as you wish

Hello! 

And how is your Friday?!  Mine is getting better by the minute...A lovely weekend of relaxing, reading, cooking and visiting with friends is in order, and very highly anticipated.  I've a new book to start and some crayon rings to make (I'll let you know how it goes, of course!).  And a real craving for brownies will be satisfied.

Clickin' around on flickr the other day, I came across these wonderful new works by a contact of mine, from Adelaide, Australia, still life with wallpaper.  Her work is always lovely, but these really gave me pause:

sky (bird)

 
sea (fish)

I've been trying to put my finger on precisely what it is that I love so much about them.  (Other than the colors, of course--I'm a sucker for rainbow colors, as I think I've previously made quite obvious!)  I think it's the simplicity--like a deconstructed world, maybe...The fill-in-the-blank, "you-make-of-it-what-you-will" aspect of these prints...and of life, in general, I suppose. 

I've always loved that quote by Abraham Lincoln where he said, "Most people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  It's deceptively simple, that one.  It seems almost too simple, but the older I get, the more I realize how very true that it is.  It's not about the outward life, the things, the clothing size, the storybook life...it's about YOU.  And how you see it, and how you see the world around you, right this very minute of this very day.  It truly doesn't matter what it looks like on the outside, as long as you can love and be loved and give and accept in return.  So simple, and so difficult.

I wonder why it's so hard to learn that.  I think back to how I was as a child, and for as long as I can remember, I focused on what I didn't have, and what I wasn't.  It's only now that I realize that the world really couldn't care less what I have or what I look like or whether my hair looks good on this particular day.  It cares who I am and what I think and whether or not I have a smile on my face and a kind word or two.  That's it, and that's as it should be!  I would say that I wish I'd learned it a little sooner, but then I wouldn't be me, or have the life I have, and that would be all wrong.  Everything is always going to be okay.  I know that.

Anyway...the art!  Go see the wonderful work of still life with wallpaper (her beautiful blog):  on flickr, her website, and at her shop.  The prints above are not for sale yet, but they will be soon, I hope.  (But you don't have to own them to love them, you know.  They've made me wildly happy just by being there, and I'm so grateful for that.)

Have a beautiful day, sweet friends.  Color it as you wish.

Cheers!

xoxox. 

Comments

[Sandra]

Amy, Amy, Amy. how i needed those words today. my heart is in a right spot at the moment. that Abe quote is one of my favourites. and yes, the art. i love it. simply beautiful. like you. have a great weekend. it's a long one here and i just finished a freelance job so i am needing it and wanting it and will be loving it to the max. xx ps. i will be needing a new book to read soon. as you are such an avid reader i would love you to recommend something...?

[Heather]

this is such a wonderful post. i often think how the simplest truths are the hardest to get through our thick skulls. i'm going to write that A.L. quote on our chalkboard in the kitchen so i can be reminded of it daily.
thanks for sharing!! it's always such a pleasure to come to your space. have a happy day!

[Heather]

Love your blog......hope today you feel lighter" inside. The weekends are special times to reconnect with yourself in what ever way "presses your buttons" Am reaching out across the miles to give you a big hug ( ) Heather.

[suzanne]

Amy, I'm mad at myself because I read your blog everyday and rarely make a comment...and I know how good it feels to get comments and know that you're connecting with people.

SO today, I must comment, to say how much this post resonates with me. That Lincoln quote...dang, if that isn't the key! It IS simple....but it is SO true. This is something I've noticed so much in the last few weeks in facing my own life struggles.

Thanks for sharing as you do. You are always a sweet spot in my day.

[deb]

Love this art ork - Amy -enjoy your weekend.

[Mandy]

Simplicity is exactly what i was thinking of when I did this work. If you go back to some of the basics in art; drawing, painting, colour, natural elements; you can create anything you like.
It works in life too.

Thank you so much for this lovely post, it really made my day.
And yes, prints will be available soon!

Mandy
(Still Life with Wallpaper)

[kasia]

Amy what a great post. What you wrote suits these artworks perfectly; beauty in simplicity :)

[norma.andreu@hotmail.com]

I couldn´t agree more with you my dear friend... just recently (like the past year) I´ve had this amazing transformation that has taken me to this place where I´m feeling free... free from all this requirements I had as a teenager and as an early adult of how life should be for me to be happy, what I should look like, or what I should have achieved... or what I should have!!!! now I know the material world is not important at all... we just believe on it because they (I still cannot determine who are they specifically) make us think is this way since we are children...

so... I´m off to the streets smiling about my new me and still try everyday to take off all this old ideas someone impose me and discover my real me... :) I like to grow older... is just so much better older don´t you think? :)

a big squarrel for your Sunday (you never know when it might be needed!!!) :)