Kat Eye Studio

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Colorful and Cozy

Is there anything better than curling up under a quilt and reading a book? A cup of tea, and a cat on my lap add to the mood. The only thing I need to complete the perfection is to have it be one of my Mom’s quilts I’m snuggled up under, made for me with love.

A while ago I wrote on Mortal Muses about how my life story can be tracked by the quilts that have been made for me, by my Mom and other relatives. Just this week a new chapter in the story was added, with this quilt of bright colors that arrived in the mail. My Mom and I chose this fabric to match my studio when she visited in October, and she took it home to create a new work of art for me to snuggle under. A quilt that marks the move home from Italy in my creative journey.

She thinks it’s too bright, but I love it. It makes me happy and cheerful to curl up under this quilt, with all of the colors I love. Perfect for these short grey days and long dark nights – colorful and cozy!

Today’s Many Muses Musing prompt is COZY. Tomorrow’s prompt is PEACE. Come on over and join in!

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Hopeful

It always amazes me the range of emotions you can capture with still photographs of objects. Perhaps that’s why I love the medium of photography so much. To me photography is as much about capturing what I feel as it is capturing what I see. Or, put another way, it’s about capturing what I see with the emotion I feel.

At any rate, while in Ashland a few weeks ago, I spent a good long time capturing these vines against the wall. Yes, the same day I captured crispy fall leaves and a wintery black and white tree, I captured these springy vines. I love the fresh leaves, against the colored wall. Today, as I look at them, the color and new growth fill me with a hopeful outlook. That even in the winter, there are moments of green. Fresh growth and color still exist.

I choose this image because that’s how I feel in general too. Hopeful. After struggling against the down cycle I’ve been in, I finally accepted it at the end of last week. I said to myself, “Here I am. I am sad this holiday season. I miss Italy. I have no creative ideas. I accept it. I’m going to tell my friends, and then I’m going to curl up and read a book.” I’ve been doing that anyway, the book reading part, but I finally gave in and took it all to heart. This is where I need to be. You know what? That’s when I started to feel better.

You see, by accepting where I am, I allowed myself to begin to move through it, and there found a glimmer of hope. I allowed myself to share it with others, and there found encouragement. I’m not alone, neither is the down part of this cycle permanent. It’s hard to remember that sometimes, when you are fighting it so hard.

So this Monday morning, I find myself content with where I sit. The sadness is still here too, and it’s not like I’m bursting with creative ideas yet. But there is a glimmer of hope, and that’s all I can ask for today.

Today’s Many Muses Musing prompt is HOPE. Tomorrow’s prompt is COZY. Come on over and join in!

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To Surprise or Not to Surprise

That is a really good question…

Do you like surprises? Or do you want to know what is going to happen?

There is a part of me that delights in surprises. The kind of surprises that are truly a surprise – where you had no idea it was coming. At all. This could be a surprise in an image, as you look closer. It could be a surprise twist in a book, that takes the plot to an unexpected place. A surprise letter in the mail, or a package you weren’t expecting. I love those kinds of surprises.

I also hate surprises. If it’s something big, like a trip or an event, I like to plan. I like to anticipate. It’s half of the fun. If you spring a trip on me at the last minute, I will probably have fun, but I will have lost out on some of my enjoyment by the loss of anticipation. It also might mess up other plans I made, without knowing about the surprise. I don’t usually like “event” surprises.

I enjoy giving surprises, when I have a good idea. You know those ideas that are perfect for someone? Where everything clicks and you just KNOW that is what you need to do and they will love it? These kind of ideas can be few and far between but they are the ones I have to act upon when they come to me. But it can’t be all the time, that’s too much pressure. When the ideas don’t come, that’s what wish lists are for. Thank goodness for wish lists!

I guess I don’t have a good answer to the question, “To surprise or not to surprise.” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. How about you?

Today’s Many Muses Musing prompt is SURPRISE. Tomorrow’s prompt is WONDER. Come on over and join in!

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