“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
@ 1964, Norman Rockwell, “The Problem We All Live With”
Thank you for sharing your dream, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For fighting the good fight. For lifting up the eyes, hearts and minds of millions with hope, peace, perseverance and integrity.
And Norman Rockwell, thank you for your brilliance.
What are your dreams? What do you really yearn for? What makes your heart smile, your toes tingle, your eyes sparkle, just imagining it were real? What thoughts bring light to your spirit and peace to your mind?
It starts with a single, shiny thought. Maybe just the whisper of an idea; maybe a booming revelation ~ maybe you overhear something on a crowded bus that sparks you to action, maybe it’s a piece of music, a taste of something delicious; maybe it’s a child’s tears or the launch of a rocket; maybe it’s the grace of a winding river or the steady power of a mountain or the freedom of a bird in flight; maybe it’s a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk. Who knows where the stuff of dreams comes from, but we all have them. Sometimes I think our job is to find the key, unlock the door and venture out towards a path we’ve always known we belonged on but didn’t know was there ~ or didn’t recognize through the bramble of life’s distractions ~ or, yes, even, with a million variations of reasoning, talked ourselves away from.
So maybe this is the year we listen more, with eyes and hearts more open; maybe this is the year we hear the rumblings in our soul with renewed anticipation, renewed interest, renewed commitment to step closer to that stuff of our dreams.
Wishing us all the brightest of dreams, the courage to honor them, and much love, laughter, health, harmony and happiness along the way. Bring it on.
“Come not between the dragon and his wrath.”
~ William Shakespeare, King Lear
I’ve been stealing some time here and there to work on my Book of Dragons, so thought I’d share a couple more glimpses. Funny thing about these, I find myself feeling attached, as if they were real…. but then again, maybe they are ~ just out of sight, across and through the veil that separates worlds… : )
Perhaps the grand lord of the decorative arts, one could think of William Morris as the craftsman’s craftsman. His uncompromising belief that the best things in life were hand-made using natural materials combined with his exquisite drawing and watercolor skills to produce a vast collection of wallpaper and fabric design still widely used today.
Early on he was dedicated to creating beautiful, hand-crafted furnishings, which led to fabric printing and then to excelling in the arts of carving, dying, embroidery, stained glass and weaving. A prolific individual, to be sure.
But ~ yes ~ there was more to this inspired man than textile design. Throughout his life he wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts. As author, illustrator and medievalist, he helped establish the fantasy genre, and was a direct influence on authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien.
Morris was born into a well-to-do family on March 24, 1834 in Essex, England, educated at Exeter College in Oxford, and was married to Jane Burden until his death in October, 1896.
Two styles. Two quotes. Two Autumns.
Autumn Leaf / © Patricia Saxton (colored pencil on paper)
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf’s a flower.” ~ Albert Camus
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Autumn Mosaic / © Patricia Saxton (acrylic and watercolor on paper)
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” ~ Stanley Horowitz
Unplugged is when you decide to stay away from all work and computer / electronic connection.
Very unplugged is when Mother Nature steps in to be sure you fulfill that intention. Something along the lines of a rainstorm. Drenching your laptop. Unrecoverable. Which is what happened to mine on my “unplugged” trip ~ just so there was no cheating, even if I’d wanted to.
The bad news, of course, was having to get a new laptop sooner than I’d hoped. The good news ~ it was a liberating 7 days. I highly recommend it. Just one caveat: be careful what you ask for. The universe just might give your request an unexpected boost!
In any event, thought I’d share a small taste of what I did instead of checking emails and monitoring facebook pages… (Thank you rainstorm?)
“I’ve been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.” ~ Steven Wright
That quote cracked me up, as my canvasses are pretty much screaming at me! But it also inspired me to share some abstracts ~ not my “typical” style, but there’s “something about them”. Maybe just their free spirit? Ah, but I’m not one for analyzing my paintings, so here goes, just because.
Pink Flower / © Patricia Saxton
Dark Sky / © Patricia Saxton
Landscape / © Patricia Saxton
Red Garden / © Patricia Saxton
Here’s to May ~ my favorite month of the year. So with a re-posting of 52 Weeks of Peace / Week #35, I lift a virtual glass and say… here’s to springtime! Here’s to new dawns, to growth and rebirth, to bright fertile dreams and the sprouting of fresh possibilities…
I’m officially excited ~ because my second book, A Book of Fairies, has virtually sold out and is being reprinted!!
A second edition. Wow, I have to admit that feels great.
My heartfelt thanks to my publisher, Shenanigan Books, for believing in me from the start with The Book of Mermaids, and to anyone and everyone who’s bought A Book of Fairies and helped make it this far. It may not have been discovered by the New York Times yet (ha ha!), but to know it’s being enjoyed by thousands of people truly, truly means the world to me. Thank you!
from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton
from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton
from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton
from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton
