Is this truly possible?  For several years I have returned occassionally, trying to regain access to my blog, always finding some strange advertising placed over the cover page & no way to remove it or contact those who hijacked my site. Suddenly today I was able to scroll down and read my old posts!  Yay!  Let's see if this post actually registers on the blog...

Thought Exchange

That's my friend, the wonderful composer-speaker-author, David Friedman and me during the book signing portion of his book launch at Borders in Manhattan on Saturday night (April 30).  What a wonderful evening!  A large, enthusiastic crowd sat listening to his presentation about "The Thought Exchange" and experienced a short demonstration of the process with a volunteer from the audience.
Having attended many Thought Exchange workshops with David and experiencing the benefits, I highly recommend not just reading this book but really using the principles and learning to watch life's thoughts and sensations from that safe, neutral place within that enables us to observe our experience without being affected by it, therefore allowing us to constantly act in the moment, living our full potential with open hearts.  The freedom gained is worth the effort! 

If you'd like to know more about David's music and Thought Exchange work, visit his website:  http://www.middermusic.com/

Resurrection

On this beautiful Easter Sunday I wish you all joyful activities shared with family and friends!  Talk to you soon...

Say a Prayer

Catskills, NY

Isn't that a lovely hill?  It's part of my sister's land in the Catskills, where we've spent many happy days and were looking forward to another visit but Mom is back in the hospital with the C Diff bacteria so no traveling anytime soon.  I've started putting a few small quilts together in the evenings using the newly dyed fabric, but even that's on hold now.  Let's think of a joyful moment in our life and then send a prayer into the Universe for all those who are facing challenges that seem overwhelming, so that we may remember together that Love embraces us all.

Dyeing Experiment

Many years ago I considered sewing a headboard cover and bedskirt in an offbeat small leapord-print fabric and bought several yards.  Lesson learned: buy a small swatch to take home and check first.  But I didn't and had this bolt of fabric standing in the corner until last Summer when I decided to use it as a slip cover for my wingback chair so I cut it up in smaller pieces and threw it in the washing machine hoping to soften the color.  Wrong again.  I happened to have a box of fabric dye remover...yes, I threw that into the washer next, hoping for a soft pink result.  Not even close.

This is what the fabric looked like wet, with areas changing color as the dye remover chemicals took effect.

I watched as all the fabric turned into this brownish-green color.  Very interesting...

I closed the lid, thinking the next phase would be a fade out of color, but when I reopened the lid the finished effect was:

OMG!  Nothing changed.

The only difference was a slightly softer feel to the cotton fabric, so I folded it up and put it back into the stash.  Have you noticed that the back side is a pastel color?  

SO, during my recent dyeing frenzy, I took a section of this and dyed it with the RIT dyes.  

Tadaaaaa!   This I can use!

Patience and the courage to experiment -- essential artist tools. 

It's All Good

Hello again...it's been a journey through sorrow these past months as my mother battled several debilitating infections that almost took her life. So much was happening that I wrote only in my private journal. During my walk last night down by the beach, I stood on the big rocks overlooking Long Island Sound and thanked God that I live surrounded by so much beauty offering healing. Even these rocks beneath my feet reminded me again that Life continues to find expression no matter how hard the circumstances.



I too have found a crack in the surface of my life's painful events, and have started creating in fabric again. All the photos and little sketches I've made these past few months are now source material. First little quilt is on the table being assembled...using my image transfers and fabrics which I dyed recently (first time using RIT dyes per article in Quilting Arts Magazine by Judy Coates Perez -- Thanks Judy, your clear instructions made it very easy!).

The article mentions that if you don't disolve the powdered dyes completely the grains will show up on the fabric -- that's how I got the speckles on the purple piece and the red on the neutral mottled piece on the left. As for the fabric on the far left, I already overdyed it last night with navy and love the results.

Since my studio table is overtaken with paints and a mosaic in progress, I set up the ironing board in the living room to iron dyed swatches and the little wooden table for photo transfers.

Earlier, out on the deck I put down a piece of plywood onto which 2 sheets of newsprint were laid to soak up excess dye and then two folded lengths of white cotton which I dyed with abandon.

