Gorgeous, Inspiring Art! -Just Quilts exhibit, downtown San Jose
you do not have to be a 'quilter' to appreciate quilts; in fact, in casual conversations with others at this exhibit the same day/time we were there.. several of us were not 'quilters.' what we had in common, what caused us to visit.. the amazing art form; the beautiful colors and designs; the textures; the variety of creative expressions; artistic experiments; -the evolution of, and history..
the obvious love and passion and talent and skill embedded in each quilt..
and we did get to talk with jane, who curated this exhibition -learned a great deal listening to her..
love how she filled 3 different spaces/rooms, with quilts made by 3 different artists; dedicating 4 walls to each one..
this offered an easy 360 view of 1 artist at a time; and how varied the styles were from just 1 artist.. over time, -i could literally see how each experimented with different patterns, colors, forms, techniques
inspiring. -and they are all extraordinary quilters, no doubt.. all experiment.. that's what artists do
but, i could also easily see, that of the 3 quilters showcased, joy is the bona fide 'mixed media' quilter; so often incorporating embellishments of many different kinds..
and, i have my fav's of each artist..
i love this one, by charlotte scholberg, especially for the extra layer.. the overlay of the pink leafy fabric design. once i stared at this one for a while, i could see how cool it would look if you added on one or two extra layers to.. so many quilts that are considered 'done.' -in fact, i would recommend it, if you have a quilt that seems to be a bit outdated, or seems a little flat for any reason. add on.. add interest, give it a face lift, a make-over..
initially i fell in love with this quilt, by randa mulford, for the color palette and design; it only increased my love and appreciation to learn what inspired the design -a very beautiful expression of a difficult experience; witnessing dementia.
and, love this by joy palmer.. the magnetic colors, design, texture, size, shapes, patterns.. it is a pleasure to look upon.. a pleasure to be near.. ever gaze worthy.
"Thank You!" -we had a great time! Hallelujah & amen
What church do you go to? -Robert & Sandra
we have been asked this question many times over several years and our answer has been,
'we dont go -to- a church, we watch church TV, 7 days a week, 365..'
and that remains true. we do watch church tv every morning. i have mentioned countless times, that i am a student of joyce meyers for life.. love her! and, more recently we began watching/listening to charles stanley with much more consistency -love him too! his teaching style.. the background for robert's workouts, and the background for my domestic/creative projects.
and we watch other tv pastors, here and there, but these two are our current mainstays
what's new, is that we are now occasionally attending an actual, brick n mortar, church
the church where robert used to be a youth leader; and the church his family attended while raising their son and daughter
and we've been once, a few years back, for easter.. but not since really.
now, -as occasion allows, we attend their 10:30am service, and it is a joy to watch robert re-connect with church friend-like-family members he hasnt seen in years..
if feels write for us at this time.. we both really like it there. -and we've planned it so that, after sunday service, we are going to try restaurants we've never been to before for lunch... get us out exploring..
and! of course I LOVE that on the church campus of park victoria.. a wonderful art gallery! each artist can have up to 3 pieces in the gallery at a time; and they rotate art every 6 to 8 weeks, i believe it is, and when we did visit in length 2 or 3 sundays ago.. magnificent! -a wonderful variety of art styles, types, methods, moods, textures.. and perfectly curated. we learned also, and appreciate that they do not sell art out of dove gallery, -rather, you can contact the artist directly if you are interested in purchasing.
as you know, our walls are quite full... we are not in the market for wall art, no matter how beautiful
but i do love looking, -in the same way i might adore someone's garden as im walking by..
isnt that beautiful.. or, intriguing, arent those colors beautiful together.. or wow to that texture.. look how they captured the light... etc.
God has placed creative gifts inside countless people.. and i delight in seeing that these artists are not letting their gifts go to waste. the joy of discovering your gifts! the joy of developing them...
selah! hallelujah & amen
p.s. delighted to learn that there is a riding lawn mower robert's mom had donated to the church many years ago -it got tucked away, when it didnt work proper, and collected some dust.. and, safe to say was on its way out
thank sharon here, she reached out to church member (name?) good w/fixing things, and turns out
the riding lawn mower was rescued and restored and is still going strong. -"thank you!" prayer-
what a wonderful thing to get to learn... smiles from heaven.
in Jesus praiseworthy, loving name... amen!
The Twelve Monotasks by (thatcher wine!)
it is the newest addition to my personally inscribed autographed book collection
and what leaped out..
MONOTASK
like, write away, i was saying out loud, "Thank You!" YES!
