Back to the Drawing Board

Was it two years ago that I began this blog? Where have I let the time go?

I've moved to another city.
To be nearer my sister.
Hoping to unleash my creative side.

My mother died.
Mom's death was a good thing.
She'd had dementia for years.
I wasn't sad about her death.
Instead I was worn out.
She was missing her
parents.

I am always telling myself I should create every day.
EVERY day.

I haven't been doing that.
I need to.
I've had the time to do it.
Why haven't I?

I tried something new yesterday.
It was fun.
Reminded me of paper dolls
I created when I was
in elementary
school.

Third grade?
If I drew like that in third grade,
Why in the world did I not go to an art institute?
Why did I not believe in myself?
Why was I afraid?

Why did I wait until I was in my fifties to CREATE again?!

Imagining another place to be

I am imagining another place to be.
Some place where it is cool, not hot.

I painted this last year, in March.

But it's still pretty much where I think I'd like to be.

I don't know how I can get there, except in my imagination.

My great-great grandfather

Arthur William Newell

was born in China, Kennebec Co., Maine.

I need to figure out where he actually lived in China, Maine.

Did his family live near China Lake?

Arthur was born 17 Dec 1842 and died in 1889.

He married Mary Frances Grow

and they moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Arthur's parents were

Nancy Dearborn French and Samuel Johnson Newell. 

This fall I will go to Maine.

Maybe I'll find where Arthur lived when he was a young child.

Maybe I will sit and paint a scene.

For now,

I am happy imagining being in Maine in the wintertime.

Everyday Matters (EDM) Daily Challenges

A couple of days ago, my daughter sent me a link that opened up my world. http://www.paperandthreads.com/
WOW! Yarn, painting, quilting. This woman does it all. What really captured my thought process though, was the constant references to EDM painting/sketching. I did some searching and discovered Danny Gregory, the 'founder' of Everyday Matters (EDM) daily/weekly challenges.

I've just been painting watercolors for about a year now. I really want to work toward illustrating some parables I've realized as I view the rocks (and boulders) in my life. I'll be posting my work here, on this blog.

These are Diamond Doves. Eventually,  Diamond the Daring Dove will be starring in his own book.

The stories about Jewels in our lives

Sometimes it seems all we have are stones. Rocks. Piles of stuff that make no sense. Life deals fast and hard, and the rocks pile up and become immovable. Barriers. That's what this blog is about. Finding the jewels in the rocks. Within them, between them, outside them, and around them.