This photo shows the pattern which ended up on the paper....
I laughed to think that the best part wasn't the actually dyed fabric (which will also be useful though it turned out a bit dense and dark) but the paper meant to be tossed away. NOT!  Took photos of various sections to use as backgrounds for other work by printing onto fabric and saved the paper for collage.  Lots of new ideas...

It's good to be back!

Happy 90th Birthday, Mom!

My beautiful Mom turned 90 years old yesterday. What a gift for all who know her. She devoted her life to raising, encouraging and loving her husband and five children. I love listening to stories of her life experiences growing up in Poland and tales of raising her rambuctious bunch of creative kids. To hear her side of various adventures I remember from childhood has sometimes been quite surprising (just like she's surprised when we tell her now, as adults, about things we did growing up that she and Dad never knew. We had a joyful gathering on Sunday for the whole family with delicious food and a great feeling of celebration. This enabled family from farther away to celebrate her birthday with us before going back to work after the Thanksgiving holiday. We all wish her many more years of health and happiness and thank her for surviving the many challenges of her life and for all the love she's given us. God bless you, Mom! Sto Lat!

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Message

Hope you're having a wonderful day with family and friends. I saw this wonderful post about the history of this holiday on my friend's blog and wanted to share it with you (click on my post title). I took the photo during a wonderful weekend at Earthgate, PA.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving: Counting my Blessings

The summer and fall were lived as adventures and changes that were chronicled in the handwritten 'morning pages' of my private journal, but it's time to say hello to my friends in blog-land. My Mom and sisters traditionally share Thanksgiving with me and we use this wonderful occassion to count our blessings. The deepened introspection resulting from my continued job search has allowed me to recognize, more so this year, the daily blessings around me: a cozy home; being able to take healing walks on my neighborhood beach to watch inspiring sunrises that give me courage or soothing sunsets that have offered a hug in color as another day ended; visting caring friends, old and new, who've offered such generous support and my loving family whose words have bouyed me repeatedly. And to my blog friends who've stayed in touch by email, I look forward to continued sharing. Thank you all! Yes, thank you, God! My heart is filled with joy, for I know I'm truly blessed! Happy Thanksgiving!

Rug Hooking Delight

I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful multi-media artist whose primitive hooked rugs and a selection of other work are part of the current show at Flinn Gallery inside Greenwich Library. The show is called "Little Treasures" and runs through June 24th. If you're in the area, do stop by! You can see more of Leslie's work on her website and several of the pieces in this show on my Flikr page: Olenka5.

I happened to notice that a demonstration of this hooking art form would take place this past Saturday, so I zipped down and was delighted by the work and the artist.

I sat in the 'guest' chair and had the opportunity to learn how to hook the wool strips through a burlap backing. Fascinating. After doing a straight line for a couple of inches, Leslie suggested I try making a curve. Not as easy as it looks when just looking at a piece that's finished! As in so many art forms, the technique is simple, but still takes lots of practice to develop the skill to convey ones vision in flowing lines and rhythmic color changes.

Wishing you fun explorations of the primitive figures you imagine!

Reunion with Liz Gorski

The soul-hugging view from my sister's property in the Catskills. It is very similar to the place I spent wonderful Summers as a teenager, camping with the Polish Girl Scouts (ZHP). Most of us went our separate ways into adult life holding memories of those special days that shaped our life. A few months ago I received an email from a woman asking whether I was the same Olenka she remembered from camp, when she was 12 and I was 15! She was doing internet research on mosaics and had found my blog. It touched me deeply to hear her speak of a simple kindness I had offered her at camp which had made an impression that lasted all these years. 

After several months of exchanged emails, Liz invited me to attend a chamber music concert at the Morgan Library with her. This past Friday we finally met in Manhattan. What a treat! It's amazing how deep are the connections forged by childhood experiences. It felt as if she was a friend I simply hadn't seen in a few months (instead of decades!) and we were catching up over a cup of coffee. Thanks for reaching out, Liz, and for the concert and the walk down memory lane. I look forward to our next visit!

The little girl I met in yesteryear is now an accomplished musician, artist and crossword puzzle creator. Do visit her website at http://primroseneedleworks.com/ and her blog http://howtomakeanamericansampler.com/

Blooming

Came across this drawing I did in pen back in 1987. I've always enjoyed black and white line art and have considered using this as a sketch for a mosaic. The original drawing you can see is damaged by mold from the basement flood a few years ago. Yesterday I found a file folder filled with copies of many of my old graphic works. It was like seeing old friends again.

