A Maple Tree....

....shakes itself

scattering golden leaves

(Horiuchi)

(pencil & watercolour)

(ruling pen, watercolour, walnut ink & mitchell nib)

(watercolour pencils)

Another haiku & more leaves... can you tell they inspire me, lol?

Withering Leaves....

....I walk on their voices (Horiuchi)

I thought of these words as I crunched through leaves, crisped by early frost.... the words have floated into my mind several times over the last few weeks as leaves have fallen....

(walnut ink & watercolour; ruling pen & mitchell nib)

click to enlarge

So, I had a bit of a play, just trying to capture the feeling, the colours.... the sense of the words in connection with the pictures i've taken. It may have helped to have the photos to hand, but my memory served me well enough....

I love the sludgy colours... so many shades of grey/brown.... we tend to associate the rust & orange tones with autumn leaves don't we? I sort of automatically added them to my palette....

(pencil & watercolour)

if i'd had the photos with me i might have mixed more accurate colours.... kept them more subdued maybe, but it's not an issue for what i was doing...

Natural textures always inspire me to write... sometimes my own words, often the words of others... words & quotations just pop into my mind as i walk.... seeing... feeling the beauty of what is around me...

(pencil & watercolour)

I'll probably turn them into little 'autumn concertina books'... sometime.... i've got quite a stack of things i'm working on at the moment, so we'll see... ideas are changing for these little examples as i write!

Gratitude....

Let us take the threads of our gratitude & weave them into a blanket to wrap around the whole world. Whenever we feel the need we can pull it closer & snuggle into the healing protective layer…  be soothed by the blessings & thankfulness of kindred spirits… we can breathe in the scent of love infused into the fabric that we have woven together. Know that you can pull it closer at any time to protect against the chill of loss, pain, separation, illness, fear, loneliness, doubt or anything else that may be troubling you… All you ever need to do is pull that blanket closer to feel our arms around you, comforting & helping you to feel the warmth & brightness of your own inner light. 

Perhaps when your world seems to be collapsing around you, the last thing you want to hear is someone telling you to "look on the bright side". My darkest times may not compare to what many people have to contend with, but something my dad told me has always stuck with me "You've got to look for the things that are right, suzi, not the things that are wrong.... be thankful for what you have got, not the things you havn't"

One person who is a shining example of this outlook is Laura, over at Shine the Divine.... while you are there, look at her post on November 17- Calling All Angels. Laura was worried that due to her health she may struggle to write a Thanksgiving post (Nov 26 in the USA) so she had the idea of asking people to contribute their thoughts of what they are grateful for... the idea sort of grew... why not get as many people around the blogosphere to roll out the idea, collecting comments of gratitude & thankfulness all around the world... creating a giant patchwork quilt for Thanksgiving... so what if it isn't celebrated everywhere... any day can be a day to share, so why not this one... this is part of her message... please go over & read it all

..."So now I am asking all of you on my blog roll to consider joining in to make this a worldwide BLOGGING GRATITUDE EVENT...I LIKE THE IDEA OF MOBIUS...BECAUSE IT NEVER ENDS...LIKE LOVE...I LIKE THE IDEA OF QUILT BECAUSE IT'S A PATCHWORK OF COLORS AND WORDS STITCHED TOGETHER...AGAIN WITH LOVE... A BLANKET OF GRATITUDE TO WRAP AROUND THE WORLD!...
...So below you can read the simple message I put out...my REQUEST TO YOU, IF YOU SHOULD CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THIS LOFTY ASSIGNMENT, IS TO COLLECT A TON OF GRATITUDE QUOTES FROM YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES...AND THEN FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR BLOG BUDDIES...SO THIS WILL GROW AND GROW AND GROW INTO A WORLD WIDE EVENT. I AM VERY SICK RIGHT NOW...THERE IS NOT A WHOLE LOT I CAN DO PHYSICALLY TO DO TIKKUN OLAM (REPAIR THE WORLD) BUT THIS IS ONE THING I CAN DO...PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS AND MAKE THIS THE MOST AMAZING BLOGGING EFFORT TO WAKE EVERYBODY UP TO THE BLESSINGS THAT ABOUND IN THEIR LIVES...IT IS TOO EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE DETAILS OF OUR LIVES ...WE NEED SOMETIMES TO BE REMINDED OF HOW WONDERFUL OUR LIVES TRULY ARE. IF THIS FEELS TOO BIG, TOO OVERWHELMING ...FORGET ABOUT IT...THAT IS NOT MY INTENTION FOR ANYONE...BUT IF IT FEELS LIKE A GOOD HEALTHY CHOICE FOR YOU...THEN PLEASE JOIN ME IN THIS QUEST FOR MORE GRATITUDE, MORE JOY, MORE AWARENESS OF THE GOODNESS INFUSED IN THE WORLD!"...

