Nature's Got My Number

I finished my section of Designs in Nature and it's now been given to the talented hands of Seth Apter from The Altered Page to begin his interpretation of my theme. This has been a uniquely special project for me, being my first collaboration and on the theme of nature- an entity so a part of me that my greatest challenge has been to create just a few pages to express the feelings and energies that it evokes within me.

Nature

Our trusted, most astounding friend
With exceptions of it's forces gone awry
It is the most gracious of hosts.
Always welcoming, always accepting.
And is the singular relationship that we will ever have-
Where we are always a special "insider".

It's a soulful relationship
With all of our senses
With that which is before us.
Comprised of life's natural signatures
Nature's beauty is an unwritten seamless poem.

In its awe inspiring infinite variety of patterns
With unique colors, lines, dots, textures, distinct shapes
And its ever magical grace and style,
Throughout our lives, nature flirts with us.

We get signs.. at first, oh so subtle signs.
Revealing ever so slowly,
Little by little,
Then a bit more and more.
From trees with erupting multi layered buds
To flowers as gorgeous as we can ever imagine.

The sea, the incredible sea
Glimmering bright with tides rolling in and out,
White foam topped rolling waves
Sounds of music playing above us
And a golden mosaic of sand under our feet.

Sea creatures hidden under the shore,
Swimming in the vast wide blue-green ocean
Whose size we can't begin to fathom
Brimming with trillions of gorgeous shells,
Home to sea life we may never see.

Birds' nests filled with tiny baby birds eating berries
Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, the illuminating moon
Shining down on us with the brilliance of stars shining bright.
The amazing colorful rainbows, at times double rainbows
Born out of the magnificence of rain
Meeting the sun on it's journey out.

Tiny intricately woven spider webs
So perfectly shaped and spaced-
A weave of incomparable duplication.
Nature's designs, the greatest art work imaginable,
Is where my heart always finds home.

The Layers Within

I am finding our project to be both inspiring and challenging. I feel that my book and I are both literally and figuratively on a journey. As our books zig zag across the United States and Canada, we are all sharing a piece of our selves in the artwork that we create. I find the process tremendously satisfying.

I chose my theme, Distressed Elements, for several reasons. Most simply, I am mesmerized by a distressed surface - marks, scratches, dents, chips, rust, frayed edges, layers and the like speak to me. For this project, though, I also wanted to explore the layers beneath the surface. The layers within. And maybe to use this project to tap into the awareness and expression of some deeper and darker feelings. The book I have altered, Oracle Nights by Paul Auster, lends itself so well to this theme.

I have chosen to post only select images below so that when it is each artist's turn to receive the book, there will still be a sense of surprise and discovery when they open package. Some additional images can be found here on my blog, The Altered Page, as well.

On Paper Wings - Helen Keller Altered Book makes its first stop

Here are a couple of shots of the book I have been working on altering... the theme is on Helen Keller's life...She truly was a remarkable woman who defied the pessimists who said she couldn't pursue a life of academia or any of the other joys of life that most of us take for granted as privileged seeing and hearing individuals..She is an authentic role model for me, reminding me that if I set my mind, heart and soul on my dreams and any aspiration I can imagine...I can do anything ...In fact we can do anything.......I am in awe of her passion to learn to read, write and speak...and her pursuit of college and her activism & advocacy for all other individuals who could not hear or speak..She was a fine strong woman.  

I decided to call the altered book I am doing "On Paper Wings" as she over her lifetime wrote many letters to her many fans, friends and family ..and it was the letters that she both wrote and received that kept her motivated to keep her dream alive and make them into reality... and this determinism to accomplish all she did was kept on fire by the many admiring letters she received..perhaps because she knew she was making a difference in people's lives in whatever small or grand way.

The written word in all forms is a powerful element to our lives, such as the books of inspiration we read...or even the blogging world where we reach out to our virtual friends and those comments that come back help keep each one of our motivations alive to keep doing what we love the most..following my heart and passion is fueled by the ability to share and blog...so thank you to all of you for reading and sharing your thoughts and comments..it is a wonderful thing - the community of blogging.

The book is now on route to the lovely Roxanne of River Garden Studio, who is working with the theme: Earth Tones.  And I am now going to delve into the fabulous book I received from Veronica on the theme of Friendship...past, present and to come....