Learning...

I love to learn. I like to try and learn something new everyday. I love to learn something about art or photography and to experiment with what I've learned...So fun!
The photo below is not altered, just taken through a glass dome. I like the colors( instagrams) and just the tiny curved camera details. I left a corner of the kitchen table, on purpose, just to show you where I was... Just for fun.
Enjoy.
Marianne :)

Bald Head Rock

This weekend we took a lovely drive over the mountain into SC. We stopped at Bald Head Rock. Sadly I had never seen it before, but I will be returning. It's stunning. This has a bit of drama added to it to make it pop.
Enjoy
Marianne :)

Shelves 5 and 6

Shelves 3, 4 and 5

Top 2 shelves...

With a very bright vintage camera flash...The art to the left is an Encaustic board with my parents wedding photo and a lot of other details. There are close ups of it in an earlier post if you are interested...

Tah-Dahhhh! After photos

It's finished! Four days worth and many hours... Not in a row. Mostly. Three hours on the last day...Anywho, I love how it turned out! Very artsy. And colorful. Very colorful. Lots and lots of books. You may be asking yourself why I have so many books. Several reasons...A-1) I am admittedly a book nut. I might need to go to Book Lovers Anonymous... I was: 1)A Homeschool mom for many years... 2) Had Six kids 3) We used Sonlight Books and they have awesome books and a lot of them in their program. 4) I love Books 5) I love color. My second hand books are often bought according to color. Did I mention that I love books? A few more close ups coming, hopefully that will be in focus... ;)

At this point...

At this point, I'm like-what in the world have I gotten myself into? You can see that I have started to put the books into color coordinated piles... I believe this is the second day...Not kidding...
Continued...

"Inbetween" Project...

Another before project pic. It's a bit bright I know. Also, the shelves did not start out looking this totally unorganized. There were books going all the way across. I had already been taking things off the shelves. But just to give you an idea...I get into perfectionism at this point. It's some thing I've almost given up in my art work ;) But these clean up projects, OH my! I have to vacuum every inch of every book. Six sides on every book. Vacuum every inch of shelves. Wet wipe every inch. Dry every inch...
Continued...
PS. If you are noticing the 4x4 pics to the left, you'll have to look for a future post. (Very near future)...

Bookcase Project - Before

This is the "before" photo (phone pic) of my huge bookshelf redo. It may not look large to you but, oh was it a job! I don't change things very often. I mean, my friends would probably argue with me about that. I do change window displays and tablescapes quite a bit. But before we painted the living room last year, I'd had the same wall paper up for 23 years. Not kidding. I love the color now. It feels so calm when I walk into the room. So fresh. Well it was really time to refresh the bookcase also. I didn't realize what a a project it would be but I am very happy with its outcome...
Continued...

Gift

Today is a gift, yesterday too, tomorrow is uncertain, it's all up to you. But if I have tomorrow and all that may be, of this I am sure, that this is the key: Everything that I have, everyone that I love, every tiny and large thing is all from above...
Thank you
mvw

Vintage Candy

What can I say about this one? Drool...Vintage Eye Candy...
Enjoy
Marianne :)

Vintage Cameras...

I love, love, LOVE vintage cameras! Here is my current ( kitchen) table display. Sliver tray, cameras, pedestal, more vintage cameras :) ,and a glass dome. A camera pic, some altering magic, and there you have it. Vintage camera deliciousness!

Wish...

I miss my Mama...

Though I would not wish her back into a broken and suffering body...Or would I take her from the joys of heaven... I just wish I could take care of her again, just for at least a day or so... I wish I could hold her papery thin, soft and warm hand...I wish I could tell her that I love her... I know she knows. I do. And I feel her in the blessing of getting to be a Mama myself, and an Oma now. That's how I'm passing on her legacy...Her legacy of love... I would say, rest in peace my sweet Mama, but I hope she's not resting...I hope she is dancing and singing with all her might! I hope she is laughing and talking again... Enjoy my sweet Mama!  

Marianne

Sent from my iPad

A little bit of yumminess...

