Mariposa Latin Inspired Grille, Sedona, Arizona – July 2017
Mariposa (the Spanish word for butterfly).
Being
Becoming
Blooming
Creating
Discovering
Embracing
Evolving
Flowing
Fluttering
Forgetting
Forgiving
Growing
Inspiring
Learning
Living
Loving
Overcoming
Reflecting
Remembering
Soul Searching
Surviving.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Impatiens Flowers – June 2017 – Mars, PA
Impatience.
It is hard to be patient,
when you are impatiently waiting…
For the sun to rise,
or for the sun to set.
For the next season to begin,
or for the former to end.
For the pot to boil,
or for the bread to rise.
For the punch line of a joke,
or the ending of a sad movie.
To start a new book,
or to reach the ending.
For the child to grow,
or for the child to remain small.
For the love of your life,
or for the ability to love life.
For that amazingly great moment,
or for each one in between.
Cheers and hugs,
Jodi
Into the Woods in our Backyard June 25, 2017 Mars, PA
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Yesterday was one of those
most amazingly glorious
Summer Sundays.
No agenda,
bright sunshine,
cool breeze.
I woke early,
sipped my coffee on the deck
with the birds and the rising sun.
I made old-fashioned macaroni salad
to chill and be just right
to accompany grilled burgers for dinner.
I took my watercolors
out onto the patio,
and I painted for hours.
And when it was time to move a bit,
Charlie and I headed to the woods
in our backyard.
We hiked until we got lost,
and then we found our way out through a neighbor’s backyard
on an intersecting street to ours.
It was a sauntering walk
with stops to breathe it all in, smell the fresh air,
and commune with nature.
The woods are a great place
to learn how truly small you
and your problems really are.
It’s a place to be small,
but come out feeling bigger
and better and complete.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pink Roses Warm Up Watercolor 5×7 Saunders 140 lb cold press
The Warm Up.
It’s a good thing to warm up…
right?
In life…
when going to bat,
when giving a speech,
when writing,
when painting….
And sometimes…
the little warm up
surprises us
with unexpected joy
and unexpected satisfaction
and pleasure.
This little painting
was a warm up
for painting some roses.
Just a super quick, five-minute
loose test of sorts
that turned out to be something
I found to be quite beautiful.
Much like life…
So many things
we consider to be
the “warm up”
turn out to be
beautiful surprises.
Cherish the moments!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow…-Kahlil Gibran
Next Sunday is Mother’s Day.
Last Saturday my youngest “child” got married.
My greatest honor in life has been being a mother.
But as this wise verse from Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet reminds me,
I may have housed their bodies, but I cannot house their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow.
I am so proud of the men my boys have become.
As I watched the youngest celebrate marriage, and the oldest toast his brother last weekend,
my heart swelled.
Somehow we managed to do a good job.
And I couldn’t have done it without my husband – their father – by my side.
As I look at this photo I took at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago of a Momma Duck (made of flowers by the way) and her little ducklings, I was once again reminded of the privilege I was bestowed in life to be a mother. I am now also blessed with two beautiful “daughters”-in-law and the great privilege of being a “grand”mother.
I am so grateful.
Here’s to all the moms out there!
Cherish the moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pink Apricot Watercolor Expressionist Tulips – 8 x 10 Fabriano 140 lb Cold Press
Pink Apricot Watercolor Tulips.
I found a few extra moments to steal away to my art studio this past weekend.
I felt like painting some tulips – inspired by our recent trip to Phipps Conservatory‘s Spring Flower Show.
I gave this one a couple tries before I finally decided I liked this version. I started too tight and too “literal.” I so admire folks who paint things that look exactly like real life, but it is not my passion. In my first go, I tried much to hard to replicate the photo. I then loosened up a bit and created this version that more represents the beauty I felt looking at the tulips.
To me, this painting speaks Joy and Happiness and Life.
And that is what I am feeling this week as we count down the days in wedding week!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints used: Rhodonite Genuine, Cadmium Yellow Light, Green Gold, Perylene Green
Purple Crocus Spring Watercolor 10×14″ 300 lb Arches Cold Press
Painting Purple Posies.
Though I could never create the beauty Mother Nature does…
especially in Spring when the purple crocuses pop up and remind us once again of the hope of life and rebirth and renewal…
I couldn’t resist painting my impression of these beauties I captured and posted yesterday.
