.
If I ever get to the point where I can't remember who I am or what day it is, now all I have to do is look at my blog sidebar and be reminded!
Of course, for that to work, I will have to remember I have a blog, and how to find it ;-)
.
Blessing 2:4
for one of those days/weeks/months/years
when life is serving up dirt
may you scoop it up
to start a garden
when life is serving up sh*t
mix it in that
dirt pile you have
when you don't know what to plant
may you find the seeds
for the harvest you need
and when lack of rain
threatens to kill any attempt
to make good from bad
let yourself stand
over that pile of smelly dust
and cry bucketloads
so your tears may wash
over and into
all that horribleness
and raise something up
that you deserve
instead of this!
~Kel
when life is serving up dirt
may you scoop it up
to start a garden
when life is serving up sh*t
mix it in that
dirt pile you have
when you don't know what to plant
may you find the seeds
for the harvest you need
and when lack of rain
threatens to kill any attempt
to make good from bad
let yourself stand
over that pile of smelly dust
and cry bucketloads
so your tears may wash
over and into
all that horribleness
and raise something up
that you deserve
instead of this!
~Kel
Eyes on blogland
It's funny how things evolve over time. When I started blogging back in 2004, I saw it as a way to keep the writing habit going. A few months into my adventures in blogland, I helped Darren Rowse [yes, he of problogger fame] raise money for tsunami victims during his blog-a-thon. I was the volunteer content seeker and copyeditor for the duration. Some $1000 US dollars was raised for tsunami victims over the 24-hr blog-a-thon.
While Darren went on to develop blogging into his fulltime income earner, my blog continued to be a hobby, and a way of sharing the story of our seachange adventure. Most of that has now been moved to it's own blogspace here.
Over the years my photos have been popular with google hunters. This seashell photo of mine has been used without my permission all over the world, and continues to rank #1 on Google. If I had only received $2 per "save as" or "copy" I would have a nice little passive income from that alone.
Other photos of mine that bring googlers to this blog every single day include: The tractor photo above. Who would believe that a photo of Mr X on his orange Kubota would attract so much interest!?! You might notice, blogging anonymously at the time, that I always managed to include photos of us that used hats, or other items to keep our identity hidden. (Ala Wilson on "Home Improvement".)
Right behind the tractor hunters come those seeking images from Chartres Cathedral.
Snapping on the heels of spiritual seekers come the sled dog enthusiasts. This one is seasonal. End of the year gets hits from the northern hemisphere, middle of the year gets hits from the southern hemisphere.
What started as a way to keep up the writing habit, has evolved over the years into much more. A visual journal, an online diary, a collection of my creative endeavours, and it has spilled over into several blogs [see "Other places you'll find me", in the sidebar].
So, it would appear that while I started blogging to keep my writing habit, many are connecting here because of the visuals. The original photos and artwork shared. I spend time and effort to produce my own original images and don't copy others work. It's disheartening to see people like and use my stuff without acknowledging their source. Not even a please or thankyou. I think of them as blog hit and runners.
If I was to believe in karma, then something good should have came my way in return. But lately, life seems to be full of takers. People wanting what I produce, but not wanting to pay for it. And when that starts spilling into daily life, not just in blogland, it's very discouraging.
The key for me, the thing that's kept me going, is this; Blogging has been about creating connections with other people. All over the world. Mr X and I have a dream of one day doing a blogrun. Not in the virtual online world, but realtime f2f, visiting blog buddies across the globe.
But with interest rates rapidly rising, and my income halved since retrenchment, it's purely a pipe dream at this stage. So in the meantime, we can only zoom around the world virtually.
Every now and then I revisit where I started, what's happened along the way, and where I want to go from here. This is one of those times. Pondering future directions.
While in this review process, I came across something interesting. Go here and enter your blog name if you blog anonymously, or your name if not.
This is what I got:
I'm interested in your experience of blogging.
How long have you been blogging?
What got you started?
Do you create your own photos, or borrow them from others?
(if you borrow them, do you seek permission first, or at the very least credit the source with a link?)
What keeps you in blogland?
Are you on facebook or twitter?
Do you generate any income through your blogging, or do you see it purely as a communication tool?
Have you met face-2-face with online friends made through blogging, that you would not have met otherwise? And if so, did you maintain that friendship, or was it a once off meeting?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
While Darren went on to develop blogging into his fulltime income earner, my blog continued to be a hobby, and a way of sharing the story of our seachange adventure. Most of that has now been moved to it's own blogspace here.
