Blogger mystery...

I have my blogs back. I like some things with wordpress, (www.mandalas4me.wordpress.com/ )but I love that you can click on the above picture and it'll pop up larger... not sure why wordpress doesn't do that, or maybe I just don't know how.
I have stuff to scan. So now I know it's not ME that messed up, that I deleted something, but some weird glitch with IE, because this happened to someone else as well.
I love the computer, but damn! they are so temperamental.
Sometimes, you just need to let it go... does everything need to have an answer? and sometimes, I don't really care as the why (although this is rare :-) just as long as I have what I want.. in this case, my blog... it's a mystery as to what happened and right now, I don't care.. enjoying the moment :-)

A Station Break

Here's the deal... I'm at the library. I cannot access my blog from my own computer because, well, I messed up something and until I figure it out, you can go to my NEW blog over at Wordpress.
See my mandala art at http://www.mandalas4me.wordpress.com
and my main blog will be http://www.doegrozart.wordpress.com
So, until furtur notice....... that's where I'll be. Hope you come visit.
thanks.

Tiles in progress........

So far, here is where I'm at with the tiles. Some of the work will be done on site, adding grape vines... one bonus of doing fruit bowls and doing them in a timely manner, is that I get to eat the "still life"

Ate the mango today :-)

Yum.

Remembering

Remembering

It's been awhile, but it's coming back to me.

yes.

I remember your radiance and how magical you made me feel about the world.

You were gone for such a long time, but now you are back.

You were deep in slumber, waiting for this time.

This time,

I will keep you in my heart center.

This time, I will not take you for granted.

This time,

You are deeply appreciated.

Art of the Young Child

I have been lucky enough to fall into the work I do... I give children an opportunity to create.

Important stuff - for them - for all of us. From the beginning of October until the end of March I give them a variety of materials to create with and take pictures of the creative process. The celebration of Week of the Young Child is this week, and we celebrated yesterday with a reception of their work... It is diplayed along the walls, covering both floors, and in the case.. It brings color and joy to all who see it. The next few posts are some of the photos... enjoy :-)

Party Time...

Sometimes, one sings their art...............

At the Reception...
Sharing their art with family and friends...

enjoying some snacks

Chatting with friends, finding their artwork..

and taking some time out to do a little dance

say "Cheese"


Parties over ....

What I have been up to....

I have been working with a group of preschoolers and the culmination is an art show of their work, their photos capturing the process of creating and some quotes to go along with it.
We worked with a variety of materials; paints, clay, collaging... always with some fun embellishments... but it is always about the processs of creating. Learning, playing, experimenting, playing and of course making a mess.

Sometimes, we need to taste our art :-)

This is a taste of some of the art they created. This was our flower garden with imaginary bugs.

Art is about having fun, and while having fun, they learn.

Recycle!

One of the things I have been working on... and you can see them here :-)

Doodle Weekend

Doodle bird takes a walk

eye fly

Bursting through

The Awakening

What a pear!

Travel the Royal Road

I doodled this as I sat talking with my SIL. It calmed me..

and as I am calm, those around me may be calm-er.

I think I was wanting to set an example as well. It doesn't take much to sit and doodle..

You don't have to pull out all the paints and brushes.. just pen or pencil and pad.

I had a title for this when I was there, but I forgot what it was exactly..

The closest to it is something like

Taking the Royal Journey...

I always want to travel the high road. I work hard at taking the high road, the path that I feel is of service, being good, doing good deeds. I like giving, but I also need to receive. I don't mind driving, but sometimes I like to be taken on a ride.

We all need this balance.

I looked at this picture as an invitation to travel well on a royal path. To be carried away to exotic places, exalted. "Oh yes, your highness... be most comfortable and travel well."

Aren't there some days you want to be treated like a princess, or queen (or king, prince)... because you work hard and should be treated this way?!

I can choose my path, but how will I travel it?

with dignity.. with honor...

how will I cushion the rocky road?

how often will I stop along the road to smell those flowers and observe the beauty around me?

who will I travel with and how will I greet those I meet?

We all travel this path.

I want to travel it without regrets.