So, my blogging friends.... please send me your messages of gratitude... either via comment form or email suziscribbles@yahoo.co.uk with GRATITUDE in the subject line & i will add my patch to laura's quilt... and if you like, spread it out through your blogroll too!

Ash Keys Turning

I’ve watched these keys turn…. keys turning… keys… what is a key? A clue… to open a door…. holding a seed?

12th Sept- leaves are still very green, but the first ash keys are starting to change colour

Questions have floated into my mind….What does a key mean to you? Is it a clue of what to do or where to go... will it open the door to secrets you hold… the door of wisdom & inner knowing… will it turn the lock to intuition, the way to live with clarity… does it hold a seed of future growth, a seed of hope & harmony? 

27th Sept- all the keys are now a lovely golden colour

Keys have wings to carry them to places to grow… fertile soil… is your mind a fertile place? open to ideas & thoughts & growth? Have your ideas got wings to carry them along?

11th Oct- golden keys have turned to russet~ the leaves are starting to pale...

Take the keys..open those doors to your potential... sow the seeds, open your mind, begin to grow… unlock the wisdom its yours to find… fly on the wings of opportunity, find the ground where you can grow… keys to your dreams ...seeds of vision… of harmony….

25th Oct- within a fortnight the leaves are almost totally shed~ the keys a copper clour

What do you see? What do you feel? ...as you share the journey of these precious seeds... nurtured in the keys of the ash tree?

7th Nov- leaves are gone, just the keys hang on. they will stay until next year, not dropping until after the new growth of leaves & the next clutch of seeds begin to form.

7th Nov- 

Cold silence after the winds….Ash keys whisper to the moon… She answers on the breeze… with a vision of hope & harmony...

Calling all Wand-Makers

Do you make wands? Would you like to sell wands to a reputable wholesaler? Have you thought that you would love to spend more time making them if only you could sell them? Perhaps we can help each other.
If you don't make them yourself, perhaps you know someone who may be interested & could pass this on....

A friend of mine is setting up a wholesale business selling crystals... he would also like to supply wands, but needs a steady, regular supply... He contacted me to see if I knew anyone...

Steve is very energy aware, spiritual, a crystal healer & also has a savvy business brain... he is actually involved with the mine where his crystals come from & is committed to ethical, responsible methods aswell as investing in the local community in Kenya. Also, he tells me that Judy Hall (The Crystal Bible) is prepared to endorse his crystals. (this is just to give you a bit of background!) He is the guy who set up Spirit-Trader

Being involved with large quantities of crystals means that Steve gets loads of small bits, quartz points etc... which is where he got the 'aha' moment that they would be ideal for wands. So if you fancy the idea of sitting making wands, and getting paid for it, the crystals can be supplied free!

Obviously, we have no idea exactly how many, so I'm looking for people who make wands.... various styles, sizes, prices, qualities & quantities... to talk to, discuss with etc... could you commit to supplying, say, 1 or 5 or 10 or 50?!!.... how often? what price? etc etc

I'm well aware that they take time... that there is the energy aswell.... I have no idea how this will work at the moment or who it will appeal to.... so if you would like to talk any more get in touch at suziscribbles@yahoo.co.uk or pass on to someone who might know someone...!!

Look Into My Eyes....

When I first started blogging, i never considered posting a picture of myself... i felt like the shy newcomer dipping a toe in the water... i thought i'd just hang around & observe a while before I said much.

