Giveaway Winner & More

Because I never heard from the first selected giveaway winner, I have drawn a new winner.  I am looking forward to sending off the stationery set and art journaling book, so here's hoping I hear from:

Tina!  Also known as Beansieleigh of Beansie Babbles.  Please send me your snail mail address at aleakaskey@yahoo.com, and I will get your giveaway prize out to you.

I was on the receiving end of a giveaway recently, and I wanted to share it with you.  Do you remember my post about finding poetry on the spines of books from last month?  For my poetry-finding efforts, Quinn McDonald was kind enough to send me a copy of her recently-published book Raw Art Journaling:

One section of the book features--of course!--Found Poetry.  Not only does Quinn take us through the process of creating Found Poems, but she provides plenty of examples to inspire us to use it on actual art journal pages:

You might have noticed some Found Poetry in the art journal pages I posted from my beach trip.  With the very limited stash of clipped words and phrases I brought with me, I was able to put together this thought:

"Enough of all the noisome chatter and clatter--to be in a place around beauty, pure contenement, energy, family--so that my soul can begin to stir."

Perfect expression of my week away!

I am looking forward to really digging into Quinn's book to let it inspire this kind of meaning-making in my art journaling practice.

Living Artfully at the Beach

“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

Nature and art are the clearest ways I know to pause and draw close to the creative power of God.  That sounds a little grandiose, but if you had spent the past week staring out at the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crashing to the shore, I think you would agree!

And it's not just the awesome and powerful sights of nature that impress me.  Sometimes it's the smallest detail, like the way the mussel shells so much resemble a delicate butterfly in the sand.

We explore all these ways we can add texture to our journal pages and our art, and I was struck by how God Himself is the ultimate Creator of texture in the shells and pebbles along the beach:

In the spirit of creation, I took a gallon storage bag of magazine clippings and filled a photo box with some basic art supplies for the week:  pens and markers, colored pencils, scissors, glue stick, a small set of pan watercolors and my water brush, a set of alphabet rubber stamps and a black ink pad, and three rolls of decorative tape. 

I've read it over and over again, and it holds true:  sometimes it's more fun to work with a limited stock of materials than it is to try to make choices in a room spilling over with every artsy/craftsy gadget and supply.

I worked in my art journal more this past week than I had in the months prior to our vacation.

Most of my pages seem to reflect the reality that a vacation with my daughters is not exactly a blissfull retreat; all of the whining and tears follow us to the beach.  But there is enough of the "different," of the "escape," of the "moments," to make it into its own form of family bliss. 

Some other evidence of artistry from our week:

Michael got a picture of me sketching in my notebook during our
first afternoon on the beach.

Katy was queen of the sandcastle-making all week.  She used shells for windows
and doors, and twigs as flags on top.

Bayla showing off her beach finds:  "This one looks like chicken!"

One of the girls' new favorite things to do is to grab the camera and take a hundred pictures.  Here's a portrait of Mommy by Bayla...impressive considering she used to come out with hundreds of pictures of her own fingers!

Oh, yeah...that's more like it!

Michael takes his sand castle-making very seriously, with moats and bridges and all
kinds of other details.  We watched as the water moved in and obliterated
this sand village...quite exciting!

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I am going to draw a new winner for my giveaway on Tuesday if I don't hear from our original winner by that time!

Thanks for your patience.

Garish Sights at the Boardwalk

As our Jersey Shore vacation draws to a close, I thought I would share some of the more garish sights to behold on the boardwalk.  During the high tourist season, which will begin in a couple of weeks over Memorial Day weekend, it is probably the people themselves who would draw the most attention.  But, as you can see below, by coming in mid-May, we have COMPLETELY missed the crowds.  In fact, we are almost the only ones here!

But some of the great boardwalk decor is year-round:

Even though my littler girl was frightened of this giant gorilla, she was captivated by the fact that, to her eye, he seemed to be eating "pretend ice cream."  Perhaps because she was dreaming of some ice cream for herself every time we set foot on the boardwalk!

I couldn't resist a photo of a store called "Bad Kitty"...home of henna and hair wraps and other beach-day must-haves!

Pirates never go out of style at the shore, I suppose.

There's something a bit haunting about an abandoned amusement park.  The rides sit there so silent and useless.  My younger daughter kept asking when she would be able to ride the "fairest wheel"...that will have to await another vacation, another season!

They seem to have a thing for whales around here...

...which I suppose is to be expected when you're at the beach!  But can someone please explain...

the fascination with dragons??!!

I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of some of the more garish sights of the Ocean City, New Jersey, boardwalk!  Next up, I'll share some of the more artful aspects of my week away.