Now Go! Do thy taxes!

What do you do when you are on overload and don't have much time for art of your own?

doodle.

I carried a pen and sketchbook to my sister-in-laws house. this isn't the one I did.

I did this at night sitting in my big comfy chair in the living room with hubby, half watching TV.

Too tired to go back into a very messy art room.

Energy almost depleted, but not entirely... I go within to see what comes out :-)

Later on after looking at this, he spoke to me...

yeah, no more procrastinating.. get that stuff prepared for taxman.

Not particularly fond of this time - it comes when there are so many other projects going on.

But, it is what it is... so I need to stop whining about it and just finish it up.

Is everyone else as overwhelmed as I am.. seems to me that life has speeded up!

When the wind blows....

Another in the series of theraputic zentangles.

A great shift occured. Stuff got done.. as it usually does.

Sometimes, it is just overwhelm.

Looking at the big picture too much and not being in the present moment.

It is so much easier when there is a gentle breeze, when everything goes along nice and smoothly.

No ruffled feathers.

But that is not the case in life.

Great winds appear, hurricane force winds... stirring it all up.

But hey, maybe that is just to blow away that which is weak,

that which is not strong enough to remain... it gets rid of the dead wood.

Nature's way of cleaning.

We need to take notice.

Observe and learn from Mother nature and all her tactics.

Thanks for the lesson.

Peddle Hard

In the evening, when I can do nothing more than veg out in front of the TV or I just need to be in the company of my sweet husband... OR I just have no more space left in my art room...

I doodle.

And along the lines of these doodle/zentangles, I find it interesting what my subconscious mind has to say about it all.

I had to laugh at this one.

Carrying all the burdens of life, we do the best we can. We just get up and do it. Easy to do the stuff we love, but then along come the "obligations"... the services of love, really. Ok, sometimes they DO feel like obligations, but because we love, we pull up the strength and do it... and we keep peddling, carrying it all heroically, and in the end it makes us feel good to help.

Notice there is no steering wheel.

That is because I move along intuitively, faithfully, guided by Spirit, God, Universe.... the Ultimate Energy that guides ALL of it. I, and I'm sure I could substitute "we" here, surrender to it, believing we will be shown the way.... because half the time, I do not know where the heck I'm going!

Whatever art I can muster up, sneak inbetween, it becomes the call of my soul showing me the way. The more we carry, the harder it is to peddle.

I'm hanging on to too much.

I need to dump some stuff, let it go.... but what?

oh, the desire to travel light seems so inviting... but at what sacrifice?

The heaviest load, and that which I work at releasing is worry.

That will surely lighten my load.

Happy Birthday Jake!

A mandala for Jake.

I read in Jill Badonsky's Awe-Manac that today is George Washington Gale Ferris' birthday.. the inventor of the Ferris wheel.. That just so happens to be my son's last name..

and it's Valentine's Day.

Reflecting on it, I'm reminded of the wheel of life and all the stages we go through.

A medicine wheel of sorts.

I used the cup as the holder here. Cups are emotions.

Hearts for each stage in life.. because all that matters is that we take love along for the ride.

Through the ups and downs in life, it is the only thing that makes it worth it.

Love. Share it. Receive it.

Fill your cup with it.

Drink it in.

I LOVE YOU!

reaching out

Finding that fine balance of me vs. you (first house sits Saturn - Uranus in my 7th).
Give and Take.
I reach out to you and you and you and you....................................................................... because I like to :-) I like sharing and gathering and joining.. Aquarian nature. Community.
But I also LOVE to be by myself. Gather with in, use what I have learned out there.
It's out there that I get my inspiration from! The world we live in and the people we meet, online and off, makes for one very colorful world.
So, I like to stay plugged in. I like variety.
Some times the "me" time is challenging. sometimes I have to say no... sorry, I just cannot add one more item to my plate. I'm full. Push the plate away... how else will I enjoy desert!
Desert = me doing art. I've been putting myself on the back burner for awhile... simmering ... waiting.. sneaking in some art here and there. Last night I put up the flame!
and here's another piece, my reaching out but it goes both ways. We are connected, not cut off, so we feed each other. We just have to say, "ok, now it's my turn"
Tag! You're it!
Take some time for yourself today and create something :-)
YDoreen

