My beautiful Mother and avoidance...

This was my beautiful Mother. The tiny black-haired beauty... She was born Cornelia vanderBrugge in 1926. The cute little blond next to her was her sister, Magdalena... You may be wondering why the subject is my Mom and avoidance...But I have been avoiding you because of her...You see, my sweet Mama passed away on February 11th...and I want to write a tribute to her, just the right thing, just the right words...and have several pictures of her, my favorites...But I feel inadequate to express her worth, her value to me, her beautiful life...I have things to say to you, things to show you...But until I can accomplish what I want to, they seem so petty...
She was sick a very long time...with Alzheimer's...I have written about her before and who she was to me and about her dreaded disease...She slipped away as the years went by, more and more, until all that was left of her was her body...laying in a hospital bed, day in, day out...But I still loved her and needed her and as strange as it sounds, there was still comfort that her body remained...I don't mean that in a cruel way...I wanted her to be whole again...she knew where she was going and I knew where she was going and that I would see her again when my time came... I prayed for the Lord to take her home so that she would be healed...forever...I just didn't realize that I wasn't ready, not really ready to let her go...several people have told me that you never are ready...as much as you think you are prepared, as sick as they may be...to know that on this earth you will never see their precious face again...it makes it so hard to let go...But then there comes that time, that is their time to go...and you don't have a choice...
So for today, I don't have the perfect words, the right tribute... I just have...I love you Mama, I love you still so much...and you were the best Mother to me...an incredible example...a beautiful, beautiful life...lived for the Lord...lived for others...so giving, so kind...I will miss you on this earth until I take my last breath...I thank you for everything you were, to me and others...for everything you gave...my precious, precious Mother...I would not be who i am if it had not been for you...
Good bye sweet, beautiful Connie Jane vanderBrugge Vandenberg ...
10-21-1926 to 2-11-2012...What a beautiful life, inside and out...
I sang "Fly to Jesus" to her many times...and she did.
Your loving daughter,
Marianne

Rainy Op

Here's a fun little rainy day photo op..a very shiny red truck, street lights, rain and ta-dah! A bit of silly, pleasing phone-camera fun...
Enjoy
Marianne :)

Another Encaustic piece...Mom and Dad...Random Arts and Patricia B. Seggebruch

Here is another Encaustic piece that I did yesterday at Random Arts in Saluda, with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. What fun! This piece has a photo of my Mom and Dad on their wedding day. Didn't they make a handsome couple? They were so in love, you can even see it in the photo and that is how they stayed my whole life. What a privilege I was given, to have had that beautiful, loving example. Patient, kind, giving, godly...and they so loved and accepted me... encouraged, supported, helped...prayed for me... Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you were to me, for everything you did. I carry you in my heart forever and in my life...I lost my Dad more than 22 years ago to a heart attack, and my Mom's mind and strength to Alzheimer's. Although she technically still lives, she does not know me, nor does she open her eyes. Poor, sweet little thing...

all you can leave behind my children, my friends
is the mark you have left on the lives of others... is beautiful, make it kind...M

Ps. also in this piece: blue and green fibers, pan pastels, one of my photos, a couple of old Dutch postage stamps, a vintage Dutch advertisement and words, a stamped, painted and torn scrap of an old project, a punch shape from Tim Holtz, gold Pearl ex, some metallic thread AND a lot of wax! Yes, that about covers it!
I hope you enjoy and check out:

http:randomartsnow.com
http:pbsartist.com
http:gingerfetish.blogspot.com

Marianne :)

Encaustic!

Encaustic. Sigh. Look at that beautiful texture! More to follow...
Enjoy
Marianne :)

Fun with focus...p.p.