Over the years my photos have been popular with google hunters. This seashell photo of mine has been used without my permission all over the world, and continues to rank #1 on Google. If I had only received $2 per "save as" or "copy" I would have a nice little passive income from that alone.
Other photos of mine that bring googlers to this blog every single day include: The tractor photo above. Who would believe that a photo of Mr X on his orange Kubota would attract so much interest!?! You might notice, blogging anonymously at the time, that I always managed to include photos of us that used hats, or other items to keep our identity hidden. (Ala Wilson on "Home Improvement".)
Right behind the tractor hunters come those seeking images from Chartres Cathedral.
Snapping on the heels of spiritual seekers come the sled dog enthusiasts. This one is seasonal. End of the year gets hits from the northern hemisphere, middle of the year gets hits from the southern hemisphere.What started as a way to keep up the writing habit, has evolved over the years into much more. A visual journal, an online diary, a collection of my creative endeavours, and it has spilled over into several blogs [see "Other places you'll find me", in the sidebar].
So, it would appear that while I started blogging to keep my writing habit, many are connecting here because of the visuals. The original photos and artwork shared. I spend time and effort to produce my own original images and don't copy others work. It's disheartening to see people like and use my stuff without acknowledging their source. Not even a please or thankyou. I think of them as blog hit and runners.
If I was to believe in karma, then something good should have came my way in return. But lately, life seems to be full of takers. People wanting what I produce, but not wanting to pay for it. And when that starts spilling into daily life, not just in blogland, it's very discouraging.
The key for me, the thing that's kept me going, is this; Blogging has been about creating connections with other people. All over the world. Mr X and I have a dream of one day doing a blogrun. Not in the virtual online world, but realtime f2f, visiting blog buddies across the globe.
But with interest rates rapidly rising, and my income halved since retrenchment, it's purely a pipe dream at this stage. So in the meantime, we can only zoom around the world virtually.
Every now and then I revisit where I started, what's happened along the way, and where I want to go from here. This is one of those times. Pondering future directions.
While in this review process, I came across something interesting. Go here and enter your blog name if you blog anonymously, or your name if not.
This is what I got:
- The x facta is also about believing in and seeking that "something special" which resides in each of us.
- The x facta is there.
- The X Facta is seriously special herself – I love anyone that can make art called "Revenge on the Banksia Men."
I'm interested in your experience of blogging.
How long have you been blogging?
What got you started?
Do you create your own photos, or borrow them from others?
(if you borrow them, do you seek permission first, or at the very least credit the source with a link?)
What keeps you in blogland?
Are you on facebook or twitter?
Do you generate any income through your blogging, or do you see it purely as a communication tool?
Have you met face-2-face with online friends made through blogging, that you would not have met otherwise? And if so, did you maintain that friendship, or was it a once off meeting?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Soul rhythms
Soul Rhythmsposter by Kel © 2010
Over the past six weeks, while part of the inaugural online class: Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist, I've been reminded of the diabolo, and my early attempts at mastering it. You see, for the diabolo to work, a sustainable rhythm must be established and maintained. Without it, the diabolo cannot spin on the line, fly in the air, and reconnect with its source.
The WOMPOA course has been a good refresher for me. A reminder of things already known, but in some ways, forgotten. For unless the hand is jiggling the wire to keep the momentum going, it's easy to drop the ball (or the diabolo). If the knowing is not connected to the doing, it becomes a mind game, not a way of life.
I wrestled with the invitation to create a Rule of Life (based on the Benedictine tradition). To be honest the word "rule" put me right off. I had spent a good portion of my life living under rule or law, and had no desire to go backwards in that area. While procrastinating on this exercise, I came across this old photo I took of Mr X playing with the diabolo on a beach. And it all fell into place.
You see, the intention of a Rule of Life, is to develop a balanced, sustainable and enjoyable rhythm of life that invites us to remain grounded in our Source, even as we whirl through the world. We all have peak experiences, but the 'rule' helps us walk the talk on a daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal basis.
Rather than let one word rule out any possibilty of moving forward, I broke the rules, and called my poster, Soul Rhythms. If creeds are 'what' we believe, soul rhythms are 'how' we live it out.
There are natural cycles everywhere, beckoning us as a space in time, or place, or thought. From the basic breathe in and breathe out, to sixty seconds in a minute, seven days in a week, four seasons in a year . . . Which rhythms call to you?
