Tag: art

Perfection

by susanbradfordart, posted in Mandala Art

This jellyfish was so beautiful!  Hanging out on the clear, cold water on a semi-cloudy day.  It could change almost instantly from a deep pink blob to this glowing circle, this flower from the sea.  A mandala made by nature, so beautiful in its soft pink perfection, its petals softly being moved by the water all around it.

There’s a part of me that wants to be able to paint that jellyfish exactly.  To capture each detail, even though that is not my style and I’d never capture what my eye could see.  It was so fascinating to look at and seemed to say come closer, come closer.  Look at me.  Let me entice you. Please enjoy my beauty.

But I remembered that the jellyfish could sting me.   This perfect circle could be deadly.  So I kept my distance.  This was not my mandala.  It didn’t belong to me.  I think that I’ll paint the essence of it.  I’ve felt into its perfect world and transformed just a little part of it into my own.  It’s color and form are part of me now.  Both the blob and the lovely under water  flower.  All one.

 

Watching…

by susanbradfordart, posted in Mandala Art

orca drawing

 

 

Watching myself…

as I procrastinate getting back into the studio after being in Water Gap for two weeks.  Yes, we have wonderful company to distract me.  Yes, it is a very busy time.  Yes, there are many weeds in the garden.  And yes, there is a knowing that I need life and some rest right now to feed what can happen in the studio.  So I watch myself without judgment (or at least try to keep those judgmental feelings to a minimum).

Watching the whales…

though the Orca “killer” whales are really in the dolphin family and have that same special power of communication.  For the first time since we have lived here, motivated by having our friends visiting, we took a whale watch tour.  It was totally magical!  A very special voyage with two Orcas choosing to come as close as thirty feet from the boat.  We also saw two whales breaching (not so common) and felt so honored.  And we saw the 100 year old Granny Whale with her daughter and grandchildren.  Oh my!  Not even one good photo, but no matter.  It is all in my heart and in every cell of my body.  And it has everything in the world to do with making art.

Too much watching?

Inside, outside, upside down.  Start to Be more.  Be the watching.  Take the lesson from the whales.  All the rest is gone!

from tree to shining tree

by susanbradfordart, posted in Mandala Art

Here I am at home after a mere twenty eight-hour journey from the East to the West.  From the amazing willow tree across from the Deer Head in Delaware Water Gap to the huge cedar tree outside of our house.  From  a sultry Tuesday to a sunny breezy Wednesday.  From celebrating the Solstice in Anita/Interplay style to embracing summer Orcas style.  From Reiki Reiki Reiki to Art Art Art.  Time to shift my focus once again.  Making art here on Orcas and playing in the glorious garden.  Practicing Reiki in PA and feeling so happy that the art gets seen.  Thank you Delaware Water Gap!  Hello Orcas!

Being a Tourist

by susanbradfordart, posted in Mandala Art

 

 

 

 

 

On Memorial Day, I met my cousins in Seattle.  In seven years, I’d only been to Pike’s Market once.  Now I’ve been there twice.  Had drinks for the first time at a well-known Seattle Irish pub called Kell’s.  Rode the Monorail.  First time.  And from there went to the top of the Space Needle.  All fun to do.  Being a tourist wasn’t so bad.  From the Space Needle, I could see the Olympic Mountains and it was comforting to know that my home lay beyond them to the North.

I took a ton of pictures from the top.  What interested me the most was to find a shape or a color that drew my attention from far so above, and then to zero in on it with my camera and to see what happened.  These two photos have not been cropped or edited.  Some of them feel like living mandalas or mandalas in the making.   We’ll see.

Today was the day…

by susanbradfordart, posted in Mandala Art

I had it all planned.  It was a cold and rainy Wednesday.  I was caught up with emails.  I had just finished sending out a mandala that someone had commissioned, and I had gone through the mail.  It was time for some more coffee and then I was going to settle down and whip out four garlic baskets this afternoon.  The material for them has been sitting out for days now, and every day I think that I’ll get to them and I don’t.  Every day is going to be the day

But the plan didn’t quite work out.  At 3 pm, Kaegan and Melody (Dennis’s son and his girlfriend) called to say that they were just about to get on the ferry.  Not that I wasn’t totally thrilled that they were on their way, but we thought that they were going to be staying in Seattle tonight and coming out tomorrow.

So instead of garlic baskets, I made bread, dusted, vacuumed, mopped, did laundry, changed sheets, picked flowers, and cooked dinner.  I also hugged and kissed, got hugged and kissed, talked, listened, laughed, shared and felt wonderfully joyful.

It’s now 2 am.

As for the garlic baskets, maybe tomorrow will be the day….

PS:  Happy Birthday, Anita!