Zen-tangle of Joy

A friend and I went to see Andy Dooley friday evening. funny guy! You may be familiar with T.U.T. and notes from the Universe, which his brother Mike does. Andy sends some other inspiring emails with art. He's a funny guy. yes. it did me a world of good, but I didn't actually realize how much until yesterday morning while rushing and brushing my teeth, the "aha" came to me...."serious problem".... shit! I WAS being too serious... waaaaaaay too serious lately.
I needed to lighten up and an evening of laughter was what I needed.
I also needed to do some art.
Balance. I've been working hard, teaching classes, doing some volunteer work for Youth Art Month, doing some online classes for myself and then there is the "caretaker" part :-)
Jupiter conjuncting my sun in 5th house.. EXPANSION...
so I needed to get off the computer... stop watching House, and go into the back room and create.
and so I did. This is one of the zentangles. When I turned it on it's side I saw this goofy grin. Yeah. There it is again..... smile. laugh. find that joy and stop taking it all so serious.
Pay attention to the messages.....

roads to recovery

I did this mandala while my husband and SIL went to see their sister. I stayed with my MIL. Taking this time to do some healing mandalas... artful prayers.. the best kind of prayers I know.
It was for my Sister in Law, My mother in law and a friend's grandson.. and heck. for all of us. we all need some healing in some way ....
We take various paths to heal, but surely we heal most quickly when we are surrounded, engulfed with love. Held. comforted. embraced. Just knowing someone is there for us.. even if we have never met or distanced by space.. our souls know.
Our souls know we are loved, held in prayer by someone. I pray for my sister-in-laws speedy recovery and my prayers go out to you too ~ for health, for making wise decisions, for balance and harmony in your life.
May all our roads be paved with Grace, comfort and LOVE.

Shed the skin and shine!

Back to mandalas... I took out my watercolor book New Year's eve and worked for awhile, just seeing what would come up. The snake materialized as I took my pen around the outside of the circle, the line becoming thinner as I went around. aha. Snake. Ouroboros - the snake that eats it's own tail. The cycle begins again.. eternal return.. spiraling inward and outward, enclosing the elements of air, water, fire, earth... separate and yet whole, entering within to become one.
We appear separate and yet we are not. We are all part of the whole - together- journeying this life on this planet... sometimes feeling apart or a part.
Cycles of life. days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries... eras. Cycles of the moon, the sun, the planets, the galaxies... Jupiter enters Aquarius today and will be in my sign for about a year.

I like this.. Jupiter is about expansion.. to me it's a planet of luck. It's in my 5th house - house of creativity. This is where my Sun calls home in my chart. Jupiter will come kiss my sun in mid Feb.

It's my intention this year to embrace my how my soul wants to express itSelf. .. Follow those passions, without doubting or second-guessing the audacity of coming out to Shine.
Who am I to be brilliant? Who am I not to be brilliant?? The words of Marianne Williamson's has touched a generation of women, to come out and shine....

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

A New Year :-)

One of my projects in the new year will be making a Prosperity Doll taught by Chaska. The Angels we made were really cool and I plan on making more of them. This new class is a no-sew doll for anyone without a machine or just hates sewing.

I'm still creating mandalas at one of my favorite yahoo groups Mandala Oasis.

Just finished one today.

And anyone interested in a group of supportive creative souls may want to check out this social network CoachCreativeSpace created by Dan Goodwin. A wonderful community of creative souls with many different discussions and groups. The Ultimate support group for anyone who is creating something... and aren't we all??? I started oil painting with one group and Barbara started a group reading Julia Cameron's books. I'm reading Vein of Gold. The Artist's Way helped me get through a major turning point in my life and having support makes it all so much easier.. don't you think? Yes, it will be another creative year for me.. Welcome 2009!