What practices or priorities might you embrace to intentionally enter these spaces as ways of living what you believe?
Celebrating a first
Purple Euphoniumtextured acrylic on board
original art by Kel © 2010
This piece is from my series, "The Bottle Collection" and was finished last week. Today it was sold and is now on the first leg of its journey to its new home in Europe.
Yes, you read that right. My art is now in an international private collection! How cool is that!?!
Yeah, I know, it's not very artsy cool to be so excited. But I am. So there.
.
Blessing 2:3
A blessing for equilibrium
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the music of laughter break through your soul.
As the wind wants to make everything dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the freedom of the monastery bell,
May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May a sense of irony give you perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May fear or worry never put you in chains.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
To hear in the distance the laughter of God.
from Benedictus – A Book of Blessings
© John O'Donohue. All rights reserved.
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the music of laughter break through your soul.
As the wind wants to make everything dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the freedom of the monastery bell,
May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May a sense of irony give you perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May fear or worry never put you in chains.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
To hear in the distance the laughter of God.
from Benedictus – A Book of Blessings
© John O'Donohue. All rights reserved.
Blessing 2:2
as valentine's day approaches
and all thoughts turn to love
let your mind linger
a moment longer
on those whose hearts
entwine with yours
let the little joys they bring
bubble to the surface
for life has enough toil and trouble
it needs more froth and bubble
be it champagne on ice or a suds-filled tub
cappucinno with sprinkles or a simple long hug
embody the inner belonging you feel
so love is not a word
but something more real
and if those you love are absent
and you feel bereft
know there is the love of One
hidden in the cleft
that space inside your heart
the One can only fill
the Lover of your soul
not masks, but you, the real
let the flame rekindle
your holy love affair
that all you are and be and do
makes other hearts aware
~ Kel
and all thoughts turn to love
let your mind linger
a moment longer
on those whose hearts
entwine with yours
let the little joys they bring
bubble to the surface
for life has enough toil and trouble
it needs more froth and bubble
be it champagne on ice or a suds-filled tub
cappucinno with sprinkles or a simple long hug
embody the inner belonging you feel
so love is not a word
but something more real
and if those you love are absent
and you feel bereft
know there is the love of One
hidden in the cleft
that space inside your heart
the One can only fill
the Lover of your soul
not masks, but you, the real
let the flame rekindle
your holy love affair
that all you are and be and do
makes other hearts aware
~ Kel
My digital eye dies
.My digital camera has just died.
Over the past five years of blogging, my photos have helped 'show and tell' many stories .
- Our seachange/treechange with a purpose
- A youth arts project and a women's art project
- Life through my dog's eyes
- My contemplation of creation: trees and shells etc
- art reflections and soul writing
I couldn't do what I do, be who I am, without my digital eyes!
So now I'm in the looking zone for a new one. But technology changes a lot in 6 years. There are some brilliant little compacts around that are probably just as good as my old, much larger, FujiFilm FinePix S5500. To replace what I just lost, key features I'm looking for are a long zoom, macro, and video.
At times like this, country living is very frustrating. Not many options, even less competition. If I'm really lucky, I might find one or two I'm interested in looking at, but I won't be interested in their prices. It's definitely time for some opinion polls.
What camera do you use? Does it use standard AA batteries or more expensive options? Is it cord to computer download or do you have a card and card reader? Is it for web/screen only, or do you get standard photos or larger scale works printed from it?
I'm all ears. No eyes.
Over the past five years of blogging, my photos have helped 'show and tell' many stories .
- Our seachange/treechange with a purpose
- A youth arts project and a women's art project
- Life through my dog's eyes
- My contemplation of creation: trees and shells etc
- art reflections and soul writing
I couldn't do what I do, be who I am, without my digital eyes!
So now I'm in the looking zone for a new one. But technology changes a lot in 6 years. There are some brilliant little compacts around that are probably just as good as my old, much larger, FujiFilm FinePix S5500. To replace what I just lost, key features I'm looking for are a long zoom, macro, and video.
At times like this, country living is very frustrating. Not many options, even less competition. If I'm really lucky, I might find one or two I'm interested in looking at, but I won't be interested in their prices. It's definitely time for some opinion polls.
What camera do you use? Does it use standard AA batteries or more expensive options? Is it cord to computer download or do you have a card and card reader? Is it for web/screen only, or do you get standard photos or larger scale works printed from it?
