Thanksgiving in Ojai ...

I am so grateful today! Of course we should be grateful every day, not just Thanksgiving,  but sometimes it's easy to get busy and focus and what we need, or think we need, instead of what we have right here, right now. We forget to really focus on all of the blessings in our lives and we need a reminder. Maybe I should just speak for myself but I think Thanksgiving is a great reminder day. It's a little like Valentine's day. People say, "Well, you should show love every day and be romantic all year..." but again, some of us can use a little reminder.

Gratitude List

I am grateful for...

My wonderful family

For my loving parents and sister

My hilarious nieces and sweet nephew

and for my 9 year old parrot Beatrice

I'm grateful that I still have a grandmother (and she's awesome)

That I have amazing, supportive friends

That I am not in the hospital

That I can get to the bathroom in the middle of the night without help!

That I am less than 13 miles from 6 museums

That I live in a city wear I can get every kind of food under the sun

and even have it delivered

That I have been blessed to travel in Europe and Asian and Africa ...

I am grateful for my cozy antique bed and down comforter

For the can of pink paint that will soon be on my bathroom walls

For art classes

My books, camera, art supplies and iMac

My cute apartment, farmers markets, dinner with friends, caller ID

and Netflix

For spicy tuna handrolls, avocados, Sante Fe Chicken burritos and dark chocolate

(but not at the same time!)

For Ella, Frank and Dean, Bob Marley and Elton John

For belly dance music and Mozart

I am grateful I live in California

In the United States

That I can vote and speak out and stomp my feet

I am grateful that Rhinos and Cheetahs and Snow Leopards are still on the planet

And we still have a chance to save them.

I am grateful to be on this earth, at this time

I am grateful be alive

I am grateful

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings and love and light

to you and your family!

What are you grateful for?

Back from San Diego!

I have been absent from my computer because I was off to San Diego for an amazing, extra long weekend! I visited with friends, ate ridiculous amounts of food, took pictures (of course!), and made jewelry with my hilarious and sweet friend Erin who I met in my very first acting class ever. We did a scene from the Importance of Being Earnest in full costume and became friends for life.

There was also a good amount of party dress hunting for my friend Kristen. She is having one of those landmark birthdays when it hits you how fast time has gone and you realize that magnifying mirrors are evil.

These picture were taken in Escondido after a Charger party.  Apparently they kicked some booty but I was busy sticking my head in the guacamole bowl and taking pictures of my friend's daughter McKenna.  I am convinced she is made up of faery dust and magic.  I will definitely be posting a couple of those.

Just to be is a blessing.

Just to live is holy.

~Rabbi Abraham Heschel

Basilica di Santa Chiara

The steeple on the right is part of the Basilica of Saint Claire.  I took a photo of it last year on a hike up from San Damiano, which is just below Assisi.  (It's where St. Francis heard God speak to him from a cross and Claire and her followers made their home and lived until her death in 1253.)  I was huffing and puffing trying get myself up the hill but still managed to somehow take in the view and photograph it.

Last Saturday I went back for another pastel class in Ojai and as is so often the case, I found inspiration from my memories and photographs of Italy.  It's a pretty dark photo in the foreground with the grove of olive trees but light sort of illuminates the Basilica and gives it an otherworldly quality. Hopefully a bit  of that came through in the drawing.

Basilica di Santa Chaira November 2009

Today was the last day of my memoir class and it was bittersweet.  It's sad when a class ends (if you like the class!) but it was wonderful to hear how far all of our stories had come.  It was so moving hearing each persons' story ... the courageousness and vulnerability was inspiring.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Is it a place on the planet or a place in your mind?

Heading to Ojai this weekend for another pastel workshop, although I am feeling nervous about leaving! I had an audition today and the callback is tomorrow.  If I stay, it's the kiss of death ... I probably won't get called back.  If I go? I may get a call in the morning and have to turn right around and head back to L.A.  If I go up there and don't get called back then at least I get to enjoy the class and seeing my family.  So?  Off I go!

"Look for your miracles.  Hope for the best.  

But when you can't change what you're going through, 

let the simple, quiet, daily miracle of acceptance find you."

~Melody Beattie

from Journey to the Heart

Brussels Sprouts. Who knew?

I know this isn't really the kind of thing I normally post, but for some reason I am feeling the need to share my new found love of brussels sprouts.  It's all in the makin' and crazy simple.  I was at my aunt and uncle's for dinner during the summer and they made them this way ... I don't mean to be dramatic but it was a revelation and I have been making them constantly ever since.  

Cut off the bottoms.

Leaf them.

Throw them in the pan with olive oil and turn on the heat.

Squeeze on some lemon juice.

Throw in the zest from the lemon.

Toss in toasted pine nuts. 

Wait for everything to get a little wilty but not brown

Done.

Yum.  Seriously.  

You can also use a grapefruit or a lemon/orange combo.