Angels, paints and wishes

The Christmas Angel... What I wished for (computer working) came true!
This is the Angel of Belief...
One must believe in the possibilities of what you would like to manifest. Interesting time of year for belief... Do you believe you can manifest that which you desire or is it wishful thinking. Wishing isn't enough - you need to believe.
Wishing and Believing... Make a wish and believe it will come to pass.
See it. Visualize it. Believe it to be so.
If you truly believe you can have it, make it so.
I believe we are all capable of so much more than we think.
I think we just get scared.
I wonder if we admit to being scared, then another person can admit to it as well and if we all support each other, even though we are scared... well, we can help each other through that fear to the other side. The side that holds our dreams. Wouldn't that be something!
I sure hope your dreams come to be.

A painting I've been working on in oils. I'm used to working with acrylics and have decided to try my hand with oils.. slow process, working on it little by little. Allowing what wants to come up.... still working on this. Who knows, maybe it'll be finished by the next full moon.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

My wish is for more understanding, more compassion, more honesty in communications, more patience to listen closely, observe more of what nature has to tell us, have more gratitude for that which we have and to share it more often with those who do not.

I wish us all more peace.

More love.

More joy.

I believe we can.

Still working on it....

I'm seeing this as a process. I'm without the internet again.. but thankfully, the library has access. But the upside is I'm doing more ART!
If I'm not back online by Christmas.......
MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL AND A HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!

Scariest Night!

Imagine your computer crashing... and having to do a total recovery.. going to bed thinking you have lost the last two or three? years of your "computer life"..

I went through all the stages of grief. anger.. denial...

Trying to maintain the higher spiritual aspect of it, but then come crashing down to thinking it is all lost..

Is mercury retrograde or something????

This morning I turned on the computer to my own desktop picture :-)

A Christmas Miracle!!! but unable to connect to the internet.

Trouble shooting for what felt like hours on the phone to no avail... call HP.

I explained and then ... another Christmas miracle.. it connected!

Not exactly the way it used to.. but hey, I'm here :-)

I have all my pictures.

My documents.

My blogs..

oooooh computer... I love you so much.. please be good now.

I'm going to get some discs now to upload my photos, as I now have another chance.

Life is good.

a bit nerve-wracking at times... but in general it is. Life has more ups than downs.

It was interesting to observe my feelings last night.

Is this what death feels like? If I feel like this about my computer, what will it feel like when a loved one passes on. In the big picture, it all passes.... and does it really leave? It all just changes form.... all part of All That Is.

how attached we are to those "things" we have... attached to life.

Enjoy it while it's here.

Playing with angels

Playing with paper angels... and still playing with them.

I've been picking up the oil paints as well, experimenting with using them, blending, finding my confidence.

Most of my energy seems to have been going into teaching classes and workshops and these little angels are great to leave on my table, adding to them here and there.

But I miss making my mandalas, so I played with the oils paints, redoing an old canvas.

I don't think it's done yet.

This came from the Daily Guru this morning:

With Clear Seeing,

Reality does not suddenly change.

All that shifts is our perspective --

and we eventually rediscoverthe familiar Reality we have been seeing all along.

The moment of awakening may be marked by an outburst of laughter,

but this is not the laughter of someone who has won the lottery or some kind of victory.

It is the laughter of one who, after searching for something for a long time,

suddenly finds it in the pocket of his coat.

I picked up Alberto Villoldo's book Courageous Dreaming last night...

I paused to think: "What story am I telling myself? What dream am I dreaming? Why not change my story, change the perspective of it and redream the dream to what I would rather see?" Have I bought into this dream? Why?

Am I dreaming you? Am I dreaming all of this?

We share this dream of life on earth and I would like to wake from the nightmare of selfishness and greed to a dream of sharing and helping one another.

Shift the perspective.. look into my pocket to find that all I had to do was just put my hand there and find the key.

Change the story.

Chair Swap

"Lizard's Longing"

"Nest"

"High" Chair

Art in the Garden

Healer's Chair alongside the Nest Chair

I really do love making these little tiny things, always tweaking here and there, adding stuff at the last moment... until it needs to go out in the mail.

When to stop... always seems to be the dilemma.

I hope today finds you in a nice comfortable chair,

a chair to take you on long imaginative journeys,

sacred spaces,

one that allows your creativity soar into the universe.