I'm all ears. No eyes.
Art Attack: labyrinth
a little labyrinth by kelI recently created a little labyrinth on our front deck. With room for only one person at a time, one foot in front of the other, it required focused footsteps to make the spiralling journey into the centre. Pausing at the candle from Chartres Labyrinth. Receiving illumination. Before slowly walking back out, carrying the gift received.
Here's an art attack with a difference. Think of it as installation art. This month I invite you to create your own labyrinth. It might be a micro one for finger-walking, a little one that requires focused footsteps, or a large one that invites a longer journey shared with a friend.
If you've never walked a labyrinth before here are a few different ways people choose to walk the labyrinth. Select the one that calls to you the most.
The path of silence- Empty your mind of the hubbub and commotion of the outer world. Open your heart to the silence of the walk.
The path of image-Follow the images or dreams that arise in your imagination.
The path of contemplation-contemplate the words of a prayer, a sacred text, or a line of poetry.
The path of questions-Concentrate on a question. Don't expect an answer. Simply be content to explore the possibilities.
On preparing to enter the labyrinth, remove your shoes and your watch.
Slow your breathing. Still your mind.
On the way in, focus on letting go of things you want to leave behind and releasing things that stand in the way of your spiritual journey. Pause when you need to. Don't focus on the centre as a goal; be present in each step of the inward path.
Spend time in the centre. Take as long as you wish. You may stand, sit, kneel or lie down. This part of the journey is about being present to your inmost self and the power of the divine.
When you're ready to leave the centre, begin walking back the way you came. On the return journey, focus on what you will bring out from the centre and back into your life.
As you leave the labyrinth, pause to say a prayer or make a bodily gesture as you feel inspired.
Allow yourself time to reflect, contemplate and process your experience.
May your feet take you to places that touch your heart, mind and soul.
When you've created your labyrinth, post a photo on your blog and anything you would like to share of your experience, then leave a comment here.
Here's an art attack with a difference. Think of it as installation art. This month I invite you to create your own labyrinth. It might be a micro one for finger-walking, a little one that requires focused footsteps, or a large one that invites a longer journey shared with a friend.
If you've never walked a labyrinth before here are a few different ways people choose to walk the labyrinth. Select the one that calls to you the most.
The path of silence- Empty your mind of the hubbub and commotion of the outer world. Open your heart to the silence of the walk.
The path of image-Follow the images or dreams that arise in your imagination.
The path of contemplation-contemplate the words of a prayer, a sacred text, or a line of poetry.
The path of questions-Concentrate on a question. Don't expect an answer. Simply be content to explore the possibilities.
On preparing to enter the labyrinth, remove your shoes and your watch.
Slow your breathing. Still your mind.
On the way in, focus on letting go of things you want to leave behind and releasing things that stand in the way of your spiritual journey. Pause when you need to. Don't focus on the centre as a goal; be present in each step of the inward path.
Spend time in the centre. Take as long as you wish. You may stand, sit, kneel or lie down. This part of the journey is about being present to your inmost self and the power of the divine.
When you're ready to leave the centre, begin walking back the way you came. On the return journey, focus on what you will bring out from the centre and back into your life.
As you leave the labyrinth, pause to say a prayer or make a bodily gesture as you feel inspired.
Allow yourself time to reflect, contemplate and process your experience.
May your feet take you to places that touch your heart, mind and soul.
When you've created your labyrinth, post a photo on your blog and anything you would like to share of your experience, then leave a comment here.
A summer story
.
Publications I want to be published in: Reader's Digest magazine TICK
not that happy with their editing, after which, the theme of camping as a circus got a bit flimsy . . . but oh well, they showed me the money, and that allowed me to do some online courses to start the year off :)
Publications I want to be published in: Reader's Digest magazine TICK
not that happy with their editing, after which, the theme of camping as a circus got a bit flimsy . . . but oh well, they showed me the money, and that allowed me to do some online courses to start the year off :)
This week's art
After attending Xmas eve and New Year's eve parties this summer, I got to thinking about all those bottles and labels that would end up in the bin. I approached the hosts and asked if they would hold the bottles for me. My studio now looks like an alcoholic's hideout with empty bottles lining the shelves. The labels I can get off in one piece are being integrated into my new series: "The Bottle Collection"
Rustic Bottles
mixed media on board
original art by Kel © 2010
textured
Rustic Bottlesmixed media on board
original art by Kel © 2010
textured
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