Snowdrops... Fragile Beauty

Beautiful aren't they? 

A mass of snowdrops in the old orchard 

they've been there for years,

 multiplying over time.

  Maybe a bit like our thoughts in they old grey matter... 

or emotions...

Sometimes the big picture is enough, but zoom in for a closer look...  

appreciate the finer details...

identify one area (thought, idea, emotion, problem etc) to focus on...

Notice how some are slightly more open... 

and if we look closer some are nearly still closed...

 some are in full bloom (ready to pursue, work on, deal with)...

 some need a little more time... 

a bit of coaxing (a bit more effort, consideration... healing...)

From another angle... wow! 

Sometimes we need to look at things from another perspective,

turn things upside down to see what we have been missing...

little details... clues...

Would we have seen that sky behind

 if we only looked at what was obvious in front of us?

The background... the past... 

something that coloured our judgement, affected our emotions...

How often are we carried away with the bigger picture, 

caught up in a mass of thoughts or feelings, 

whether it be enthusiasm or despair?

Pause... wonder.... look.... and really see...

Caught in a storm they're beautiful...

we are beautiful...

you are beautiful...

Even in a downpour...

because of it.

We may bow our heads to weather the storm,

we may look or feel extremely fragile...

but those raindrops will run off our backs...

let them cleanse and heal...

'cos even on the greyest day

be inspired by their fragile beauty...

seek another perspective.

the clouds are just a background,

highlighting strength and beauty within.

And the winner is....

.....Jasmine

Congratulations!! 

Thank you to everyone who took part... would you all send me your address so I can send you all a token of my appreciation xx

This is my singing bowl that I placed the names in...

It is engraved with the 8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, which you can read about here

I actually dreamed the symbols the night before I found this. I could only remember the endless knot & the golden fish, the others were hazy.... so when I saw it I knew it was for me.

I'd been having quite a chaotic time, with a fair bit of conflict between myself & my significant other... I knew nothing about these bowls or the symbols, but this was definitely an 'auspicious sign' that I was on the right track.

The sound is so clear... and calming. Which is what I needed at the time. It took me a few goes to coax the sound by rolling the wooden baton around the edge, annoyingly my daughter got it first go, lol. 

Thank you again for entering the draw... you are a small but special bunch of participants!

Positive & Negative Energy Effects on Water Crystals...

Interested? Then skip over to Healing Whispers to see more & find out about a water healing ceremony on World Water Day, Monday 22nd March.... a relevant date i think, following the Spring Solstice.

The Secret of Kells

Make sure you have your volume on (i never to begin with!) and take a look at The Secret of Kells a mythical cartoon/film inspired by the Book of Kells. The illustration & music is gorgeous.

 (note to pixie sue; on some of the pages there is a very pale silver scroll bar, that you might not see, in the centre of the page, to scroll for more text) 

all images from the Book of Kells

One of the characters in Secret of Kells is Pangur Bn...

Here are a couple of snippets from Thomas Cahill's "How The Irish Saved Civilisation:

This 4stanza Irish poem was slipped into a 9th century manuscript containing material such as latin commentary on Virgil & a list of Greek paradigms:

I and Pangur Ban my cat,

'Tis a like task we are at:

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.

'Tis a merry thing to see

At our tasks how glad are we,

When at home we sit and find

Entertainment to our mind.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye,

Full and fierce and sharp and sly;

'Gainst the wall of knowledge I

All my little wisdom try.

So in peace our task we ply,

Pangur Ban my cat and I;

In our arts we find our bliss,

I have mine and he has his.

Another verse slipped in the margin of a manuscript by an Irish monk in the time of Viking raids in the early 9th century (from the Fury of The Norsemen by John Marsden)

Bitter is the wind this night

Which tosses the white locks of the ocean

I fear not the coursing of a clear sea

By the fierce warriors of the lochlann

 another version is

Bitter is the wind this night

Which tosses up the ocean's hair so white

Merciless men I need not fear

Who cross from Lothland on an ocean clear.

Lothland is Norway, and Vikings could not land in a storm.

I wonder how one of my clients would feel if I just slipped a random poem into a commission now & again!? 

