"Come Sit with Me"

I've been thinking about this blog post for days and days...trying to figure out what I wanted to say.
As usual, though, I finally just start typing and out comes whatever is in 'there' trying to get out.  I'm sure sometimes you are wondering just what I am saying.  Me too.  The beginning might be a good place to start....I found this photo of a settee in a magazine ad and just loved it, so cut it out with my tiny little paper cutting scissors...even the binoculars.  In the ad, they were on the ground.  One day, I was painting over a 14 inch x 14 inch canvas I had previously made a mess of and it became this background.  Next, I just sat that little settee on the canvas...and that is where I got the idea for this piece of art.

It had to have birds.  You know that.  And, leaves...either sewn or cut out of paper.  In this case, I painted some book pages and cut the leaves out freehand.  As you have seen here before, I made a rubber stamp of a bird outline and have used it several times by painting in the bird colors.  I'm not so good at it, but it's fun and that is all that matters.  I used Gel Medium to attach the leaves.  Yes, drew the tree too.  I'm not really an artist, I just pretend to be one for fun, and as with the birds, all I care about is that you realize the trees ARE trees!

 

The butterflies were cut from scrapbooking paper.  They seem to be a recurring theme in these mixed media pieces too.  Do you notice all those colored dots?  I don't know why they are there except that I have that cute 'dot rubber stamp' and love adding them all over and in different colors.  You'll notice them on several of my other pieces too.

And, then, I like to include quotes and other written words when I'm in the mood.  I couldn't find anything suitable for this piece, so I made this up.  It says:

"COME SIT WITH ME...WE WILL SPEAK OF MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS....FEEL THE
BREEZE SOFTLY BLOWING AND MAKE A LOVELY MEMORY."   pat eaton

Yeah, I wrote that myself.  It felt right, so once again, I didn't worry whether it was good or not, just that I meant it.  And, I had to ask myself....who was I saying that to?  After a while, it came to me, I wrote that to YOU.  I think of you often and think it would be wonderful if we all could sit and make memories....oh, yeah....I guess we do...for isn't that one of the things blogging allows us to do...'speak' to each other?

So, what would we speak of under this tree?  I've no idea, but I know it would be an important conversation, after all....I think we really are each other's therapists.  In a way.  Well, I know I receive comments from some of you and they make my day.  Hopefully, I say something that will help make your day and in that way....well, we make life a little easier for each other.  Don't you think?  I try to keep my posts on the lighter side of life so you won't be depressed when you leave here.  I'd like you to visit often.  And, it makes me feel good to do it.

                                               

It reminds me of something a quilting friend said to me many years ago.  We were having a serious talk and I said I just wish I knew why I was here.  She told me  "You are here to make life easier for everyone else."  I remember thinking "why ME?"  Evidently, I'm still living all these years to discover the why. And, I have to say, I guess - "why NOT me?"   Maybe this blogging thing came to me as a way to spread something good around.  I'd be all over that, to tell you the truth!  Not that I can manage it each and every post....but I'm touching base with you and you seem to be in lots of places over the planet.  And, that's a really great thing!  So, the why of it all is that the planet is small, and we are all on it together.  It's fun knowing we can communicate.  It does make life more interesting to me....and I hope it does for YOU.

And, this leads me to my final  'story.'  (You know by now there is always another story.)  It has to do with making life easier.  That comment worried me for quite a while.  After all, it is quite a heavy thought to imagine yourself making life easier for everyone else.  Very heavy, in fact - impossible.  So, I have tried to do my best even though I realize my efforts come up short.  Being human, I know my best is all I can do.  Being someone who isn't perfect....there is this little addtional bit of a story:

A few years ago, I was asked to show some of my quilts to friends of a friend.  I took three or four of my best quilts to her place of business and there they were...several of her friends, strangers to me.  They looked at the quilts, some admired them, some were quiet, and one of them said this - "YOU HAVE TOO  MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS AND SHOULD COME CLEAN MY HOUSE." At that very moment.......

 

                             I KNEW I didn't have to make life easier for absolutely EVERYONE.

So, rest assured, I choose to do my best for YOU....my blogging friends...and I thank you for all your visits to this blog!  take care, pat

"MAKE OF YOURSELF A LIGHT" said the Buddha before he died.   mary oliver

EVEN IN THIS HEAT!

 Yes, EVEN IN THIS HEAT, there is still something beautiful to get excited about....how about these flowers and a sweet butterfly!  It's so hot here, and just about everywhere else, it seems, that brown seems to be the color of the day.  The grass is brown, the leaves are turning brown and falling off the trees, the birds are looking for water...well, heck, so are we!  We'd love a bit of rain.  There has been some 'around' us, but not here at Bird Nest on the Ground.  A friend of mine emailed and said if it rained, she was going to go out and stand in it.....

