Time to Gather

Demo piece I did at Dupage Art League,
"Falling into Season"
12 x 12 collage on watercolor paper, book pages, painted engineer plans, sandpapered magazine pages, painted drawing paper, stained tissue paper, printed papers and an image transfer.


I feel like it time to gather..how can one not help but do that..the nuthatches are doing it the Squirrels are doing it and I've even seen the chipmunks gathering leaves besides the seeds they pick up around the bird feeders.  So I too am gathering..but my gathering is a bit different as of gathering information.  Some times I pick it other times it picks me and what I mean by that is a book or a movie seems to make itself be present and I start reading it or watch the movie..then My mind start the wheels turning and I'm gathering more information. 

The one book..Happier at Home has me hooked then I'm watching the Documentary about Happy, and before that I'm watching fun like movie called The Love Guide...and all this influence me to put some of this happy energy into action.

Well I'm going to share a bit again,

Happy people make people happy, but
I can't make someone be happy, and
No one else can make me happy.

She's(Gretchen Rubin) has her list of Commandments.
1. Be ____________(fill your name in the blank)
2. Let it go.
3. Act the way I want to feel.
4. Do it now.
5. Be polite and be fair
6. Enjoy the process.
7. Spend out.
8. Identify the problem
9. Lighten up
10. Do what ought to be done.
11. No calculation
12. There is only love.

I'm sure we can make a list of our own..


So I couldn't sleep,up at 3:30 and the word acceptance has been a real strong influence coming though these days. It seems that my attitude has fall in the clinker...and the dear husband has been so kind to not criticize too much but with open conversation yesterday morning it came out.  And I have to admit that one too. I've fallen into the My Way attitude or the high way and been a bit cranky and that's is not becoming for me even let alone others.  So as I read on Gretchen shares about an experiment she's done about Happiness suckers- people that see things half full all the time and when you hang out with them you seem to convert over to that way of thinking and feeling...Oh my gosh I realized I'm not normally like that but with hormonal changes it's happened...Yikes!  See the book came at the right time..at lest it didn't hit me over the head...but gently made itself present on Amazon when I was checking on another books expectancy. Kind of feeling good about it, as a bit of grace slipped in at the right moment. 

Well in the Happy Documentary movie they talked about 47% of our emotional capacity is open for us to do something about it...Gosh that's almost half...a good percent of us have the ability to make ourselves happy ? yes that's true but it's what we choice that makes the difference...but the best place to start is with in ourselves..

I get this feeling that I've been here before in fact many times but for some reason didn't realize I had gotten so bad...so work in progress and progress is a working. not that I'm a depressed person but lets say the thinking has become distorted for sure.

As the husband shares  we are not on this earth to have other serve us we are give this life as a gift and that makes a different on how your attitude is and sometime luckily we are give a gently nudge to see it again...lets say I kind of swayed off the good red road of life.. and I would like to say I'm grateful I did as it means so much more to be aware and understand and kind of free of it to a point as of now comes the food work...And some one ask you if your an artist...how long did it take you to make that piece of art and all this that I've describe above goes into making a piece of art any art because I personal believe it's about self expression...The source, influences and information all come out some how..OK digging deep there I know.

Oh and one last movie that helps kick this all into action was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...even my young adults watched it and enjoyed it..the husband and I watched it twice now.  again a good time for a boost of good spiritual vitamins and corrective thinking.