End of the lilacs

My garden lilacs are spread around. First the purple one behind the studio blooms, then the paler lilacs in the opposite corner of yard, and then the whites in a row of 4, one old one and three that are still getting established after their second winter. One of the white ones alongside the house tried to bloom several times during the winter and was set back each time by frosts and or storms. It did not have much of a spring bloom, but this one was lovely.

An indoor plant

A friend gave me an amaryllis bulb this year and I've been tending it patiently. This was my reward. Aren't they beautiful?

Spring in my garden

I love Springtime. I love planting and digging and pruning. Here are some pics of hidden treasures in my little garden. Let me tell you what inspired my garden. When we were kids, my brother and I were trick or treating on a street we were not familiar with. Some other kids threatened us and we ran and hid behind a house at the end of the street. Scared as I was, it made an indelible impression on me. It had gravel paths and trees and it was like a wonderland to me. Decades later, I looked at it again and it had the same effect. So, I decided someday I'd have a garden with no lawn, but instead gravel paths between flower beds. I wanted to create little vignettes and surprises scattered around. My garden is very small, but it is chock full of flowers and wonderful greenery. Since I gave up o n assemblage as an art form, I put some of the treasures I'd planned to use in assemblage into the garden. I'll take pics of them one day. For now, this is for you to enjoy. My friend Jean was here the other day for a first visit, and she said now she understands my art so much better. This is a mixed media garden.

New works

These are new works. The bird one was started at the Senior Center and finished off at home. The Man of Sorrow was done awhile back, and I was never satisfied with it, so I dug it out yesterday, added the turquise color, punched up the reds, and added the little bird. Then I scratched in the word Sorrow on the darkest man. What does it all mean? I leave that to the beholder. A clue, however is that there is a poem there that reads in part:
"He touched her hand and the fever left her. We need His touch on our fevered hands! The cool, still touch of the Man of Sorrows, who knows us and loves us and understands." I don't remember the author, I tore it out of a book of quotations.

Art Groups

This year I've been lucky to have helped found a new mixed media group in Lodi, and still be a part of the mm group in Sacramento. And I have also found some groups of seniors that paint and make art together. This is good fellowship and the people are interesting and inspiring in many cases. Here are recent pics of the groups. At one group we learned to make small envelope books, led by Susanne, and the other group was learning to make Zen Tangle drawings, led by Trina.

CitraSolv revisited

I put up a new post on the other blog about what i did with some of the backgrounds I made yesterday. Here is the link.