Be Fearless Mixed Media Canvas and Random Life Photos From 2018

Hello and welcome to my blog.

Depending on where you live, there

are beautiful season changes

happening! May has shown up here in the mountains

in a summery mood

wearing her loveliest of greens.

There are little blossoms appearing and

all sorts of pretty things in the yard

today. All very small but 

very welcome and treasured. I

 will have to get out soon 

and take some

photos. 

There's been an assortment of fun projects

to work on in my little gypsy studio. 

Lots of painting and some paper collaging.

 Clay and glitter... buttons and gems.

It's all so magical and the messes on my table

come and go shifting from one pile of 

goodness to the next. 

I'm so happy that I'm finally 

getting the hang of this

new way of downloading my photos!

And I'm so much more consistent.

There seems to always

be something

stewing in my mind. And though

I'm not a fearful person, I am not

very assertive sometimes and have allowed

negative thoughts to stay too long in my

head. I never realized

that I was so negative inwardly.

 Toward myself.

But I am very happy to share that this

is beginning to change. 

Like a butterfly coming out of it's 

cocoon or chrysalis.

And as I promised, here is the finished

project that

was inspired by a tiny butterfly.

Butterflies don't fly around afraid

of what people think or

of what might happen. 

They are happy to flutter about and gather their

food and enjoy sips of water and take refuge when

they see danger.

This is a 9x13 canvas. I used gesso, acrylic paints, stamps, ink, vintage papers

and stencils as well as random things for texturing.

My beautiful, Sonoron shell 

pink guitar that my husband got me last year. 

I love playing it and get comments on it whenever I take 

it to gigs.  It's perfect for this Shabbi Gypsy!

They don't make them anymore.

I'm still playing a lot of music and am working 

on songwriting as well. There is so much to learn

but I think the most important thing is to

put our whole hearts into whatever we do.

Do you agree?

This beautiful leaf was collected two years ago. 

Did you know that you can use 

rubber stamps on leaves?

My lovely geranium from last spring is still with me. 

Last fall, it was nearly

 four feet tall and three feet wide. I had to 

trim her back some so she could fit inside

for the winter.

These two are so much fun. They are full of 

love and SHENANIGANS! 

Just as they should be ;)

Have you had a first time recently?

I boiled stinging nettle this morning and ate it!

It's very good. 

{The western version.} 

A friend brought us some for making tea to

help with allergies. I scooped it out of the container

with my hands 

and my little finger is still stinging. 

haha.

If you look it up, you'll find that it's packed with

nutrients and is a complete protein. 

I found this little lady at Ross and thought 

she was so special,

I just had to bring her home.

Whatever you're doing this week, 

I hope you're finding

peace and rest and beauty in your days.

Four peaks in the Sonoran Desert.

It's music for me tonight and a month

from tomorrow, I leave to

head to Ohio to get my girl!

I hope that you enjoyed your visit.

Thank you for coming.

I hope you feel welcome and leave inspired.

Have a lovely rest of your week

and a Happy May to you.

Tamara 

Xo

Art Inspiration: My Journey... Being Present in the Moment

It's been a long time since I've shared anything about my
journey as an artist.
Becoming one is a dream that I have had
since I was a young girl of seven.

I remember collecting odd pieces of sheet rock scraps
that were left over from the addition that my Dad was 
building onto our house.
I would draw on them with crayons..
a duck..
a horse..

And DREAM of becoming an artist  one day.
********************

 One thing that I've been working on for quite some 
time is to be present in the moment.
Not looking back or spending

too much time thinking about what I
have ahead of me. If I have the need to look
ahead too much and feel pressured,
then I have come to realize that I am 
over-committed. 
When I focus on the here and now,
I have noticed that I am less stressed
and the peace in my heart allows
me to truly focus.
I can  focus more on the people
  nearby and take in the beauty that
is everywhere 
  Noticing the smallest of things.
The quality of my time increases dramatically! 

