Happy 4th of July

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Norwich Strong

Create Art with these Colors!

Americana...

It's always ourselves we find in the sea

May came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.
~ e.e. cummings

Wouldn't it be great to feel and touch sea glass such as this...

Photo: pixdaus.com

Touched by the Sun

If you want to be brave
And reach for the top of the sky
And the farthest point on the horizon
Do you know who you'll meet there
Great soldiers and seafarers
Artists and dreamers
Who need to be close, close to the light
They need to be in danger of burning by fire
And I, I want to get there
I, I want to be one
One who is touched by the sun
One who is touched by the sun

Often I want to walk
The safe side of the street
And lull myself to sleep
And dull my pain

But deep down inside I know
I've got to learn from the greats
Earn my right to be living
Let my wings of desire
Soar over the nightI need to let them say
"She must have been mad"
And I, I want to get there
I, I want to be one
One who is touched by the sun
One who is touched by the sun

I've got to learn from the greats
Earn my right to be living
With every breath that I take
Every heartbeat
And I, I want to get there
I, I want to be one
One who is touched by the sun
One who is touched by the sun

Music and Lyrics by Carly Simon
Photos: pixdaus.com

Happy Father's Day!

Come Out and Play!

Come Out and Play is the theme for a program I am doing with a group to introduce them to Art Journaling. So, I took simple luggage tags and painted and collaged them and I wrote the top reasons for journaling. I want to share the reasons why I "journal":
To elaborate on an inspiration
To remember a quote/song
To hold on to a special moment
To solve a problem
To record my dreams & wishes
To remember how blessed I am
To connect with my spirit
To play!
To leave a little bit of myself behind for my family.

A Sea of Sunflowers

Keep your face to the sun and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do.
---Helen Keller