Art ADD-The Brain A-Boggles and Beach Time!

I love art. I especially love, and am so inspired by, other people's art, and I really, really love to make art. It's boundless-there's just so much to see and do and try and explore and create and learn...Love, love, love getting totally lost in art. And I am so thankful for my husband who always encourages and supports my ongoing endeavors and so patiently bears with me through scavaging excursions--like yesterday afternoon spent wandering through aisles and stores for the "perfect" date rubber stamp and "perfect" journal/sketchbook--both of which I ultimately gave up on and he still took me to the beach because I just needed to go in spite of the not quite as warm temperatures as I thought it would be, but it was still beautiful and soothing and just the break I had been longing for. He also (I think...) tries to understand, on some level, the insanity that is my brain. I don't think anyone will ever understand that mess--maybe he's simply amused by it--nevertheless, he's not given up on me and I love him all the more for being my anchor. I'd be utterly lost without him.

So this great search yesterday for the date stamp and journal was prompted by discovering a new blog by artist Jenny Frith, which I'm not even sure how I found other than blog hopping from blog roll to blog roll and then stop!! Fell head over heels for her sketchbook journal and I so absolutely NEED to do this! Of course, after coming home from our out and about-ness, I realized (lightbulb!) I already had the perfect journal stashed in my nightstand--shazah!! So now I need to go back and get the date stamper (oh heaven have mercy...Sometimes I think Bill should be prescribed Ativan rather than me just to help with putting up with me!! Bless his loving soul....) At least our adventures never end, right? That's what I'll keep telling him anyway...

I found this journal last spring in New Wilmington, PA on a much needed Girls Day Out with my Coffeez Girlz, whom I miss beyond words!! It's beautiful silky handmade paper made from Daphne Bark in Nepal. Not sure how it'll hold up to art journaling but there's always gesso and gluing in possibilities...and the bookmark was a happy matching coincidence! Shazah!! (My new word--yes, I really am completely retarded.)

On a completely unrelated note...just a few quick shots from yesterday as well:

 



Brian Rose of the Boston Red Sox talking to the kids at the baseball clinic yesterday--what a super nice guy!

My Bugga--what a super cute kid!

On the way to the beach (Fort Phoenix) just a super cool yard of rocks...and the house was pretty awesome, too. I get nervous photographing people's houses and yards, like they might think I'm casing the place to break in 'cuz I'm such a criminal like that...Seriously, what is wrong with my brain???

Beach boys! Fort Phoenix is such a great playground...there's these HUGE rocks to climb on right next to a stretch of sandy sea shell collecting beach...I love it there!

Lighthouse....I love lighthouses and plan (so many plans!) to start incorporating them into my artwork, especially the local ones (need some better close ups than this, though...you think??) Still...dreamy and romantic and wonderful...

I also love seagulls

This seaweed was so pretty swirling in the waves...

We wandered around and collected a few seashells to bring home. Just soaked up that salt air and listened to the waves rolling in...I love living here--what a gift!

One last note for my mail loving buddies!! Another stop I discovered on my blog bopping yesterday was Lindsay Ostrom's site taking sign ups for National Letter Writing Month (April!) Lindsay is accepting applicants through March 15th, then will assign pen pals to write to all month long, swapping postcards, notes, letters, photos, mail art, what have you...I think we're almost up to sixty participants, all here in the states but hoping for some overseas friends too? If anyone is interested, click on over to Lindsay's blog here and send her a quick email before sign ups are closed! Sounds like it's gonna be a super fun month of mail! And you can ask for more than one pen pal and let her know if you're okay with overseas postage or not...I can't wait--I am a mail addict!! Aside from the bills but the mailman won't keep them (and he seems so nice, otherwise!)

Happy Sunday! Happy New Week!