Blessed Reformation Day

Still Blooming

We have not had a hard frost yet, so some things are still hanging on. I think of the results of the Reformation: even though most of Christendom is quite dead and rotting, there are some fruits of the Reformation still hanging on. We all read, or can if we want to. We can choose what to believe, if we want to. We don’t not have to buy indulgences for the forgiveness if our sins. Let’s enjoy the last blooms. 

Fall at My House

Summer is my favorite season. It always has been and I never realized it wasn't everyone's favorite season until recent years. 

My second favorite is autumn, tying with spring. 😄 But really, I do enjoy fall when the weather is summery. Recently I saw the question on social media, "What is your favorite time of year for decorating?" Most people say Christmas but after some thought I have to say it's autumn for me. I have a lot of issues with Christmas, unfortunately, so I can't say it's always so wonderful.

In the fall I get to make flower arrangements with the blooms that come late in the year- Rudbeckia, dahlias, asters and anemones. I have been growing my own decorative pumpkins for several years now, giving room to them from the space previously given only to edibles. I had a wonderful harvest of pumpkins this year. Growing one's own decorative items makes decorating more fun.

This is the current arrangement I have, sadly fading, that was made from the very last flowers I could find the day of our first hard frost last week.

This arrangement was from the previous week, made from some of the last blooming dahlias. I was very satisfied with how this fall proceeded without frost. I was able to enjoy every last dahlia to the end.

I had a large harvest of these little pumpkin gourds so they decorate everything. I've had  enough to share even though I only planted one plant.

I love decorating my porch at all times of the year. I moved planters into the house so the porch looks bare to me but the pumpkins look nice. The larger pumpkins are "Cinderella's Coach" and have that flattened, curvy, fairytale look. 

This little pumpkin helped me pick the dahlias when she was here for her birthday.

The roses had one last Hurrah in October so I had one final arrangement to enjoy.

With the long spell of warm weather my garden harvest went on and on. 

The freezer and larder are stocked for winter.

I was especially blessed to have every single tomato ripen for harvest. None were wasted by frost.

Homemade tomato soup for cold winter days.

I have four more heads of buttercrunch lettuce under protection in the raised bed. 

It will be special to eat fresh garden lettuce in November! And look! No bugs or birds after it.

On a beautiful sunny autumn day I dug my dahlias to store for winter and gathered seed to save for next spring's planting.

This poem was messaged to me today from my grandchildren's other grandma who is also a gardener. 

It seems fitting to share here.

In fall

the garden is spent

having given its all.

Cucumber vines lie exhausted on the ground

Tomato plants list to one side

Cornstalks stand dignified and empty

Sunflower faces droop earthward,

shades of their former selves.

All that has not been claimed lies moldering in the dirt—

a bruised tomato, a forsaken pepper…

a misshapen pumpkin, a trampled stalk of beans.

What came from the earth is returning

to the place from whence it came.

There is an intimacy here,

in the fall garden,

gazing at living things in their demise.

I want to avert my eyes, avoid this tender grief.

Is this life or is this death? I cannot tell.

Ah, but there is beauty here

amid all this death and dying.

To have given one’s self fully

at least once

that is the thing.

To have spent oneself in an explosion of color

to have offered one’s seed for food,

one’s very self for nourishment…

It is an unseemly generosity,

beauty of another kind.

In fall the garden says,

“This is my life, given for you.”

And we are fed.

Illustration

First, OOPS

I didn’t see your post, Sarah Y., for Tuesday,  on the blog app I use, so we have another overlap. Sorry! I am glad you show your journal though. It is motivating for me. Mine has catching up to get, too. I didn’t keep up while traveling. 

For today, here is another in the collection of a Project.

I would love it if someone, or as many Someones as possible, would post for tomorrow on a theme of 

Reformation

Halloween

Autumn

Rain 

Or whatever fits the day in your eyes. 

Please, as many of you as possible, let’s see what you are thinking. 

I will post fall flowers.....

Illustration

In A Series

This one goes with the Owl, for a project in progress. 

Watercolor 502

Rainy Day

This is adapted from the photo of a couple of days ago, and it fits today’s rainy day. It is another small work about 4x6 inches. 

October Page

 I drew some fanart things to send to my sisters with their letters this past week, but other than that, I haven't been doing much for art.

 This is the October calendar page in my Bullet Journal, which was never completely finished, even though the month is already almost over. XD

 

 

An Evening of Gelli Prints

Quite awhile ago, my dear daughter, RosieKate, gave me a Gelliprint kit. We had created some prints together with her tools when I was there visiting so she thoughtfully gave me this kit to get me started at my home. I have to shamefully confess I have never used it. Until tonight. I have been wanting to make art or something like it for weeks now, as I have been harvesting the garden, teaching school classes and cooking, cleaning and running the household. Art never comes before those things and when those tasks are finally done, so am I. I know you can relate...

Another reason I had never used the kit is because I thought I didn't have enough texturing tools to work with for interesting prints. Katie had accumulated a collection of wallpapers and stencils and I thought I had nothing to work with. But then I raided both my baking tools closet and my pottery studio.....

One criteria for the tools is that they not be too sharp as the gelli pad is easily damaged. 

I found plenty of plastic modeling tools used for fondant in my cake decorating supplies.

In my pottery studio I had a treasure trove of texturing tools. I was always interested in ways to give clay surfaces unique textures when I was a potter. I selected a few items to experiment with- a disposable grill cover (ended up not using it since it was metal and I was afraid it would damage the gelli pad), a rubber bath mat, some drawer liner, a rubber texture mat (I've used that green mat for clay and pie dough too!) some jute twine, and plastic pearl strings.

I really liked how the fondant shaping tools were working. I'm not sure if you can see the fall colors I was using- green, red and gold.

The plastic pearl string for the blue one...

The doily had great texture but the paper absorbed all the paint so did not work at all!

I liked how this came out.

I had a lot of fun doing a couple hours of creative paint work.

I am inspired! I need some small stencils and I plan to get a larger gelli pad.

These five inch prints will be useful for making some greeting cards. 

 

Watercolor 501

Autumn Landscape 

Watercolor 500!

Not much different from the first, but it has been a pile of papers. 

This one is very small. And the brush was big. 

Rainy Fall Day

This view asked for a watercolor, but, it didn’t happen today.