It was good to splash some Winsor Violet and Opera Rose and Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow with a touch of Perylene Green.
And instead of trying to recreate them, my goal was to paint how they made me feel.
I struggle with stopping here or filling in the details to make them look more realistic. But ultimately, my love for impressionistic painting wins, and I stopped.
Before I ever ventured into this amazing joy of painting, I would have thought this way easier than exactly duplicating or painting more realistic representations, but the urge to “fiddle” and “replicate” typically leaves me feeling less satisfied.
To restrain….
To stop “before…”
To leave a bit – even if only a teensy bit – to the imagination…
is a challenge…
But a crazy and totally fulfilling, joyful experience when it works.
Not convinced I hit it with this one, but the joy in the journey might just be as satisfying as the ultimate goal.
Kinda like life – huh?
It’s a journey – meant to be embraced and expressed and felt – all along the way.
Once we reach the destination – then what?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Secret of Life.
Do you ever think….
“What’s it all about?”
Life – that is…
Why are we here?
What is our purpose?
My BFF, Jill, and I have asked each other this so many times throughout the almost 30 years of our friendship, I couldn’t even count the number.
It’s become a bit of a joke, but also a bit of a reminder too.
When we first met, we were young “stay at home moms.” And (sadly), those ones who judged working moms as lesser than we who cared for our children and homes and served on the PTA and were the best-ever “homeroom moms” who created the field day obstacle course that all other homeroom moms envied.
Sigh….
We now mock, but also guiltily regret, our young naive selves, as we have become those crazy workaholic successful business women we once despised. And we both have the absolutely most amazing daughters (mine is a daughter-in-law, but I love her like a daughter) who are beautiful, successful working women and amazing, loving mothers.
And you know what? No judging… No mocking…
Life is too short for all of that!
We all do what is right for each of us.
And our children.
And our families.
Period.
And what have I learned along the way?
The secret of life is finding the JOY in the ordinary!
There are so many moments in the ordinary days of living that bring us joy…
that bring us contentment…
that make the ordinary – well – EXTRAordinary.
Like marriage.
Hubby and I have been married for 35 years! And you know what? I am proud of that!
I was 19 years old and he was 23 when we married. I had no idea what life was all about.
But that same cute Hubby was on a business trip this past week and away for three nights.
He rarely travels.
In fact, I have been the one to travel many, many more times for work than him as the years have passed.
And though I was not “afraid of the dark” and the “bogey man” like I was when I was young and he went away (and that same wonderful best friend and her hubby and family actually stayed at my house with me when same hubby went away), it just wasn’t “right” without him here.
Sometimes an evening goes by with barely 50 words spoken between us. But we are together. He is here, and I am here, and we are together.
And sometimes that is enough.
I now wonder why we all cannot see, and wish I could share with so many who strive for and desire so much more and cannot find it, that it is okay. In fact… it is more than okay. It is the secret of life….
The secret of a joy-filled life….
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the “ordinary.” The ordinary is a blessing.
The secret of life?
Finding joy in the ordinary!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS My same sweet, wonderful daughter-in-law painted the gorgeous sign pictured here that is available in our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy Shop. She gets it! And I am so proud of her I could burst!
And when Hubby came home from his business trip Friday afternoon, what did he find?
… a perfectly content wife/mom/grandma/business woman (with a nasty Spring head cold and not looking her best – to say the least) sound asleep with the most beautiful granddaughter on her chest and a half-read book. That is joy. That is ordinary. That is joy in the ordinary.
Earth, Light, & Wind Abstract Brusho Watercolor
Like the ambiguity of the weather in March,
do you ever wonder why…
there is no ham in hamburger,
or no egg in eggplant?
Do you ever wonder why…
Chili is hot
and being hot is cool?
and if we say, “She sees a lot,”
does she see much or a piece of land?
Have you considered why…
when the stars come out, they are visible,
but when we turn the lights out, they are invisible?
The ambiguity of this existence
we call life.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Abstract Watercolor done with Brusho Crystal Colours: Earth, Light & Wind
Just when you think you are over
the hurt, the sadness, the loss…
something happens.
It can be something
lovely and loving and special,
but still it is a reminder.
Sometimes a loss is a choice…
a deliberate decision
that has to be made to preserve your soul.
And your soul is worth it,
so save it
and cherish the moments you are given.
Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 