Autumnal Face

Nonnie's Treasure's

"The bounty shines in Autumn unconfined..." James Hamson


Beth Peardon Prods

"Behold congenial Autumn comes. The Sabbath of the year." John Logan


Artsy Clay

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells."
- John Keats, To Autumn


Clinging Images.
"Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower ". ~ Camlus


The Knotty Sheep
Falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly. ~ J. Bailey


Big Island Rose Designs
"Octobers poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter". ~ Nova Blair


Backroom Treasures
"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace. As I have seen in one Autumnal face". ~ John Dunne

TRIBUTE TO OUR BBEST LEADERS – PART 2

This is part two in our tribute series, and today we honor Joon. Joon goes by many other names – Joonbeam, Joonwalk, JoonE, The Flying Housewife, to name a few. Each of her etsy shop names describes a facet of her personality and her causes in life. That personality is a fascinating one, and her causes are noble and responsible ones in this world of waste.

Joon is a mother, a wife, a teacher and friend. She is a grandmother too, though her youthful face doesn't reflect that. She is honorable, honest and true to her beliefs. What comes to mind when I think of Joon? Champion of what’s morally right. Resourceful. Kind. Laughing. Fun. Full of life.

Joon respects and loves traditional family values and concepts. She values her family above all. One of her strong beliefs is that her children should have the best possible education in the best possible environment. Though “retired” from teaching, she home-schools her daughter, Scout. To Joon, this is not a "task." Home-schooling is a dedication, a gift of love, a way of life for the Wilkinsons. Joon and her family tackle together every challenge with a “can-do” attitude.
Joon is justifiably very proud of every family member, and is daughter Scout’s biggest champion, especially when it comes to her creativity—writing, singing, drawing, etc.

Joon is a natural writer and a gifted one at that. She is currently working on her first novel, and we will all be able to say, one day very soon, “We knew her when…” Her creative, descriptive writing style brings the most mundane events to life and make them special in a very unique way. She says about life, “I am here to share my stories of this journey we call life. Stranger than fiction never had it so good. My love affair with words and all things good starts here.”

For instance, “Joon – Keeping it Weird: Tales from the Road.” Joon has traveled throughout much of her adult life, living in many places for short periods of time. She has met many people along the way and has made many friends. She has never forgotten a single one. She says, " I have this dream of taking a leisurely trip around our country. Along the way I will meet and chat with people...People from all walks of life with life experiences to share. That would be heavenly. And I'd write a book and share the stories with the world. But I cannot do that right now. Maybe not ever. So I am starting here. Making connections, shortening the distance with words on paper. And on a smaller scale."

Joon is referring to her "hand-written letter revival." In an age where letter-writing is fast becoming a thing of the past, pushed aside by the world of computers, e-mail and texting, Joon harkens back to the age when we linked to each other and communicated via the written word. She realized that in this world of high technology and speed there is little time left for real, genuine, meaningful communication. Not the quick one-liner text or e-mail, but a proper letter. Taking the time to sit and think about what to write, what news to impart, and taking time to inquire about the other person and make them feel that they matter. Joon writes real, hand-written letters – to total strangers who, not surprisingly, become strangers no longer by the time the correspondence has been completed. Each letter is unique, special, a one-of-a-kind, crafted especially for the receiver. Joon also includes little extras with each letter such as original homemade recipes. This extra touch helps to make the receiver feel special. What a lovely, unique idea!

Along Joon’s journey through this life, she has made and continues to make a major contribution – She wastes nothing. There is nothing thrown out that isn’t rescued and fashioned into something charming, useful and wonderful. It’s called “upcycling,” and as far as I am concerned, Joon invented the word. In Joon’s own words, “Saving the planet through art, one step at a time, because environment is everything,” says it all. Her shop, "Joonbeam," features "Recycled Art with Heart."

Joon is passionate about the planet on which we live, as she states in her profile in her shop. She says, “I am a writer and an artist but, primarily, I have been a homemaker and caretaker forever. I love scissors. I upcycle, recycle and reuse our culture’s plethora of consumer waste and discards and repurpose it into unique and useful pleasures for our future. Because environment is everything.”