Gemstone Jewellery & New Blogs

Ages ago I received a blog award that was about nominating new blogs... It was so long ago I can't find it now. I never did anything about it... i never seem to remember to go back to things like that if I don't do it at the time. Anyway the point is I'd like to mention a few new blogs:

Debbie of Hippy Hipster Diary has just started off a new blog about her jewellery-  Mystical Moonshadows Jewellery

And one I was going to mention in that long forgotten post about the award is Magic Mixes- Aromatherapy & Crystals, concocted by welsh witch. Slap my wrist how could I forget to do this?

Pyewacket at Pye's Place has dipped a tentative toe in the blogging world, but like welsh witch its an occasional thing, so far. Perhaps some encouraging comments might persuade these lovely ladies to write some more!

You may like to take a peek at Moon-time Tara and there is a common thread between all of these blogs which is this forum where many an interesting discussion is held.

Happy blog-hopping!

Sale & Give-away closing date

...is Sunday 21st March. 

Just scroll down or click here to see previous 'sale' posts... even if you don't want to buy anything why not enter the draw for my "Everything Happens For A Reason" canvas here. All you have to do is leave a comment... We'll be moved by 31st March, so this gives me time to post things off & get sorted out!

Outdoor Living...

Fancy a relaxing bath? Panoramic views to enhance your pleasure!

Or perhaps you would like to invite a friend for a romantic bathing experience?

And when you're done, dry yourself off, take a seat & watch nature tv... 

plenty of channels to choose from, there's terrestrial telly...

and you don't even need a satelite dish to get sky!

Fragrant grasses...

Fragrant grasses.

    

A place not sacred?

Where?

 

(Words of the Ancients)

Watery Wednesday

hazy reflections in a flowing stream

memories of all that has ever been

stare in the depths, the image remains

but the water you see is never the same

the river of life, of thought, of dreams

elusive visions both seen and unseen 

For a wonderful array of watery photography just pop over to Watery Wednesday. I promise you will enjoy.

Don't forget my studio sale of calligraphy & canvasses, listed over the last few posts... & the chance to enter the draw for this one, just by leaving a comment. I still haven't got a definite moving date, but it's looking like the end of March.  

Angels

"The flight of an angel....

 ...is not a question of physical flight.

The attitude & vibration of a pure heart and mind do all the work.

Let your heart be clear and your mind be peaceful...

Then you will be able to fly- with your mind.

This is the joy of becoming an angel."

Cream & Gold Canvas

Size: 90cm x 35cm

The background is a dreamy mix of creams, some very pale almost white, & metallic gold paint.... having that blend of tones means that it will suit a variety of off white or cream wall colours (which I know is a factor for many people!) 

Hearts on Canvas... £10

Lonely hearts....Three, lively, loving heart canvasses wltm caring new owner, gsoh, caring, solvent(at least to the tune of £10 purchase price)... willing to travel for the right partner... 

Mmm, I know I should have thought about this before Valentines day, but I never. On the other hand, it is before next Valentines, so you could buy one & be prepared for next year, or you could just buy one for yourself  or someone else now! £10 including uk postage, about an extra £2 for overseas, but will check the difference so you don't pay any more than it is.

metallic silver & lilac with raised silver foil decoration

8 x 20 inches/ 20 x 50 cm

pink, cerise, white & silvery white

12 x 16 inches/ 30.5 x 41 cm

white, pink, cerise & pearlescent white

16 x 16 inches/ 41 x 41 cm

Just email  suziscribbles [at] gmail [dot] com, I'll confirm, you pay by pay pal (you can use the 'donate' button in the sidebar), then sit back & wait, i'll get them out as soon as possible!  

Canvas Sale & Give Away!!

Well, we're moving on soon... steve starts work on a new contract sometime in march, don't know whether it's the 1st or 30th!! So, I'm thinking I've got all these canvasses... we need to lighten the load in our caravan & there's no sense leaving them sat in sue's studio for the next year...  they need to find a home... FAST! (i've only just realised it's nearly March already!!)

So, if you like my work, here's your chance to own some at bargain basement prices! I'll be adding things over the next day or two, so if you see anything you like, just send a comment or email to reserve your piece. All I need is your address & payment via paypal, obviously I won't publish any comments with personal details in. I moderate all comments due to the silly amount of spam, so if more than one person wants the same one it will be first come, first served, based on the time of email/comment.... so, don't delay if you see 'the one' for you!

