Dharma in the Garden

This Week

So far I have been:

enjoying the sight of spring bulbs starting to push their way above ground; removing the moss which has covered most of the brick edging surrounding the lawn; discovering Cruickshank Botanical Gardens and I ♥ Art in the city of Aberdeen (both hidden gems); photographing trees (again!); thinking of taking up crochet (and I ♥ Art do classes!); choosing plants for pollinators (I so want the garden to contain only plants, shrubs and flowers which attract bees, butterflies and insects); reading The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo; wearing red (a colour which has been long absent from my wardrobe); receiving a parcel of skincare goodies from Liz Earle; waiting for the arrival of two new art books - Unfurling by Misty Mawn and Art at the Speed of Life by Pam Carriker; voting to retain the beautiful Union Terrace Garden in the heart of Aberdeen; finishing my evening class in acrylic painting (loved every minute, could do another four weeks).

It ain't big. Only 5.5 x 8.5 inches. That's the size of the moleskin sketchbook (mine will have a blue cover) which I will be using for The Sketchbook Project 2011.  

I have a sketchbook very similar to this which I have used on holiday so I guess I know what to expect re size, type of paper etc.  The paper won't stand up to too much water or paint so I think I'll go down the collage route using digital images, printed papers and ink. And colour, lots of bold colour!  

My latest arty book buy is 'Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists' by Ann Baldwin.  A lot of the ideas in this book are more for large scale projects.  However, I am hoping to get some inspiration and ideas regarding texture and layering that will translate to a small sketchbook, obviously avoiding the use of small items like beads or buttons that could come unstuck!  My little sketchbook is going on tour after all.

I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do around my theme of "It must be..." but I think it gives me a lot of scope.  Once the sketchbook is here I have decided to allow myself three months to complete it so that I can ship it in plenty time (it needs to be State-side by mid-January 2011).

Let the creative juices flow.

Perfect Things - 20 of them!

Could have thought of a lot more but here are 20 perfect things in no particular order:

An Agatha Christie novel (any of them, it doesn't matter) and a comfy chair
The scent and taste of vanilla. Vanilla perfume is the best!
Newly cut grass - summer's here!
Laundry blowing in the breeze and the fresh air smell when you bring it indoors
Viennese Truffles - makes the first item in the list even more perfect
Life because it is perfect, in every way. I just need to remind myself and get in the flow
Gardening - it's the best therapy ever and you never stop learning
Art - my saviour, my passion, my dream
The White Sands of Morar  May they always remain so blissfully unspoiled  
Spending time with Mum, lunching, shopping and chatting - so rare but bliss! I love you Mum
Girl talk - giggling, gossiping, gassing, great fun
All the amazing people I have met through blogging - bless you all
Katharine Hepburn movies
My Alegria PG Lite Red Scribble Clogs - funky and comfy!
The Inside Out e-course because it's OK to not be perfect!
Granola with cranberries, blueberries and organic yoghurt. Yum!
My summer house and it's view of the garden
Bird song - it never fails to lift my spirits
The sound of waves breaking on the shore
The man who shares my life. Nothing would be perfect without you.

Organised?

Determined to get myself organised so have bought myself the Life Book Diary which has lots of space to jot down notes, has tear out shopping lists and fun stickers for all sorts of activities and events, even has a portable address book.  Have already started adding to the handy pocket at the back so suspect that all too soon it will be bulging with all the usual lists, receipts and bits of paper torn out of magazines that I plan to do something about and then forget.  These are the lists, receipts and bits of paper that were located in several other journals/diaries/notebooks that I bought in an attempt to "get organised".  The journals/diaries/notebooks that I start to fill until I discover something prettier/smaller/larger/with stickers.  But I will use this one. I will. I definitely will...

"You intended to come forth into the physical realm of contrast to define what is wanted, to connect with the Energy that creates worlds, and to flow it toward your objects of attention, not because the objects of attention are important - but because the act of flowing is essential to life."