Went to a wonderful Sales & Marketing networking meeting this morning sponsored by Schegg Group up in Shelton, CT. Wonderful company! The energy of the participants and enthusiasm of the leader was very encouraging. It was also the first time I came across fellow musicians (two, disguised as top level executives) at one of these corporate networking meetings. May we all land a good job soon!

Soothing Nature

These last days have been intense as the job search continues. During the weekend I managed to get outside to walk on the beach and through the park, allowing the beauty all around to soothe the tension and remind me to trust that God is in charge. I took these photo's after driving over just in time for the rain to strengthen as I arrived, so I sat in the car, facing the water and read my book to the sound of the rain falling all around. It was wonderful. There were people walking around the circuit, only a few with umbrellas.

Then there was silence and I looked up as the heavy clouds lightened. Everything was wet and clean, the fog so thick over the water you couldn't see past our island rocks, the horizon soft and gray. I walked to the beach and along the water line as the clouds let through more light. The flock of seagulls which had been sitting on the grass field during the rain then suddenly took off and flew around me toward the water. I loved being surrounded by all these flying birds! They circled back and landed further down the beach, all facing toward the filtered sun, sitting and standing totally still as if nothing had changed. The clouds knit together and the rain started again. I was glad to have captured the moment and left refreshed.

Wishing you moments of wonder amidst the rain!

Reach Out

"If we are wondering whether we have enough jobs to go around, perhaps the reason there is a scarcity is because there is such a withdrawal from doing what you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Everything is wrapped up in "me" and "mine" and possession, and what you have are people and worlds in need." Kenneth G. Mills, The Key: Identity, Freedom is Found pg.222 http://www.kgmfoundation.org/ 

 Remember that every gesture has an effect; what you think is a small, unimportant way to help someone could be a huge, uplifting show of support that someone needed that day. This time of struggle for so many is a time for all of us to open our hearts and share what we can. We all know the big things: food, shelter, money, but everything counts: hugs, smiles, words of encouragement and new ideas are especially welcomed. 

 I went to a wonderful presentation at Greenwich Library last evening, given by Kathy Caprino, carreer and life coach [ http://www.elliacommunications.com/ ]. It offered the women who attended new ways of looking at our current position of being caught in this economic vortex and suddenly finding everything we've worked for and saved disappearing with no relief in sight. Every woman's story was different yet the same in the final analysis, with huge changes seemingly thrust upon us out of the blue. That's really a key point: out of the Blue -- I believe the Universe signals our need to grow when we've become too comfortable or are afraid to move toward our secret dream jobs by forcing us out of the situation holding us in mental-bondage. OR we think we're in our dream job, but our soul has a different plan for this life and we're not seeing it, so, suddenly we're outside and asking ourselves, "if not this, then what?" "If not now, then when?"  That's good. It's scary; it's difficult, but if we choose to grow, to reach in for the answers, our prayers will be answered.

Winds may blow in the darkness

And make our light seem small,

But together we shine in knowing

The Light within us is All.

- Olenka /(C) Alexandra Philippas

Budding Glass

Stained Glass (C) Alexandra K Philippas That's an altered image of a stained glass panel I made and gave to a friend as a wedding present. The best part was seeing her delight when she opened the gift, as she'd never received a hand-made artwork from the artist before. My pleasure! 

 The bud also symbolized the hope budding after yesterday's meeting with a new recruiter. There were three job listings with this agency that were of great interest and I got the call to come meet with the recruiter in the afternoon. We had a good discussion and she will take the next steps. All you readers who have a job, be grateful. It's been a challenge to keep looking, networking, sending out the resumes, interviewing and yet have no results YET...I wonder what will open now? Birthing anything new always follows a time of living with the unknown. The challenge is keeping the perspective of excitement and trust in the right opportunity coming in its right time, without getting caught up in all the thoughts that start to creep in, each one dragging along some aspect of fear. 

Like in the garden, I daily clear my mind with meditation and prayer, so the weeds of doubt can't take hold. There was a row of beautiful daylilies along the fence beside our previous house. It was a joy to come home after a busy day at the office and go into the garden to deadhead the flowers and pull up weeds. I clearly remember the day I was on my knees, working along that daylily row, when it occurred to me that the garden was actually weeding me. I had started out stressed and tired, but halfway down the row felt calm and tuned-into the beauty of the garden. Another affirmation that what blesses one, blesses all. 