Here's a little fun with focus point. Or I should probably say-out of focus, cause most of it is...but it's still fun to me...yes, this is a bookshelf in my home...color coordinated, stacked books...I love how it looks and have had it like this for years, changing it up a bit from time to time...but with the same ideas or basic elements in place..it's one of my favorite places to look in my house... neat and every time my eyes hit on this shelf, with two of my favorite things, COLOR and BOOKS, it gives me a restful feeling... I mean, how could you go wrong with either color OR books?!
Hope you Enjoy and comment...
Marianne :)
Yep, there it is, my name and not a letter... ;)

Blessings...

You can tell it was a beautiful day today, took several photos outside...phone pics ;)
Count your blessings, name them one by one...you'll feel better, blessed! I promise!
Enjoy!
M. :)

Furry Birds...

A furry nest is the best! p.p.( phone photos)
Enjoy
M. :)

Daffy in January...

Yes Virginia, there really are blooming daffodils in January! ;) ...sometimes...
Enjoy
M. :)

Feather Hope...(Still phone pics!)

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune-without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And in the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Enjoy...
M :)

Hydrangea Breath

A beauty of a hydrangea, in January! Got to love my local grocery store. ;)
It feels like a breath of fresh Spring air. Now I won't be holding mine till Spring or Summer since I got to enjoy a taste of it here...
Enjoy!
M. :)

Just for fun...PP ( Phone Pic) of course!

This ones just for fun... Because I like to be silly and we all need come comic relief at times! My son accidentally broke the top off this glass bottle and brought it up to show me. Don't throw it away I said, I want to take pics of it. Of course, I try not to miss an opportunity! Even if it's silly...Oh well, I like it...;)
Laughter doeth good like a medicine... :-0
Enjoy!
M. :)

Fun with Phone Photos...

I'm really have fun with this "Phone Pics" self challenge! It's amazing how your eyes are opened to new things and ideas when you look at them in a new way, through a new lens. Pun intended. ;) So far, I've only had a couple of problems. Number one, I dropped my phone yesterday and totally shattered the back of it. That was the bad news. The good news is that I have insurance and I could still use it to chronicle my day. Also, after a lot of hassle today and shards of glass breaking off, it's fixed! I need this tool now, it's my camera of choice and we are joined at the hip. ;) The second "problem" is that I'm having a hard time picking just one favorite pic of the day! There are so many that I like. So, I'll probably be posting more than one most days...and I hope you will
Enjoy!
M. :)

Unfettered...Phone Pic of the Day

So far I'm loving this 'challenge'! Day two (actually I've taken pics everyday this year ;) Anyway, who would have thought it would be this fun and that one could think of a thousand, well hopefully 365 ways of being really creative with a phone? I'm actually excited and really looking forward to this...I may have to post more than one pic a day, I'm having a hard time choosing just one!
Are you stretching yourself creatively?
Enjoy!
M. :)

Wishful Thinking...Phone Pic of the Day challenge

Phone Pic of the Day. (Yes again!) I decided to make it a challenge for myself. Instead of fretting and apologizing that it IS a PHONE PIC, why can't I try to take different, interesting and hopefully unusual or beautiful phone photos every day? I always have my phone on me, don't we all? And with all the options that are available, why not? Yes, WHY ever NOT? This way, I'm not lugging around one of my cameras, different lenses, or bags and at the end of the day, I don't have to upload photos to my computer...Hum... Sounds interesting and easy! It's seems almost sacrilegious though for a self confessed photography nut, megapixal maniac, color crazy, art loving "artist" and photo perfectionist to decide to take PHONE pictures everyday. Really? Yes! Therein lies the real challenge. Stretch yourself, even with something that is subpar or less than one is used to. Make something good, hopefully really good, out of something functional. Ok, I may come to regret this, but for now, here goes! Care to join me? Today, my favorite PHONE pic of the day is called, Wishful Thinking. I'm quite happy with it. Love it actually. It just makes me want to laugh. Cute Kitty...
Enjoy!
M. :)

Orchid...Pic O' the Day...

It's a phone pic again! Instagram...
Enjoy!
M. :)