If your lucky enough and it's warm enough,

maybe you'll find yourself outside doing art in the garden

or maybe you just need to nest :-)

Wherever your "seat" finds comfort today,

may there be peace and love surrounding it.
Namaste'

Being Grateful

She is my angel of gratitude... one of the angels taught in the Angel Project taught by Chaska.

We are on a mission to make as many angels as we can and send them out into the world, give as gifts or fill up your home with them :-)

I am an angel collector and have all sorts of angels flying around here. Actually, they are "winged-things" because some of them are fruit with wings... fairies, anything with wings gets hung up around here!

Making your own is a whole other story...

mostly because you set the intention of what or where you want it to go...

Thus, the Gratitude Angel.. in time for Thanksgiving.

It is a reminder for me, not so much to be grateful for everything around me, because on MOST days, I am... sharing that gratitude (abundance) is a bit harder and I am well aware of my tending to hoard stuff.... share my chocoate! ok, you can have a little of it...

Can I send out my very best, most valued stuff in a swap???

gulp.

so, here is my mission..... Share.

And that is what this angel is saying... there is soooo very much in my life that I am grateful for. Share the damn chocolate and then go buy some more!

What is the hardest thing you ever had to share?

(p.s. I did give hubby some chocolate, but only the pack that was already opened)

Laughter is the best medicine

I love the Autumn. I love it's color palette. They are optimistic colors.. colors of creativity.

Although I haven't been posting very much lately, it's not for lack of being creative. I have been.

ATC's for a swap, angels, mandalas, projects for art class, paintings, masks, photography... all still in the "process" stage.

So, like I said, it's a time of high energy, optimism, and creative out-pouring.

My mother is the opposite... she doesn't like the fall, because it symbolizes the coming of winter.

She's also gone through some trying times lately and I can understand some of her negativity. The aging process has it's challenges and she does not see these as her "golden" years... and yes, she can get VERY pessimistic.

So I try to get her to see it (life) in a more positive way... sometimes, I try to get her to see through my eyes... sometimes, it backfires.

Ma, "you're just looking out the wrong window", I say to her.

I read a story once, and I just love the metaphor of it.

I proceeded to tell the story... even though I can't really remember it very well... just the "message" of it.

"Once there was a little boy..."

"Why does it always have to be a boy?", she interjects.

"OK, Once there was an old woman"... (I snicker a bit here)

"Why can't it just be a girl?"

"Once there was a little girl..." I say softly and calmly... speaking in "Johnny tone".

"Why are you speaking so softly?"

I speak a little more loudly, and continue to tell her how the little girl looked out the window to see her dog lie dead and she became really, really sad... crying...

A wise old man came to her and asked her why she was crying and she pointed to the window where her dog lie dead. He took her hand and walked over to another window, "what do you see?" he asked.

"I see the sun shining, a rainbow and flowers..."

Mom: "You're in fantasy land! Where do you get these ideas??"

I am trying to maintain a straight face here while I continue to say, "See, you were just looking out the wrong window..."

Mom: " The Dog's STILL DEAD!"

I am hysterical laughing at this point... mostly because my mom, the pragmatist is right and I screwed up the story and she doesn't "get it" but my laughter is contagious and she laughs,

which is the result I intended all along.

So, it doesn't really matter how one reaches the end result... just that we achieve the goal.

And this was to laugh.

Hope you all get to have a hearty laugh today :-) and then share that laughter with someone else.

Angel of Hope

She is the Angel of Renewed Hope.

I am feeling this after the election, this sense that I can breathe a deeper, more relaxed breathe... There is a renewed hope in me and I'm sure in so many others.

I thought she was about peace and she is, but HOPE came last night, her power wand imbued with the spirit of wisdom. A higher perspective of choosing: intuitive and spiritual.

The symbol of the spiral on her heart chakra takes us up to a new level, spiraling upward, with a refreshed, renewed and open heart.. a heart of service.

We are all brothers and sisters on this magnificent planet.

She is the Angel of Hope that we all can work together to make this one peaceful place.

Art Every Day - catching up

I've been in a creative flurry lately. Mandalas. Some are small, others larger on canvas.