I thought I'd start off with a give-away.... "Everything Happens For A Reason"... It's 20 x 24 inches, with varying shades of dark purple down to pale lilac on a cream background.

To be included in the draw for this canvas, just leave a comment, easy! I'm also asking for help to get the word out that I'm selling 'stuff' off.... just a mention on your blog with a link to mine... pretty please.... then leave a comment with the link to yours.... I'd be ever-so grateful & Anyone who does this will get their name entered twice so you get an extra chance to win a bit of my work (at the very least, its a free canvas you could paint over yourself, lol) It, doesn't matter where you are, I'm happy to post it overseas. Thanks x

Two Blues for Twenty Two

Ok, here goes.... kicking off this sale with 2 blue & white canvasses which can be yours for £22 each - I've set this price just because it rhymes, that's my logic, "2 blues for £22" including uk postage. I'll check up the overseas difference & edit later. Anyway, they're a bargain! I've got them here side by side & they look good together, but I will separate them if they can go to loving homes!

This one is 40 cm square (that's just under 16 inches if it helps!), the sides are 3.75cm/ 1.5 inches deep. 

The quotations read;

Every journey begins with a single step.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

This one is 60cm x 30cm with the more usual 2cm depth.

The quotations read;

'Everything happens for a reason'

'Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It just depends how you view them'

'Life can only be lived forwards from beginning to end'

'Follow your heart, your dreams, your desires, 

do what your soul calls you to do, then let it be finished'

So, if you would like one or both of them, just email suziscribbles [at] gmail [dot] com... 

Don't forget, if you post about my 'sale' you can enter the draw for the canvas in the post below by leaving a comment with your link!

New Pages

Whoo- hooo.... I've just discovered Blogger in Draft where they try out new features. One of the recent ones is "pages".... so i've added a couple... did you notice the links above?
 I wish I'd known before I started messing about with Suzi's Scribbles, this is so much easier for what I want. Still, I have ideas for 'scribbles'... it's stalled lately while I get my ideas straight.
Can't believe how happy I am about this, it's made my day (little things amuse....!) Oh, and I've been playing with header pics here & over at Healing Whispers , what do you think?

Sisters Of The Red Moon

(click on pics to enlarge & see the detail)

I've been working on this piece over the last few weeks... the words were written by Mel in this post over at 'weaving the moon'. I chose a 56x76cm 210gsm handmade 'Khadi' cotton rag paper (this is a great company for quality eco/ethical artists papers &  sketchbooks). This is a tough, durable paper, which I knew would take several layers of colour & this rough one is really textured... oh boy, did I set myself a challenge!? Several blacks, of varying shades and surfaces to write on from matte water-based to shiny acrylic, rough paper AND red on black.... red is not as solid a colour as you may think! This is the price to pay for getting carried away with the 'look' of the background without thinking about the practicalities of lettering on it... so, this is the first version, i'm sure I will work with these words again...& again no doubt!

As well as the lettering, it's also been pretty impossible to get accurate colours in the photographs. The red is not really orangey at all. I've tried in different light & playing with the editing programme, but this is as close as i'm going to get for now 

we have met before, you and i

somewhen, somewhere.

in time out of time, the space between,

the space where the veil thins and the mist floats across

moonlit oceans.

in the swirling chaos of now,

tendrils of light flicker in the darkness.

reminders of a lost tribe,

of ancient ways where blood was holy

and wisdom shared.

reaching across the chasm of time.

over expanse of space and the shackles of fate

there is hope that in the dreaming

of this and other things, we shall meet again.

somewhen, somewhere.

Although the most feminine of subjects the image reminds me of the red planet...mars.... usually associated with ‘masculine’ qualities... but both the soil of Mars and the haemoglobin of human blood are rich in iron, and because of this they share its distinct deep red color. Astrologically Mars is associated with confidence and self assertion, aggression, sexuality, energy, strength, ambition, and impulsiveness. I wonder, how closely linked is Mars to the Moon & our ‘moontime’?

I started thinking about pmt & the issues that are usually thrown up for myself. It’s usually been what ‘someone doesn’t do’ vs ‘what I always do’, things I haven’t done ‘because of someone else’ or what I think other people’s expectations of me are... all relationship stuff with various people, me putting on my ‘victim/martyr’ suit. I know I’m being ‘unreasonable’ even as I think it & knowing I’m pre-menstrual usually helps me cope. 