Here is a simple but delicious gluten free snack/ dessert. Glutino has some amazing chocolate-covered- gluten free pretzels. Yum! I love them but do not buy them often because they are dangerous for me if you know what I mean! One of my daughters is not gluten free and I have to fight her for this treat...I have been out of them for way too long and then, I discovered an alternative. A yummy one. Another dangerous thing. Anyway, I saw this dark chocolate cream cheese. From Philadelphia, no less, so it has to be good...Ok, I have to stop right there. Dark. Chocolate. Cream. Cheese. Yes. To all of the previous. THEN, add them together and stick a salty, crunchy pretzel into the mix and you have: heaven. Ok, not heaven BUT, a chocolate-y, salty-creamy-crunchy delight! Deliciousness!
Enjoy!
Marianne :)

Pinterest!

So I'm a little slow in coming to Pinterest...ok, a LOT slow! I mean half the female population has been pinning for, I don't know how long! And what I have been missing! The world will never be the same for me... Being a very visual person that LOVES color, and well, stuff, it's just a load of fun...See you on Pinterset!
Enjoy
Marianne. :)
ps. The photo below is an altered photo of an encaustic piece that I did this year. Lots of color, and my words... :)

Pretty in (mostly) pink...

Just adding a few of my loves together...flowers, especially hydrangeas and cone flowers, (though i will probably have a new favorite this year), drawing, creating one of my Curlie Girls, photography and altering my photographs...
Enjoy...
Marianne :)

Photo Fun with "Little Owl"...

I'm having way too much fun photographing my new (and only) grand son this week... My mind can not stay still with all the creative and crazy ideas that are popping through it! I'm also enjoying...holding, feeding, burping, cuddling, admiring...lovely... Such a sweet time...What a blessing and gift a child is...
Thank you LORD for Wylie Jackson...
Enjoy...( I certainly am! )
Marianne :) :)

Bloom! Journal page...

One stamp, many colors...This is a simple journal page where I took a favorite stamp and placed it in random places on the page...I had an idea in mind, make a different "flower" from each stamp, with different shapes and colors...I tried to make them all as individual as could be, with the face as the common theme... See how the amount of ink and shading of the faces actually makes them look more intense or innocent? Anyway, just a bit of black ink, one "baby" stamp as I call it, a sharpie pen ( fine, non-bleeding) and AquaMarkers make for a fun, easy and relaxing journal page, card or small art piece...The sky's the limit!
Hope you Enjoy,
I did!
Marianne :)

I AM AN ARTIST! SUZI SAYS SO!

I am an Artist. Suzi says so!
I remember the first time I saw this, heard her say this... I am referring to the fabulously talented Suzi Blu! I was sick, in bed and depressed a couple of years ago and stumbled onto Suzi's great YouTube videos and then her website... I watched her videos over and over again, so attracted to her art and style... and when I heard this statement, something in me was set free... I didn't have to be trained in art school, have graduated from art college... I could just be me, little ol' me, drawing, painting, crafting, majorly enjoying these things and be an Artist! It didn't matter that I was a Mom too and wife and that I had dedicated many years to bringing up kids, throwing birthday parties, making painted T-Shirts and custom cakes and homemade hair bows...Singing, teaching, cooking, crafting, taking pictures, decorating my home, gardening, raising chickens and making a cozy place to live...It didn't matter because...I was an Artist too!
I took Suzi's online drawing class and ended up getting to meet with her several times. ( I wrote about this last year in a couple of LONG blogs.)...Anyway, I will continue on this subject in the next couple of posts but I just wanted to tell you that I got her AMAZING new book this week from Amazon and this picture and her statement are in it. I highly recommend this delightful and beautiful book, it comes with a video too but I have been SO into the book that I haven't even had a chance to view it, yet...
From: MIXED MEDIA GIRLS with Suzi Blu
"I AM AN ARTIST! SUZI SAYS SO! Yes...you. Little and meek, wanting so very badly to make beautiful paintings, you think, "Who am I to do this?"..."
"YOU ARE AN ARTIST! And if you don't believe it yet, believe that I believe!" Suzi Blu

Thanks Suzi, for the vote of confidence, for sharing your skill, for your fun videos, for teaching us, for believing in us and setting us free to draw, paint and enjoy and for your wonderful new book!
Enjoy...And go order that book!
Marianne :)

