21 Friday Jun 2013
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Fire Quellers…
Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent
with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play. – Matisse
Allow no one to extinguish your creative fires…
16 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in Art, Food, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
Tags
Date squares, Father's Day, Grief process, Photography, Ten Things to help with the early grieving process
Niagara-on-the-Lake © James Currie
A tsunami of grief swept over me after my beloved Dad died this past February. In the months that followed I struggled to make sense of his passing and, although I still cannot, several activities helped me move toward a sense of acceptance and celebration of the time we did have together. I hope the following list helps someone who may be in a similar situation:
Ten things that helped me through the early grieving process: I…
1. Comforted my daughters who were struggling with my father’s absence as much as I.
2. Connected and reconnected with family members and friends who knew my Dad. They told me many wonderful stories that I had not heard before.
3. Searched through my family photos for some father-daughter images to frame and put on my laptop and iphone screen savers.
4. Read letters and postcards that I received from him when I was a child. I had forgotten he used to call me “Honey.”
5. Edited my telephone messages. I found a message where he called me by name and realized that listening to it is the only way I will ever hear him say my name again!
6. Engaged in repetitive activities such as walking (lots of walking), sudoku and solitaire games, and knitting.
7. Created art – sketching, doodling, digital photography, painting, and sculpture.
8. Listened to music – not soft, soulful songs but strong, energetic tunes by such artists as The Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
9. Kept a journal – wrote about my Dad and how to make the time I have left on the planet more meaningful.
10. Baked his favorite desserts – apple pie and date squares.
You may like this past post about Ten Things My Father Taught Me.
30 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Art, Crafts, Photography, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Useful moves detected…
Lauren DiMarco in Ireland © Joan Currie
First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
The fingers of this hand wherewith I write,
And ever since it grew more clean and white,
Slow to world-greetings, quick with its “O, list,”
When the angels speak. A ring of amethyst
I could not wear here plainer to my sight,
Than that first kiss…
from First time he kissed me by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Grateful for the small yet sacred declarations of love…
02 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted in Art, Design, Fashion, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Standing pretty…
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Lauren DiMarco in Joshua Tree
What matter if I stand alone?
I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,
And garner up its fruit of tears.
from the poem Waiting by John Burroughs
Still hopeful that you will stand by my side one day…
08 Tuesday Jan 2013
Posted in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Travel
≈ Comments Off on Resolutions interrupted…
© Joan Currie
Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle. – Eric Zorn
For once, I am hoping to keep the promises I made to myself…
26 Monday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Flapper time…
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© Joan Currie – Charleston bodice & skirt – Mixed media
This is the beauty I want. Beauty has got to be astonishing, astounding — it’s got to burst in on you like a dream, like the exquisite eyes of a girl.
from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Flappers and Philosophers
The holiday season has arrived. Dressing up for a razzle-dazzle evening…
18 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Bursting at the seams…
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© Joan Currie – watercolor
Absence extinguishes a minor passion and intensifies a great one – as the wind blows out a candle but fans a fire.
from In Absence by François , Duc de la Rochefoucauld
Trying to wait patiently for your return…
11 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Regrouping…
© Rachel Valley
She does not yet know that real love does not demand perfection.
from Labyrinth of Desire by Rosemary Sullivan
But she is about to meet the man who will teach her …
Model: Lauren DiMarco
24 Wednesday Oct 2012
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Flying higher…
© Joan Currie
No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to fly high. – Jesse Jackson
Ready to try flying to higher altitudes…
10 Wednesday Oct 2012
Posted in Art, Design, Health, Relationships
© Joan Currie – Lions Gate Bridge
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain
This past weekend I traveled to Vancouver to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my family. One afternoon while we were watching the cargo ships and spawning Chinook salmon from a pier along the Burrard Inlet, my sister-in-law spotted a couple wearing matching pendants and approached the two to get a better look. The ornaments were Miraculous Mary medals and to my surprise, the man gave me his. I was very moved by his act of kindness and will treasure it for years to come!
Miraculous Mary Medal