Via Abraham Hicks 

This resonates with what I am reading in 'Angel Inspiration' by Diana Cooper.  Angels are our invisible companions constantly drawing us towards our destiny. When we relax into the powerful current which they create, our life starts to flow. Too often we put up resistance and want to go our own way but by working with our angels they will help us move around problems. We are the intermediaries through which angels channel their energy on Earth.  But they have no free will and therefore cannot help without our co-operation. We need to realise that the combination of humans and angels working together is such a powerful force that miracles can and do occur.   

This Week

So far this week I have been:

trying out texture paste and masking fluid in the studio (this wasn't a success and it wasn't just the masking fluid that was blue...); removing weeds, flower heads and a tangled mess of growth from my (non-flowering) clematis; taking photographs of the garden (see Photographic Memory); reading Soul & Spirit Magazine (great inspiration!) and loving Victoria Laurie's latest book in the Psychic Eye Mystery series; determined to keep my blog up to date; meditating when I can but not often enough; watching yoga, pilates and energetic workouts on TV mainly with my feet up (as a woman of a certain age I don't need to do too much to work up a sweat!); waiting for the arrival of The Urban Warrior's Guide to Health, Wealth, Happiness & Good Looks by the Barefoot Doctor (one of the world's leading authorities on Tao healing and meditation)

"With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy." Lope de Vega

Give or Take

I am loving Give or Take which is such a great idea I'm surprised someone hasn't thought about it sooner.  Via this website you can click on the links to over 500 well-known stores and earn cash rewards when you shop.  If you feel saintly you can choose to have the money donated to selected charities or you can keep the money for yourself.  There's a category for Organic & Fair Trade stores as well so you can really feel doubly virtuous. Each time you make a purchase through Give or Take, they are paid a referral fee by the store.  Give or Take give 100% of this referral fee back to the member who made the sale. It's free to join, although if you choose to keep your cash rewards there is an annual admin fee of £5.00.  But that seems fair.  It's certainly a great way to give money to charity and you can gift aid your donation as well.

No Room for Secrets

I have just finished reading Joanna Lumley's autobiography 'No Room for Secrets'. Tony had bought this book and didn't particularly enjoy it.  Not because he doesn't like Ms Lumley.  He said it was more to do with the style of writing.

Keeping the World Away

Have just finished reading 'Keeping the World Away' by Margaret Forster.  I chose this book mainly because it was about a painting and the women who lives it touched.  Each of the women in the book were very different but essentially the same in one respect.  The saw something in the painting of an attic room that others could not.  I shared the frustrations of Stella who finally accepted she would never be a talented artist.  I envied Jacasta her beautiful attic studio filled with light and her wonderful talent as a portait painter.  I loved how in each woman's story there was a link with the women who had gone before and marvelled at how the painting found its way into their lives (and hearts).

The woman who painted the picture was Gwen John, a talented Welsh artist (1876-1939). She studied under Whistler and was the mistress of the scultor Rodin.  It was only on finishing the book that I realised that Gwen was a real person (obviously the story and other characters in the book are fiction).  I'm frustrated that I didn't know about her and by my lack of knowledge about many artists and their work.  Should I have known about her? There are such huge gaps in my knowledge.  However, on a positive note I know about her now and will make a point of finding out more.  Although the story is fiction, I completely understand her longing to (sometimes) keep the world away. 

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity. Gilda Radner

I long for the perfect ending. If a book I’m reading doesn’t have an upbeat conclusion, I feel let down, cheated somehow out of the “happy ever after” that doesn’t exist in real life but that I look for in fiction.

Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m a perfectionist, or should I say a recovering perfectionist. I was, and still am to a certain extent, a real stickler for everything to be just right, nothing out of place, to always have the perfect ending. But you don’t half set yourself up for disappointment when you try to control and organise every aspect of your life. I learned that the hard way. Of course, life isn’t perfect. Deep down I knew that. It didn’t stop me trying though.

Today, I can accept life and all its imperfections (although not without a struggle!). I wouldn’t want it any other way. Life can have moments of desperate sadness and terrible tragedy but equally can give us moments of sheer joy and untold pleasure. We definitely do have to make the best of what life deals us. To learn from the past but not dwell in it, plan for the future but live for the moment. To look forward, not with fear or dread but with anticipation and hope.

Dharma Creation

In the beginning...

Dharma in the Garden is being created.  Watch this space!