Ha! that didn't last long did it? From the start, I felt included... the welcome I received, the comments & responses... they all invite interaction, reciprocation, but in a way that doesn't feel there are expectations or strings attached. And because of that freedom relationships have grown.

We weave our connections on the strands of the web, often with no visual image of the people we resonate with... connecting with hearts & minds rather than the physical body. In many ways I think this makes it easier... we say what we feel, have conversations we probably wouldn't get around to with someone we meet face to face... at least not straight away.

I've thought a few times about putting my picture on my profile, but never got around to it.... needed to take one for a start, and usually I'd rather spend my time here either writing or visiting other people. Then, the other day someone suggested it would be good to see a picture of me over at suzi's scribbles; so I started playing with the camera program on my computer....

I don't know... does a photograph make a difference? I don't particularly look for a picture of anyone... but it is nice to satisfy a curiosity now n again, but it wouldn't make a difference to me buying anything from someone whose work I liked, or whose words resonated with me.

Some would say that showing a picture is part of being authentic... others would say no, keep the mystery... from a marketing point of view a photograph is good.... it implies you have nothing to hide... but people who are less than honest know this & will use an image to give an impression of trustworthiness...

So for now I tease...

Look into my eyes, what do you see?

Have i the power to hypnotize,

Coerce you into buying from me?

Lol, I couldn't hard-sell if i tried... I wouldn't want to. I just do what I do & reckon if people like what they see they will buy... but I also know that I have the responsibility of getting my work 'out there' for people to see, so they have the option; the website is just one step towards that, things will unfold as they are meant to... & yeah, it will most likely include photographs for no reason other than i want to!

Time of Radical Shift

I think many of us have an instinctive feeling that big things are happening; around us & for mankind, on Earth & 'out there' in the Universe. I've always had the opinion that the prophesies about 2012 are connected to the potentials created by planetary alignments... I'm sure the Mayan calendar takes into account planets that we are not aware of yet. For example Sedna, 'discovered' in 2003, has an orbit estimated at between 10.5 & 12 thousand years... the mayan calendar has a sub-cycle of 11,500 years! What other planets are as yet unknown to us, and how might they affect us astrologically?

It takes years of observation & intuition to thoroughly understand how planets affect us, so we aren't going to uncover the implications of recent planetary discoveries in a hurry, are we? There is some astrological info on Sedna here (the link on this page to a previous article is interesting too) and here. 

This one has insights into several of the more recently discovered 'watery' planets.

You might like to read an astrological explanation about part of what is heading our way here. It concerns the Cardinal Grand Cross that has been forming in the heavens from 2008 til mid 2010. For me, it confirms much of what I thought without the benefit of in depth astrological knowledge.

Taurus Full Moon & Mars in Leo

I've been very fired up these last few weeks both creatively & with regard to getting back to earning my own money rather than being employed.... I just read this


"Consider that generally speaking Mars in Leo is about taking charge of one's own destiny, control of one's own life. If we have Mars in Leo in our natal chart, we are driven towards creative self-actualization as Kings and Queens of our own lives, passionate, inspiring, dignified and creative"- from Melody's Astrology Blog


Guess where my mars is (no, not the chocolate one!).... yep Leo, & my sun sign is Taurus... i read somewhere else that another couple of my planets are part of the planetary 'grand cross' that is in place at the moment, but i can't find the link to double check what it all meant.... any how, i guess the astrological vibes are helping me out at the moment, lol, I'll take any help I can get!!

My New Calligraphy Site!!

Well... I have been more focussed on generating an income from my calligraphy & lettering art recently... one step being somewhere to showcase my work. Can I ask you a favour? Take a peek at

suziscribbles.com

and let me know what you think? I've still got a zillion photos to go on & a couple of information pages to add, but at the moment I just want to check if it reads ok before I get too far... I know white on black can get a bit hard on the eyes, so i've tried a couple of different text sizes here n there... would appreciate a bit of feedback if anyone wants to... i will be adding a link bar to canvasses, books, workshops etc & the glaring empty spaces will get sorted! Thanks... x (she says nervously!)

ps... just keep it between us for now.... i'm not ready to roll it out to the whole world til i'm happy with it!
(yeah i know, technically the whole world can see it... but I trust this corner)