ME TOO!!!!!  I'd love to do that, wouldn't you?  This beautiful butterfly doesn't seem to be bothered by the heat and neither do the flowers....although some of them (not in these photos) are getting a little tired.  Everything else around our house is pretty much done.

This little butterfly is so absolutely great....can you see the very tips of his antennae???  Those little white dots.  No way I would see those without benefit of my photos....so tiny and CUTE!!!

I intended to post about something entirely different...then the day got away from me and after seeing these in my iPhotos (just taken a few days ago) I thought you might enjoy these and I wouldn't have to 'think' too much.  (I know YOU know what I mean!)  So, enjoy these, please, and stay tuned.  I'll try to post a little quicker next time and show you one of my latest projects.  They are few and far between these days.  Stay cool and safe and take care out there.  pat

Mr. G's Clipboard

A while back I showed you a couple of clipboards I painted/collaged which launched me on a search of the local flea markets for old clipboards.  I found a couple of them.  Then, I mentioned to dear Mr. G that I was looking for them.  The next month at our little group meeting, he brought me a bunch of them. Vintage, very used, and one beautiful one made from wood.  (I'm keeping that one for myself, as I doubt we ever run across another one like it!)  Mr. G knows everyone in his town and I DO mean EVERYONE, so once he put the word out for clipboards they arrived at his door and he gave them to me.  Nice, huh?

I asked Mr. G what he'd like for them and he said..."a painted clipboard."  So, of course, he must have one.  Now, let me say this...he is an art teacher.  He could certainly paint his own clipboard and do a much better job that I could...but then, he couldn't say it was from ME, could he?  So, I did the best I could to create a clipboard he would feel was 'just for him.'  And, it is!

Mr. G and I have been friends for a very long time, so I kind of think I might know a thing or two about him...and vice-versa.  He has a little house collection and I love houses myself, so that got me to thinking about 'house sayings.'  This one is just about my favorite..."the way to a friend's house is never long." So, I decided to collage two houses on his clipboard and connect them with this saying.
And, it's true...the way to Mr. G's house is never long (even though it is about 75 miles from me)...and when you get there...you will be entertained.   The day will fly by and soon you will have a lovely memory.  If you are ever invited there...you should GO.

In our long history, we have been on some trips together....and traveling with Mr. G is great fun.  I can remember one trip to North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Estates.  Driving was our dear friend, Sharon H. and also along was our dear friend, Deon.  I don't believe I have laughed that much...before or since.

He has a way of making things happen that make you say...WHAT?  On the back of this clipboard is a copy of a black and white photo Mr. G once sent me.  At the time, I was considering making a quilt of St. Basil's in Moscow.  Why, I don't know and I never did actually do it, but Mr. G being like he is, found a picture of St. Basil's and placed a cut out photo of the two of us over it (taken at an earlier quilt show)....then sent it to me with a note...as if we had REALLY been there.  Hilarious!  I don't know why, but I thought it should be on the back of this clipboard.  By the way, I wrote on the back of the original photo...."October, 1998 - My famous art teacher/traveling companion and me during our infamous and entirely fictitious trip to St. Basil's.  What fun!"  Now you know, only two completely nutty people would do these things!!

Mr. G always wants to know what my words mean on these collages I make.  Rarely do they mean anything...but on this one, I put "birds of a feather."  Pretty accurate, if you ask me.

So...there are houses, birds, butterflies and trees...some of my very favorite things.  There is my house and Mr. G's house.....and the road to a friend's house really is NEVER long....hope you enjoy his clipboard and I hope he will too!  Of course, he has to wait until next month to get it!!  take care, pat

PS.  Oh, I learned something too.  It's just a little thing, but I had never done it before.  That yellow square on the back with the bird in it....I painted the square, then pressed a dry rubber stamp on it....a reverse stamp, so to speak.  I love that!!!  Never had tried it before and really, never even thought of it before.  I try to learn something new every day!

My New "Vintage" Collage

As promised, here is my new "Vintage' collage.  At the downtown studio yesterday, someone asked me where my ideas come from and I had to say "I just don't know."  They just happen.  Sometimes I might choose a paper napkin to use and that sparks an idea.  Sometimes I might choose a old ledger sheet that might give me an idea....or a color, or a photo, or a flower.  I never know as these things just seem to EVOLVE.

I think I've mentioned before that I am just 'playing' when I'm in the studio.  Unless I'm working on a commission piece, I just go where the mood takes me.  (And, yes, it's true, I'm no longer doing those pieces...at least for a while.)  Anyway, I just gather my little bits of 'this and that' and try to make something out of them.  I've got my personal favorites and this one is my favorite of the three I've shown you lately.

You already know that I use lots of paper napkins in my collages.  What a great idea it was to use those and NO, I didn't come up with the idea.  I saw it a couple of years ago on Sharon Tomlinson's blog and immediately went crazy over the idea.  Visit her HERE.  She is so COOL!  Isn't it amazing what we learn out here in Blogland?

