Spring Seems to finally be here

Here are the next group of journal spreads.  Will will post from where I left off in the last post.  Ron's heart surgery recovery is going slower as get got a bad cold. The coughing is painful with wires holding his breastbone together.  Hope that we don't see anymore snow the 3 inches last week was about more than I could handle.

April 20 at 7:06pm ·

I had fun in the studio today- I will post the backgrounds I did on spreads in this journal. It's a two sewn as one journal closed it's 6" wide x 7" tall. So the two page spreads are 12 x 7 and the fold out is 22 x 7 I made this journal 2 years ago- so now I have backgrounds so it will be fun to work in now.

April 23 at 4:03pm ·

The healing is slow but sure here- We had a backslide here with the weather- snow on the deck this morning and rain/snow mix- good day to be in the studio. Once again a passage from that book, Blessed are the Weird, really inspired me. That and a quote- . Here's the passage:
Art is alchemy. The art that changes us has this power because it first changed the artist. When the artist sits down and begins the process of transmuting raw feelings, scraps of ideas, strands of fear, and visions of what might be into a picture they are engaged in real magic. What comes from that mage's fire is gold.
This quote also stuck with me:
Until you spread your wings you will have no idea how far you can fly.

April 24 at 4:25pm ·

Thank you so much for you comments on my spreads I post here they really do mean so very much to me-. Gloomy day here- Ron woke with a cold so had to cancel cardio rehab today- I headed to the studio while he slept today in hopes of staving it off.
The spread once again is inspired from the book I keep mentioning. I loved this passage so tried to illustrate it on this spread. Here's the passage:
There are moments when the mirror sky cracks above and you see times beyond time, worlds beyond this world. Don't ignore them.

April 26 at 4:14pm ·

Well winter returned here- snow and wind and cold- I shouldn't be surprised as this often happens in April in northern Minnesota. It's only 28 right now.... yes this will pass. Ron has a cold and it so far is a head cold and hope it stays that way as coughing is not good when the breastbone is trying to knit back together. Today i was thinking about a friend that we well use to have. We were friends since the early 80s- he's in his 70s and 2 years ago fell down his stairs and had a head injury and then had a severe depression- long story short after several tries he no longer responds and I have seen him with other friends on facebook. So this quote helps some and inspired this spread. "At some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life. It's in that new journal I made it's 7" X 11". Smaller than I usually work. I printed the faces on pages from old books some old art education books.

April 27 at 6:40pm ·

I decided today was a day for some fun. I wanted to honor friends in a playful way so I made them have houses for bodies. Good friends are like being home with family so I thought it was a good symbol. There seem to be few men in the journaling world so when I met these guys it was so nice- we are from all over the country- there are 5 of us and we call our little group the Creative Gents. So this is for you guys. I feel like this group- The Stand, is a very special place and much like family. Without my dear friends- making it through Ron's heart surgery would have been very difficult and this group sure helped as well. Here's a nice quote:
Good friends help you to
find important things
when you have lost them...
your smile, your hope,
and your courage.

This is the foldout in that new journal it's 22 inches long. Thank you all for your comments and likes- it really makes me feel so good. This group is a real gift. Thank you Orly.

April 28 at 3:53pm ·

Bright beautiful sun today- bright enough to really melt a lot of the 3 inches of snow we got the other day- saw a lone wild turkey stroll through our yard space- love that. I read this quote and knew I had to do a spread. The quote is by Chief Dan George. I looked him up and he was a very interesting and talented man-an actor and poet. Here is the quote:
May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
may hope forever wipe away your tears
and above all,
may silence make you strong.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Thank you for your ongoing kindness and support.

April 30 at 5:58pm ·

Had some studio time today. I love Rumi quotes- I came across this one and I really liked it- for many reasons. I have a book titled The Illuminated Rumi - it is a book of digital collages- at least i think they are digital- anyway they illustrate quotes by Rumi. It came out in 1997. Here is the quote:
Everything in the universe is
Within You. Ask all from yourself. -Rumi

This spread is 7" X 22"

April 30 at 6:03pm ·

And I did this smaller one- this spread is 7" x 11'. I loved this quote and it is so true for me.
People don't always need advice. Sometimes all they need is a hand to hold, an ear to listen, and a heart to understand them.
Hope you all have a good week ahead.

May 1 ·

This spread is from another quote and really it is very fitting for today. Ron's cold with cough was not good and we had to go to the clinic. Got some meds for that. Things will be ok. Here's the quote and many of you are familiar with this one.
At any given moment you
have the power to say:
This is NOT how the story is going to end.

I am learning that while I can't fix things like a heart valve or make a cold go away but how I react to these things I do have control over. So instead of taking a dip in the pity pool- I am working on the positive things. He's still here- the surgery was a success and this cold is just a pothole on the healing journey.
Thanks always for your kind remarks on my spreads as I post them-