One of my favorite stories is the one describing her hand-crafted mailbox. The mailbox at her home in Texas was originally an older mailbox, serviceable, intact, a bit small for magazines since they always arrived folded from being crammed into this mailbox, but acceptable. Joon wasn’t going to have just an “acceptable” mailbox. She was going to have a mailbox that greets her and her family home. She describes in her blog how she came upon the idea and the materials to create a lovely, meaningful, purposeful and honorable mailbox. Through a series of events, which she calls “destiny,” she stumbled upon a wire basket which she acquired for pennies. A few days later she discovered a vintage Little Golden Book for, again, mere pennies. A few days after that, she flipped through the little book and found just the right page, the illustration just the right size, with the perfect text. She dressed up the magazine rack label space with a collage on coordinating paper. By the time Joon completed the project, the mailbox was a work of art!

Did I say that Joon loves to cook? Not just ordinary dishes, but special ones. Many of her special dishes are described in her blog, along with the recipes (http://www.joonbeam.blogspot.com/)



Another of my favorite stories is the one about the day she left a very special package for her mailman. Here is what she said:

"Do you love to surprise people who make your day in simple ways? I do. Do you hope they'll like your surprise? I do. I told you I LoVe my mailman. He said he thought this was mail. He was looking for a stamp. Those of you who have received packages from me know this makes perfect sense. I asked him can he eat this? Oh yes, I can eat it. Do you think this made me happier than I made him? I do."

Joon makes life just a little bit better for those people who are lucky enough to know her.

There you have it. "Joon – Stronger than pain!"

Thank you, Joon, for your friendship, and for your contribution and leadership of our BBEST Team this past year.

Contributing to this blog were Pat (On a Whimsey) and Judy (JN Originals).

Stay tuned for Part 3!

XOXO

Nonnie

Artist dates & blog inspiration, part 3

In this third and final post about revving your creativity engine (see original post here) by reading inspirational blogs, you’ll note that all three of the BBEST blogs that are highlighted today serve the function of an Artist Date. These blogs are certainly about the artistic journey, but also about how art and the blogger's personal life are intertwined. Featured today are Judi of Vintage Legacy Studio, Rose of Big Island Rose Designs, and Marion of artmixter. Let’s get started!

Judi, whose blog, Vintage Legacy Studio, is the counterpart to her Etsy shop of the same name, is one of the newer members of the BBEST team. As a life and leadership coach, Judi says part of her mission is to design space to grow, and to empower herself and others to be creative. She does so not only with her Victorian era-inspired creations, but also through writing and performance. You can visit eHow, for example, and read some of Judi’s articles by entering her user name, CoachJudiB, in the search bar.

In one of her other blogs, The Heirloom Gazette, Judi reveals that for seven years she wrote as Abigail Bradshaw, a Victorian character whose historic detail is “gleaned from antique magazines and books, and is authentic in its content.” She performed vignettes of this character, incorporating vintage songs into her performances. One of them was “The Bird on Nellie’s Hat,” a song about a bird who knew more about Nellie than Nellie would have guessed. Among Judi’s family photos is one of her Great Aunt Millie, who wore a hat with a bird like Nellie perched on it; this is Judi’s current Etsy avatar.

Great Aunt Millie, described by VintageLegacyStudio

Recently Judi has been decluttering her sewing space to make room for new projects, and in the process she discovered some vintage handkerchiefs that were originally intended to be part of a quilt top. Instead, Judi is re-purposing the handkerchiefs into unique necklaces incorporating vintage lace, loops of beads, glass beads, and vintage buttons.

Lace Necklace with Vintage Handkerchief Flower,

by VintageLegacyStudio

Another recent project is what Judi describes as a bib necklace, fashioned from vintage lace and trims. In her blog, she describes how challenging it was to photograph this item.