Now, back to this new vintage piece.  Well, I call it a vintage piece because of two things.  #1, I chose to use one of the vintage ledger sheets from the very old ledgers I received from my son-in-law.  The date is Monday, May 15, 1916.  That sounded like a good place to start to me...so I tried to find a picture of a woman from 'around' that time...nothing has to be exact...isn't that a great thing?  So, I found this lady in a copyright free Dover book and promptly cut her out to add to my selection.  Always wanting to add birds, I found this little bird and the bird cage, in some scrapbooking papers I had.  See how this is going?

 There's that little tree also.  It's an odd little tree, but I really enjoyed drawing it and painting the leaves.  I WANTED a tree on this piece, although I've no idea why...except that I love trees.  Once again....it doesn't have to look like a real tree.  You KNOW it's a tree...no matter how it is drawn.  And, do you remember what I always say about trees?  I feel they are Nature's version of Lace.  Have I told you that I never knew what a tree really looked like til I was nine years old and got my first glasses.  I needed them from the beginning, but no one noticed til I was nine.  My teacher, Mrs. Ledbetter, kept putting me closer and closer to the blackboard until my desk was touching the blackboard and I still couldn't read it.
So, she took me home that day and I was taken to Waco where a nice lady eye doctor found out I couldn't see too much and gave me glasses.  We lived about twenty miles from Waco and all the way home I was amazed by what I saw...including trees.  Up until then, I thought trees were one big roundish thing...never knowing there were individual leaves.  I've loved them ever since that day!  Have you ever been driving at dusk and seen the trees against the sky....so 'lacy.'  That is how I decided they were Nature's version of lace.  I love that!

In this piece, I also wanted to use the rose napkin, as I have so often done.  (I need to quit using this particular napkin.  I do love it so, but all my pieces are beginning to look alike!!)  And, I also found a paper napkin with pretty pink and yellow butterflies.  My plan  (really - a 'plan'?) was coming together.  I painted the canvas and began laying out the piece....usually,  my collages have no message whatsoever...they just turn out the way they want to turn out.  After gathering together all these 'bits' it occurred to me that this woman was on the verge of getting to VOTE!  WONDERFUL!!  And, that's a message for sure!  Here she is...in 1916...and in just a very few years...she would get to vote...so the little bird is telling her to 'Spread Your Wings and Fly' and I expect it was (in 1920) like letting a bird out of a cage!  What do you think?  Well, that might be reaching, but I really like the concept as I think we should all be out there voting each and every time there is an election.  Especially women....so many have done so much so WE could vote.  So, there's my one attempt to be profound.  I like it.


I'm also showing you a black napkin with butterflies on it.  That is the one I left out of my last post if you'd like to go back and see these butterflies with the red tulips.  I did add a touch of oil pastels to them for a speck more brightness.  Also, I need to tell you that I did shine up the pink and yellow butterflies in this piece with a bit of clear embossing powder and my heat gun...I don't think it shows up in the photos, but they do have a nice clear shine on them that is raised from the surface a bit. 

So, there you are.  Hope you've enjoyed these last three canvases.  Yes, you will be getting a break from them, as I've no more to show at this time....so expect something completely different in my next post.  It could be flowers,  it could be chairs....maybe bread...who knows?  So, have a great 'rest of your weekend' and take care out there.  pat

PS.  I've noticed that I'm not the only person trying to get used to the new Blogger.  Forgive me if this post looks kind of awkward.  I figure it's better to get it posted than it is to post it perfectly.  Or, something like that!!

Red Tulips

In my last post, I said I'd show you RED TULIPS in a couple of days...so here they are!  Another of my downtown studio collages.  I'm also showing you the paper napkin I used to make this collage.  Red Tulips, of course.

 I also used another paper napkin for the butterflies.  OK, I did forget to take a photo of the paper napkin the butterflies were cut from, so let me describe it....black, with a few sprigs of flowers and these multi-colored butterflies in different sizes.    Maybe this Friday, while at the studio, I can take a photo of it..then add it to this post.   I'm sure the photo would make more sense to you than my description of it.

After painting the canvas and adding the butterflies and tulips, I drew in some little flowers and painted them.  I just thought it needed 'something.'  And, as before, I used oil pastels to add more color to the butterflies and tulips.

Also...as is my current habit....words cut from books.  Anyone can do this...you just choose some words you like and glue them on!!  And, this sounded good to me:

"Spring, so glorious
Red flowers grow
butterflies fly
the sun shines." 

Enough said!  Hope you like it.....and next time...my 'new vintage' collage.  Take care, pat

PS.  So now Blogger has changed....oh my!  Just when I think I know something...turns out I don't...it's so hard for an old dog to learn new tricks...but, I'll try!