I went back to the twinkling H2O's for a bit... I was reading a little today and a line in When the Heart Waits (Sue Monk Kidd)... about letting go of letting go... not get so crazy about it - this letting go.. just let go of the whole letting go thing.............
This was a prompt from Milliande's Creative club, using lightening, I came up with this "electric tree"... after turning the picture upside down :-)
Today I made some sculpey faces for the Angel project which Mai-Liis is teaching... you can still join. Our intention is to make angels.. enough to fill as much space as we can... an army of angels :-) So, while those faces were baking in the oven, I sewed up an angel body in blue.

Ancestors Mandala

As I was painting this mandala, I felt like it had something to do with ancestors. Interestingly, today is all Saints day, tomorrow all souls day. It is said that at this time, the veil between the worlds is the thinnest. It's a time when we can ask for help from our dearly departed.
It is about change. Leaves turn and fall. People we love leave this world.
Today, Neptune turns direct on the Day of the Dead. Neptune rules the spiritual realm.
Nearing the end of the painting, I decided to put the astrological symbols as they sit on my chart... all at the bottom (underworld) and put stars above for those I remembered, they who may be out there helping us on this day.
This one is for all my relatives and friends who have gone on before me. I miss you and send love to you... May you all be at peace and having fun... sure a couple of you are rolling your spiritual eyes at me :-)

p.s... planets at the bottom should really read: Venus, then Moon, then Pluto if it were to be accurate :-)

Creative Sisters

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL MY CREATIVE "SISTERS"

MAY THE MAGIC OF ART CONTINUE TO BRING YOU MANY WONDERFUL MOMENTS OF

PEACE AND LOVE AND MAGIC !

For the curious...

We've been having a discussion about this growth on Coach Creative Space, and I figured I would ask the people of the Read Sanctuary about it... a very cool place to "retreat" from the world :-)
Clicking on the picture will give you a closer look..
This was taken two weekends ago, when people were actually swimming in the water at the beach. Yesterday, Sunday, and today, we're pulling on the coats!
So, hopefully there will be an answer to this mysterious stuff :-)
thanks Joy for taking a peek!
Doreen

Divine Mother

Blessed Mother

Divine Mother

Vessel of Love

She is Light - radiant and pure

and Wind - cleansing, refreshing

Soft, fertile Earth

sprouts beneath her feet

Abundant and Lush

Through Her Love and Will

Creation blossoms

and all women become

Blessed Mothers

Divine Vessels

of Love

While I was working on this, my husband walked in and said, "Blessed Mother".

I looked up, a bit surprised... "You should call it that", he said.

he continued to say, "You are the blessed mother, your mother is, so is mine..."

He got it.

She is the Divine Feminine, The Yin to the Father, the masculine.

She is here to remind us that we need to bring the divine feminine back to balance the masculine.

We need both.

7 things about me

I've been tagged by 3rdeyemuse, to play 7 Things about Me. A little diversion in this crazy world......

Here's the Rules:

) Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog
2) Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird
3) Tag 7 more people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs 4) Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs

7 Things About ME :-)

1) I have 5 blogs, but one is personal and the other just doesnt' get out there because I'm trying to make it a 'business type blog'... and needs work.

2) I started painting on walls (bedroom) when I was about 15 and haven't stopped. I now make a living from it. I have never had a white wall!

3) I quit High School but went to college with my lowest grade being only one B+... just short of a 4.0 !

4) I've combined my passion of art with my love of children to create a living teaching art to kids. My passion is all about creating and I love how kids create. besides... I have a hard time working for anyone other than myself.

5) I built a high platform bed and painted a tree over it, so we can pretend we sleep in a tree house :-)

6) I went to Peru twice (I love Macchu Picchu)

7) My dream is to open an art/healing center where I'd have classes, workshops, lectures, yoga, meditations..... a spiritual place to create, and learn and Be :-) and I have to add taking photos of nature in here somewhere.......

and now I will Tag

Mai-Liss

writing from life

artfully yours

groggy froggy

sacred circle mandalas

Kate Jobe

A Magic Mom