by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Family, Life, Mr. Spouse |
A view from the other side.
This weekend I was checking out a blog, Living in the Moment. Oh my sweetums…lo and behold, the subject was about…well, if you’re a regular reader of my Wednesday Random Acts of Art posts, you might have an idea of where I’m going with this.
TA TA–and you’d be RIGHT! Kristne Dubuque Ortega discovered, if not a Random Act of Art, a random act of luvvvv. You can read about it here. Go ahead. Read it RIGHT NOW. Really. Do. I’ll wait. And when you come back we’ll have a talk.
And jump up and down waving our arms and doing backflips because now you KNOW, without a doubt, how COOL it is when someone finds an unexpected little treasure. Something hidden but not quite hidden by a stranger.
Our little Random Acts of Art can make a difference in someone’s day. There, that’s our talk. Now on to business…
We’ll start today with a couple of contributions from sister Marjorie Ellen in Norway.
This first one was left in what normal people call a theater but Norwegians call the movie house. Very civilized, look…flowers. I don’t know the name of the movie. Or if sister M.E. had popcorn. I hope she did. With lots of butter and salt.
This one is extra special. She left it in the mailbox of a friend with a broken heart. I would make all sorts of heart emoticons here but I haven’t figured out how to do that.
Now it’s my turn and I have a confession. I didn’t get out much this week. Had a couple of snow days. Some work from home days. And a whole lot of painting going on down in Studio Grande. I did get some heARTs out but I decided to hide right here around the Porterosa. Because my family deserves love too, right?
The first one was a blatant gift for Mr. Spouse, he who is building the new, improved Studio Grande. A token of my appreciation left on the chop saw. He was honored. Well no, he was perplexed. After all, he couldn’t hammer it, chop it or eat it. But he decided to keep it somewhere special among his tools. So he said. He is a most romantic man. I suspect he’ll find it again in a few weeks, scratch is head and wonder where this came from.
I do so love him.
Now this second one has quite a story behind it. I had a rock in my pocket with the intention of driving into town and making an art drop. I was walking down to the barn, mulling over where I would go for the next random art drop. That’s when I felt the humm. It’s a vibration, really. Starts deep in the bones and resonates out through the soft tissue and then you hear it…angel voices in the wind.
The chimes we hung in the oak grove.
I forgot about the barn and headed down the path to the place where the deer bed down. The place where Mama wanted us to bury her ashes, along with those of my Dad. As I approached the circle of moss covered boulders, the hum I was feeling gave way to the soft gong of the chimes. Slowly, one distinct note at a time. As I stood next to the tree that holds the chimes that hang over the rocks where my parents are, the clapper began dancing in the wind-that-was-not and I KNEW that the right and perfect place for the rock in my pocket was right there. In the fork of the tree.
Because Mama was telling me, hey, why drive all the way into town when you can spread some of the luvvvvvvvvv right here.
So I did. Seems I listen to my mom better now that she’s on the other side.
Those were my Random Acts of Art this week. And Margie from Norway. You got any this week? This is a blog hop for those of you who have some Random Acts of Art you want to share. Click below (above the comments) where it says “you are next…click here to enter” and follow the directions to enter your URL. The link list remains open until Saturday 11:59 Pacific Time, USA. Oh, and remember, this week is when daylight savings begins here in the US. If you don’t have a blog and want to join us next week, send me your photos anytime before Tuesday night and I’ll add them to my post.
Help spread the word! Tell your friends. Click the social share buttons down below. We are spreading the luvvvvv around the world, one arty token at a time.
The more the merrier!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Well my sweetums, if you read yesterday’s poor excuse of a post you will recall I PROMISED you pictures today.
And you shall have them!
First are the eagerly awaited evidence of studio construction.
This is the back wall, the one opposite the door. The only plywood still to go up is the triangle above the windows. Is that the eves? Well, it was too high because it’s on a hill and Mr. Spouse decided next week will do.
And this is the front. With Bean sniffing around. Probably tinkled on something because he’s a dog and this is quasi-outdoor territory.
The wall of windows to the south. They will never be this clean again. Oh, that’s right, they’re not up yet. Ohhh…look at those boxes of skylights!
Okay, so now I’ll show you some paintings. Almost done. Not quite ready but close enough for show and tell.
I’m calling this one Family Tree. There will be more detail. More gold accents. It’s acrylic on canvas.
This one I’m calling River Rocks. Acrylic on canvas. Needs more layers. Stones need more work. Everything does. But I like to show works-in-progress because I think it’s cool to see where it’s been and what it becomes.
Reminder: If you are participating in Random Acts of Art Wednesday (RAAW) and don’t have a blog to link to, send me your photos TODAY and I’ll post them along with mine. If there are too many for the post I’ll make a gallery. There will be a place for links tomorrow. I hope to see LOTS of links and photos!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
It’s BLISS day, my sweetums! The day when I share the little things that rocked my world this week. And you can share too, in the comments. Or by clicking on that button over there, the one on the right, and linking up to the Little Bliss List blog party.
So here’s what did it for me this week. Things that put a smile on my face, made my heart go all soft and awwwww…
Number one. Numero Uno. The kids at the local high school (Nevada Union, Grass Valley CA) BLEW ME AWAY with the election of a special needs Home Coming Queen. The election of Rachel Bristol, a senior with Down syndrome was the SECOND time this academic year when a special needs student was elected to the Home Coming court. The first was last fall when Colin Pierce, another Down syndrome student, was elected Home Coming King.
Here’s the link. Unfortunately the local paper is now a paid subscription online. Copying the URL doesn’t work. Never fear, you can read it on my facebook timeline.
I read about this in the classroom where I teach, maybe a ten minute walk to the high school. My students are developmentally disabled adults. Many of them went to that same school. The day before the newspaper ran the story, one of my students, a young woman in her twenties, was talking about how unhappy she’d been in high school. How mean the regular ed kids had been to those in special ed.
And now they’re winning the biggest popularity contest of all…Home Coming.
While I was reading about Rachel Bristol, a young man just a couple of years older than her was dancing in front of an easel a few feet in front of me–and I mean dancing–while he painted on a 3X4 canvas. He’s Downs and there’s NO ONE who paints with the joy that he paints with. He’s relatively new to us and already several pieces of his have been accepted for a show in New York City.
Bliss indeed.
Number two good thing full o’bliss…the decision to launch Random Acts of Art Wednesday (RAAW). You can read all about it here. The response was AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to see what you link up with on Wednesday. Because you WILL be linking up, won’t you? Remember, if you don’t have a blog just send me a photo and I’ll post it. Need to have the photos by the Tuesday before.
Number three…a little hint o’winter. Just a tease from mother nature, considering she’s held off on WEATHER this year. Don’t even know if you can call it snow when the grass is poking through but still, waking up and seeing this was a good moment.
Number four. The arty cathedral in the woods, AKA the future Studio Grande. Mr. Spouse is a good man with a serious building habit. And right now that’s making me a very happy Mrs. Spouse.
And number five? Hours and hours of studio time this week. Music! Layers! Big canvasses!!! A couple of small ones finished. Perhaps next week I’ll have something to show for it.
So that’s my list. Now it’s your turn. Can’t wait to read what turned you on this week.
