Ah, my sweetums….my most loved readers and friends…happy LUVVVVVVVVV day to you!
Today. And EVERY day. Every single freakin’ BLESSED day. No partner? No problem. Because the kind of luvvvv I’m taking about is the kind that feeds you down to your soul. Curls your celestial toes with heavenly bliss.
I’m talkin’ the ZING!!! that wakes you up happy just because you’re here. And alive.
The magical mystery tour (can you tell I’m in a Beatles mood) that comes from the grand adventure of appreciating the wonder–the starburst BLINDING non-judgmental WONDER that is you.
With. No. Apologies.
The take yourself-out-on-a-date kind of love. Because you ENJOY your own company. With a special thanks to friend Emma for sharing this wonderful video.
But…but…THIS IS VALENTINE’S DAY. I want candy! Flowers! A Hallmark card! I want my significant other to make a fuss and tell me how wonderful I am.
I don’t want no stinkin’ New Age date with myself. I WANT TRADITION!
Tradition? Very well then. You can read all about that here.
And while you read about Valentines’s day tradition, I’m going to indulge in some self lovin’ that doesn’t involve dead goats and naked Romans.
Oh, what a lovely list of bliss this week. It was my birthday, you see, as trillions GAZILLIONS of my not-so-nearest but definitely DEAREST best friends EVER posted greetings on my Facebook wall. Ah, I am still basking in the luuuuuuuuv, my sweetums. Positively glowing. In fact I’m glowing so much we don’t even need the lights on tonight.
Now that’s bliss.
And so is this. Portebella ‘burger’ with roasted red pepper, melted cheese. Brie? Brie? I do not recall but IT WAS DELICIOUS. Beyond delicious. It was BLISS ON A BUN. And the salad dressing was some sort of garlic attack in the most goodly of ways.
And of course there was puppy love. There is always puppy love on my list. Count on it. This week the puppy really is a puppy. Just a baby.
Awwwww…Look at that fat little belly. Soft little puppy hair. PUPPY BREATH! Don’t you just want to pick him up and kiss him! And kiss him! And kiss him!!! And snuggle him against your shoulder and KISS his little head and make silly little sing song noises like a completely besotted fool.
Don’t you?
There is NOTHING that brings your blood pressure down better than a puppy. Especially a sleepy puppy. Nothing.
My co-workers and I are lining up to love on the newest perk at work…BUBBA. Not to be confused with the late, great Bubba mine. Who was the best dog ever, RIP. May baby Bub grow into the next best dog ever.
Speaking of work…ta ta…a collaborative painting by two of my favorite students. Two of my absolute favorite people who just happen to have Down Syndrome. This photograph doesn’t begin to do the painting justice. Layers and layers of jewel tone glazes make the underpainting POP. And it’s for sale. The artists get 60% of the profits. The rest goes towards purchasing new supplies for the Neighborhood Center of the Arts. You can read all about this place here. And if you’re interested let me know.
And if you could see these guys paint…oh man, it’s even better than puppy breath. And how do you top that??? They LOVE to paint. They LIVE to paint. Totally focused, totally into it. No inner critic on their shoulders. They just PAINT. And smile and laugh and sing and dance.
And what would a week be without chocolate? This week’s yummiest bliss is the. most. DECADENT. brownie. EVER!!! It’s baked in the local co-op, in their own little bakery. And oh my, I cannot eat more than a smidgen at a time. It’s that rich. I had about a quarter of it over two days and gave the rest away to three other people. And it’s only maybe three inches square, total.
It’s. That. Rich. Which bears repeating…so I did.
Those are all good things. Happy feeling making things. But the thing that came beyond all that, beyond even puppy breath and chocolate, the thing that sent the Bliss-O-Meter over the top—
ahhh… the absolute KNOWING that this space, this studio-in-the-making, is the right place at the right time of my life.
I’d love to hear from you. What rocked your world this week? What made you smile? Share it in the comments section below. We all want to know.
Hello my sweetums…I’ve got such a treat in store for you! Really, a TREAT. Jump up and down. Get all excited. And then go grab some dark chocolate.
Go ahead, I’ll wait.
And while I’m waiting I’ll gaze adoringly at Precious Man Dog. The real deal is curled up against my thigh, crowding the laptop. But since there isn’t room here for all of you, the photo will have to do.
And yes, he is a cute as he looks.
He also loves me unconditionally. Totally. Worships me, even. And that’s why (ta ta drumroll please) Bean, AKA PMD, is on this week’s bliss list.
Bliss list? Yes, B.L.I.S.S. Everyday things that rock my world and make me smile with appreciation. And gratitude. Because gratitude is a big deal. And, umm…Universe? About that lotto win, the one next week? The one I’d be most grateful for? That would make the list for sure.