Mason...part 1

Dear Ball Perfect Mason Jar, how I love thee! I love the bubbles captured forever in your shining glass, I love your raised letters that reflect the light and show off who you are...I love how you look so good, just sitting around being yourself! It doesn't matter weather you are in the kitchen, living room or bathroom, people just can't help but notice how handsome you are...I love how anything that you are holding looks extra special, from buttons to cotton balls, you are always dressed so smartly. But Mr Mason, my very favorite thing about you is that you are an incredible shade of blue, and oh how I love blue! You are that snappy peacock blue, that look-how-good-I-look-today-kind-of blue...that kind that looks so great on its own...
(see Mason part 2 below)...

Mason...part 2

...and holding flowers!
Enjoy!
Marianne :)

"Working" on...

So this is one of the things I've been working on lately... I should say "playing", because that is what it feels like, pure pleasure!! These are Twinkling H2o's, just dabbled in the general shape of a flower... Then I come back, and this is the REALLY fun part, with a Fine Sharpie and start "picking" flowers! Hummm, what type flower does this one remind me of? And I start outlining, adding details... I'm not quite finished with this one and I'm showing that on purpose. In the top right hand corner of the first rectangle, you can see some unfinished flowers. I've already decided that they will be poppies, but just for illustration sake, I'm showing them to you undone...
Hope you Enjoy!
Marianne :)

My Big "Little" news....

I'm very happy to announce that a new, beautiful little life has entered this world: His name is Wylie Jackson and he has completely captured my heart. ( And ALL my camera lenses, believe me!) The fact that I am his Oma (Dutch for Grandma), makes it amazingly special! I feel much too young to be a Grandma, but I wouldn't change this love and feeling for him for anything in the world!
Welcome to this imperfect world little guy, you just made it a whole lot more beautiful!
Love from Oma...
And Enjoy from Marianne :) :)

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. :)

Journal page... T.H2o's

This is the companion journal page to the flowers below(2pics). The water colors are Twinkling H2o's, of course! :) I like that in this photo you can actually see the sparkles...Vibrant!
Enjoy...
M. :)

Good in Life...

More Flowers...

I am so loving water colors, ink and flowers lately, I can't get enough of them. ( Or should I say, make?) This is in my current favorite journal. It's a water color Moleskine and will take just about any medium. It doesn't buckle or warp, wonderful! I'm really experimenting with the water colors also and have tried about 5 different varieties. I'll post the types. My favorite ink pen is a thin Sharpie! Anyway, it is great fun and I hope you...
Enjoy
ps. This is a phone pic. I feel like I need to put up a disclaimer when I use one. Because, well, I am pretty picky about my photos since that is one of my main art forms...
M. :)

Art Projects in Progress...

See, I have been "Arting" as my son calls it! This is a piece that I'm working on for a friend. Hum, haven't named it, what would you call it? It is Twinking H2Os(water color) and ink...
Enjoy!
Marianne :)

New Beginning...Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year!
I choose this photo because it signifies new beginning to me...The light pouring out of the dark clouds seems to be saying, "There is hope"..."There is a new beginning, a fresh tomorrow"...and I do love beginnings, fresh starts, starting over, hoping, wishing, praying, planning, charting, journaling...moving on, going forward...making lists! Oh, how I love to make lists, check it off, that feeling of accomplishment! Now, that's not saying that I always accomplish, I often fail, try, trip, stumble, try again, cry, yell out of frustration, forget, forgive and try again...I love beginnings, but often find it hard to get to the finish line... Not because I do not care or plan well, not because I am lazy, but most often because I over plan, over commit and run out of energy or steam...So why do I still love beginnings? Because I love HOPING! Hope...A beautiful word, an even more beautiful concept...A light at the end of the tunnel, a rainbow after the rain, laughter after sorrow, wellness after pain...A hope for tomorrow, fresh, new, happy...Light streaming through the dark clouds...
May 2012 be a beautiful year for you, full of hope and blessings, full of laughter and joy, and yes, full of plans and accomplishments!
Enjoy
M. :)