In my creative space, I have become aware of
the fact that I can concentrate for 
longer periods of time when my mind
isn't focusing on so many things.
And this allows me to go to a deeper place
 of creativity which will ultimately result in the
beauty and inspiration that I wish
for my heart and hands to create.

I love this and it's so encouraging
to know that one has much control of these things.

I am still learning and have far from 
perfected this area of my life.
But I am determined.

The other day I read this article about 
information overload. 
It was very interesting as
well as scientific and  
I was surprised by the facts. 
If you are concerned about this at all for
yourself or someone you know,
it's helpful information.

I'm very grateful to God for my gifts and the heart's
desire that He has given me to use them. My resources
are extremely abundant.
I have a life that allows all of these things.
I am also grateful
for the beauty that surrounds, 
the eyes that capture that beauty,
and the ability to understand what beauty is.

This beautiful sunset is from
a recent walk that I was enjoying with 
my husband and daughter.

The words are from a worship song that
I have recently memorized and play on guitar.

I still have yet to share about our music.

Some day.

I hope you all have a peaceful week.

Loving thoughts and prayers to my blogging friends

who are going through difficult times. 

Hugs and thank you so much for stopping by.

Tamara 

Being Present in the Moment

It's been a beautiful fall this year.

 

 Long on color, warmth and gorgeosness.

 

And though I've been thinking a lot about

making Christmas especially

meaningful, and working on Christmas

offerings for my upcoming

craft show,

I'm  consciously working at savoring.

 

Living in the now.

Being present in the moment.

 

The beauty.

Parties and music with family.

Walks and chatting with friends.

 

Noticing the small things.

The ordinary.

Because isn't that what life is

 actually made of?

 

And If I miss that..

I feel like I miss it.

 

I know that this isn't a new concept.

It's just become very obvious to me

that my quality of life

is greatly diminished if I neglect...

 

the present.

 

I have to practice this...

 

and when I do,

I find that I worry a lot less and focus

so much more on what matters ....

to me and others.

 

 

 Here is photo of some beautiful Side Oat

grass that grows native here in the

mountains of  Arizona.

 

And the verse..

A reminder that though

our world changes so much everyday,

this doesn't.

 

 

I hope you're having a peaceful and amazing week! 

Blessings to you,

Tamara xo

 

Art Inspiration...My Journey- Overcoming the Need for Validation

Making teal paint...

All of my life, I have sought to be 'approved of' by others.  Feeling the need to be validated by someone else's standards, ideas, or preferences. As you can imagine, it was confusing, exhausting and it stripped me of any individualism that I longed to identify in my own life. Pleasing people was often my number one motive for doing things.

I have been thinking about this lately. Mostly how it relates to my journey of finding my way as a creative person. I hesitate to use the word artist, although I've been told I am one. I am learning to understand that.  I'm trying not to be affected by people who don't care for what I design. (But of course I would like to create offerings that touch people's life by reflecting an elemant of beauty and truth.)

Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist. Van Gogh. Monet. Rembrandt.

And so many other wonderful, talented people that I have met through Blogland..

But NOT me.

I don't think of myself much at all in the way of an artist. I try to keep my thoughts focused on 'the what' not the 'why' or 'who' I might look like. { or not }

It's the idea. The process and the end result. It's the learning. And there's oh so much to be experienced in my heart and expressed through my hands. It has all become a means of getting to know myself better. To connect with my feelings. My memories. Experiences from my past that have shaped me. The colors that touch me deep inside. The textures that make my heart leap or almost take my breath away. Truly. No drama here. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed as I listen to my heart or marvel over pallets of beauty as I study and learn how to bring that together in my own heart, mind and with my hands.

Though it's tempting and I have to be careful not to fall back into that 'comparing myself' mindset.

I have a few goals:

* Honor God, reflect truth
*Create uplifting and beautiful offerings
*Enjoy the process 


I have to keep my heart in check and stay REAL. AUTHENTIC. {this is one of my favorite words)

au·then·tic

ôˈTHentik/

adjective

adjective: authentic; adjective: auth.

1. 1.

   of undisputed origin; genuine.

