Mindful, Day 209, Webs

Early morning walk and if the light is just right you can see these webs created during the night. Easiest to see at this time of year because of the cool nights and the dew.  Like lace on the the grass. A couple of years ago my sister and I walked in the early morning and entire field of taller prairie plants was lit up with the sun coming through the webs caught between stalks. It was so astounding to think of all those webs being spun and then decorated with dew drops.

Mindful, Day 208, Reaching Toward the Sun

Hiking this morning at Glacial Park, I am struck by how everything is reaching, stretching, tilting toward the sun,  This is me shooting from the path and it is all taller then I am.  A wonderful time of year on the prairie!

MIndful, Day 207, Lacy Leaf

 This beautiful ivy leaf has been brought to you by the Japanese beetles which have been chewing away on it  and also on the linden tree in my backyard. I can always count on a new supply of lacy leaves come  mid summer.  This one is lovely with it's pink/orange areas.  Saving it for a possible stitching project come winter!

Mindful, Day 206, Beautiful Heart

Saw this charming drawing on a driveway this morning while walking. Thinking about why the little figure looks so sad in the middle of the beautiful heart. Another untold story.

MIndful, Day 205, Can Not Resist

I can NOT resist the lilies this year. here is one that opened today when many of the others are ending. I love the colors, the brightness, the details, the hopefulness of them reaching up toward the sun.

Mindful, Day 204, Baby Feet

What could be softer or more cuddly then a baby's little feet? We were passing around my grand niece at the concert in the park last night and everyone enjoyed thier chance to hold her and make her smile.

Mindful, Day 203, Wiggly Teeth

My great-niece wiggling away at her loose tooth! She and her friends were all busy comparing the various states of their front teeth at the park tonight. Brings back memories.  The suspense of waiting for the tooth fairy to come and leave you something special!

Mindful, Day 202, Lemony Lily

Just as the lilies from last week are starting to fade this new lemony yellow and white one has started to bloom. It looks very cool and refreshing - like a sorbet!

MIndful, Day 200-201, Beaded Leaves

After all the rain we have had this week, the air is saturated. This morning all the flowers are covered with dew drops and the coleus could not be more beautiful with its beaded edges.

Mindful, Day 199, Women's March at Six Months

I am mindful, with this reminder, of how important these actions are for ourselves, our daughters, our grand daughters, our families, our communities, our country.

Six months old & still making history

Can you believe that TODAY is exactly 6 months since millions of us came together, on all seven continents, for the Women’s March? January 21st was the largest single-day demonstration in world history, bringing people of all races, ethnicities, religions, immigration statuses, sexual identities, gender expressions, economic statuses, ages and abilities together to call for a world that is equitable, just and safe for all, where the human rights and dignity of each person is protected and our planet is safe from destruction.

Over the past six months, you’ve been part of an intersectional and inclusive resistance movement aimed at holding corporations, Congress, and the Administration accountable for oppressive agendas that marginalize our vulnerable communities. We’ve accomplished so much already!

• 10 Actions / 100 Days – We turned the energy of the march into a sustained movement, beginning with the spring of resistance!

•  #NoBan Rallies – We united at airports in numbers too great to ignore to stop the Muslim ban.

• A Day Without a Woman – We showed how crucial women are to our economies and our communities with a one-day strike and boycott.

• #DropOReilly – We did that! Bill, bye.

•  Heath Care Demonstrations – Phone calls, letters, protests, sit-ins, die-ins, the massive outcry to protect our health care is terrifying Republicans!

•  NRA2DOJ March – We took on the NRA and marched 18.6 miles for justice for Philando Castile.

After six months, we’re only getting stronger. Women’s March is a nationwide phenomenon and we won’t stop until women’s rights are human rights, for women and femmes of all races, ethnicities, religions, immigration statuses, sexual identities, gender expressions, economic statuses, ages and abilities.

What’s next? We’re going to make history again with the first ever Women’s March conference, a chance for all of us to come together again to learn, build, strategize and organize – towards 2018 and beyond! SAVE THE DATE: October 26-28, and stay tuned for details in the coming weeks.

Thank you for being part of the movement for human rights and dignity for all!

In community,
Women’s March

Women's March via ActionNetwork.org [resist@womensmarch.com]

Mindful, Day 198, Hope and Faith

After posting about the plate Give Me Work to Last Me All My Life, I feel very attuned to the words that are part of my everyday life. Here are Hope and Faith which reside on my night table and are both the first and last thing I see each day.

Mindful, Day 196 -197, Give Me Work ...

 I have a set of 4 small plates, each has a different quote on it that speak to me. This one keeps showing up at the top of the stack of late. Think it's trying to tell me something? I missed posting yesterday because of the that work - got involved and forgot.

