the blue muse

In gardening terms, a volunteer is a plant that reseeds itself and pops up
in unexpected places. This Cleome is a plant I had in my garden years ago,
and for some reason, just now I am finding them everywhere.

Why now and not last year, or the year before?
All the conditions must have been perfect this year, for this plant. Seeds that had been hidden and dormant for years are suddenly springing to life.

I feel that way myself sometimes.

Growth spurts and dormant periods, ideas that come and get pushed aside, times when I am too tired to do anything but rest.

And then, other times, the conditions are just right, and something
beautiful begins to grow. Something in my mind raises its hand
and volunteers to come forward.

Some of these seeds burst open overnight, standing strong and tall
on their own. Others need nurturing, I must tend to them,
give them space and light and loving care.

Either way, there will be flowers.

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Thank you so much to everyone who offered kind words of encouragement
about my images, it really meant a lot. I am in the planning stages now…

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{august break no. 10}

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p.s. I am considering selling some of my images on etsy,
and I was curious what you think of that idea?

will be long, we have almost a month before it sets on the horizon,

a month to wave and ponder and make our plans for autumn

all the colors and the apples, the apples are my favorite,
i only eat them in the fall.

yesterday, my friend debi wrote about autumn, her autumn

and i started thinking about how much i love
the changing of the seasons where i live,

each one so distinct, so different, sometimes not a gradual shift at all,
but a sudden plunge into the next one

and how i would miss that if i lived somewhere more temperate,
i would miss the snow, yes, there, i said it.

i mark my time by the seasons, each year that passes broken into fourths

each month part of a season, in my mind if not in actuality,

and autumn is my favorite, if i have a favorite
though there are things i love about them all.

i will make sure to spend hours gazing at this sunset,
the sunset of summer.

i will cherish its beauty, take pictures in my mind,

but my heart is already embracing cider and cool nights

and blue jeans.

Laura Ludwig Hamor

Congratulations Laura!

I will contact you through email to get your delivery info.

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We had a great time at the Sonnenberg Arts at the Gardens Show
in spite of the fact that when we showed up on Sunday in the pouring rain, we discovered that it was also raining INSIDE our tent! Ugh.

After much scrambling and buying a tarp and the help of two wonderfully kind gentlemen, (more about that at Vision & Verb tomorrow), we managed to solve the problem and dry everything off and open up.

Thanks to everyone who came by.

There were new friends and old friends and lots of wonderful people.

One of the highlights of my weekend was meeting one of my blog friends, Graciel. I was a little nervous (it almost felt a little like a blind date!) but she was just the way I had pictured her. And I hope that now that we have met, we can arrange to see each other again. Thank you, Graciel, for braving the weather and that drive and for being the beautiful soul that you are.

And thanks to my purple rain boots, my feet stayed dry. The rest of me
was soaked, but you know, sometimes you just have to laugh.
And that is what my sister and I did, we made it through
and we laughed and had fun and so, in the end,
it was a good, good show.

This weekend, you will find us at Arts at the Gardens at beautiful Sonnenberg Mansion.

This is one of my favorite shows, mainly because it is held on the
grounds of a fabulous public garden. Flowers everywhere!
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If you are in the area, stop by and look for us at Booth F-4
August 21st and 22nd • 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Visit their website for a coupon for $1.00 off admission!

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And don’t forget to sign up for our earring giveaway!

Click here to go to the entry post.

(Make sure you leave your comment there to be entered)

Ends Sunday, August 22 at midnight!

Just two more days ’til Arts at the Gardens at Sonnenberg Mansion!

I am busy, busy, busy getting ready, here are a few pictures
of what I’ve been working on…

If you are in the area, stop by and look for us at Booth F-4
August 21st and 22nd • 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Canandaigua, NY
Visit their website for a coupon for $1.00 off admission!

And don’t forget to sign up for our earring giveaway!

Click here to go to the entry post.

(Make sure you leave your comment there to be entered)

Ends Sunday, August 22 at midnight!

Lots of exciting things happening this week, I don’t even know where to start!

Because we have a show this weekend, it is time for another GIVEAWAY!

This sweet pair of earrings will go to the lucky winner! There is a different pattern on the reverse as you can see in this photo:

These earrings are handmade from precious metal clay and are part of our new matte finish series. Fun and dangly, they measure approximately 1 3/4 inches long by 3/8 inches wide, and are a $30 value.

HOW TO ENTER:
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. To make it a little more fun, tell me the name of your favorite flower. (But any comment will get you entered!)

ADDED BONUS:
For an extra chance at winning, follow me on twitter or facebook and tweet or post about the giveaway for an additional entry. Just come back here and leave an additional comment to let me know that you have done so, and you will be entered twice.

This giveaway will be up until midnight Sunday, August 22nd. I will announce the winner next Monday, August 23, 2010.

GOOD LUCK!

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Our show this weekend we will be Arts at the Gardens at beautiful Sonnenberg Mansion. This is one of my favorite shows, mainly because it is held on the grounds of a fabulous public garden. Flowers everywhere!

If you are in the area, stop by and look for us at Booth F-4
August 21st and 22nd • 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Visit their website for a coupon for $1.00 off admission!

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And last but not least… Did you all take part in Kim Klassen’s Inspiration Stay-cation? It was fun and fabulous and the best part is, Kim has decided to make it a permanent site called The Inspiration Studio.

And she has asked me to be a regular contributor! I have a post on finding beauty up today, you should hop on over and check it out, join the group, grab a button, get inspired! It’s going to be a wonderful place to visit, Kim is always full of wonderful ideas and images and inspiration!

Whew!

as wings, filled with promise

and potential.

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{august break no. 9}

I had never seen a golden dragonfly before this day when I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, camera in hand.

There he sat, on a bud of clematis durandii, that somehow is growing in this new spot, and not where I planted it, with its open bell-shaped flower in the background. Oh, that purple, this gold, that light, this picture.

A moment when the colors of autumn came together on a hot august day.
A golden moment, filled with magic and sunshine.

It was a gift, that moment.

A jewel.

the beauty of life is hidden, a little.

but it’s always there.

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{august break no. 8}