Did everyone but me know about this all along? If so, don't tell me! I feel a bit like I have been missing out!  :o)

What Lies Within ...

What lies behind us and what lies before us

are tiny matters,

compared to what lies within us.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

November 2009

Kilimanjaro

After taking an amazing pastel workshop last month, I decided I needed to get to work on another piece while I could still remember the techniques!  

I worked from old photos I took in Kenya many years ago with my family.  I was twenty. We were staying at this amazing little place called the Kilimanjaro Safari Lodge. My sister and I shared a one room cabin with dark wood planked walls and mosquito nets covering our beds that would glow at night by the tiny lamp on the small table between our beds.

Outside our room was a big bushy tree that monkeys would use as a jungle gym, chasing each other from limb to limb and occasionally grabbing a branch and using it as a sort of a sling shot and another monkey would go flying.  It was endlessly entertaining and I had never been so happy or more comfortable anywhere in my life. 

The sky was such an intense blue and the land glowed a bright gold in the afternoon sun.  I fantasize about going back someday ... until then, I will take my memories and love for this beautiful place and put them on paper.

"I see my path, 

but I don't know where it leads.

Not knowing where I'm going 

is what inspires me to travel it."

~Rosalia de Castro

Vancouver Island Marmot

I am working, as I've mentioned before, on a series of endangered species paintings and drawings.  So the "endangered species of the month" is, you guessed it ... a Vancouver Island Marmot.  

They are found only on ... well, Vancouver Island. What you may not know, is that he is one of the worlds most Endangered Animals and that there are less than 100 left in the wild.  If you'd like to know more about this cute little guy or even help him out, you can check out Marmots.org!

Vancouver Island Marmot, Pen and Ink 2006

"When we try to pick out anything by itself,

we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."

~John Muir

Dia de los Muertos

Last night, my friend Rachel and I headed out on the the metro to the oldest part of Los Angeles. We were off to Olvera Street for the  Dia de los Muertos  celebration! 

I got a bit carried away here and obviously had some trouble editing! Not that my little point and shoot camera takes great nighttime shots but I just love what is behind the images.  There is something so poignant and a bit magical about this 3,000 year old ritual of Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). I love the idea of celebrating and honoring our loved ones and ancestors; creating rituals and altars with photographs and favorite foods ... candles and marigolds. It's beautiful.

"To live in hearts we leave behind 

Is not to die."

~Thomas Cambell

This altar was for the thousands of those that have lost their lives from denial of health coverage.  The names, photos and mementos "represent those who were insured by the largest health insurance corporations in America yet were denied services, claims and/or had their insurance taken away by the very same companies."  Many were very young ...


I love these small, intimate altars. They are so lovely and very moving.

Today is the perfect day 

to remember our loved ones

  who have passed on.

Most of all 

it is a time to reflect with gratitude, 

on all they have given us.

1970s Halloween

Before settling in last night to watch True Blood (which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way! Very sexy except the scary, bald, tattooed vampire! Creepy, creepy.) I went through a box of old photos. I was hunting for the first of these photos but ran across a couple more.

My parents used to go every year to this big Halloween party with all their friends. My sister Penny and I would stand there in awe of our very cool parents as they took pictures before they left. It all seemed so glamorous! Especially when they went as Elton John and the Rhine Stone Cowgirl. I think we must have stood there with our mouths hanging open. Those are actually my Dad's glasses under the sequined cover my mom made. Aren't they cute?

Elton John and the Rhinestone Cowgirl 1977 (a.k.a. Mom and Dad)

Me and my Sister ... (I am the drama queen on the left)

Here we are photographed at my grandparents house in Anaheim and not looking very happy. Maybe we knew about the terrible 70s photo processing.

And now ... leaving lovely October ...

"O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being.

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing."

~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Hope you had a great Halloween!

Boo!

Looks like I will be staying in.  Frankly, the thought of being out in a 15 mile radius of West Hollywood sounds like a scary Halloween nightmare (and not in a good way) plus I haven't been feeling so hot this week. 

Anyway, I will be staying at home, candles lit and watching scary vampires.  I mean, I guess they are scary.  I rented the first season of "True Blood" on Netflix at the enthusiastic recommendation of my friend Lisa, who right now seems to be having a little vampire obsession.  Plus a friend from my drawing class did a couple of episodes so it'll be fun to see her with fangs!  At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Tomorrow is Dia de los Muertos and if I am feeling tip top ... I am going to find some marigold filled festivities.  Perhaps Olvera Street?  I found this blog L.A. Eastside, that has all sorts of events around town.  Check it out if you're in the L.A. Neighborhood!

Happy Halloween!

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted;

One not be a house;

The brain has corridors surpassing

Material place."

~Emily Dickinson

(So true Emily, so true.)

Love David Hockney

I am so inspired by artists who find a new way of expressing themselves wherever they happen to be or whatever new medium they happen to find.  David Hockney has a new passion ... check it out this audio slideshow from New York Review of books by Lawrence Weschler.