   "the letter is now accepted as an authentic document"

   synonyms:

   genuine, real, bona fide, true, veritable; More legitimate, lawful, legal, valid; informalthe real McCoy, the real thing, kosher "an authentic document"

How do I stay real?

* I remind myself that others may not even like what I offer
* Trust that God will guide me
*Making money is not the goal {though selling is fun and can be encouraging ...
  and I would really like to supplement our income someday,
  I don't want the selling of what I do give me a false sense of success or self}
*Stay true to myself and not allow myself to be pressured by quotas or anything else extrinsic
*Don't seek to re-create what others are doing just to feel 'safe'

{in other words, FOLLOW MY HEART. stay true to my beliefs.
remember my goals and purposes.}

These are just some simple things that I am doing and learning to understand about today. I am constantly reading and researching. It used to be validate myself. But now it's to learn and appreciate and truly be blessed by what others are doing. I don't feel the need to compare. I just take it all in.

I try to limit my time though so I have time to stay in touch with my heart voice. It's very quiet and sweet so I have to be very sensitive.

It's good to be free from so much of what to drive me. It's not a bump free road yet, but the journey is getting smoother all the time and I am grateful.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I love your sweet comments.

Blessings for your day and your journey,
Tamara XO

Art Inspiration..My Journey to Find, Nurture and Release the Artistic Soul

Hello ... Did you know that you have gifts and talents? It's true. There's a uniqueness of beauty that lies within each soul. And in my opinion, humble as it is, it is something great.

Ralph Waldo Emerson also had thoughts along these lines....

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters,
compared to what lies within us."



In this new season of my life, I have been exploring what that means for myself and others. Because I have felt this need to unleash something inside my heart that expresses beauty.

That inspires and lifts up the souls of today. And I don't believe that I'm the only one who feels that way.


I want my children and grand children to know and understand that desire to:
{And If I could others beyond my family...well that would be a dream come true!}


# Express themselves
# Be free in their unique giftings
# Inspire and encourage others

I had this thought today..

                         {To create is to be alive.}


I stumbled onto Julia Cameron's book called The Artist's Way.  That was several months ago and very recently, was reminded about it. I knew my birthday was coming up ( tomorrow :)  and so I
was waiting. I did finally order it though.. and accidentally ordered the wrong thing but it will work. (I wanted the devotional shown on the link above.)

I love it so far. It's a very spiritual book. Which pleases my heart as I want God to be the centre of my expressions and creations.  Reflections of His light and love. And I believe that all good and perfect things come from Him and so He should really get the credit or glory. However you want to say it.

Here are some quotes from others who evidently feel the same way:

"Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God."
                                                             Johannes Brahms

My hope is to begin to share some during this time. Truths that enlighten, confirm or affirm. They will be from various sources. Websites...books.. quotes...music.. etc.

The thing that I read this morning was a truth for me. I'll share the text from The Artists Way by Julia
Cameron. (If you'd like to find out more about Julia Cameron, here's a link to her blog.

"For most of us, the idea that the Creator encourages creativity is a radical thought. We tend to think, or at least fear, that creative dreams are egotistical, something that God wouldn't approve of for us. after all, our creative artist is an inner-youngster and prone to childish thinking. If our mom or dad expressed doubt or disapproval for our creative dreams, we may project that same attitude onto a parental God. (capitalization mine) This thinking must be undone."

Can you relate to this? I can. I don't know that it was my parents, but my own wrong and contradictory thinking. And a lack of understanding. Even though I have always believed that all these good gifts come from God, I never thought that the developing and using a gift or talent was a "real" occupation.

How wrong I was and also mislead by others I might add. I now wonder why I ever believed that God would give a person a gift and then say, " No, you can't use that. It's not practical or useful for my
purposes." I struggled a lot with that one.

But thankfully, I now know the truth and have to trust that it's not too late. For my age of beginning this quest was 51 and am soon to be 53.

And in freedom, my journey began and will continue with many more truths to be found, no doubt.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Blessings to you on your way...
Tamara  xoxo