Now, back to the chocolate. Break off a small piece. Don’t eat it, savor it. Challenge yourself to experience it with all five senses. Take your time. Take as much time as you need. And when your senses are so full of chocolate goodness you’re about to explode, take a nibble. And let it Melt. On. Your. Tongue.
Ohhhhhhhh…bliss.
And then there’s the tree sweetened oranges. The oh so juicy, oh so sweet, eagerly awaited bring-on-the-first-hard-freeze addition to the produce aisle. The most insane burst of citrus in the world. Oh yeah…these suckers are on my list for sure. My bliss list.
Which is going to be a regular feature here at Arty Life. Because art is all about opening your eyes and SEEING the world. Appreciating the ordinary. Elevating the ordinary.
Why?
Well, Liv Lane, of Choosing Beauty fame, is inviting everyone to participate in the little bliss list. According to Liv, it’s “a chance for all of us to celebrate the little things that brought us hope and happiness this week.” She believes that “when we focus on the sweet stuff of life, the sweet stuff multiplies. And by sharing those small gifts in our lives, we help others notice the gifts in theirs.”
Well, I’m all for that! So every Friday (yes, I KNOW this is Saturday) every Friday I will share a list what was good that week. Of the little things that made me stop and appreciate the moment. And I hope you’ll share your lists in the comments section. And once I get the technical stuff figured out I’ll have links to other blogs who are doing the same thing. Notice the gifts and spread the luuuuuuuv.
But I’m not done yet. There’s still some bliss to share.
Like the satisfaction of a day spent in making art. A WHOLE day!!! These are works in Progress. Time well spent in Studio Grande painting in the zone.
After a day on my feet wielding a brush, a well deserved snuggle with Studio Quat.
And always, Miss Munchkin Fairy Princess. In my thoughts and heart even when she’s not visiting her Grandma.
I lost Mama this past spring. Actually, I used to lose her a lot, usually in the grocery store. It’s amazing how someone who moved at the speed of shuffle could disappear–poof–just like that. I would go back and forth, back and forth, backandforth until I was nearly crazy, searching and checking every aisle and she would always be one end-cap out of sight. Just one. Meanwhile grocery disaster was occurring in my cart. Melting,wilting, bacterial breeding disaster.
But this post isn’t about misplacing Mama in the local IGA. And it’s not about food safety either. It’s about losing her one last time. Losing her to The Candy-man.
He came when she was dying. At that point in her transition when she had one foot in both worlds. He stood on the far side of her bed and offered her candy. Or so Mama said. She was the only one who could see him. Was this her guide to the other side? Jesus? Or maybe I was witnessing the origin of the old adage don’t take candy from strangers.
He came bringing Tootsie Rolls.
Tootsie Rolls? Not my idea of heaven-bait. I told her not to rush in to this candy offer. Hold out for the good stuff. Go for the yummy rich melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate. The stuff todie for.
But don’t cross over for a Tootsie Roll. I mean, really…
And I told him the same thing. My Mama don’t come cheap. If he wanted her, he had to up the ante. Trick or Treat candy was low-ball. She wasn’t going anywhere for anything under 72% dark, 85% even better. I had been her advocate and protector for the last seven years, I wasn’t going to fail her now.
A couple days later, two weeks shy of her ninety-sixth birthday, she was gone. She died in her home, the cottage she’d rented from me the last seven years of her life, my former studio, remodeled and re-purposed as the place my mother could live out the rest of her days. We were all with her when her time came–the family, her priest and who knows, maybe even the Candy-Man.
After the craziness, the cleaning, the sorting, the giving away…the sisters returning to their homes on the other side of the country, the other side of the world, Mr. Spouse and I sat down to discuss the cottage. He wanted to rent it out. I wanted to reclaim my studio.
But for seven years I hadn’t done much in the way of making art. I’d given up my galleries and shows and hunkered down taking care of Mama. And doing my day job, teaching. Why did I need a studio?
Because I have dreams, that’s why….
We compromised, agreed on a year trial. See if I get back in the groove of making art as a living. Or not.
The first two months I did nothing. Didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what my artistic voice was anymore. More than once I thought Mr. Spouse might be right, maybe we should just rent the place out. Before I gave up I signed up for an on-line class, Plaster Studio Workshop with Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee. You can get their book here. Matter of fact, buy two. Or three. ‘Cause it’s that good. (You’re welcome, ladies) And that’s all it took, seriously, all it took to spin me around and get the art mojo going again. To start waking up HAPPY. To get my hands dirty and make a creative mess and pull paintings from the center of my soul like I have never, EVER painted before.
I miss Mama, oh, how I miss her. But it’s okay, y’know because I KNOW whatever world she’s in now there’s got to be chocolate. No way she would’ve gone if there wasn’t.
And I’m okay with that.
There’s chocolate in Studio Grande as well, but most of all, there’s PASSION. And I’m definitely okay with that.