"MONOTASK!"
let us let go of the entire multitasking culture. and i can't even remember the first time i heard that word, multitasking.. but once it entered the language, i never stopped hearing it..
even when negative consequences were directly, blatantly, visible and experiential
(many articles on this, i never researched or had exposure to until now)
but rather
if/when there were negative consequences, the blame was on the given person
for not being able to multitask
but, i have witnessed and experienced and so, i am all in when it comes to
celebrating this book: The Twelve Monotasks
i have read it cover to cover,
and was pleased to see, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People mentioned in it; pg 72 (also an autographed book in my collection)
7 habits was my Bible during college. -which i gave a re-read not too long ago, and.. still so relevant; but outdated when it comes to cell phones, social media; things that had not manifested in our culture when 7 habits was written. 'multi-tasking' had not yet entered the scene..
anyway.. at almost 56 years old, retired.. i do not approach these books with the same hunger as i did in my 20's. I needed the actual lessons at that time.. now, i read to confirm/validate
so let me do that here, in a brief way
reading! love it! yes.. my head is in Joyce Meyer's purple book, the Bible, or an article, or a book with great frequency. any benefit comes from giving the words/pages/author my undivided attention. one sentence, one paragraph, one page, one chapter, one story at a time..
undivided attention (monotasking) is a great gift to give and to receive!
i do not try to read while simultaneously having a conversation.. watching tv..
my best reading is done when i get my 'fresh coat of paint' /that is; when i get my gray roots covered at the salon. i have to sit for 45+ minutes..
and, i like to read with a pen, highlighter, notepad..
there is great joy in getting lost in a story of fiction; or gaining knowledge from non
walking! yes.. my sexy and i walk every morning.. up a steep hill for cardio, along flat roads for the exercise, through parks for the nature and wildlife. we are often stopped in our tracks by the beauty of a tree, charm of a bird, activity of a squirrel -and have made several new friends by stopping to say hi and engage in conversation with others on the same path. (see listening) can i quantify how valuable these walks are? life changing! life enhancing! good for the mind, body, heart, spirit, soul...
listening! big YES! i will self-assess, and am proud to say, i consider listening one of my greatest skill sets. /i did get the only A+ in my class in college.. and have continued to 'actively listen' best i can to
-one person at a time!
and because i consciously, actively listen; and care.. i will mute the tv if someone is talking, or ask a person to wait just a minute, if i am listening to something important on tv
i cannot listen to the tv, or radio, and a person at the same time; someone loses..
i will wait my turn rather than try and talk over someone..
i will repeat back what i believe i heard to confirm..
it seems to me, in life, just like you have writers, you have readers, and some who do both;
same applies with listening and talking.
now, while i cannot listen to more than one person talking at a time..
and i do not believe in 'multi-tasking' on the whole..
i have learned about myself, that i can craft, create, make art.. and while i'm creating
i can also listen. -and listen well..
so, while i'm crafting in my studio.. this turns out to be a great time to have ted talks in the background.. or great music.. and i am hypertuned in to the lyrics..
-read about this sometime ago.. and was never concerned when my children doodled on the program at church during the sermons, because i knew they could doodle and listen at the same time. /i have archived some of these programs..
sleeping! yes! i have already overwritten on this topic.. it really should be number one in my opinion and experience; everything else relies heavily on you getting restorative sleep: your health, attitude, appetite, mood, energy, strength, patience.. on and on.
eating! -of course! i have eaten better in the past 4 years than ever in my life! and i have evolved into a very mindful of every bite eater.. really enjoying, savoring.. and i have discussed in other posts.. my own personal theory about a connection/correlation between how you feel when you eat..
not what food; not how many calories.. not nutritional value..
how you feel, as you are eating and drinking [happy; guilty; sneaking/cheating; deprived; disciplined; proud; grateful; blessed; rewarded; self-conscious; in or out of self-control]
getting there! -fun to read that thatcher's parents had my dream commute: downstairs to work; upstairs and home..
and i am retired now, so my stressful commute has been removed. Praise God! and "Thank You Sexy!" but i did find ways to reduce the stress.. i was always working at finding ways to reduce the stress: i stopped talking about the traffic and accidents i saw and faced everyday. i put on Christian or wonderful dance music, or intriguing talk radio. monotasking came more and more naturally to me.. because when i tried to take in the beauty around me "brakes!" "get out of my lane!" i learned i was better off staying exclusively focused on the road/drivers around me. with my own children, i have encouraged them to keep their commutes to work short. robert is a great example! he had such a high stress career as a deputy, but commuted only 10-15 minutes. always left early, so he wasnt adding unnecessary stress rushing to be on time; drove the speed limit.. relaxed and prayed in the parking lot before he got out and started his day. i believe this short commute x27 years is a contributing factor in his being able to retire with such a young/youthful healthy energy and spirit.