Here's the link!

"David Hockney's iPhone Passion"

"The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty,

you know you're an artist."

~David Hockney

(Love that quote! And now? I want an iPhone)

Flowers on my dresser ...

These roses were given to me by sweet Sharon who works at my agency. She was selling roses at the farmers market two weekends ago when I was shopping for veggies. They were so lovely on my dresser and somehow brought so much life to my room. Lovely, no? The colors in these roses were so beautiful! They looked antique! They just took my breath away.  Hmm, a pastel perhaps?

I think flowers are a wonderful splurge.  Get flowers for someone or get them for yourself! They make things feel special ... a celebration in a vase! 

"I'd rather have roses on my table

than diamonds on my neck."

~Emma Goldman

Pastel Workshop

My Mom and I spent last Saturday at a pastel workshop in Ojai at Bert Collins' studio. What an amazing teacher! I have never taken a pastel class. I usually just wing it ... which is a little tough when I am trying to teach other people how to do it! I usually think of it in terms of painting, but it's nice to know some of the actual technical clues to this medium. I have to say though, It will take a while before I am doing something really expressive without having to really think about what I'm doing every step of the way.

In this piece I did the same basic composition Bert did in her templet. (previous post) It saved time so I could focus on the technique, however I decided to make my drawing an end of summer/fall scene. Nice memory of our October day in Ojai. Mom and I had a blast and Bert Collins is one truly amazing woman! She is such a joy and truly a light.

"Just before the death of flowers,

And before they are buried in snow,

There comes a festival season

When nature is all aglow."

~ Author Unknown

"Today, I allow myself to be aided and guided

by those who have gone before.

Just as the mighty tree springs from the tiny seed,

my full flowering is rooted

in all that have gone before me.

I celebrate the continuity of life.

I am part of a larger whole and it is a part of me."

~from Transitions by Julia Cameron

East Africa

Kenya is one of my top two places I've been in the world.  It is breathtaking and the people were incredible.  They'd wave and shout "Jambo!"  ... a friendly hello even when you were just driving by in your truck.  

They are having their worst drought in over a decade and of course the fear is that things are going to get much worse.  If you want to know more and wish to help, please click on the link below.  Thanks!

Masaii ~ Kenya 1989

Click on this link to help!
How to Help East Africa's Drought-Affected Areas - The World Newser

Drawings again ...

Finally posting some drawings again. This is Maude.  She's French. What you can't see in these  pictures is that women the world over have surgeries to look like Maude ... her figure is like something that you would see carved in marble.

Maybe in my next life.  

October 2009

October 2009

Time to share more work of the Sufi poet Hafiz... this is just an excerpt.

All the Hemispheres

Leave the familiar a while.

Let your senses and body stretch out ...

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence 

Lie beside an equator

In your heart ...

from The Subject Tonight is Love:

60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

For more Hafiz Poetry... go HERE

Lovely October Garden

Here are a few photos I took last weekend at my sister's place in Ojai.  I am so behind on posting photos! I was up until 2am last night writing for my memoir class, which was this morning. I went back to read what I wrote and wondered, Does anyone care about this stuff?  Our teacher is great at reminding us that everyone's story is important and it's being honest and telling our story in our own voice that makes it interesting.  A few minutes ago I opened Melody Beattie's book, that I often quote from on this blog, and found a quote that puts it beautifully.

"Live your life from your heart.

Share from your heart.

And your story will

touch and heal people's souls."

~Melody Beattie

from Journey to the Heart

Lovely color ... almost ready!

My nephew, who is four years old, picks and eats the snap peas right out of the garden!

"Delicious Autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird 

I would fly about the earth

 seeking the successive autumns."

~George Eliot

Back to the Getty Center ... Finally!

It was a glorious day last Thursday when I decided to head West over to the Getty Center. It's great to go with people but I aIso love going alone.  As soon as the tram headed up the side of the hill to the Center I was so happy.  It was like I was ten and going to Disneyland. (Actually, I still get just as excited going to Disneyland as I did when I was ten.) I wondered around a bit, then sat in the cafeteria, looking out the huge windows at the view, as I ate my tacos.  I checked out the visiting exhibits then sat by the big fountain in the middle of all those stone buildings and pulled out my sketchbook.  Absolutely fantastic.  Don't hate me.

It is a great place to take a date (very romantic) and of course out-of-towners love it, but it's also a wonderful place to spend the day by yourself.  There is usually some sort of interesting photography exhibit happening (right now it's Irving Penn) or drawing exhibit going on (Capturing Nature's Beauty:  Three Centuries of French Landscapes. Lovely!) Plus, they have a great cafeteria. (Love those tacos!)

Henry Moore Sculpture

Another Henry Moore "Draped Reclining Mother and Baby" 1983

"What is real, 

what is unreal?

What lifts the corners of your mouth...

trust that."

~Hafiz