A writer inspired by nature and human nature

Archive for the ‘ART’ Category

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Field of Flowers Award


field-of-flowers-awardMy dear friend Michelle has honored me with a Field of Flowers Award. I invite you to stop by Michelle’s blog http://michelleclementsjames.com/ where you’ll find outstanding book reviews on Book Chats. Books for reading or gifting that you won’t want to miss!

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, Michelle. Can’t wait to find out about your latest read.

THE FIELD OF FLOWERS AWARD

This is a fairly new award meant to show appreciation or say thank you or just to brighten someone’s day.  You can read about it here or share the love and pass on your own field of flowers.

Rules :

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you
  • Place the award on your blog
  • Nominate 7 other bloggers and write a little something about why you would give these bloggers “A Field Of Flowers”
  • Let your nominees know that you nominated them

I would like to give a FIELD OF FLOWERS TO MY BLOGGING FRIENDS, Because…

I would like to give this award to all of my blogging friends because you are all so wonderful and have been so supportive of my blogging efforts. However, I am supposed to choose just seven (this is the really tough part) to nominate for this award. Here are seven of the many great blogs I follow to inspire you! ~ Bette A. Stevens

1) Serendipity. Marilyn Armstrong is the author of The 12-Foot Teepee and blogger extraordinaire. She always leaves me with a smile and posts and photos that I can’t wait to share.

2) http://cindyknoke.com/ Love to travel? Tour the globe with Cindy and find out all about her Homestead Holler too. Photos and posts will leave you wanting more!

3) http://ashiakira.wordpress.com/ I love Ahsi’s haiku and I think you will to!

4) http://askthegoodmommy.wordpress.com/ Looking for THE BEST ADVICE ON ALL THINGS GIRLS/KIDS? You’ll find it here!

5) http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com/ AUTHORS & READERS: Looking for the best book club on the planet? Stop by for a visit and join us! Tell them Bette sent you.

6) http://sacredtouches.com/ You’ll find beauty for the eyes and inspiration for the soul on Natalie’s wonderful blog!

7) http://the-natural-web.org/ If you’re a nature lover like me, you’ll definitely enjoy this great blog. You can find out more about milkweed and our pollinators on this great post http://the-natural-web.org/2013/08/19/milkweed-its-not-just-for-monarchs/

Congratulations to all of my nominees. You’re awesome!

To my readers, please stop by these amazing blogs.

Written

on 09/16/2014

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I Love Art!


“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

As a writer inspired by nature and human nature, I love art in its many forms.

Why?

Thomas Merton’s quote describes my answer well.

A potpourri of pieces ‘displayed’ at THE FARMSTEAD (Some don the interior, others the great outdoors surrounding our home in Central Maine). ~ Bette A. Stevens

IMG_4213IMG_4229IMG_4230IMG_4214IMG_4234IMG_4219IMG_4225IMG_4085IMG_4236

Written

on 09/11/2014

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At Home with Sandra Walton-Ball


Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewThis awesome post includes amazing monarch butterfly paintings! ~ Bette A. Stevens

Cynthia Reyes's avatarCynthia Reyes

David Walton-Ball opens the door of his summer home, east of Toronto, and is greeted by a child looking up at him:

“Can Sandra come out to play?”

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and David in Orchard

Sandra — you may be surprised to hear —  is not a child.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Studio Wall

She’s David’s wife, a talented artist whose work hangs in galleries in Canada and Mexico.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra Painting of Island

Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewNeighborhood children gravitate towards her and she loves them. So she teaches children to create their own artwork.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Student

She and the children have developed a system at her small studio at the summer house.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra stands at work table

If this sign is up, Sandra can’t come out to play.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Sign

In Mexico where she and David spend the winter, Sandra teaches art to children whose parents can’t afford to pay for lessons.

“We put on Andrea Bocelli and the children sing along.”

San Miguel de Allende is home to many artists from Canada and the U.S.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Leonard's painting

Years ago, Sandra…

View original post 412 more words

Written

on 08/23/2014

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At Home with Sandra Walton-Ball


Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewThis awesome post includes amazing monarch butterfly paintings! ~ Bette A. Stevens

Cynthia Reyes's avatarCynthia Reyes

David Walton-Ball opens the door of his summer home, east of Toronto, and is greeted by a child looking up at him:

“Can Sandra come out to play?”

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and David in Orchard

Sandra — you may be surprised to hear —  is not a child.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Studio Wall

She’s David’s wife, a talented artist whose work hangs in galleries in Canada and Mexico.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra Painting of Island

Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewNeighborhood children gravitate towards her and she loves them. So she teaches children to create their own artwork.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Student

She and the children have developed a system at her small studio at the summer house.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra stands at work table

If this sign is up, Sandra can’t come out to play.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Sign

In Mexico where she and David spend the winter, Sandra teaches art to children whose parents can’t afford to pay for lessons.

“We put on Andrea Bocelli and the children sing along.”

