by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Oh my Sweetums, I have just made the MOST FASCINATING discovery in the history of mankind my life this week. And I must share it with you. Simply must.
But you have to wait because first I’ve got a story to tell you.
From time to time, like today for instance, I’ll walk into the studio and get whacked upside the head by a jolt of creativity that fries my common sense. ZAP! Just. Like That. And the next thing I know I’ll be painting. Which normally is a good thing, being that I’m an artist. But I don’t always walk into the studio with the intention of making art. Sometimes I’m just there to gaze.
I’m good at gazing.
On gazing days I don’t come dressed appropriately. I may even be wearing real clothes, garments that have yet to be destroyed by paint. ‘Have yet’ because eventually all my clothes end up sacrificed to da muse.
Today was a gaze day. Had other things to do but couldn’t stay away. And while I was in there some works in progress, juicy wet oils, called to me. I loved on them just a little bit, I swear it only involved a few charcoal lines, but the next thing I know I was wearing bright orange paint. Which sucked because I really like this shirt.
Now, normally I use cooking oil to clean up oil paint, especially on my skin. But this was a shirt and I couldn’t imagine rubbing more oil onto it and then trying to wash it. No way. I went into the kitchen and that’s when I had the all time best ev-ah AHA moment, at least of the day. Because right there on the kitchen sink was a bottle of Dawn. Dawn, you know, the stuff they use to wash the oil off seabirds when there’s a spill.
Lightbulb time, right there in the center of my brain. I whipped off the shirt, poured some Dawn right on the paint and washed it in the kitchen sink. And the paint came out.
All of it.
Then I threw the shirt in the washing machine with some other laundry. It came out as good as new. Like it never happened.
See? It really is but the lighting is different with both photos. Trust me on this.
And that’s the Arty Life Tip o’ the Day. And if you know anyone who paints with oils be a friend and share this info with them. Who knows how much laundry you’ll save.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Fitness, Life, Photography |
This is me.
This is me doing yoga after years of not doing yoga. And no, my feet are NOT dirty, that’s digital manipulation to disguise the fact that they’re just plain not pretty. And okay, maybe they’re just a little bit dusty from wearing flip flops to the barn but the sepia tint was supposed to take care of that.
But back to yoga. All I can say is Holy crap! Was I ever STIFF. Felt like Barbi, she of unbendable knees. And arms. And general plastic parts. Felt like every year of my age which is none of your business by the way, even tho you are my best best BEST beloved readers 4 EV-AH. So no, I will NOT tell you. Although I will admit to being 31, once. Trust me when I say I was uber hot back then. Spontaneous combustion hot.
It’s been one week since I began contorting myself in unnatural positions. Unnatural positions that were once second nature to me. At first my body laughed, laughed, which happened just before the wailing.
But the second day wasn’t nearly as bad.
And the third day was better still. Noticeably so. I was no longer counting the seconds or watching the clock. I was flowing with my breath. Flowing merrily along as I went just a bit farther. And deeper. Sure, my hamstrings twanged like an out of tune guitar. But not that out of tune.
It’s been a week now. Five days (two off for rest) of serious Hatha yoga practice. A good hour each time.
The result? My shoulders are no longer up around my ears. My butt feels tight, my joints feel loose and I’m walking free and easy with a sassy swing to my hips. I’d say that’s reason enough to continue but at this point I don’t need a reason.
Because it feels so darn good!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Oh, my dear most best best BEST beloveds…I had some studio time this week. YAY!!! Handsprings! Backflips! All manner of celebratory jumping up and down. YAY!!! Again. Because a little bit o’paint (oils, in this case), some funky old canvases that needed recycling and a lot o’loud rockin’ out music took me from stressed out to blissed out in a matter of hours.
Best. Medicine. EV-AH!!!
And here they be, just for you. Works-in-progress every one of ’em but far enough along to show. They’re all little guys, 6×6, 8×8. The last one is the biggest at 12×12.
Crooked House with Red Roof
work in progress
Susan Lobb Porter
Dog, Rabbit, Horse
Work in Progress
Susan Lobb Porter
Bunny in a Boat at Sunset
work in progress
Susan Lobb Porter
Love You THIS Much
work in progress
Susan Lobb Porter
Definitely did not have my SERIOUS ARTIST PANTS on for this batch. No indeed. And I’m glad I didn’t. A girl needs some fun in her life, don’t cha know.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below. And if you like what you see, go ahead and share with your friends. As much as I love you, I’d love you even MORE if you do. Heart emoticons here, a whole row of ’em.
