New to me & definitely Worth the Click!

Coming across fabulous new-to-me sites can mean only one thing....it's time to share, because they are oh so Worth the Click!

Want a feast for your eyes and creative spirit?  Click your way to My Modern Met.  It's a community for "art enthusiasts and trendspotters" and though I haven't joined in, I always love stopping in to visit for amazing visual treats.

If tasty treats are more your thing, I've got a new-to-me gluten free, soy free, vegan baking blog to share, the Lookbook Cookbook.  I found them while visiting Elsie's A Beautiful Mess and saw her Make Your Own Peanut Butter post - which includes a hazelnut spread recipe (think Nutella, only this recipe is perfect for us as it's gluten and casein free) that came from the Lookbook Cookbook.  I love the mason jars Elsie & Emma put the homemade peanut butter and hazelnut spread in - they would make perfect li'l gifts to give, don't you think?

And what about combining the visually inspiring & the tasty delight?  Thien-Kim of Cup of Creativi-Tea introduced me to this artist's site.  Click your way to Alisa Burke's blog to see how she redefines creativity with sketch & watercolor glimpses, Fashion Friday, photography, online art classes she teaches, and a GFCF recipe or two.  She is very much Worth the Click!

Hoping you take some time to check these lovely sites out.  It's a treat for me and I'm excited to share them with you!

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Michel LeRoux ~ Pacific Ocean ~ New Traditions

Fall of 1995 saw both my husband and I in Vancouver, British Columbia. But, we weren't together. Actually, we had yet to even meet!

When we did meet in the spring of '97, began dating a year later, got engaged and later married, it was quite an easy decision for us to head back to the Pacific Northwest & British Columbia for our honeymoon.

Many new traditions began while honeymooning. One, was to forgo individual wedding presents, and later anniversary presents, in favor of picking out a piece of original art to enjoy together in our home.

Only one hardfast rule applies this tradition: the piece of art we choose has to "speak" to both of us. You see, we have quite different aesthetics, so initially, we thought this one guideline would be a challenge for us.

Out early, we walked the nearly deserted streets before the galleries opened (you could say we were a wee bit anxious to get out and enjoy the city we loved so much!). Low in one gallery's window sat a stunning Michel LeRoux painting. We stopped to look and moved on.

Gallery after gallery, a restaurant for lunch, a pub my husband had stopped in at when he was there years earlier with his best friend for a pint, more galleries, a little shopping, and we returned to the gallery with the painting sitting low in the window.

They gladly pulled the piece that looked as if it were colored in strokes of light, rather than paint, into the middle of the gallery for a better look.

We looked at it. We kept looking at it. I was distracted for a bit by a gorgeous Marcelle Dube painting that I can still see inside my head to this day.  But, my gaze kept returning to the Michel LeRoux painting that we first set our eyes upon, hours earlier.

What we initially thought would be challenging - our rule - was quite simple for us.  We had found an original piece of art that captured, raptured, us both.  It needed to be in our home for us to enjoy for many more years to come...and for over a decade now, everyday we see it hanging on our wall, we've enjoyed it.

I found this video on YouTube filled with his art.  I don't know anything about where it came from and while our painting is not in there, it is a good representation of his work.

Our honeymoon destinations included Seattle, Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, and led to another favorite tradition to celebrate each year of marriage near the water.  Happily, Fort Bragg, California most frequently finds us on our anniversaries.

We look forward to the day we can return to the waterside locales, stocked full with smile worthy moments.  Until we can, we look up at our Michel LeRoux painting, remember, and smile.

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In Lost Edens, author Jamie Patterson struggles to save her marriage which may or may not be already over. Keeping her attempts a secret from her family, she attempts to mold herself into the wife her husband wants her to be.

As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review (book links are affiliate links, all other links I'm sharing are purely informational).  You can read other members posts inspired by Lost Edens by Jamie Patterson on book club day, October 27 at From Left to Write.

Stone Sculpture Surprise

Noise had penetrated every nook and cranny in the house and in my head;  this Mama needed a break.  Grabbing my keys and my excuse to escape, the latest Netflix dvd that needed to be dropped in the mail, I headed out for just a bit.

Sliding the red envelope into the large blue box at the Post Office, I knew the five minutes that took was not nearly enough to clear my head.  I steered the car in the direction of the nearest country drive, took my foot off the brake and hit the gas.