Mindful, Day 195, Life Imitates Art Imitates Life

These photos of the ornamental grasses in my garden blowing in the wind remind me of the monoprint that I posted a few days ago in which all the marks were made with a chopstick.  Same feel of energy and rhythm.  It all just keeps going around!

MIndful, Day 194, They Just Are So Beautiful

 I can't help it. They are so beautiful and I am so enjoying seeing them popping up through everything else on the berm. They way the light hits the petals and lights them up in the afternoon makes me happy.

Mindful, Day 193, Taking a Break

Taking a break today.

Mindful, Day 192, Summer' End Exhibit Announcement

An announcement of my upcoming solo exhibit was featured in the SAQA Friday Art email blast today. The link below will take you right to the website.

Summers End Exhibit



Summer's End
The Brushwood Gallery at Ryerson Woods
Riverwoods, Illinois
August 6 - September 24, 2017

Barbara J. Schneider - "Prairie Night Sky"
This solo exhibition of new works by Barbara Schneider is based on her Line Dance, Tree Ring Patterns, Monoprints, and Leaf series at the Brushwood Gallery, Ryerson Woods Conservation area.
Reception: August 6, 2017 from 1-3:00 p.m.

The Brushwood Gallery at Ryerson Woods
21850 N. Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL  60015
224-633-2424

 

Mindful, Day 191, Mark Making Magic

 One of my favorite things about monoprinting is the kind of marks that you can create with the simplest of tools. All the lines in this print were done with a chop stick. And this almost complete quilt is a result of the original print being manipulated and printed large on canvas,  then stitched.

Mindful, Day 190, Addicted!

All the lilies are starting to bloom at once. This one must be 10 inches across and the scent is wonderful.  It is worth the wait every year for these magic moments.

Mindful, Day 189, Making Music

I am starting some new music for the summer. Lots of Bach Preludes and Fugues and Inventions. I love when it starts to sound like music instead of just notes.

Mindful, Day 188, Coming Together

 I have been working for months on how to make these shaped "pods".  And they are starting to come together. These are about 3.5 feet tall, painted and dyed fabric and pellon, double needle stitched to make the bark pattern and shaped (multiple times) to get them to look natural and interesting from inside and out.  I think they are going to be okay. I am mindful of how some projects just need a lot of time in my head trying and discarding ways to go.

Mindful, Day 187, Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

My garden is exploding with lilies, catmint and hydrangeas and grasses and anemones. It is a pleasure to sit on the screen porch and see them popping up all over the berm. It's a good thing I can see them from the porch as I would need a haz-mat suit to go out there right now - it is a mosquito  haven from all the rain in the past couple of weeks.

Mindful, Day 186, Evening Sky

 Coming home from flying with Larry we catch the moon rising in the east and the sun setting in the west. The color of the sky was beautiful, shading from blues to greys and pinks.

Mindful, Day 185, Laughing Dog

I couldn't get a photo of this but I saw the funniest dog today hanging out of the passenger seat window of a passing car, tongue lolling, big grin on his face, ears flapping in the wind.  Made me laugh out loud at how happy he was just riding along in the car.  Simple pleasure and a reminder of what the Mindful poem is all about.

Mindful, Day 184, Seeing Clearly

After a long time at the opthamologist today I am mindful that good sight is a most delightful and precious thing.  I am stilled bleary eyed and it is a reminder that everything I love to do is dependent on seeing. 

Mindful, Day 183, The Sound of Rain

I am sitting on the screen porch this evening and it is just starting to rain - a nice, straight, soaking rain so I CAN continue to sit on the screen porch and enjoy the air cooling down, and more especially, the wonderful sound of the rain falling softly all around.  So calming and refreshing. Nothing more needs to be said.

Mindful, Day 182, Thankful

In spite of all of our problems the US I still feel grateful and lucky to be a citizen. I hope we can find a way to come together again and stand for all good things that the world needs. Celebrate the 4th of July!

Mindful, Day 181, Sparklers

My schuberti allium bulbs are blooming. They look like giant sparklers (they measure about 12-15" across). Great to have sparklers for the 4th of July. I remember what fun it used to be to light the sparklers and draw and write your name on the night sky and also the big hurry to light your next sparkler before the current one went out.  Need to find some sparklers for tomorrow!

Mindful, Day 180, Look Up

 Sometimes I am reminded that I need to look up!

Mindful, Day 179, Re-energized

On my last day at the Appalachian Center for the Arts I take a final wander around. I am rewarded with a very interesting tree ring pattern that has loads of potential and also a wonderful very old weeping cherry tree with fantastic peeling bark (those photos to come later). Can't wait to work with a lot of the images I gathered this week as well as the new possibilities that the felting workshop opened up. Creativity re-energized.