Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Seeing the familiar in new ways

"Most of us lead far more meaningful lives than we know. Often finding meaning is not about doing things differently; it is about seeing familiar things in new ways." Rachel Naomi Remen
click to enlarge a quite morning at the beach
Love that idea of looking at things with new eyes.  Happy Sky Watch Friday my friends, click the link to see what bloggers from all over have found in their sky to share this week. 
Whatevers is a new challenge site hosted by 3 creative friends Cat Scanlon, Vicki Chrisman, Nat Kalbach, to celebrate found photos and the stories that could be told.

Found photos are often for sale at jumble stalls and antique centres. Sadly their story is lost but the images are rich with details of fashion or landscapes that have changed and vintage automobiles. Do you ever wonder, who are these people and what is their story?

The Whatever theme reminded me of Nick Bantock’s mail art books where the characters wrote to each other in decorated correspondence and inspired me to create a journal for Charles and Chelsea. With their families moving away the two young friends are documenting adventures in their journals and letters to each other......

Konnichiwa from Japan!
Did you recognise me in the pretty kimono?  We have been in Japan for a few weeks now, mother and father are fascinated with the culture and enrolled me in a local school to learn some of the fine arts. Their calligraphy is just as beautiful as their water colour paintings and I practice every day in my sketch journal. You know me and my love of the great outdoors, learning about the industrious silk worms that produce the fibres for the pretty kimonos are fascinating. Sadly it seems our modern world might kill them off with the invention of pesticides which have lots of great properties but some have negative effects on the environment. At school we are working on a petition to the powers that be to do something before it is too late. Oopps there goes another butterfly I want to try and capture the vibrant colours!
 
On the My Creative Classroom web site I teach a workshop on the theme of mail art, how to incoporate letters and postage stamps into decorated envelopes.

24 comments:

Martha Richardson said...

What a beautiful quote!

Sivinden said...

Beautiful picture with such soft tones, - looks so peaceful.

Carver said...

Beautiful shot and I love the quote.

Steffi said...

Wonderful photo and quote,Mandy!I wish I could be there on the beach!Have a nice weekend!

Sylvia K said...

I do love your quote for the day, Mandy! How true! Lovely skies for the day!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful shot!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Gorgeous skies -- beautiful beach! Thanks for sharing.

Rajesh said...

Fantastic shot of the horizon.

Merisi said...

Perfect harmony of image and words!

Happy Skywatch,
Merisi

Photo Cache said...

How inspiring is the combination of quote and image today. Thanks. You have a knack of finding the perfect pair.

http://calrat.blogspot.com/2012/10/agra-fort-pictorial-tour.html

NatureFootstep said...

my kind of place. Love it.

Al said...

A beautiful Skywatch photo. Taking photographs makes us see things in new ways!

Judy said...

Wonderful quotation, and a beautiful sunset!!

Karen said...

A lovely pastel sky!

Chubskulit Rose said...

So beautiful!

Sky Views at my end, have a great weekend!

http://www.p-ter.net said...

Wow wonderful picture!
Blissful those colors!

Athena at Minervas Garden said...

That is a very wise quotation--seeing familiar things differently is what we do all the time as decorators and designers! I thank you for stopping by my blog the other day and leaving an encouraging comment--glad that you enjoyed my autumn mantel.

EG CameraGirl said...

Super quote! It's good to be reminded that our lives are far more meaningful than we realize.

DeniseinVA said...

Great picture and a great quote!

Barb said...

What a tranquil beach scene. I'll dream there awhile.

joy said...

This is a wonderful post that touch one's heart. Have a nice week end.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What an interesting thing to look for at Jumble sales Mandy -- I loved your picture and quote too.

lena-dailyscrap said...

Great take on the theme - beautiful asian style!

Mila said...

One way to see the original story, beautiful page.