At one point I started thinking that maybe these are my real feelings, not irrational, but signs I should be out of the relationship or have a head to head with whoever.... why else would the same feelings keep coming up?

Actually, as I looked deeper, I realised that they kept coming up to give me a chance to recognise their underlying causes. My issues tend to stem from situations where I don’t assert myself... to say “actually I’d rather not” or “I want to do” or “will you do”... along those lines, where I haven’t had the confidence to express my needs or ambitions (notice the connection to the astrological associations of Mars?)  I’m not sure how much of this is due to my natal chart & how much is part of a greater moon/mars connection, but I think many will recognise a familiar pattern.

My point is, that there is a great healing opportunity that arises time & again in our cycles... if we let it. Instead of expecting a time of tension, maybe we need to re-verse the way we look at it to something like pre-menstrual tenderness. i.e. to give ourselves some understanding & compassion, to invite the healing that we need. 

Maybe we could meditate on the darkness that surrounds our own red moon.... go into the moon’s vortex.... into the darkness,.... stay there until the darkness feels comforting rather than threatening, feel the comfort of the eternal sisterhood.... acknowledge your darkness, your dark thoughts, those dark feelings....listen to them, ask their purpose....call on the ancient wisdom from the centre of womanhood and begin to unravel the threads that bind in a repetitive, destructive cycle....

bronze powder is sprinkled into the wet acrylic for 

a lovely reddish moonlight gleam, streaks of enamel look 

wet even when they are dry

I wonder if any research has been carried out into how the moonphase affects pmt? My cycle is fairly short, so my moontime moves through the moonphases. I don’t get particularly bad pmt, but I know about it when it falls at dark moon. I haven’t thought about looking at which sign the moon is in at this time, (until now) to see if there is a larger pattern to the severity of my moods. Has anyone thought about it themselves? It’s something to watch... maybe the moonphase affects people differently, depending on our birthchart or the sign the moon is transiting... or perhaps there are broad similarities.... I’d be interested to know. Perhaps any astrologers out there can shed some light? 

So, Mel’s words stirred up some thoughts as I wrote, even though they weren’t to do with interpreting their meaning.... my interpretation is there... visually for all to see & take as you will.... read again & see where she takes you.

I’ll end with some words from Mel when she saw some earlier photos...

“This is extremely powerful.....and the black background lends some of the power...that women's mysteries are often born in the Shadows and the Dark.”

Exactly!

(if you came from suzi's scribbles click here to return)

Calligraphy Birthday Rubber Stamp

Ooh... how could i forget to tell you... the Birthday stamp I told you about a while ago is now available from Crafty Individuals

It began like this... with just light guidelines

 to keep me straight & in proportion

It grew to this.... building up the texture as I went... squinting through half closed eyes at times to judge how heavy or light the lettering should be & where... introducing contrast in size & weight & letterform, whilst trying to keep an overall unity

and finished up like this... just a bit of cleaning up to do. I used ruling pens & Mitchell nibs. You can see the finished result here

In hindsight, it could have done with an extra line of heavier text to match the border at the bottom, but hey... I reckon it works just fine!

Winter Blues, Misty Greys & Pencil Lettering

Nothing depressing about these winter blues! Clear skies reflected in snow... heaven & earth unified casting a beautiful blue glow over everything... I couldn't help but give thanks as i walked, breathing cold, crisp air...

Perfect inspiration for my exploration of 'winter textures'... once again I smudged acrylic straight onto the paper, Saunders Waterford Not... a totally different surface to the repair paper, just look at the texture...

I loved the intensity of this blue, so only paled down some of it in this one... icy air and earth and water revealed themselves on the paper.... Even the mist closing in seen through the branches seemed to have a blue cast to it...

 The white space plays just as an important part as the marks on the paper...

At this point the words weren't formed... just the feeling of elements fused together... a frozen moment in the vastness....

winter... land, sea, sky and air breathe as one, exhaling a misty sigh...

Pencil lettering... built-up capitals using a 6H pencil gave a 'barely there' quality to parts of the letters, combined with 3H &  small areas of 2B... so the words recede & come forward like parts of the landscape in the mist...