San Miguel de Allende is home to many artists from Canada and the U.S.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Leonard's painting

Years ago, Sandra…

View original post 412 more words

Written

on 08/23/2014

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381. Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~Henry Ward Beecher


Painting & Poetry… Perfect! ~ Bette A. Stevens

nataliescarberry's avatarSacred Touches

Painting is poetry
that is seen rather than felt,
and poetry is painting
that is felt rather than seen.
~Leonardo da Vinci

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COLORS OF MY BRUSH

Blue for the eyes that loved my calm sky,
green for the soft grass we slept on,
white for the lilies we picked,
yellow for small daises,
purple for sunsets,
red for wild lips,
pink for skin,
rose for
you.
~by Andrew Crisci

Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created. And no matter whether it be by painting, sculpture, architecture, music, writing (poetry, prose, drama), performing arts (theater or dance), film making, photography, or printmaking, the maker of whatever inspired the creative endeavor, has felt, experienced, and/or seen things so moving that the urge to give life to artistic expressions has erupted in his/her very soul. Why?  Because inherent in each of our souls is Yahweh’s creative abilities since we are…

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Written

on 05/29/2014

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Artistic Soul


Beautiful poem! ~ Bette A. Stevens

iithinks's avatariiThinks

77494888c6840f82d3a723742327ccbb

My soul is a great artist
Born with an amazing gift
Once in a lifetime talent
Trained for many years

With the paintbrush of passion
It works its magic with hues
Each stroke is a stroke of love
Colouring the world anew

With my hands of still quiet
It works its magic with clay
In patience with the people
It sculpts hearts with Truth

With a pencil of harmony
It works magic with poems
Each word an inspiration
Filling pages with peace

With the voice deep in my soul
It works magic with rhythms
Each note creates a ladder
A chance to climb higher

I’m far from being special
Your soul is an artist too
Create from the depths of your heart
You’ll be amazed at what you can do

…..

Image found at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/71388680/the-day-of-the-humming-birds

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Written

on 05/26/2014

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367. Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer


Wonderful! Must share with my writer friends… Thanks, Natalie!

nataliescarberry's avatarSacred Touches

Image

Dear “Watcher:”

To my “editor within” or
“watcher” if you prefer,
why, I ask,
have you gotten so out of hand?
Aggravation I must
in some way decree
For you let me start writing
with wild delight,
but then stop me just when
I feel I’ve taken flight.
So now of you I find,
I simply must demand:
Let me ramble with pen
and be as creative as I dare.
Once the words are on my paper,
then with you I’ll freely share.
But for now just let me write
my ideas all the way through
And afterwards we’ll go over them
and I’ll let you have your say.
One thought might help you
yield to my request…
remember you only correct for me,
but I don’t write just for you.
~Virginia Cook

For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me… ~Job 32:18 ✝

Thank you…

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Written

on 05/13/2014

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360. …Monet portrayed the changeability and flux of every moment. “The Water Lilies” give you a jittery, amorphous sense of a world seen at the speed of light. ~Jerry Saltz


WOW! ~ Bette A. Stevens

nataliescarberry's avatarSacred Touches

I gathered them–the lilies pure and pale,
The golden-hearted lilies, virgin fair,
And in a vase of crystal, placed them where
Their perfumes might unceasingly exhale.
High in my lonely tent above the swale,
Above the shimmering mere and blossoms there,
I solaced with their sweetness my despair,
And fed with dews their beauteous petals frail.
~Florence Earle Coates

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Wow! Don’t ya just love to be wowed?! According to the dictionary “wow” as an expression of excitement was first recorded in Scots in the early 16th century. But the dictionary doesn’t tell us what it was that generated enough excitement to inspire the “wow”, and I for one would really like to know. I love to be wowed; Creation and the Lord wow me over and over again in ways like no other. Okay, okay, I know; so what is the connection between water lilies and a word that expresses…

View original post 294 more words

Written

on 05/06/2014

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Looking for the Perfect Picture Book for the Kids this Spring?


AMAZING MATILDA’s
got you covered!

matilda-expertly-as-a-cirus-acrobat-2016

One concern parents have is how to inspire their children to meet challenges with patience and persistence. This is the plot of the award-winning picture book, AMAZING MATILDA: A Monarchs Tale, written and illustrated by Bette A. Stevens. In this story a caterpillar wants to learn how to fly. She asks all of her friends in the meadow, but doesn’t find an easy answer. Yet, she continues the quest until, at last, she becomes what she wants to be—a butterfly. AMAZING MATILDA offers adults the opportunity to inspire the children in their lives to meet their own challenges with patience and persistence.

AMAZING MATILDA is available in paperback and eBook versions and it’s an AMAZON KINDLE MATCHBOOK—that means, when you buy the paperback, you can download the eBook version for FREE! Order your copies right here.

#FREE RESOURCES: Stevens has put together two (2) FREE companion pieces to make talking to the kids about AMAZING MATILDA and learning all about Monarch butterflies  exciting and fun.

am-finger-puppets-handout-12funlearningwith-amazing-monarchs-2016Amazing Matilda Finger Puppets and Fun & Learning with Monarchs can be downloaded at the tab at the top of this page. These resources will not only keep the kids talking about the book with their finger puppets, they’ll learn about Monarch Butterflies and their endangered habitat and includes learning and activity sites for butterfly gardeners and teachers as well. They’ll also learn about monarch and milkweed preservation. Don’t miss these two great resources for families, clubs, classrooms and homeschoolers.

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 04/12/2014

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Vernal Equinox Haiku by Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black


Yes… Art, Poetry & SPRING! ~ Bette A. Stevens

silverbirchpress's avatarSilver Birch Press

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VERNAL EQUINOX HAIKU
by Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black

Bird song on the wind
floral raiment dresses an
awakening world. 

IMAGE: “Blue lady with parrots” by Walasse Ting

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Read Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black‘s bio at poemhunter.com.

View original post

Written

on 03/20/2014

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