“Beloved Jar of Lemons” 2015 – Watercolour on Watercolour paper
(Trying to be a little formal with my informal art.)
Now that basketball and volleyball tournament season is over in our house, we are officially home on the weekends!
Every Saturday, I have decided to take 15 minutes to paint something beautiful that lives in my home.
Today is our beloved jar of lemons.
This is mostly inspired by a video on Maira Kalman, a favourite illustrator of mine.
She is a visual storyteller. (I love love love that occupational title.)
And in the video, she says a couple things that made me want to paint today:
“Daydreaming is a function of the brain that’s an uncensored exploration, without controlling it, of ideas and emotions.”
“Copying is my way of learning.”
“What I need is an assignment and something to hold on to and then I can do it the way I want to do it.”
“The moments inside the moments inside the moments…”
I must admit I had shivers watching the video. My heart this morning told me to paint with reckless abandon with a 15 minute time limit so I couldn’t dilly-dally with the details and just jump in.
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Another inspiration for this new weekly habit was this article on Hygge, written by Kara Anderson for Simple Homeschool.
The gist? Making ordinary things EXTRAORDINARY.
Like say, a jar of lemons. Not only is it our jar of lemons, it is a very beloved jar of lemons. I greet the day first by drinking a lemon water concoction (lemon, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, himalayan pink salt). And the kids drink warm water with lemon. Lemons are added to the green juices we make. A splash of lemon or lime in soda water sipped through a fancy straw can give a new meaning to afternoon recess in our house.
Looking around my home, there are many objects that serve many purposes beside their true function.
Ordinary things with extraordinary stories waiting to be told.
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Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. – Plutarch
My good friend, Brooke, has been doing a poetry a day over at her blog, Violicious. This mom of 5 has been writing a poem every day for National Poetry Month. Some of my favourites: 3, 11, 12, 19, 21. Reading her poetry is like watching a cloud pass by. Sometimes there is a definite shape that you can cling to while sometimes it morphs when you least expect it, catching you off guard. It’s this emotion beneath the words that have inspired me to try to capture the essence of my life, right now, in a visual form.
Thanks B!
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And speaking of poetry, there is this by Derek Walcott. Again, shivers.
“Sit. Feast on your life.”
What more is there to say?
Have a great weekend!!!
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