Statement Bib Necklace - Romantic Collar - Vintage Lace, Jewelry, 

by VintageLegacyStudio

In The Rose Journal, Rose of Big Island Rose Designs writes delightfully meandering posts that will surprise you with their ultimate destinations. In Blessings in Disguise, for example, Rose tells us a story about how her husband pruned her precious kukui tree beyond recognition, but then—a few days later—she looked at the tree and realized her husband had cut the tree in the shape of a heart. “It won’t last forever,” Rose writes, “but I’m enjoying it for the moment and it got me thinking. I stressed and fussed each time he cut that tree not knowing that someday I would be blessed by a heart. (God sometimes gets out His pruning shears and gives us a good topping too! He’s trying to bring out His heart in us.)”

Kukui tree in Blessings in Disguise, described by birose

Rose’s tendency to reflect about blessings instead of missteps is evident in her collage and mixed media work, which has been evolving since, as a little girl, she collected stamps and broken egg shells. “Collage has always been my constant companion,” she says, “whether I’m working with paper, fabric, found items, or fibers. Even when I think about working with people it’s always with the idea of showing them how to take simple things and make them into something beautiful. Isn’t that what our Creator does with us? He takes the broken pieces of our lives, mixes in those of others, adds some color, spices, or laughter and makes beautiful stories, beautiful lives.” In her secondary Etsy shop, SaRoMaSa, Rose is beginning to sell her collage work.

Simply Orange 5X7 Original Mixed Media, by SaRoMaSa

Although many of us are most familiar with the colorful fabric yoyo flowers in Rose’s main shop, Big Island Rose Designs, Rose reveals she can also do wonders with the absence of color. Applying herself to the challenge of the Creative Every Day blog, she produced a work of collage, mostly in white.

“Almost White” collage work, by birose

Scottish artist Marion of artmixter, whose blog tag line explains that “artmixter” is a mixture of art and thought—with a bit of everyday life on the side—has a busy life. Activities such as writing, teaching workshops, creating art, attending the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham (United Kingdom), and—oh, yeah—working at a paid job produce a schedule in which every day is an exercise in avoiding procrastination. “Procrastination is fine,” Marion writes, “if you've got the time for it. I don't. So I have focused on the essentials, my commitments in the short term, and I've decided how to tackle them.” She writes, in fact, about the topic of procrastination in her new book, Finding Your Creative Focus, available on her blog and in her Etsy shop.

Finding Your Creative Focus, by Marion Barnett

When she’s not writing, Marion is often teaching textile workshops or demonstrating the use of lutradur and Evolon, two unique synthetic fibers. In a recent workshop, participants produced transparent bowls with words trapped inside them. Marion’s philosphy about teaching is to provide examples of what is possible, rather than a specific set of instructions. “I make suggestions,” she explains, “show what is possible, or at least, what I think is possible at this point; you might find there's yet more you can do with what I'm showing you. And that's the joy of teaching workshops in this way; if you provide six people with the same materials and the same instruction, they can produce six completely different pieces of art. Of course, if you want to copy what I've made, you can . . . but I'm pretty sure that yours will turn out with a different 'feel' to mine. Why not try it?” She has written a book about lutradur, and is working toward completion of a book on Evolon.

Lovely Lutradur, by Marion Barnett

With all that she does, it is amazing that Marion finds time for her own art. As the saying goes (or something close to it), people make time for the things that are important to them. Recently, Marion has been producing a great deal of collage work, especially with transfer dyes and lutradur.

Sample collage for workshop taught at The Gallery, 

Dereham (United Kingdom), by artmixter

Her artistic efforts have caught the eye of The Storque, the official blog of Etsy. If you haven’t already read it, you’ll want to read about Marion in The Storque’s post, High End Etsy: Fiber Arts.

Hopefully these BBEST bloggers have aroused your curiosity, and possibly have inspired you to explore some new areas you have not previously considered. That’s the purpose of an Artist Date. As author Julia Cameron of The Artist’s Way reminds us, “Doing your artist date, you are receiving—opening yourself to insight, inspiration, guidance.” If you missed the earlier posts in this series, you may wish to read the following:

• Carving time for your Muse
• Artist dates & blog inspiration, part 1
• Artist dates & blog inspiration, part 2
  

© 2009 Judy Nolan. All rights reserved. Please note that the images in this post are owned by the artists and may not be used without permission. Simultaneously published at http://sparklines.blogspot.com.