learning! -monotasking when you are learning is probably the easiest, because the very nature of learning (vs. practicing/improving something you already know) requires such devoted attention..
and reading, walking, listening, sleeping, eating,
all great prerequisites that help with the willingness, excitement to learn something brand new
years ago it was the flute
most recently; cooking
and it might look like multi-tasking in the kitchen with robert,
but even with many pots, pans, dishes, oven
one thing is being done at a time.. cutting the vegetables, cooking the steak.. boiling the water..
there might be switching from this to that.. but not this and that at the same time.
teaching!
when you learn; teach. -dr maya angelou
i have taught many writing workshops, craft classes, spiritual lessons; and thatcher is exactly write
even when we are not in an official teaching position; 'everyone in life is a teacher, in one way or another' in almost every conversation with anyone; anywhere.. we are learning, teaching, sharing, growing.. monotasking helps us become more conscious that the activity is taking place..
playing, seeing, creating,
our yard art hobby, and
indigenous word art hobby -each of these ongoing practices, monotasked
reaps great ongoing and increasing rewards! it is exactly how we describe it 'playing in the yard' and each installation is a new creation..
indigenous word art requires we look more closely at the nature around us.. feel, touch, rearrange
it increases our awareness, appreciation.. it is creative, fun, and the photo journal helps us relive wonderful places, people, experiences.. how can i word it? the way monotasking multiplies the rewards and multitasking, splintering everything, marginalizes and reduces them..
sharing here one of my more recent play/see/create monotask projects: i paper mosaic'd our fireplace one brick, one torn piece of paper at a time!
i am so grateful to help spread this beautiful, helpful, creative and productive, life enhancing word and lifestyle thatcher!
"MONOTASK"
and thinking! -my daughter will remember, my imaginary commencement speech at any given college
"learn to think for yourself"
wow, is it ever so important, with so much information; a constant bombardment of commercial, political, questionable, scientific, religious, secular news.. understanding motives.. cultures.. maturity.. values.. ethics.. capitalism.. democracy.. on and on..
the soundbites.. the headlines.. the graphics.. understanding who wants you to believe what for what reasons.. for whose gain..
yes; monotask listen.. and then monotask thinking about what you heard..
in Christian speak, we are flesh and spirit. I have found when i monotask, and think exclusively about how i am going to respond to a given situation
my initial response is usually 'fleshly' -reactionary; emotional; oversized/exaggerated for the circumstance at hand
and then, when i think through a variety of potential responses..
i can eventually align with the holy 'spirit' -higher, more mature, proper and correctly proportional response
but it is mono~ 'thinking' it through in advance, and not responding initially that yields the best results.
***
-that's (me!) monotask responding to the twelve monotasks.. the book of course goes into practical, interesting, inspiring detail.. memoir interwoven and the organization wonderful!: the art and science of monotasking; the specific task 1 - 12; facts; specifics on how it helps; assignments; mantras; reinforcements; task in your past; how you'll know you're good at it; what if's and now go!
"Congratulations on this book Thatcher Wine!" i will be gift-giving it proudly!
and now,
***
my entire reason for my very first visit to juniper books was a tv segment which shared about your
crazy awesome creative custom book cover printing for home and professional libraries
i had (have) never seen anything like it!
on my bucket list for sure!
but inspired to share here: well, i have only ever referred to it, as "the way i arrange my books"
but i will borrow from your vocabulary, which sounds much more impressive and poetic -and share here how i have designed and curated my home library: i am a lover of books, and admirer and student of many different authors who i have had the great honor to meet.. or see speak.. and have a treasured collection of personally inscribed, and/or autographed books in a variety of genres, along with a library of books i have just enjoyed reading and re-reading throughout the years; and books i have written, along with anthologies from my workshops.. i think it looks especially pretty slightly rearranged/altered with our Christmas decorations up..
and my dream, my dream, my dream of dreams! my 16+ years of blog posts in printed book form, with custom printed covers that reach across the shelves SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com
also, there are 9 years worth of unpublished archives between myself and leonard stegmann, so i dream of those blogs/comments being printed out in book form also, with juniper books covers across reading SQUIDMANN & SHE...
i really love that art form.. the way it transforms a book shelf/library! remarkable!
in Jesus hear my prayers' name.. and Merry Christmas to the Wine Family & Amazing Team at Juniper Books
amen.