 It's a beautiful sunny day outside and the trees are blooming -- time to get out there and take some photos (more?! never enough!) May your day blossom into a joyful weekend!

Plants Refreshed

While visiting my friend Harriette this weekend we came upon these flowers growing in her friend's garden, but none of us know what they are. Do you? They looked like lotus blossoms floating in the garden, but grow from tubers or rhizomes. Very lovely flowers. If you know them, please leave me a comment with their name. Thanks!

Above are the two refreshed pots holding the miniature maple and the grapefruit tree which has lived indoors so far. Two days of rainy weather are helping it aclimate to the outdoors -- I hope!

And these are a few of the pots by the entrance, Bleeding hearts on the far left survived the winter, though coming in a smaller size than last year. The hosta in the middle will grow into a huge bouquet and I was thrilled to see the miniature rose bush on the right not only survived the winter but is covered in buds and many budding leaves. I trimmed it back and cut away many inner branches so it will fill out nicely.

The Coral Bells didn't make it through the snowstorms and had to be tossed. The ferns are showing several clumps of tightly wound fronds and of course the varigatted and large hostas on the other side of the stairs are all several inches high already. Welcome back fellas... I love you all!

I wish you a day of happy surprises!

Inviting Opportunity

It's a cold, blustery, rainy day today so I chose a photo taken a couple of days ago during my walk in the sunshine of a beautiful Spring day. My heart always fills with joy when buds starting bursting open all around me -- it really is a wonder to watch all the bare trees come alive with renewed vigor. They give me hope that after these many months of searching, a new opportunity for work will bud in my life, despite the gloomy forecasts heard on the news. I am grateful for all the goodness in my life...

Laughing is Good

Tulips dancing with the changing light always elicit a smile.

Since laughter helps relieve stress and my goal during the current job search has been to keep breaking through various mental barriers by also doing things that interest me but have been suffocating in the 'someday' corner of my mind, I decided to try something new last night by attending my first Comedy Improv Class, which I found through the MeetUp website. The games/exercises/skits were done in the style of the TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (which I had enjoyed watching and greatly admired the actors' ability to think fast and improvise on the spot).

It was a blast! The core of professional improv actors were warm and welcoming and kept us all participating in each exercise. Even though I felt nervous as a beginner, themes and actions kept changing so quickly you just jumped in and did whatever came to mind in the moment. For the most part, each person managed to come up with at least one hilarious moment. We worked together for two hours and laughed from start to end. Can't wait until next month's meeting.

Wishing you laughter and sunshine today!

Storytelling Event

(I love photographing magnolia blossoms -- so graceful!)

Darien Library held their first Storytelling Event last night. We met in the spacious conference room and the circle of people grew to fit the room -- didn't count the number but it looked like about 20 people attended. There were several folk tales (eg. White Crane, Black Prince); the 'love affair with basketball' story; how Andrew Carnegie gained his wealth and a true life adventure story of boys saved from a python attack. It was wonderful! Several of us (including me!) were ready to speak, but time ran out so, next time, more time will be allotted to the "open mic" portion. There really is an enchanting connection when people sit together listening to someone telling a story...

If you're in the area, you can listen to the best story tellers at the 28th Connecticut Storytelling Festival which takes place on April 24-26 at Connecticut College, New London. More info at http://www.connstorycenter.org/

Every day we add a story to the book of life -- aim for a loving adventure!

Relax and Start Again

Jade and forsythia reveling in the sunshine!

Had a wonderful, joyful time with family on Easter Sunday, then had to return home and finally submit my tax returns (done yesterday online -- hurray!). Today it's Spring clean-up time; will have to balance the indoor work with some 'gardening' -- I have plants only in pots at this location. It's cloudy and cool, which is good for cleaning up last years dead leaves and revealing the new shoots coming up on the perennials (hosta, bleeding hearts, ferns, coral bells). My bonsai maple on the little deck has buds on the branches so it looks like it make it through another winter -- amazing! Leaving now with a photo of some of this years holiday table which was taken before all the food was set out -- we had a feast for the body and the heart!
Though the day's half over, there's plenty of time to enjoy!