Hot air whipped my wet hair (wet from my first attempt at silencing those noises that had seeped from sweet kidlets' summer fun to the inside of my brain...though a shower had not worked well enough) as I drove country roads.  And then my slowly unwinding brain was jolted.

There was something on the corner that had not been there the last time I made the drive.  Something that snapped me to attention.  I couldn't stop looking.  I pulled over and took a second to snap a pic with my old camera that I had in my purse.

Admittedly, the picture doesn't do this sculpture of Los Olmos, created by artist Edwin Hamilton justice.  You can see a better photograph of his installation at the Petaluma Arts Center by Scott Hess here.

A country drive, some solo time, and the stark surprise of stone sculpture created from granite, Basalt, Limestone, and Travertine in the middle of an open, wild space was exactly the fresh air the inside of my head needed.

What snaps you to attention?  What clears your head?  What's your go-to method for capturing a bit of peace?

INSPIRED: artist Charles Clary

Edited to add: The artist that I took inspiration from, Charles Clary, left a comment here with his BLOG....please do check it I out, I know I will! :>

Have you seen the February issue of WIRED magazine? The bit I am specifically asking those of you who love papercrafting, art, beauty, and the truly inspired is the article on paper artist, Charles Clary. There are a series of pictures of his work there. He hand cuts his paper and layers them perfectly for free form, amoeba-like shapes. My jaw just dropped when Hubby pointed the article out to me. After looking for more of his inspirational work online, I found his resume at The Rymer Gallery and a collection of photos of even more of his amazing art!

Charles Clary definitely inspired me! I used Kazan's Sketch 46 from 2 Sketches 4 You, flipped it vertically and started playing. And oh how much fun I had playing!

I started by stamping the nested outline heart stamp from Papertrey Ink's Heart Prints.....it looked like the layered papers from Charles Clary's pieces to me.....only in a single stamp! I liked how airy his pieces feel, so I stamped on transparency with Staz On and colored the images in with Bic Mark Its. I played with those, Sharpies, and the handful of Prismacolor markers I have and they all will work well.

I used some Glossy Accents under the center hearts to adhere the transparency to the card base. Using the coordinating heart punch, I punched out three, adhered them together, and glued the hand cut out heart on top, and then freehand cut (that was a challenge for me!) two more layers for a bigger heart. I punched out several more hearts, adhered them together and used them to lift up the nested heart center piece (foam tape or pop dots would work the same, but since the transparency is reflective, I didn't want it white....yes, you could just color it, but I had the heart punch handy). Wanting the largest heart to stand out a bit more, before I glued the whole smackaroo onto the card, I ran a black marker around the edge. Not sure that I like that, but it does help to define it more.

Pink Elephant's challenge this week is to use ribbon.......that should make room for lots of us to play!

Are you inspired by Charles Clary's art?? I would love to know what you think. And if you are so inspired to create something yourself, leave me a link so that I can come see!! :>

Don't forget about my Blog Anniversary Giveaway and to comment! You can read about it HERE and find out how you can get in on it!


Supplies:
Cardstock: Marigold Morning - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Black - Staz On
Stamps: Heart Prints - Papertrey Ink
Punch: Heart by EK Success (purchased at PTI), Corner Rounder - Marvy UCHIDA
Markers: Bic Mark It
Ribbon: Stash (bought it awhile back....think I got it in Michael's dollar bin)
Transparency: Office Depot

Acrylic Play

Singing in my ear, a muse led me to a paint brush and canvas. Wanting to try painting for a couple of years now, I picked up a few canvases at half price some time back. So, with a picture in my head, an assortment of acrylic paints from my scrapbooking supplies (just plain ol' Delta Ceramcoat & Making Memories acrylics), and a couple of paint brushes, I sat down to play. The canvas is 5x7"....I have several sizes, but somehow, smaller was less intimidating to me! The only other 'tool' I used was for the right side. Do you know what I used? Before I started, I knew what effect I wanted and thought I would run to the hardware store to get something to help me create it. Remembering my abundant craft supply stash, I brought out...............Magic Mesh!!! A happy dance is always in order when lonely and forgotten supplies are freed and allowed to play.

I have to admit, I loved it! Smiling the entire time and feeling almost energized by the whole process. Now, I have never painted before. So, please go easy on me....what do you think?