard. With 10 strips going up each day Val has been working through some of her creative options to do with it all when it was time for it to come down.

Here for you to enjoy are some pictures of Val putting up a strip for the day and pictures of the wall as well. As you take a look at them I suggest two things...

Think about something you are thankful for
& Imagine the breeze just fluttering through all those lovely reminders

Ground Clouds?

love the quiet of the early morning... not a cloud in the sky,
but there were flowers to inspire along the way

Italian Inspiration

Have you ever seen (or given or received)  one of those tourist t-shirts that say something like, My Parents Went ___ And All's I Got Was This Dumb T-shirt.... Well, my tale may not be as bad as all that, but recently my sister and her husband went for three weeks to Italy. What everyone at home got was wonderful tales of what they did, what they and of course what they ate! One of the last places they visited was Perugia and these were the photos that turned up in my email for that day. Of all the pictures they have shared so far these are my favorites.

One of them is screaming at me to 'make it into a quilt'.
Can you guess which one?

It's Spring

I love spring and had a blast last weekend while down in San Diego. Finally, after 20 years of visiting, made it to the Flower Fields. Many of us find that our thoughts of quilting tools turn to thoughts of gardening tools this time of year... so, on this last day of the Trail-Marker#1 Give-Away... post a comment about your favorite gardening tool and get included in the drawing. Hope you enjoy the photos from the FFs and they get your creative ideas flowing. Happy Spring!

Surrise Inspiration

Thanks to Val for sending me photos of the sun rising from her back porch. It re-inspired my own morning walks... this morning saw a rosy-winter morning that quickly turned ORANGE, with a capital O. Great start to the day. Hope you enjoy Val's photos.

Inspiring Winter Walk

Below is a slideshow of the walk, in my neighborhood... Signal Hill, CA
It's always amazing how each time there is something else found while taking in the views, and not just the ones framed by the hilltop sculpture found there.

I'd love to see pictures or hear about your own favorite place - close to home.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Inspiration - Close to Home

At the start of the new year I always look back over what has been and begin to sort things out. It may have been places visited, conversations, photos seen or taken, words from some highly respected person from the past, or the wisdom passed on anonymously. From the sorting I find all sorts of inspiring 'stuff'. I also love to hear where people turn to for inspiration, and not just for their art... but for life.

As part of this years sorting I began thinking about all the places that the many people I have been chatting with, live. While on Twitter just last week I met someone from another Signal Hill... one on the other side of the continent. I'm sure there are tons of them out there, but it was full to Google map that other Signal Hill to see a bit of the lay of that other place.

With this in the back of my mind I went looking a bit closer at my own hill. When I look for inspiration close to home I walk to the top of the hill. It has a park there with views that go on forever. I'm going to share my SH over the next few days, but I'd love to hear about that close to home place where you go to renew your batteries, maybe gain perspective and be open... INSPIRING?