Oh, and I’m taking part in an August blog challenge…which means I’ll be posting more frequently. Lots more. So be sure to stop back tomorrow and see what’s new here.
xo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Everyday Ordinary, Photography, Porterosa |
Oh my sweetums, one day, right here at the Porterosa, I went in search of hearts. Because sometimes a girl needs signs of love from the universe, just sayin’.
And I found them EVERYWHERE. A veritable plethora of love signs.
On the ground.
Fallen from trees.
Cast by shadow.
Created by fleeting light.
And spun by Charlotte (with a little help, perhaps, from a pony nose. Or not.)
Lessons learned:
- Open your eyes.
- Open your mind.
- Whatever you’re looking for is right there in front of you.
Technical info: All photos taken using an iPone 4S. Point. Shoot. Dat’s all.
As always, my best best BEST beloveds, if you like what you see here please tell me about it in the comments below. And share it with your friends. I’ll be your best friend if you do. Really. I’ll sit with you at lunch. Play with you during recess. And if you pin it, I might even do your homework.
Pinky swear.
XO
by Susan Lobb Porter | Country Living, Gardening, Porterosa |
Ah my sweetums, it’ SUMMERTIME!!!
Melons! Flipflops! Corn on da cobb!!!
Now if I was a little kid I’d be whining right about now how bored I was with vacation.
And my mother would be telling me there was laundry to fold, dishes to wash, furniture to polish. Then off she’d go to work, leaving me with a couple of older siblings calling the shots. Or she’d pack us off to Nana and the family summer place on the Long Island Sound where the beach was a one minute walk. And the hammock under the oaks was the best place to read Nancy Drew.
And the front porch was perfect for lobing water balloons at passing teenagers, the BIG kids, y’know..
All theses years later (and no, I’m not going to tell you how many) my summer vacay consisted of jumping out of bed early, what FirstBorn calls the butt crack of dawn, to be showered and dressed and semi-coherent before a herd of pickup trucks and landscapers descended on the property like a colony of worker bees in Levis.
Because after nearly twenty years of living here, Mr. Spouse and I decided it was time, way past time, to pretty up the property. To define a little patch of civilized garden between the house and the forest that surrounds us. For years we’ve been building rock walls and terraces because we’re good at making things. But since neither one of us had a clue what to do about plants, we hired a designer. And a contractor. Got the soil prepped and the irrigation in.
And then the plants came. I took a week off from work to greet them.
Heat
from the Shadows and Reflection Series
©2013 Susan Lobb Porter
Did I mention this is summer? That it’s hot?
Watering
from the Shadows and Reflections Series’
@2013 Susan Lobb Porter
I spent most of the week running around with the hose. Hand watering precious little green things still in the can. Or newly planted but not quite in the irrigation system yet. Telling them this was their forever home and they would be very happy here. Please don’t die!
Mmmmm…Roses!
We’re still not finished. The next wave of plants comes this week. The icing on the cake according to the designer. And after that there will be more as I grow into this. Already I know that the three old fashioned English roses, the ones that smell divine, will not be enough. I can move this and that and have room for a couple more.
And I see spots for bulbs. For Day Lillies and Daffodils. And those whatchamacallems with the big poofy flowers. And up in the little orchard I’ve been assured there’s room for two more fruit trees. I’m thinking Nectarine and French Plum will go nicely with the Apples and Pear. With native wildflowers growing between them.
I suspect that this garden will further blur the lines between LIFE and ART. Plans are growing in my head for sculptures. For wild haired crazy women spirits among the trees. Assemblage! Mosaic! Whatever…they will evolve as the garden evolves.
One Step at a Time
from the Shadows and Reflections Series
©2013 Susan Lobb Porter
But for now there’s more work to do. And I have to keep at it, one step at a time.
xoxo
Are you a gardener? I’d love to hear about your favorite plants and adventures in the comments below, especially if you know anything about zone 9. I think it’s 9. Snows some in winter, hot in summer. That sound like zone 9 to you?
And remember, if you share this on FaceBook I will eat chocolate for you! What’s not to like about that???
