Happy Mary Magdalene's Feast Day!

Painting by Richard Stodart

Last Weekend's Studio "Warm-Up"

Lucia

Annoushka

Isobel

Lydia

Sara

Celebrating The Gathering of The Tribe

Call it a clan,
call it a network,
call it a tribe,
call it a family.
Whatever you call it,
whoever you are,
you need one.

~ Jane Howard ~

With love to my loved ones, soul-sisters, kindred spirits, all the special people whose path has crossed mine, and my friends to be. Thank you for the gift of you.

A Certain Fascination With Pi In Nature

"Sectio Divina"
mixed-media art play

Sharing The Joy

A few days ago, Pattie from Artfully Yours honoured me with the Brillante Weblog award. Thank you Pattie!

I would now like to pass it on to the following people (but in truth could have nominated many more, blogland being such a goldmine of creative and unique souls with much to share and inspire us with):

1. Creative Every Day

2. Rochambeau

3. River Garden Studio

4. More to Me

5. Susanna's Sketchbook

6. Be... Dream... Play...

7. Du Buh Du Designs

Here are the "rules" (although this award comes with no obligation attached):

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Still Feeling Playful

"This Summer"
(click on graphic for full size)

Want to make one?
Simply go there and play with words.

I kept a lot of empty space in mine.
I love and need space.
To breathe and be.
To allow things to flow and shift.
To keep room for more wonder.

A Little Flickr Fun

1. Chantal 1, 2. Water waits, 3. Beach Shell - Brest, Brittany, France - Monday July 30th 2007, 4. hydrangea, 5. 0000323014-008, 6. Afternoon Pu-ehr, 7. Camargue*, 8. Raspberry pie, 9. Finding Neverland: The Fantasy Within, 10. Memory, 11. ~ Light ~, 12. In Flight

Here's a fun Flickr meme I came across today on this blog.

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
Using only the first page, choose an image.
Copy and paste each of the URLs into the mosaic maker over at FD's image maker.

The questions:
What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?

Favorite drink?

Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you love most in life?

One word to describe you.

Your Flickr name

Interesting what comes up!!

A Time To...

"And the trouble is,

if you don't risk anything,

you risk even more."

~ Erica Jong ~

Art In A Carton (Update)

Due to a very long pause required by a grueling translation work schedule, it took me quite some time to create the last item for my participation in Susan's Art In A Carton project. Susan and Pattie have long received the cartons I made for them, and I'm now happy to say that my third and last offering is winging its way to its recipient in Spain as I write.

Here's a sneak peek of what I created for this fun exchange:

Welcome to Bath!

I was a bit surprised to find out this morning that my blog was featured on the list of participants in the One Day Holiday blog event hosted by the lovely Laurence. When first hearing about the project, I thought "cool idea!" but soon realised my schedule would be too busy to take part, so I chose not to sign up. But now that my blog is linked to the event, I might as well go with the flow and show you some photos of my town. I'm more of a nature, people and "quirky things" photographer but luckily, I found enough photos of my city (taken all year round) to share here. Having only been living in Bath for 14 months (after moving from Ireland, and previously from Brittany, France, where I grew up), I still have some hidden corners, views and details to discover, but here's a sample of what you might find around this historical and spa city.

The famous Pulteney Bridge, home to many little
(and not so little) shops.

I love that coffee shop on the right-hand side, just above the water.

The river Avon

Pulteney Bridge seen from the Parade Gardens

The Roman baths at dusk

One of my favorite corners at the Roman baths

Doorway at the Roman baths
Photographing the baths during opening hours without

anyone walking into your "view" is a bit of a feat!

Entrance to the Pump Room
If you've read any of the Jane Austen novels set in Bath,
you will have read about this select tea house/restaurant

The Pump Room
Spa water, drawn from the Roman baths, is served here on request.

I quite like it. It's warm and somewhat salty!

The Abbey square, during the Christmas market

An old-fashioned sweet shop
on a cobbled street near the Abbey

One of the many statues to be found around the city

Statue of Queen Victoria, overlooking Bridge Street

Not such an unusual sight in Bath these days!
You can read about the King Bladud Pigs project here.

I came across this one in the Royal Victoria Park

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Bath. How about continuing your journey here!

Happy Summer Solstice!

"The rampant growth period has reached its peak. Everywhere there is a sense of abundance and fresh growth. This is the peak of our expressive and expansive selves. Celebrate all of your achievements and who you are.

But a great transition is beginning which will bring a completion of our wholeselves. The power of the inner realms will begin to expand and our achievements will ripen within."

~ Glennie Kindred ~

(The Earth's Cycle of Celebration)

That Gypsy Feeling

Some of you know I'm a gypsy of sorts. Well, definitely a gypsy at heart. And the sunny weather always seems to draw that out of me. Oh my, I'm getting itchy feet again! Well, while life is needing me to stay put for now, I'm travelling from the comfort of my chair. There's nothing like a good book to take you places! I'm reaching the last few pages of The Gypsy Chronicles by Alison Mackie and have to say I just don't want to finish it. What a fresh, original and delightful book!

Just Another Day In The Garden

My Foxy Friends Caught On Video

Here's a short video taken this evening of two of the foxes gallivanting in my garden. My hand was a bit on the skaky side, as I'm sure you'll notice. I shot this from my upstairs window, at a strange angle with my desk in the way... but sometimes one simply can't wait for the perfect circumstances... the moment was then and I wanted to capture it. Not too bad for a first try, right? ;-)

La Madone Aux Fleurs

"Turn your face to the sun and

the shadows fall behind you."

~ Maori Proverb ~

Journeying Forth Out Of The Comfort Zone

"How do geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown."

~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ~

Trusting the Process

"Trust the process. A calling calls to remind you to enter the mystery of instinct and the metamorphosis of an inspired life.

Honor your passion to emerge.

Say yes to a supernatural, all-natural self within. Then let creativity transport you to the borderless places, the magical spaces, where caution cannot tread."

~ Tama J. Kieves ~

Poppy Gazing

"The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes."

~ Marcel Proust ~

"We don't see things as they are,

we see them as we are."

~ Anaïs Nin ~

The Intoxicating Power of Inner Worlds

"I didn't trust it for a moment,
but I drank it anyway,
the wine of my own poetry."

~ Lalla ~
(translated by Coleman Barks)

Fully Bloomed

"The way to know life is to love many things."

~ Vincent Van Gogh ~